Legal & General Share News (LGEN)

LONDON (Alliance News) - Share prices were rising early Thursday after the minutes of the most recent Federal Reserve policy-setting meeting, combined with the subsequent Brexit vote in the UK, left market analysts expecting no US interest rate hike any time soon.

Brexit hasn't stopped all deal-making by UK companies. After Melrose Industries' big US acquisition announced Wednesday, Shanks Group confirmed Thursday it was proceeding with its merger with a Dutch waste collection peer.

Here is what you need to know at the London market open:
----------
MARKETS
----------
FTSE 100: up 1.2% at 6,542.88
FTSE 250: up 1.1% at 15,841.58
AIM ALL-SHARE: up 0.2% at 698.06
----------
Hang Seng: up 1.0% at 20,695.57
Nikkei 225: closed down 0.7% at 15,276.24
DJIA: closed up 0.4% at 17,918.62
S&P 500: closed up 0.5% at 2,099.73
----------
GBP: firm at USD1.2954 (USD1.2911)
EUR: flat at USD1.1084 (USD1.1072)

GOLD: flat at USD1,366.39 per ounce (USD1,367.58)
OIL (Brent):up at USD49.03 a barrel (USD47.61)

(changes since previous London equities close)
----------
ECONOMICS AND GENERAL
----------
Thursday's Key Economic Events still to come
(all times in BST)

08:30 UK Halifax house prices
09:30 UK industrial and manufacturing production
11:00 Ireland gross domestic product
12:30 US Challenger job cuts
12:30 EU ECB monetary policy meeting accounts
13:15 US ADP employment
13:30 US initial and continuing jobless claims
13:30 Canada building permits
15:00 UK NIESR GDP estimate
15:00 Canada Ivey purchasing managers index
15:30 US EIA natural gas storage
16:00 US EIA crude oil stocks
----------
In a report made somewhat irrelevant by the UK's shock Brexit decision, the minutes of the June Federal Reserve meeting revealed officials are still leaning toward raising US interest rates this year. "Most participants judged that, in the absence of significant economic or financial shocks, raising the target rate for the federal funds rate would be appropriate if incoming information confirmed that economic growth had picked up, that job gains were continuing at a pace sufficient to sustain progress toward the committee's maximum-employment objective, and that inflation was likely to rise to 2% over the medium term," the minutes of the June 14-15 meeting said. "A couple of members" said they would need "sufficient evidence to increase their confidence that economic growth was strong enough to withstand a possible downward shock to demand and that inflation was moving closer to 2% on a sustained basis."
----------
The bitter battle to be Britain's next prime minister will see the final two candidates for Tory leader decided today, as the party was rocked by accusations of backstabbing and vote-rigging. Conservative MPs will take part in a ballot on who will be in the run-off contest that grass roots members will vote on. It comes after Justice Secretary Michael Gove's team insisted he was kept in the dark about a plot to get supporters of Home Secretary Theresa May to switch sides in order to block the surge of Andrea Leadsom. The Justice Secretary's campaign manager Nick Boles was forced into a humiliating apology after being caught pushing pro-May MPs to vote tactically to ensure Gove made the final two.
----------
Tony Blair is facing growing calls to be brought to court over his role in taking Britain to war with Iraq following the damning verdict of the Chilcot Report. The former prime minister has been put on notice by families of dead servicemen that he may face legal action over what flowed from his decision to tell then-US president George Bush "I will be with you whatever" eight months before the 2003 invasion. A former British ambassador to the UN has said the UK was "pushed" into entering military action too early by the US. A defiant Blair insisted he would make the decision to go to war again if presented with the same information about the threat posed by Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein at the time.
----------
Germany's industrial production dropped unexpectedly in May on weak construction and capital goods output, figures from Destatis revealed. Industrial output fell 1.3% month-on-month in May, reversing a revised 0.5% rise in April. Production was expected to climb 0.1%. Excluding energy and construction, industrial production dropped 1.8%.
----------
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's ruling Liberal Democratic Party and its junior coalition partner Komeito are expected to win a decisive victory in upper house elections Sunday despite a string of economic problems, major surveys showed. The coalition was expected to surpass the premier's target of 61 of the 121 seats in the chamber up for grabs in the race, thanks to weak and fragmented opposition, according to a recent opinion poll conducted by major daily Asahi. The survey showed the LDP is likely to gain about 55 seats while Komeito are predicted to capture 14 seats, which would theoretically give Abe's coalition the two-thirds majority to push through constitutional reforms.
----------
Japan's leading index that signals the future economic activity, remained stable in May, preliminary survey data from the Cabinet Office showed. The leading index came in at 100 in May, the same as in April and matched economists' expectations.
----------
US President Barack Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed the war in Syria and Russian involvement in Ukraine in a telephone call ahead of Obama's trip to the NATO summit starting Friday in Warsaw. The summit is expected to ratchet up tensions with Moscow as the alliance discusses Russian aggression in Ukraine, as well as fortifying defences along NATO's eastern flank and implementation of a missile defence system that Moscow has long opposed. The US strengthened its defence cooperation with Georgia on Wednesday in a memorandum signed by Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili and US Secretary of State John Kerry. Kerry was to travel Thursday to Ukraine.
----------
Obama announced the US military will keep a higher number of troops in Afghanistan than previously planned. In remarks from the White House, Obama revealed that the US will maintain approximately 8,400 troops in Afghanistan through the end of his administration. Obama had previously called for the number of troops in the country to be drawn down from 9,800 to 5,500 by the end of this year.
----------
The US Justice Department will not charge Hillary Clinton over her use of a private email server while secretary of state, after the FBI said she acted carelessly but had not committed a crime, Attorney General Loretta Lynch said. Lynch met Wednesday with FBI Director James Comey, prosecutors and investigators to discuss the probe, a day after Comey had issued his findings.
----------
Brazil will increase the number of soldiers patrolling the streets of Rio de Janeiro during next month's Olympic Games in response to a crime wave, the country's interim defence minister said. Raul Jungmann said that a rash of armed robberies and deadly shootings on busy thoroughfares in recent weeks had prompted Rio de Janeiro state Governor Francisco Dornelles to ask the military for more help keeping the Olympic and Paralympic Games safe. More than 21,000 soldiers will assist civil and military police units to protect expressways, the Olympic Village and other Olympic routes in Rio de Janeiro, he said, 3,000 more than originally planned.
----------
BROKER RATING CHANGES
----------
BERENBERG CUTS BAT TO 'HOLD' (BUY) - PRICE TARGET 4840 (4285) PENCE
----------
EXANE BNP CUTS LEGAL & GENERAL TO 'NEUTRAL' (OUTPERFORM) - TP 230 (275) PENCE
----------
HSBC CUTS CAPITA GROUP TO 'HOLD' ('BUY') - TARGET 1020 (1300) PENCE
----------
TRADERS: CREDIT SUISSE INITIATES AUTO TRADER GROUP WITH 'NEUTRAL'
----------
TRADERS: HSBC RAISES SERCO GROUP TO 'HOLD' ('REDUCE')
----------
TRADERS: CREDIT SUISSE INITIATES JUST EAT WITH 'OUTPERFORM' - TARGET 560 PENCE
----------
TRADERS: CITIGROUP CUTS MITCHELLS & BUTLERS TO 'NEUTRAL' ('BUY')
----------
TRADERS: CITIGROUP CUTS MARSTONS TO 'SELL' ('BUY')
----------
TRADERS: CITIGROUP RAISES JD WETHERSPOON TO 'BUY'
----------
COMPANIES - FTSE 100
----------
Marks & Spencer Group reported growth in group sales in the first quarter of its financial year and said its guidance remains unchanged for the full year. The food, clothing and homeware retailer said group sales in the 13 weeks ended July 2 grew by 1.3% on the same period the year before, as 4.0% growth in the food division offset an 8.3% decline in the clothing & home division. M&S said its new Simply Food stores continued to perform ahead of its expectations, while clothing & home was hit by a "weak market". M&S said its full-year guidance remains unchanged.
----------
Associated British Foods reported growth in revenue in the first 40 weeks of its financial year and said its full-year outlook has improved due to sterling weakness after the UK's European Union referendum. AB Foods, which owns discount fashion retailer Primark, as well as British Sugar, along with agriculture and consumer goods businesses, said group revenue in the 40 weeks ended June 18 grew by 1% year-on-year.
----------
Hospitality firm Whitbread said it has exchanged agreements with Legal & General Group for the sale and leaseback of its 389-room 'Hub by Premier Inn' hotel in Kings Cross, due to open in 2017, in exchange for a 25-year lease agreement. Whitbread launched plans in April this year to carry out sale and leaseback deals during 2016 to generate between GBP100.0 to GBP150.0 million.
----------
COMPANIES - FTSE 250
----------
Housebuilder Bovis Homes Group said trading in the first half of 2016 was in line with its expectations and it is too early to assess the potential impact of the Brexit vote on the UK's housing market, though the fundamentals remain strong. In the half-year to the end of June, Bovis sold 1,601 new homes, up from 1,525 in the same period a year earlier, with the average sales price on the sales rising 15% to GBP255,000 from GBP222,000.
----------
Property developer Great Portland Estates said it is well-positioned to navigate the challenges facing the commercial property sector following the Brexit vote, with trading solid in the first quarter of its financial year. Toby Courtauld, chief executive of the central London-focused property group, said that, while tenant interest levels are currently healthy for the company's available space, the uncertainty caused by the vote is likely to have a negative impact on economic growth in the capital. "We can expect London's commercial property markets to weaken during this period of uncertainty with the benefits of lower bond yields and weaker sterling offset by reduced rental growth prospects," he said.
----------
Pest control and business services company Rentokil Initial said it has agreed a new acquisition in the US and signed a two-year deal with a US health agency to fight the Zika virus. Rentokil said it has won a contract from the US Centers for Disease Control & Prevention to help control the species of mosquito that could potentially carry the Zika virus. Rentokil also said it had acquired pest control and turf products distribution company Residex for USD30.0 million in cash. The acquisition will more than double the size of Rentokil's existing pest and turf products business and make it the second-largest business of this kind in the US market.
----------
Sports Direct International said profit was over 15% higher in the last financial year but warned the volatility in the retail sector and the uncertainty caused by the EU referendum will "drag on consumer confidence" over the short to medium term. The sports retailer reported pretax profit of GBP361.8 million in the financial year to April 24, a significant increase from the GBP313.5 million profit booked a year earlier as revenue rose to GBP2.90 billion from GBP2.83 billion.
----------
COMPANIES - LONDON MAIN MARKET AND AIM
----------
Waste management company Shanks Group said it has entered into talks to merge with Netherlands-based waste collection and recycling company Van Gansewinkel Groep. Shanks had flagged talks between the two companies in late May and on Thursday said it has now entered exclusive talks with Van Gansewinkel and its two largest shareholders on a deal which would value the Dutch company at EUR440.0 million. Under the terms of the deal, Van Gansewinkel shareholders would get EUR306.0 million in cash and and the balance in shares in Shanks. After completion, Van Gansewinkel shareholders would own 29% of the combined company.
----------
COMPANIES - INTERNATIONAL
----------
French dairy giant Danone agreed to buy WhiteWave Foods for USD56.25 per share in an all-cash transaction, representing a total enterprise value of approximately USD12.5 billion, including debt and certain other WhiteWave liabilities. The transaction has been unanimously approved by the board of directors of both companies. Its price represents a premium of approximately 24% over WhiteWave's 30-day average closing trading price.
----------
South Korean conglomerate Samsung Electronics said it expects operating profit for the second quarter to increase 17% year-over-year and sales to rise 3%. The company's second-quarter operating profit is likely to be its best in more than two years and also exceeding the 8 trillion won mark after it reported an operating profit of 8.5 trillion won in the first quarter of 2014. The results are likely to reflect continued strong demand for the company's Galaxy S7 smartphone series. The operating profit forecast is above analysts' expectations.
----------
Thursday's Shareholder Meetings

C&C Group
China Africa Resources
Gloo Networks
JPMorgan Income & Capital Trust
3i Infrastructure
Great Portland Estates
Seneca Global Income & Growth Trust
Atalaya Mining
----------
By Tom Waite; thomaslwaite@alliancenews.com; @thomaslwaite

Copyright 2016 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.