Legal & General Share News (LGEN)

LONDON (Alliance News) - The following stocks are the leading risers and fallers within the main London indices midday Friday.

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FTSE 100 - WINNERS

Glencore Xstrata, up 1.9%, Anglo American, up 1.6%, and Rio Tinto, up 1.4%. The three mining companies, which were amongst the leading fallers in the FTSE 100 on Thursday, have rebounded strongly Friday. The three all fell on Thursday after Glencore said it is planning to suspend operations at its Ravensworth underground coal mine in Australia, due to poor coal prices. On Friday, Russian oil and gas company Ruspetro said that it has signed a further crude oil prepayment facility with Glencore Energy UK Ltd, a subsidiary of Glencore Xstrata PLC, for USD30 million.

Randgold Resources, up 1.2%. The major mining company has announced that its attributable resources increased by the end of 2013. It said its total attributable mineral resources increased by 5% to 28.6 million despite depletion from mining in a year that delivered record production. However, Randgold said that its reserves fell 8% to 15 million ounces, reflecting the fact that the company ramped up both production and grade during the period, impacting on its inventory.

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FTSE 100 - LOSERS

Resolution, down 13%, Aviva, down 7.6%, Legal & General, down 7.5%, Prudential, down 5.6%, Standard Life, down 3.8%, St. James's Place, down 3%, and Old Mutual, down 1.3%. The life insurers are the seven of the ten biggest fallers in the blue-chip index after the Telegraph reported that the UK's Financial Conduct Authority will launch an inquiry into up to 30.0 million policies sold by insurance companies from the 1970s to the turn of the millennium on Monday. A spokesperson for the Financial Conduct Authority confirmed to Alliance News on Friday that the review, set to begin this summer, will include pensions, endowments, investment bonds and life insurance products.

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FTSE 250 - WINNERS

Interserve, up 4.1%, Kier Group, up 3%, Balfour Beatty, up 1.9%, and Carillion, up 1.7%. All four companies have risen steeply after Jefferies initiated them with a Buy recommendation.

Capital & Counties Properties, up 2.4%. The company has formed a joint venture with Transport for London that will allow the re-development of the Earls Court exhibition centres in London to go ahead, a key part of a much bigger scheme for redeveloping the area. The re-development of Earls Court, which is currently one of the most high-profile property schemes in London, involves the redevelopment of the Earls Court 1 & 2 exhibition centres, which is proving to be the most controversial part of the plan. The new joint venture, which will be called Earls Court Partnership Ltd and be owned 63% by Capital & Counties and 37% by TfL, will allow the re-development of the exhibition centre sites to go ahead.

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FTSE 250 - LOSERS

Phoenix Group Holdings, down 16%. Phoenix is another life insurance company that is being hit by the news that the FCA will launch an inquiry into policies sold by insurance companies.

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AIM - WINNERS

Metro Baltic Horizons, up 75%. The company said it had reached a settlement with former company directors, and will receive GBP2.5 million. It said it had issued proceedings against former advisors Tolmain Advisory Services Ltd, Metro Capital Management AS, Mart Habakuk, James Kenny, Paul McGuinness, MG Capital Ltd and McGuinness Investments OU, as well as former directors Robin James, Kristel Meos and Gunnar Okk, in the High Court of Justice of the Isle of Man back in October 2012. However, it said it has now agreed a final settlement of the proceedings with the former directors, but that proceedings are continuing against the former advisers.

Bellzone Mining, up 49%. The group has admitted that it is in talks with one of its major shareholders about getting more equity capital, a move that could lead to a takeover offer being made for the company. In a statement that was put out after its share price jumped higher, the company said it is in talks with China Sonangol International Singapore Pte Ltd about new equity funding. It said it was putting out the statement without the consent of China Sonangol.

Strategic Natural Resources, up 33%. The natural resources development group said that despite the announcement of two legal battles being taken out against the company, talks with a potential strategic investor to help with its recapitalisation struggles are ongoing. Its shares are rebounding Friday after a disastrous day of trading Thursday which saw its shares fall 54%, as the company was made aware that it may have to fight two litigation battles in the UK and South Africa.

Nighthawk, up 16%. The oil and gas exploration and production company said it swung to a pretax profit in 2013 as revenues were boosted by six new wells during the period. It posted a pretax profit of USD13.3 million in 2013, versus a pretax loss of USD2.4 million the previous year, as revenues vastly increased to USD26.2 million from USD1.6 million in 2012. Nighthawk said its revenues increased as nine new wells were drilled during the period, and six new wells were successfully brought into production, bringing gross oil sales to 358,294 barrels of oil compared from 29,812 barrels in the full year 2012.

Songbird Enterprises, up 14%. The property company and owner of the Canary Wharf estate in London has reported higher profits and net asset value for 2013, driven by a higher portfolio valuation and increased rental income. It posted a pretax profit of GBP1.04 billion for 2013, up from GBP201.5 million in 2012, primarily thanks to revaluation gains. Its net assets stood at GBP2.66 billion at the end of 2013, up from GBP1.77 billion a year earlier, and its adjusted net asset value per share was GBP2.90, up from GBP2.10. It also said its portfolio valuation increased 15% over the year to GBP6.57 billion.

Optare, up 14%. The bus and coach manufacturer said it has got a GBP4.9 million order for 37 of its vehicles from Ulsterbus Ltd, the provider of bus services in Northern Ireland.

DiamondCorp, up 9.8%. The diamond development, exploration and mining company announced that it has placed 41.5 million shares in the company at a price in order to raise gross proceeds of roughly GBP2.1 million. It said the placing comprises of 36.5 million shares at a price of 5 pence each through Panmure Gordon Ltd and 5 million South Africa placing shares at ZAR0.90 each, subscribed through Sasfin Capital. It said its price per UK and South African placing share represents a discount of 7.0% and 10% respectively to the closing mid-market price on AIM and AltX on March 27. The net proceeds of the placing will be used to fund corporate overheads over the next two years and for general working capital purposes. DiamondCorp shares are quoted at 5.9 pence.

Manroy, up 8.7%. The maker of heavy machine guns, weapon mounting systems and turrets said it had agreed a GBP16 million takeover by Belgian firearms company Herstal SA, ending months of talks that eventually hinged on a sale of Manroy's stake in a US business for a nominal sum. Manroy's shareholders will get 85 pence in cash for each share in the deal which its board has recommended. It said the offer price was a 51.8% premium to its closing share price on November 25, the day before the formal offer period started. In a separate statement, Manroy said it made a GBP6.6 million loss in the year to September 30, 2013, compared with a GBP2.1 million loss a year earlier, as costs rose and it made a GBP5.1 million provision for the disposal of its stake in the US business for a nominal sum. Its revenues rose to GBP8.9 million, from GBP7.4 million, and excluding the impairments, its profit after tax rose to GBP0.2 million, from GBP0.1 million.

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AIM - LOSERS

Kromek Group, off 46%. The supplier of radiation technology to the medical, security and nuclear markets has warned that revenues for its current financial year are expected to come in well below expectations due to delays for a large number of contracts, and therefore it no longer expects to be profitable this year.

Berkeley Mineral Resources, down 18%. The resource company said that its pretax loss widened in the six month to 31 December 2013. It posted a pretax loss of GBP882,900 from GBP592,481, as administration expenses rose to GBP883,00 from GBP597.341.

Wessex Exploration, down 16%. The hydrocarbon exploration company said its pretax loss widened in its first half as the company was hit by losses related to its joint venture, Northpet Investments offshore Guyane. It said that its pretax loss widened to GBP6.2 million for the six months to the end of 2013, from GBP824,051 the previous year. Although its administrative expenses were largely flat at GBP921,908 from GBP913,547 it was hit by a GBP5.3 million charge as a share of losses related to its Northpet joint venture.

Metminco, down 12%. The exploration and development copper-mining company has announced that a Court of Appeal in Chile has ruled that the company's First Easement Extension, which allows the company to engage in further mining activities at the Mollacas Copper Project, is invalid and void on technical grounds.

FinnAust Mining, down 11%. The Finnish metals miner posted a widened pretax loss of GBP1.5 million for six months to the end of December, from a loss of GBP52,276 in the comparable period in the year before. It reported a GBP886,805 goodwill impairment charge and said administration expenses rose to GBP583,808 from GBP52,276.

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By James Kemp; jameskemp@alliancenews.com; @jamespkemp

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