MTMY.L Share News (MTMY)

LONDON (Alliance News) - UK shares have opened lower Monday, on continued concerns about the eurozone economy and weak leads from Asia and Wall Street.

In a data-light day, Germany's wholesale prices were reported prior to the open to have declined again in September, marking the fifteenth consecutive month of drop in prices.

Miners are once again bucking a negative market trend, with Randgold Resources and Anglo American leading FTSE 100 gainers.

Here is what you need to know at the UK market open:
----------
MARKETS
----------
FTSE 100: down 0.4% at 6,315.41
FTSE 250: down 0.6% at 14,550.18
AIM ALL-SHARE: down 0.4% at 705.99
----------
Hang Seng: up 0.2% at 23,136.91
Nikkei 225: market closed for Health-Sports Day
DJIA: closed down 0.7% at 16,544.10
S&P 500: closed down 1.2% at 1,906.13
----------
GBP-USD: marginally up at USD1.6085
EUR-USD: up at USD1.2659

GOLD: up at USD1,232.14 per ounce
OIL (Brent): down at USD88.57 a barrel

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

holiday Japan Health-Sports Day
holiday US Columbus Day
holiday Canada Thanksgiving Day
17:30 US Fed's Evans Speech
----------
China's trade surplus decreased more than expected in September while exports and imports growth exceeded expectations, data from the General Administration of Customs showed. The trade surplus came in at USD31 billion in September, which was less than the USD41.41 billion expected by the economists. In August, a surplus of USD49.8 billion was recorded. Exports grew 15.3% year-over-year in September, which was faster than the 12% rise expected by economists. In August, exports had increased 9.4%. Imports recovered by 7%, defying expectations for a 2% decline. In August, imports had dropped 2.4%.
----------
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said on Saturday that China did not face a hard economic landing, despite increasing pressures upon its growth performance. "In the face of complexities at home and abroad, the Chinese economy faces heavy downward pressure," Li told a summit of business leaders from China and Europe in Hamburg. "However, it has managed to maintain a stable performance. There will not be the hard landing," Li said in a speech, which brought to an end the two-day conference, attended by a record more than 550 business leaders.
----------
Hundreds of Hong Kong police began removing some barricades from protest sites early Monday, as pro-democracy demonstrations enter into their third week. Police said they were removing barricades in the central business district and the dense residential area of Mong Kok in Kowloon in order to relieve traffic, but do not intend to "clear the scene." Protesters who had slept on the streets ran to stand behind barricades, but did not try to physically interfere with police actions.
----------
Germany's wholesale prices declined at a faster rate in September, data from Destatis showed. Wholesale prices fell 0.9% year-over-year in September following the 0.6% fall in August. This marked the fifteenth consecutive month of drop in prices.
----------
A senior Kurdish official Sunday said the latest US airstrikes around the besieged town of Kobane have been "very useful," while the US said "some progress" has been made against Islamic State (IS) extremists in the area. "Clashes today are not as fierce as they were yesterday," the Kobane administration's deputy foreign minister, Idris Nassan, told dpa. "The latest airstrikes were very, very useful. The airstrikes continued overnight and on Sunday, hitting areas in the south and east of Kobane, which lies on Syria's border with Turkey.
----------
More than 17,000 Russian troops have been ordered to pull back from the border with Ukraine by Russian President Vladimir Putin, a Kremlin spokesman confirmed overnight to Sunday. The troops, who were participating in military manoeuvres in Rostov near the Russia-Ukraine border, are now in the process of leaving the area. Rostov is not far from parts of Ukraine where government troops are engaged in fighting with separatist militants despite a ceasefire signed in September.
----------
Russian President Vladimir Putin will attend the G20 summit in Brisbane, Australia on November 15-16, Federal Treasurer Joe Hockey said Sunday. Hockey told broadcaster ABC that he confirmed Putin's attendance at the meeting of leaders of wealthy nations during talks with Russian officials at a meeting of G20 finance ministers in Washington. "That has certainly been the consensus of other members of the G20 that President Putin should attend," Hockey told ABC.
----------
The International Monetary Fund's member countries are determined to take "bold and ambitious measures" to invigorate the slow-growing global economy, the Washington-based crisis lender's board said Saturday. "We are committed to lifting potential growth and to creating a more robust, sustainable, balanced and job-rich global economy," the managing committee of the IMF board said in its statement from annual meetings in Washington.
----------
US and British officials plan to simulate the collapse of a major global bank to better coordinate their responses to such a financial crisis, the US Treasury said Saturday in Washington. US Treasury Secretary Jack Lew and British Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne will lead the joint exercise during a meeting Monday at the Washington headquarters of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. US Federal Reserve Board Chairwoman Janet Yellen and Bank of England Governor Mark Carney were scheduled to participate, along with leaders of other US and British financial regulatory agencies. Monday is a US government holiday for Columbus Day.
----------
A health care provider who worked at the Dallas hospital where a Liberian man was treated for Ebola tested positive for the deadly virus, health authorities said Sunday. "We don't know what occurred in the care of the index patient, the original patient in Dallas," US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Tom Frieden said. "But at some point, there was a breach in protocol and that breach led to infection." Frieden warned that there may be more US cases in the coming days, but said authorities were working to ensure that the virus stays contained. The CDC is investigating further possible breaches of protocol that could lead to more cases.
----------
An eight-hour simulation involving 750 medical personnel and actors with mock infections left British Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt "doubly reassured" that emergency services could cope should there be an outbreak of the disease in Britain. Prime Minister David Cameron ordered the unannounced readiness drill amid growing fears of the international spread of the haemorrhagic fever, which has killed more than 4,000 people this year in West Africa.
----------
A powerful typhoon pounded the southern Japanese island of Kyushu Monday and was projected to lash wide areas of the country, weather authorities said. One Chinese person was missing in Shizuoka, central Japan, after he was swamped by high waves, broadcast NHK reported. At least 52 people were injured as Vongfong, the second typhoon in a week, brought heavy rain and strong winds.
----------
England had Wayne Rooney to thank for a difficult 1-0 win away to Estonia which maintained their 100% record in Euro 2016 qualifying Sunday. England needed 74 minutes to break down the Estonian resistance which ended when Rooney curled home a free kick to secure a third qualifying win. Lithuania missed the chance to join them on nine points by losing 2-0 at home to Slovenia.
----------
BROKER RATING CHANGES
---------
BERNSTEIN RAISES CENTRICA TO 'MARKET-PERFORM' ('UNDERPERFORM') - TARGET 300 P.
----------
TRADERS: JEFFERIES RAISES ASTRAZENECA TO 'BUY' ('HOLD')
----------
NOMURA RAISES ANTOFAGASTA TO NEUTRAL FROM REDUCE
----------
COMPANIES - FTSE 100
----------
Medical devices maker Smith & Nephew said a Phase III study in North America into developmental venous leg ulcer treatment HP802-247 failed to meet its primary endpoint, and there was no statistically significant improvement in healing compared with a placebo. In a statement, the company said it will now full analyse the efficacy data and study methodology, while a second Phase III study in the EU, which is expected to report in 2016, will continue while the analysis is completed.
----------
The upheaval among senior executives at Tesco continues with two more directors heading for the door as Britain’s biggest retailer continues its investigation into a GBP250 million hole in profits, the Financial Times reported. Jonathan Lloyd, company secretary at Tesco, will leave the retailer next March after serving his notice period. Ken Hanna, audit committee chairman and non-executive director, is also expected to stand down when his six-year tenure comes to an end later this year, the paper said, adding that neither departure is linked to the discovery of the overstatement in profits
----------
COMPANIES - FTSE 250
----------
Packaging components company Essentra said revenue was up 8% on the year at constant currencies in the third quarter, as higher sales of components and protection products and filter products offset a decline in sales of its porous technologies, meaning its on track to hit the targets set out in its strategic plan three years ago. In a statement, the company said like-for-like sales growth was 7% in the third quarter of 2014. Like-for-like sales also exclude the impact of acquisitions and disposals.
----------
BTG said it will start selling its drug-eluting bead and embolisation products, DC Bead and Bead Block, directly to customers in 11 European countries from April 1, 2015, a move that comes after it built up its direct sales force in the region for a different product. The company's DC Bead and Bead Block products are currently sold in Europe by Terumo Corp, but that contract expires on March 31, 2015.
----------
Melrose Industries said it has reached a deal to sell its Bridon division to the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan for GBP365 million on a debt and cash free basis, money it will use to pay down debt and to finance a return of capital "in due course". As part of the transaction, which is expected to complete before the end of 2014, Melrose will contribute GBP6.7 million into the Bridon Group (2013) Pension Scheme, which will remain with Bridon on disposal. Bridon supplies high-performance ropes for energy, mining and industrial applications.
----------
Access Industries on Friday said its offer for Perform Group will stay open until further notice, because it it is currently giving consideration to extending certain limited corporate governance protections, including mechanisms for a future exit, to the remaining minority shareholders in Perform.
----------
COMPANIES - LONDON MAIN MARKET AND AIM
----------
Aldermore may be forced to cut the price of its initial public offering or cancel the deal altogether, The Times reported on Saturday. According to the report, investors are shunning the private equity-backed bank's flotation amid a collapse in equities. The newspaper said that advisers to Aldermore are trying to save the IPO with bankers and the bank's management attempting to persuade American investors to back the float after getting a "frosty reception" from European funds.
----------
Fyffes said Friday that the Irish High Court granted the necessary order for the revision of the companies' merger deal, under which Fyffes shareholders will receive 0.1113 ChiquitaFyffes for each Fyffes share they hold and Chiquita shareholders will receive one ChiquitaFyffes share for each Chiquita Share they hold. Upon the completion of the companies' combination, Chiquita shareholders are expected to own about 59.6% of ChiquitaFyffes, an increase from 50.7% under the original agreement. and Fyffes shareholders are now expected to own approximately 40.4% of ChiquitaFyffes, on a fully diluted basis.
----------
Matomy Media Group said French advertising and PR giant Publicis Groupe has acquired a 20% equity stake in the company, and has the option to acquire a further 4.9% shareholding within the next 45 days. In a statement, Matomy Media, a digital performance-based advertising company, said Publicis Groupe will acquire 17.9 million shares from existing Matomy shareholders for 227 pence per share, representing a 20% stake in the company and making the deal worth GBP40.6 million. It said Publicis has also been granted an irrevocable option, valid for 45 days, to acquire a further 4.4 million shares, worth a further 4.9% stake, from its shareholders for the same price. Matomy Media said Publicis would be its biggest shareholder. Its second biggest shareholder would be Ilan Shiloah, its current chairman, who is selling 8.94% in the company to Publicis.
----------
Quindell said it is confident of meeting the upper end of market expectations for the full year, as the company issued a third-quarter trading statement. The professional services company reported gross sales of about GBP200 million in the quarter ended September 30, incorporating revenue of about GBP198 million, increased from GBP92.1 million in the corresponding quarter last year. Quindell said the rise was due primarily to strong organic and synergistic growth, adding that businesses acquired in the last 12 months represented less than 10% of revenue. According to Quindell, third-quarter adjusted operating cash flow is "significantly ahead" of expectations and guidance, with an inflow of about GBP9.4 million, as opposed to original guidance of breakeven.
----------
Rare Earth Minerals said it has discovered rare earth elements in Southern Greenland near Narsarsuaq, after it got the results from samples taken during a recent exploration programme. In a statement, it said it had the results from 16 samples had exceeded its expectations, with five of 16 samples exceeding 7,000 parts per million Total Rare Earth Oxides and a further two exceeding 2,000 parts per million Total Rare Earth Oxides. The highest value was 18,179 parts per million.
----------
Scotgold Resources said it will undertake a 1-for-1 fully underwritten rights issue to raise funds to put in on a more "robust" financial position, using the money for exploration work, debt retirement, working capital and developing its Cononish mine. In a statement, the company said the rights issue shares will be issued at AUD0.006 a share. Its has been fully underwritten by Non-Executive Director Nathaniel le Roux and new Non-Executive Chairman Alexander Littlejohn.
----------
Oxford Biomedica said it has bought the freehold of the Windrush Court office and laboratory facilities in Transport Way, Oxford, for GBP3.2 million, and will move its operations there in stages over the next 18 months.
----------
Aquarius Platinum said management has suspended operations at Kwezi Shaft pending a technical review of the area, following a fatal injury to Pedro Tafulane Nhabinde, a team leader at Aquarius Platinum South Africa's Kroondal mine. The team leader was killed in a "fall of ground incident" on Saturday, the company said.
----------
COMPANIES - INTERNATIONAL
----------
Norwegian energy firm Statoil announced the sale of its 15.5% share in the Shah Deniz field, located on the deep water shelf of the Caspian Sea, to the Malaysian oil and gas company Petronas for USD2.2 billion. The firm has sold its 15.5% participating interest in the Shah Deniz production sharing agreement, 15.5% share in the South Caucasus Pipeline Company, 15.5% share in the SCPC holding company, and 12.4% share in the Azerbaijan Gas Supply Co.
----------
Monday's Scheduled AGMs/EGMs

No Events Scheduled
----------
By Tom Waite; thomaslwaite@alliancenews.com; @thomaslwaite

Copyright 2014 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.