Michelmersh Brick Holdings Share News (MBH)

LONDON (Alliance News) - UK shares have opened narrowly mixed Friday, following the surprise actions by the European Central Bank on Thursday and ahead of US non-farm payroll numbers later in the day.

There was some good economic news for the eurozone early Friday. German industrial production grew in July by the most in over two years, exceeding economists' expectations by a wide margin.

Shares in BP are falling again at the open, down 1.0%, after dropping at the close Thursday on news that it faces a potentially much larger fine for the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

Here is what you need to know at the UK market open:
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MARKETS
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FTSE 100: down 0.1% at 6,873.98
FTSE 250: marginally down at 15,988.96
AIM ALL-SHARE: marginally up at 777.68
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Hang Seng: down 0.3% at 25,236.09
Nikkei 225: closed down 0.1% at 15,668.68
DJIA: closed down 0.1% at 17,069.58
S&P 500: closed down 0.2% at 1,997.65
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GBP-USD: flat at USD1.6325
EUR-USD: flat at USD1.2943

GOLD: up at USD1,264.30 per ounce
OIL (Brent): up at USD101.92 a barrel

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

09:30 UK Consumer Inflation Expectations
10:00 EU Gross Domestic Product
13:30 US Nonfarm Payrolls and Unemployment Rate
13:30 Canada Unemployment Rate
15:00 Ivey Purchasing Managers Index
15:15 US Philadelphia Fed's Plosser speech
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German industrial production grew the most since early 2012 in July, exceeding economists' expectations, data from Destatis showed. The seasonally adjusted industrial production increased 1.9% from June, when output grew a revised 0.4%. Economists had forecast production growth of 0.4% following the original 0.3% gain in June. The latest growth in industrial production was the strongest since March 2012, when production increased 2.2%. Production grew for a second straight month in July, after declining for three months.
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A leading indicator of economic activity in Japan continued to increase in July, though at a less than expected rate, preliminary figures from Cabinet Office showed. The leading index rose to 106.5 in July from 105.9 in June, when it had risen for the first time in five months. Economists had expected the index to rise to 107.1.
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NATO leaders were assessing the global threat posed by the Islamic State insurgency in Iraq at a summit in Wales on Thursday, while the radical group kidnapped at least 50 men accused of burning its flag. "The international community as a whole has an obligation to stop the Islamic State from advancing further," NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said at the start of the two-day meeting at a luxury golf resort in the city of Newport.
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NATO leaders on Thursday expressed their unanimous and unswerving support for Ukraine and vowed to help it develop its military as it battles pro-Russian separatists in the east. In a statement issued after a meeting in Wales with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, the alliance's 28 heads of state and government also accused Russia of fomenting one of the worst crises in Europe since the end of the Cold War. "Despite Russia's denials, Russian armed forces are engaged in direct military operations in Ukraine; Russia continues to supply weapons to militants in eastern Ukraine; and it maintains thousands of combat-ready troops on its border with Ukraine," they said.
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BROKER RATING CHANGES
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BERENBERG RAISES RBS PRICE TARGET TO 250 (210) PENCE - 'SELL'
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BERENBERG RAISES ASHTEAD GROUP PRICE TARGET TO 1170 (1145) PENCE - 'BUY'
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GOLDMAN SACHS CUTS BP PRICE TARGET TO 485 (510) PENCE - 'NEUTRAL'
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COMPANIES - FTSE 100
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BP late Thursday said it will immediately appeal a ruling by a US court stating that it had acted with gross negligence in the lead-up to the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill. US District Judge Carl Barbier ruled that the company was grossly negligent, and that the company's activities at the Macondo well amounted to wilful misconduct. However, BP said it "strongly disagrees" with the decision, and believes that the ruling is not supported by the evidence at trial. "The law is clear that proving gross negligence is a very high bar that was not met in this case," the company said in a statement. The court has not yet ruled on the penalty to BP, or the number of barrels spilled. However the ruling could just under quadruple the fine enforced on the company under the Clean Water Act.
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Smith & Nephew has agreed to pay a USD11.3 million fine to settle allegations that it sold the US government devices it claimed were made in the US, but actually came from Malaysia, Reuters reported late Thursday. The settlement was filed Wednesday, ending a whistle-blower lawsuit brought in 2008 by former Smith & Nephew information technology manager Samuel Cox, the report said.
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Tullow Oil said it has agreed to sell some of its gas assets in the Netherlands to a subsidiary of Mercuria Energy Group Ltd for EUR62.7 million, part of its strategy to sell its North Sea gas assets so that it can focus on conventional light oil. In a statement, the company said it is selling it operated and non-operated L12/L15 block interests and non-operated Q4 and Q5 block interests by selling its Tullow Netherlands BV subsidiary to Mercuria Energy subsidiary AU Energy BV.
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COMPANIES - FTSE 250
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Bank of Georgia Holdings moved to update investors on its medium-term strategic goals, revealing that it will consider one-off special dividends in light of potential asset sales over the coming years, while it is also targeting initial public offerings for two of its business divisions. In a statement, Bank of Georgia Holdings said it expects to continue to scale up in its insurance and healthcare business division by acquiring hospitals, while aiming to IPO it during 2015. The company is also targeting an IPO of its affordable housing business - in which it is aiming for an internal rate of return of about 40% - as a fund in 2016/2017.
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International Public Partnerships said it would receive a pro-rata share of GBP11 million from the order made by Stagecoach South West Trains Ltd earlier this week for 150 new passenger carriages from Angel Trains Ltd. IPP owns a 4.8% stake in Angel Trains, the train leasing company, and said its pro-rata share from the GBP220 million order would be around GBP11 million.
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COMPANIES - LONDON MAIN MARKET AND AIM
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The UK property and construction industry is likely to face a prolonged brick shortage, as major brick makers in the country attempt to repair their businesses after a period in the doldrums during the financial downturn, the chief executive of one the UK's largest producer of handmade and machine-made bricks told Alliance News. Martin Warner, chief executive of Michelmersh Brick Holdings PLC, said the UK's brick companies are looking to avoid “boom and bust”, and housebuilders may have to look to brick suppliers in Europe to fill the gap.
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ATLAS Mara Co-Nvest, the investment vehicle backed by former Barclays PLC boss Bob Diamond, Friday said it has exercised an option over a 20.9% stake in Union Bank of Nigeria PLC, bringing its entire holding in the business to 29.9%. In a statement, Atlas Mara said it will purchase the 20.9% stake in UBN from Asset Management Corp of Nigeria for about USD270.0 million.
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Laura Ashley Holdings expressed confidence for the remainder of the year, as it saw profit rise in the 26 weeks to July 26 in what it called an "extremely competitive sector." The fashion and home furnishings retailer maintained its interim dividend at 1.00 pence per share. The company posted a pretax profit of GBP8.5 million, up from GBP7.4 million in the previous year, as revenue rose to GBP144.0 million from GBP137.3 million. Total UK retail sales up were 3.8% to GBP124.6 million from GBP120.0 million, with e-commerce sales up 6.1%.
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Iodine explorer and producer Iofina said Thomas Becker has been appointed as its new president and chief executive with immediate effect. Following Becker's appointment, co-founder Jeffery Ploen, who was appointed as the interim chief executive in April following the departures of Chief Executive George Lantz and Chief Finance Officer Gary Gatchell, will return to his role as a non-executive director. Becker is currently an executive director of Iofina and is the president and chief executive of Iofina Chemical Inc, the specialty chemical arm of the business.
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EMIS Group raised its interim dividend as it saw profit rise in the half year to end-June, and said it expects its improved performance to continue into the second half of the year. The healthcare software and services company proposed an interim dividend of 9.2 pence, up 15% from 8.0 pence in the previous year. It reported a pretax profit of GBP12.6 million in the first half of 2014, up from GBP12.0 million in the same period the previous year, as revenue rose to GBP66.4 million from GBP47.1 million, although this was partly offset by higher operating expenses and a GBP5.3 million amortisation charge relating to software purchased externally.
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Low & Bonar warned that it now expects its profit to be flat or rise only marginally in the current financial year, after experiencing a drop in demand across its European civil engineering markets and slower-than-expected order intake in its Saudi Arabian joint venture. In a trading update, the performance materials engineer said it now expects that profit before tax, amortisation and non-recurring items for the year to end-November will be between GBP25.3 million and GBP26.5 million, compared with the GBP25.3 million it reported in its last financial year.
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Newspaper and magazine distributor John Menzies has named the former Serco UK and Europe head, Jeremy Stafford, as its chief executive officer.
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Nakama Group said it has increased headcount in all its offices to meet growing demand for its contract and permanent services at home and abroad, after trading improved strongly in recent weeks. In a statement ahead of the recruitment consultancy's annual general meeting, Non-Executive Chairman Ken Ford said the company had experienced growing demand since it put out its last earnings report at the end of July, and revenue and net fee income have increased year-on-year. He added that the company expects to meet its internal budgets for the current financial year.
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COMPANIES - INTERNATIONAL
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Aircraft manufacturer Boeing projects China will be the leading passenger airplane market by 2033, the Seattle-based company announced Thursday. Boeing expects Chinese airlines to purchase 6,020 new airplanes over the next 20 years, valued at 870 billion dollars. Chinese carriers will take delivery of nearly 45% of the total demand for airplanes in the Asia Pacific region during the forecast period, the report said.
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Google Inc has agreed to settle a US Federal Trade Commission complaint alleging that the internet giant unfairly billed consumers for millions of dollars in unauthorized charges incurred by children using mobile apps downloaded from the Google Play app store for use on Android mobile devices. Google will provide full refunds, with a minimum payment of USD19 million, to consumers who were charged for kids' purchases without authorization of the account holder.
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Tesla Motors will build its USD5 billion battery plant in the western state of Nevada, Governor Brian Sandoval and Tesla's Elon Musk announced Thursday in Nevada during a press conference. "The gigafactory is an important step in advancing the cause of sustainable transportation and will enable the mass production of compelling electric vehicles for decades to come," said Musk, Tesla chief executive. Tesla is to build lithium ion batteries at the factory as part of a strategy to bring down the cost of their electric cars.
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Friday's Scheduled AGMs/EGMs

Latchways
Better Capital PCC
Circle Oil
Man Group
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By Tom Waite; thomaslwaite@alliancenews.com; @thomaslwaite

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