Macfarlane Grp. Share News (MACF)

LONDON (Alliance News) - Markets are lower across the board Wednesday, with the FTSE 100 underperforming on yet more bad news from the big listed supermarket chains.

Sainsbury's reported reported lower sales in its second quarter and cut its full year like-for-like sales forecast. Sainsbury's is down 2.4%, Morrisons down 3.5% and Tesco down 1.2%. Tesco also confirmed it is being investigated by the UK Financial Conduct Authority over its recent profit revision.

At the other end of the table, Royal Mail is the leading FTSE 100 gainers, up 2.7%. It was upgraded by UBS to Neutral from Sell Wednesday.

Here is what you need to know at the UK market open:
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MARKETS
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FTSE 100: down 0.4% at 6,599.10
FTSE 250: down 0.2% at 15,349.94
AIM ALL-SHARE: down 0.2% at 748.63
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Hang Seng: market closed for National Day
Nikkei 225: closed down 0.6% at 16,082.25
DJIA: closed down 0.2% at 17,042.90
S&P 500: closed down 0.3% at 1,972.29
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GBP-USD: down at USD1.6206
EUR-USD: down at USD1.2615

GOLD: down at USD1,206.67 per ounce
OIL (Brent): down at USD94.63 a barrel

(changes since end of previous GMT day)
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ECONOMICS AND GENERAL
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Wednesday's Key Economic Events still to come
(all times British Summer Time)

08:45 Italy Markit Manufacturing PMI
08:50 France Markit Manufacturing PMI
08:55 Germany Markit Manufacturing PMI
09:00 EU Markit Manufacturing PMI
09:30 UK Markit Manufacturing PMI
12:00 US MBA Mortgage Applications
13:15 US ADP Employment Change
14:30 Canada RBC Manufacturing PMI
14:45 US Markit Manufacturing PMI
15:00 US Construction Spending
15:00 US ISM Manufacturing PMI and Prices Paid
15:30 US EIA Crude Oil Stocks
n/a US Total Vehicle Sales
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China's manufacturing sector expanded at a stable rate in September, exceeding economists' expectations, figures from the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing, or CFLP, showed. The manufacturing purchasing managers' index, or PMI, came in at 51.1 in September, the same as in August. Economists had expected the index to decrease to 51.
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An index measuring business sentiment in Japan showed mild upside in the third quarter of 2014, the Bank of Japan revealed on Wednesday in its quarterly Tankan business survey. The large manufacturers index came in with a score of 13, beating forecasts for 10 and up from 12 in the second quarter.
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Ireland's manufacturing sector expanded at a slower rate in September, survey figures from Markit Economics showed. The seasonally adjusted Investec purchasing managers' index, or PMI, fell to 55.7 in September from 57.3 in August. This marked the sixteenth consecutive month of growth in the manufacturing sector.
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Thousands of pro-democracy protesters turned their backs on the Chinese flag-raising ceremony in Hong Kong early Wednesday marking China's National Day. Fireworks planned for the evening were cancelled, city officials said. Crowds were blocking major roads in several districts, continuing a protest that began Sunday. Protesters are demanding reforms ahead of the 2017 elections, including the public nomination of candidates for next chief executive.
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Islamic State fighters have overrun Kurdish defensive lines around the besieged town of Kobane on Syria's border with Turkey, a monitoring group said Tuesday. The jihadists have advanced to within 2 kilometres of the town, Rami Abdel-Rahman, director of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, told dpa. In Iraq, British warplanes carried out their first strikes on Islamic State targets there, Defence Secretary Michael Fallon said in London.
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Afghanistan on Tuesday signed a long-delayed security pact with the US and a status of forces agreement with NATO. The deals were signed a day after Ashraf Ghani was sworn in as president, in a power-sharing arrangement. His predecessor, Hamid Karzai, who had ruled the country since the US-led invasion in 2001, had refused to sign the agreement. The bilateral security agreement allows 9,800 US soldiers to stay in the country after the NATO-led coalition ends its combat operations at the end of the year.
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US public health authorities are working to identify people who had direct contact with a man who was confirmed Tuesday as the first case of the current Ebola strain diagnosed outside of Africa. The patient is critically ill and in isolation at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas, Texas, US health authorities said. The patient flew to Dallas from Liberia earlier this month to visit family and developed symptoms on September 24. The patient sought care two days later, and then was checked into in intensive care unit of the hospital on Sunday. Tom Frieden, chief of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), said that he believed the patient, who was not identified, was not infectious while on the flight. Frieden said there was "zero" risk to fellow airline passengers.
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The leaders of US and India said Tuesday that they intend to deepen their relationship by focusing on their shared democratic values. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Barack Obama held a second round of face-to-face meetings after a working dinner on Monday - a rare honour of back-to-back visits to the White House extended to few guests.
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BROKER RATING CHANGES
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UBS RAISES ROYAL MAIL TO 'NEUTRAL' ('SELL') - TARGET 400 (450) PENCE
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JPMORGAN INITIATES SSP GROUP WITH 'OVERWEIGHT' - TARGET 300 PENCE
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JPMORGAN RAISES BALFOUR BEATTY TO 'NEUTRAL' ('UNDERWEIGHT') - TARGET 200 (220) PENCE
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GOLDMAN INITIATES ZOOPLA PROPERTY WITH 'NEUTRAL' - TARGET 242 PENCE
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COMPANIES - FTSE 100
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J Sainsbury cut its full year like-for-like sales forecast, after it said trading in the second quarter slumped, a move that had been expected by analysts after the whole sector was hit by competition from discounters and premium grocers. The supermarket also admitted that the sector is going through a big change as consumer shopping habits change and price deflation has set in. Sainsbury's, the UK's third-largest supermarket chain by market share, revealed that sales momentum weakened further in the 16 weeks to September 27, reporting a decline in like-for-like sales in the second quarter of 2.8% year-on-year excluding fuel, and down 4.1% including fuel, its third consecutive quarterly decline.
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Tesco said it had been notified by the Financial Conduct Authority that the UK regulator has started a full investigation after Tesco admitted it had overstated its profit guidance for the first half of its financial year. In a statement, Tesco said it would continue to cooperate fully with the FCA and other relevant authorities considering the matter. Tesco has already secured Deloitte to conduct an independent review into the issue.
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The new chief executive of Tesco has put its loss-making video-streaming business, Blinkbox, up for sale, The Times reported. Dave Lewis is understood to be reviewing all options for the business, including closing it should it be unable to attract a buyer, the paper said. Lewis is understood to have decided the business is a distraction is said to have informed senior Blinkbox staff about the decision when he visited the company's offices in London on Friday.
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BAE Systems said its US unit it has privately placed USD1.2 billion of guaranteed notes with institutional investors, and it will use the funds to repay some debts and for general corporate purposes. In a statement, the company said its US unit, BAE Systems Holdings Inc, issued the notes, and the parent company is guarantor. The notes consist of USD800 million of notes paying 3.800% interest and maturing on October 7, 2024, and USD300 million of notes paying 4.750% interest and maturing in October 7, 2044.
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Defence contractor Babcock International Group said it has won a GBP2.6 billion contract extension to continue providing services at the Clyde and Devonport naval bases through to March 2020. In a statement, the company said the new agreement, which falls under the Ministry of Defence's maritime support delivery framework and replaces the existing warship support modernisation initiative contracts, will also cover a number of surface ship projects.
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A group of investors has joined forces to sue Lloyds Banking Group and five former executives of the bank, alleging they were misled about the British government-arranged acquisition of HBOS in 2008 which they claim wiped around GBP6 billion off the value of their shares, Reuters reported on Tuesday. The claim by the Lloyds Shareholder Action Group names former chairman Victor Blank, former chief executive Eric Daniels, former finance chief Timothy Tookey, former retail banking head Helen Weir, and former wholesale banking boss George Truett Tate.
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Three former traders at Barclays, who were charged in the UK with manipulating the London Interbank Offered Rate (Libor), sued the bank in a US court claiming it was still responsible for covering their legal fees under a law protecting whistleblowers, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday. Alex Pabon, Jay Merchant and Ryan Reich said they had cooperated with authorities in both countries with the widespread investigations into the manipulation of the benchmark interest rate. They claim they were acting in the interest of Barclays, Bloomberg said.
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US streaming service Netflix is set to sign a deal with telecoms groups including BT Group PLC and TalkTalk Telecom Group to make its television shows and films available via the YouView platform, the Financial Times reported on Tuesday. YouView is an internet-TV platform owned by a consortium of telecoms groups and broadcasters, also including the British Broadcasting Corp, Channel 4 and Channel 5. The FT said Netflix is expected to be made available on the platform by the end of the year and would mean British Sky Broadcasting Group is the only pay-TV company in the UK which will not be providing on-demand services from other content owners.
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COMPANIES - FTSE 250
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Estate agency Countrywide said it has decided to accelerate its capital returns policy and will Wednesday commence a share repurchase programme for up to GBP20 million. The company said it continues to target a dividend of between 35% and 45% of 2014 reported group profits after tax but before any amortisation.
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Riverstone Energy Ltd said Canadian Non-Operated Resources Corp, or CNOR, has entered into a multi-year joint venture with Bellatrix Exploration Ltd in order to accelerate the development of Bellatrix's undeveloped land holdings. FTSE 250-listed investment vehicle Riverstone committed USD90 million to CNOR in a funding round held in August.
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UBM said it will acquire events and marketing business VSS-AHC Consolidated Holdings Corp, also known as Advanstar Communications, for a total of USD972 million. The acquisition will be funded via a new USD100 million bridge facility and a GBP563 million rights issue to be launched in November. UBM plans to host a markets day ahead of the rights issue, where Chief Executive Tim Cobbold will set out its strategy for growth.
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St Modwen Properties said it expects pretax profit for the full year to November 30 to be "materially ahead" of 2013, having increased beyond existing market consensus. The company, which specialises in regenerating brownfield land across the UK, said improvement in the commercial property market continues to "gather momentum", and there is a noticeable acceleration in tenant enquiries across its sites, while occupancy levels remain high. As a result, it said, "management expectations for the full year's profit before all tax have increased beyond existing market consensus and this is now expected to be materially ahead of 2013."
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Greene King said its chief financial officer is to step down owing to ill health and has poached the finance director of rival JD Wetherspoon to replace him. Greene King said Matthew Fearn has decided to step down as CFO and as a director of the company in order to focus on his health. Fearn has been absent from his role since February suffering from a long-term illness. He will be replaced by Kirk Davis, currently the finance director at rival JD Wetherspoon. Wetherspoon confirmed the move and said it is in the process of identifying a successor.
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Enterprise Inns said it had agreed the terms of a partial refinancing of its 2018 bonds, and has also arranged a new GBP138 million non-amortising revolving credit facility on improved terms, moves that extend its debt profile and lower its interest payments. The pub operator said it had received acceptances for GBP249.5 million of its outstanding 6.500% secured bonds due in 2018, which it will buy at a cash price of 108.75% of their principal amount. It has issued GBP249.5 million of secured bonds with a coupon of 6.00% and a maturity of October 2023 instead.
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UDG Healthcare said it has formed a new joint venture with its Japanese partner CMIC Holdings Co Ltd, to be called CMIC Ashfield, in order to service the Japanese contract sales organisation market.
UDG will acquire a 49.9% stake in CMIC MPSS from CMIC Holdings to form the new venture with its Ashfield business in Japan. These two businesses have been working together in a partnership since Autumn 2012, UDG said.
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WS Atkins said it has agreed a deal to buy Houston Offshore Engineering LLC for USD73 million. The Houston, Texas-based company reported revenue of USD41 million in the year to December 31, the FTSE 250-listed group said, and has around 150 employees. Atkins said Houston Offshore has specialist experience in the design of offshore deepwater floating production platforms.
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Grafton Group said it has completed the acquisition of Gedimat-Ginion SA, a single-branch general merchants business located in Brussels for an undisclosed fee. The deal comes after the builders merchants and DIY products company acquired Belgian merchanting business Binje Ackermans SA, which trades under the MPRO brand, in a deal worth EUR20.5 million earlier this year.
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Four leading betting companies are set to introduce a voluntary ban on Wednesday on advertising free bets and free money on television before 9pm, the Financial Times reported Tuesday. William Hill PLC, Ladbrokes PLC, Paddy Power PLC and Gala Coral Group Ltd are hoping the ban will ease public concerns about the effects of aggressively-pitched advertising campaigns on younger people watching live football matches, the FT said. One insider, however, said the ban is not likely to fully satisfy the Premier League, which is concerned about how betting has become "part and parcel" of watching the modern game on television, the paper added. The Football Association, the governing body for English football, is also monitoring the impact of the ban on TV advertising around live football.
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COMPANIES - LONDON MAIN MARKET AND AIM
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MediaZest shares jumped in opening trade after the company said it won contracts in the retail and education sectors, with revenues of at least GBP580,000. The digital out-of-home advertising house said it will provide programming, development and installation services for a multi-national company and their partners on a new retail concept.
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Exhibitions firm ITE Group said that after a better than expected fourth quarter, it now expects its headline pretax profit for the full year to be ahead of current consensus. ITE expects to post revenue of GBP174 million for the full year ended Tuesday, compared to GBP193 million a year before.
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COMPANIES - INTERNATIONAL
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The online auctioneer Ebay and its payment subsidiary PayPal will separate into two independent publicly traded companies in 2015, the companies announced on their websites Tuesday. The decision was made in order to keep both businesses competitive, Ebay said. Investor Carl C Icahn, the controversial activist investor who has pushed since year's begin for the separation, praised the move and called the spin off "almost a no brainer".
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Microsoft unveiled its latest operating system Windows 10 in San Francisco Tuesday, touting the revival of features that disgruntled fans complained were missing in Windows 8. It won't be available for another year, in late 2015, although users will have a chance to try out Windows 10 starting Wednesday via the new Windows Insider program, a free technical preview for laptops and desktops.
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Wednesday's Scheduled AGMs/EGMs

Kromek Group
Macfarlane Group
Bluefield Solar Income Fund
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By Tom Waite; thomaslwaite@alliancenews.com; @thomaslwaite

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