Lloyds Share News (LLOY)

LONDON (Alliance News) - Shares have confounded expectations by opening slightly higher in London Monday, after China cut interest rates at the weekend and amid another full diet of UK company reporting.

Intertek Group leads FTSE 100 gainers, up 3.0%, after the quality and safety testing company reported lower profits for 2014 but raised its dividend.

Here is what you need to know at the UK market open:
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MARKETS
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FTSE 100: up 0.3% at 6,964.77
FTSE 250: up 0.2% at 17,300.94
AIM ALL-SHARE: flat at 714.60
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Hang Seng: closed up 0.3% at 24,887.44
Nikkei 225: closed up 0.2% at 18,826.88
DJIA: closed down 0.5% at 18,132.70
S&P 500: closed down 0.3% at 2,104.50
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GBP-USD: down at USD1.5396
EUR-USD: up at USD1.1180

GOLD: up at USD1,218.50 per ounce
OIL (Brent): down at USD62.10 a barrel

(changes since end of previous GMT day)
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ECONOMICS AND GENERAL
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Monday's Key Economic Events still to come
(all times in GMT)

08:45 Italy Markit Manufacturing PMI
08:50 France Markit Manufacturing PMI
08:55 Germany Markit Manufacturing PMI
09:00 EU Markit Manufacturing PMI
09:00 Italy Unemployment
09:30 UK Consumer Credit, Mortgage Approvals, M4 Money Supply
09:30 UK Markit Manufacturing PMI
10:00 EU Consumer Price Index
10:00 EU Unemployment Rate
12:30 US Personal Consumption Expenditure
13:30 Canada Current Account
13:30 US Personal Income and Spending, ISM Prices Paid
14:30 Canada RBC Manufacturing PMI
14:45 US Markit Manufacturing PMI
15:00 US Construction Spending (MoM)
15:00 US Former Fed's Bernanke speech
15:00 US ISM Manufacturing PMI
15:00 US Philadelphia Fed's Plosser speech
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The People's Bank Of China on Saturday said it has cut its one-year lending rate by 0.25 percentage points to 5.35%. The Chinese central bank also reduced deposit rates by 0.25 percentage points to 2.5%. The cut in rates came into effect on Sunday. The bank has made the rate cut, its second in less than four months having previously cut rates in November, in order to stimulate the world's second-largest economy amid concerns of slowing economic growth.
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The manufacturing sector is China expanded at a faster pace than originally reported in February, the latest survey from HSBC showed, with a revised PMI reading of 50.7. That's up from 49.7 in January, and it was even higher than last month's flash estimate of 50.1 - and it moves even further above the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction. "China's manufacturing sector saw an improvement in overall operating conditions in February, with companies registering the strongest expansion of output since last summer while total new business also rose at a faster rate," said Markit Economics economist Annabel Fiddes.
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Japan's manufacturing sector expanded at a slower rate in February, the latest survey from Markit Economics showed. The manufacturing purchasing managers' index decreased to 51.6 in February from 52.2 in January.
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Ireland's manufacturing sector expanded at the fastest rate since late 1999 in February, survey figures from Markit Economics showed Friday. The seasonally adjusted Investec purchasing managers' index, or PMI, rose to 57.5 in February from 55.1 in January. This marked fastest rate of expansion since December 1999.
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Russia-backed rebels in eastern Ukraine claimed to have withdrawn all heavy weaponry from the front lines in the districts they control, thereby fulfilling a key condition of a peace deal hammered out in Minsk last month. Eduard Basurin, a spokesman for the self-declared Donetsk People's Republic said that as the last step separatist militias withdrew six "Grad" howitzers. The separatists in the neighbouring "Luhansk People's Republic" also said that they finished withdrawal, Interfax reported. The OSCE, which monitors the withdrawal on both sides, did not confirm the move on Sunday. Alexander Hug, deputy head of the 450-strong OSCE mission in Ukraine, reiterated that while both sides were moving weapons, it was unclear if they were withdrawing.
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Tens of thousands of people marched through central Moscow to mourn opposition leader Boris Nemtsov, who was killed in a drive-by shooting. The crowd lined the Bolshoi Moskvoretsky bridge near the Kremlin, where the veteran politician was hit by four bullets fired by an unknown gunman late Friday. They clutched flowers and waved Russian flags draped in black ribbons to honour Nemtsov. Organizers, among them Nemtsov, had originally planned to protest the policies of President Vladimir Putin on Sunday. They had agreed to move the event to a Moscow suburb after the city government did not allow it to be held in the centre. After Nemtsov's killing, however, authorities granted permission for the march to be relocated to the centre.
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BROKER RATING CHANGES
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TRADERS: JPMORGAN CUTS ABERDEEN ASSET MANAGEMENT TO 'NEUTRAL' ('OVERWEIGHT')
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TRADERS: UBS RAISES RSA INSURANCE TO 'NEUTRAL' ('SELL')
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TRADERS: NOMURA RAISES PEARSON TO 'NEUTRAL' ('REDUCE')
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S&P CAPITAL IQ RAISES LLOYDS TO 'BUY' ('HOLD') - PRICE TARGET 86 (80) PENCE
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COMPANIES - FTSE 100
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Intertek Group reported lower profits for 2014, as the strength of the pound and weakness in its oil and gas business that's expected to continue into this year offset growth in its consumer products business. The quality and safety testing company reported a pretax profit of GBP252.2 million for 2014, down from GBP281.8 million in 2013, as revenue fell to GBP2.09 billion, from GBP2.18 billion.
Despite the profit drop, Intertek raised its full-year dividend to 49.1 pence, up from 46.0p in 2013, which it said reflected its "progressive dividend policy" and "continuing healthy financial position".
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British Land said it has bought the Surrey Quays Leisure Park in Canada Water for GBP135 million, completing its strategy of snapping up assets in the area as part of a regeneration plan. The property developer has now spent GBP250 million on property in Canada Water over the last five years, and is adding the leisure park to the Surrey Quays Shopping Centre and Harmsworth Quays, the former Daily Mail General Trust printing works, it already owns. The land it owns covers nearly 50 acres.
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GlaxoSmithKline said it will set out its 2015 earnings guidance and longer-term prospects when it reports its first quarter results on May 6, after it completed its three-part deal with Novartis and reiterated that it will return GBP4 billion of the proceeds from the deal to shareholders.
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COMPANIES - FTSE 250
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HellermannTyton Group said its pretax profit more than doubled in 2014 due to revenue growth that was particularly driven by automotive demand and a sharp drop in finance costs, and said 2015 had got off to a strong start. The maker of ties, insulation and protection systems for cables reported a pretax profit of EUR72.2 million for 2014, up from EUR35.1 million in 2013, as revenue grew to EUR596.9 million, from EUR538.0 million, and finance costs dropped sharply. HellermannTyton said it would pay a final dividend of 5.63 euro cents for 2014, up from 5.23 cents in 2013, bringing its total dividend to 8.45 cents, up from 6.55 cents.
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Alent reported a fall in 2014 pretax profit on the back of lower revenue and a doubling of its one-off costs, but shares in the group rose after as its underlying profit came in ahead of 2013. Alent, which supplies surface treatment plating chemicals and electronics assembly materials, said its underlying operating profit, excluding exceptional costs, rose to GBP91.5 million against GBP88 million last year. Including the exceptional costs, which totalled GBP20.6 million in 2014 against half that in 2013, pretax profit fell to GBP73.4 million from GBP77.7 million. Alent said it would hike its total dividend for the year to 9 pence per share from 8.6 pence, with its final dividend at 6 pence per share.
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Hiscox reported a 6% fall in pretax profit in 2014 as challenging market conditions persist for specialty insurers due to pricing pressure, abundant capital in reinsurance and a tough environment for investment returns. In a statement, the Lloyd's of London insurer said it made a GBP231.1 million pretax profit in 2014, compared with GBP244.5 million in the prior year. The group increased its dividend to 22.5 pence per share from 21.0 pence, while also raising its special distribution to 45.0 pence from 36.0 pence.
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Amlin reported a drop in pretax profit in 2014 amid pressure on investment returns and a lower underwriting result. Nevertheless, Amlin said it would increase its ordinary dividend for the year by 3.8% to 27.0 pence per share, while also moving to declare a special dividend of 15.0 pence per share, citing confidence in its capital position. In a statement, Amlin said it made a GBP258.7 million pretax profit in 2014, compared with GBP325.7 million in 2013.
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Grafton Group said its has bought mechanical engineering product business TG Lynes, a deal that boosts its presence in the sector and is expected to boost group earnings right away. The Irish builders merchants and DIY company, said TG Lynes has an established and strong position in the mechanical services market in London and the South East of England and trades from a distribution facility in Enfield, North London.
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Ultra Electronics Holdings posted a massive fall in pretax profit for 2014, hit by the early termination of a contract in Oman, though the group said that excluding the impact of the Oman contract, its results were broadly in line with its expectations. The company's statutory pretax profit fell to GBP21.5 million from GBP49.3 million last year. Excluding the termination of its Oman Airport IT contract, pretax profit rose to GBP68.4 million against GBP45.1 million. Ultra said it will pay a final dividend of 31.1 pence per share, against 29.5 pence a year earlier, and said its total dividend for the year would rise 5.0% to 44.3 pence from 42.2 pence in 2013.
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Senior reported a fall in pretax profit in 2014 despite a rise in revenue, dragged back by the strength of sterling against the euro and the dollar over the year. The manufacturing and engineering company said its pretax profit for the year was GBP80.6 million, down from GBP83.8 million in 2013, although profit would have risen 2% if exchange rates had remained the same.
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COMPANIES - LONDON MAIN MARKET AND AIM
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UK chocolate maker Thorntons reported a drop in both profit and revenue for the first half of the year, and gave a cautious outlook for the remainder of the year, as the group continues to be hit by trading weakness in its UK commercial business. The company said its performance in the first half of the year was "disappointing" after the group's profit before tax and exceptional items fell by 8.8% in the half-year to January 10 to GBP6.5 million, from GBP7.2 million last year, while revenue fell 8.2% to GBP128.2 million from GBP139.7 million.
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Coms CEO David Brieth Resigns But Will Continue As Consultant; Brieth Grants Company No-Cost 3-Year License To AskMerlin Software; Coms Intends To Make Senior Appointments To Management Team, Strengthen Board
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Rangers International Football Club said Chairman David Somers has resigned from the boards of both the company and its subsidiaries with immediate effect. Somers's resignation comes less than a week after James Easdale stepped down as a non-executive director and ahead of a shareholder meeting set for the Ibrox Stadium in Glasgow on Friday to vote on a proposal by shareholder Dave King to remove the club's entire board.
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COMPANIES - UK OTHER
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Energy consultancy Wood Mackenzie is understood to be preparing to float on the stock market in a deal that could value the company at up to GBP2 billion, the Financial Times reported. The company, owned by US private equity firm Hellman & Friedman, has hired investment bank Lazard in recent weeks to advise on a possible listing in London. The FT earlier had reported that US companies Verisk Analytics Inc and McGraw-Hill Financial Inc had made bids for the Edinburgh-based company that value it at GBP1.6 billion.
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COMPANIES - INTERNATIONAL
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South Korean giant Samsung Electronics launched its new flagship Galaxy S6 smartphone in two forms: regular and edge, which will sport a curved-edge display on both sides with a metal frame and glass body. Samsung unveiled the models in Barcelona on Sunday, ahead of the Mobile World Congress.
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French telecom major Orange, previously known as France Telecom, is said to be looking at a merger with Italian phone carrier Telecom Italia SpA, according to media reports. The reported Franco-Italian merger will create a new European behemoth amid the wave of consolidation across the European region. Orange's interest in pursuing a merger was reported earlier by French newspaper Journal du Dimanche. However, Telecom Italia confirmed Sunday that there were no negotiations between the two companies, but just an exchange of points of view between the two management teams.
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Billionaire Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway reported that its fourth-quarter 2014 net earnings decreased 17% as investment gains declined, but operating earnings increased. Net earnings attributable to shareholders for the quarter declined to USD4.16 billion, or USD2,529 per Class A share, from USD4.99 billion or USD3,035 per Class A share in the previous year. Investment and derivative gains was USD192 million, compared to USD1.214 billion in the prior year.
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German carmaker BMW announced it will take on a record 8,000 new workers worldwide in light of its continuing commercial success in 2015. More than 5,000 of the new jobs will be created in Germany, according to chief human resources manager Milagros Caina-Andree.
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Monday's Scheduled AGMs/EGMs

Dunelm Group
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By Tom Waite; thomaslwaite@alliancenews.com; @thomaslwaite

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