Next Share News (NXT)

LONDON (Alliance News) - Shares have opened marginally higher in London Thursday amid a flurry of UK corporate news and European economic statistics.

Electronics retailer Dixons Retail and mobile phone retailer Carphone Warehouse confirmed they will merge in a 50/50 all-share transaction.

Here is what you need to know at the UK market open:
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MARKETS
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FTSE 100: up 0.1% at 6,884.17
FTSE 250: up 0.1% at 15,988.90
AIM ALL-SHARE: up 0.2% at 809.64
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Hang Seng: up 0.4% at 22,680.47
Nikkei 225: closed down 0.8% at 14,298.21
DJIA: closed down 0.6% at 16,613.97
S&P 500: closed down 0.5% at 1,888.53
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GBP-USD: down at USD1.6745
EUR-USD: down at USD1.3691

GOLD: down at USD1,302.76 per ounce
OIL (Brent): down at USD108.98 a barrel

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

09:00 EU ECB Monthly Report
09:00 Italy Gross Domestic Product
09:00 Russia Gross Domestic Product
10:00 UK CB Leading Economic Index
10:00 EU Consumer Price Index
10:00 EU Gross Domestic Product
13:30 US Consumer Price Index
13:30 US Jobless Claims
13:30 Canada Manufacturing Shipments
13:30 US NY Empire State Manufacturing Index
14:00 US Total Net TIC Flows
14:15 US Industrial Production and Capacity Utilization
15:00 US NAHB Housing Market Index
15:00 US Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Survey
15:30 US EIA Natural Gas Storage change
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Germany's economic growth accelerated more than expected in the first quarter, preliminary figures showed. The quarterly growth in gross domestic product doubled to 0.8% in the first quarter from 0.4% in the previous quarter, Destatis said. GDP was forecast to grow 0.7%. Destatis, however, said the factor that contributed to the strong growth at the beginning of the year was the extremely mild weather.
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The French economy remained flat in the first quarter after recovering at the end of 2013, data from the statistical office Insee showed. Gross domestic product showed nil growth from the prior quarter, while it was forecast to rise 0.1%. That follows a 0.2% expansion in the fourth quarter of 2013.
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The Japanese economy grew at an annual 5.9% in the January-to-March period thanks to last-minute purchases before the sales tax increase in April, the government said. The reading on gross domestic product was above the 4.3% growth predicted in a poll of economists by the Nikkei business daily. Consumer spending, which accounts for about 60% of gross domestic product, rose 2.1% quarter-on-quarter before the government raised the nation's sales tax in April to 8% from 5% - the first hike in 17 years.
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Anti-government protesters disrupted political talks at an air force base, after three people were killed in attacks on protest camps in Bangkok, reports said. Thousands of protesters broke into the Royal Thai Air Force Academy, despite riot police guarding the compound, Blue Sky TV reported. he station reported that the protesters forced the departure of Election Commission officials and caretaker Prime Minister Niwattumrong Boonsongpaisan, who had been scheduled to discuss the date for a fresh election.
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EU and US negotiators are to meet for a fifth time starting Monday in Washington in their efforts to create the world's largest free trade area. But questions from civil society and even some European governments about the proposed Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership have slowed things down. Just days before the next round of talks were to start, the EU Commission on Tuesday held a rare meeting with stakeholders, live-streamed on the internet, to explain one of the more controversial issues involving protection of foreign investors.
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The number of people killed in what could be Turkey's worst mining disaster rose to over 280, the government was reported as saying. No miners were found alive in the previous 12 hours as more bodies were recovered, said Energy Minister Taner Yildiz, according to the Anadolu news agency.
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A spate of wildfires in southern California burned at least 30 homes and forced the evacuation of the San Onofre nuclear power plant, authorities said Wednesday. The Los Angeles Times reported that non-essential employees were evacuated from the nuclear facility south of Los Angeles due to a nearby brush fire, but that there was no danger to the plant itself. The destroyed homes were in the community of Carlsbad, an affluent coastal town just north of San Diego, where more than 15,000 people were forced to evacuate.
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The US on Wednesday classified two jihadist groups fighting in Syria - the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant and the rival group al-Nusra Front - as "global terrorist" entities. The two groups are among the largest and most militarily effective rebel forces in Syria. Al-Nusra is the official affiliate of al-Qaeda in the war-torn Middle Eastern country and works closely with other Islamist groups fighting the regime of President Bashar al-Assad.
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BROKER RATING CHANGES
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BERENBERG INITIATES MARKS & SPENCER WITH 'HOLD' - TARGET 415 PENCE
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BERENBERG INITIATES NEXT WITH 'BUY' - TARGET 7740 PENCE
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CREDIT SUISSE CUTS ANGLO AMERICAN TO 'NEUTRAL' - TARGET 1850 PENCE
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TRADERS: MS STARTS GLAXOSMITHKLINE WITH 'OVERWEIGHT' - PRICE TARGET 1950 PENCE
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TRADERS: BERNSTEIN CUTS ROLLS-ROYCE TO 'UNDERPERFORM' ('MARKET-PERFORM')
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COMPANIES - FTSE 100
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AstraZeneca PLC said it will be presenting over 40 scientific abstracts to "demonstrate the rapid progression of its oncology pipeline" at the 50th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Ongology at the end of May. It will present data from its Phase I trial for MEDI4736, its Phase I study of AZD9291, and data from a randomised Phase II study investigation a combination of olaparid and cediranib in serous ovarian cancer, amongst others. AstraZeneca has been releasing a flurry of pipeline news over the past week, as it continued to rejected a GBP63 billion approach from US drugsmaker Pfizer Inc. A major defence AstraZeneca has given against a potential takeover is the strength of its growing pipeline, which it says is strong enough to support it as an independent company.
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London Stock Exchange FY Pretax Profit GBP284.3M Vs GBP298.9M; Revenue GBP1.09B Vs GBP726.4M; FY Dividend Up 4.4% To 30.8p; CEO: UK Economy Is Growing, We're Growing With It; CEO Says Exchange Remains Open To Russian Listings; Won't Comment On Russell Plans, Says US Very Important Market
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Marks & Spencer Group PLC's bank has made a new current account available to customers, its first with no monthly fee. In a statement, M&S Bank said customers who switch to its new current account will receive a GBP100 M&S gift card.
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Tullow Oil Says Twiga-2 Sidetrack Well In Kenya Has Found Limited Quality Oil-Bearing Sandstone; Says Ekunyuk-1 Well In Kenya Has Found Good Quality Oil Sands And Oil Shale Region
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Aviva Q1 Value Of New Business GBP224M Vs GBP209M
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Old Mutual Q1 Funds Under Management Core GBP297.1B Vs GBP293.8B
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National Grid FY Pretax Profit Up, GBP2.75BB Vs GBP2.71B; Revenues Up, GBP14.81B Vs GBP14.36B; Final Dividend Of 27.54p/Share; Executive Director Nick Winser Will Step Down After AGM In July
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Land Securities Group PLC said it doesn't expect any changes in the supply and demand balance in the London office market in the next two years, but warned that the costs of developing new buildings was rising and any new developments will require pre-lettings. The real estate investment trust focused on the London office market and UK retail properties said a lack of resilient space for businesses in London bodes well for the developments it is currently committed to, as it reported strong growth in its net asset value and profit in its last financial year thanks to the strength of the central London office market.
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COMPANIES - FTSE 250
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Electronics retailer Dixons Retail PLC and mobile phone retailer Carphone Warehouse Group PLC confirmed Thursday that they will merge in a 50/50 all-share merger. In a statement Thursday, Carphone Warehouse said the merged group will be called Dixons Carphone PLC, in what it said will create "a leader in European consumer electricals, mobiles, connectivity and related services". Current Carphone Warehouse Chairman Charles Dunstone will become the chairman of Dixons Carphone, while Carphone Warehouse Deputy Chairman Roger Taylor and Dixons Retail Chairman John Allan will become co-deputy chairmen. Dixons Chief Executive Sebastian James will become CEO of the the new company, while Carphone Warehouse Chief Executive Andrew Harrison will become deputy CEO, it said.
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Vedanta Resources PLC said pretax profit fell in its full year as higher costs at its subsidiary Sesa Sterlite and a drop in revenues due to lower commodity prices, increased payments to the government of India, and lower production from its Konkola Copper Mine and Zinc International operations hit the company. The India focused-oil and metals company said its pretax profit fell 35% to USD1.12 billion for the twelve months ended March 31 from USD1.72 billion the previous year, as revenues fell 12% to USD12.95 billion from USD14.64 billion.
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Great Portland Estates PLC said its Great Ropemaker Partnership joint venture with the BP Pension Fund's property arm has let out three floors of the new building it built at 240 Blackfriars Road in Southwark, London. The 236,700 square foot building is mainly being let by media company UBM PLC, but engineering company Ramboll UK Ltd has now let floors one to three in the building, a total of 31,140 square feet. Law firm Boodle Hatfield has also previously let some space at the new building.
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Hikma Pharmaceuticals Says It Made Strong Start To The Year; Reiterates Full Year Guidance Of Around 5% Revenue Growth
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Premier Farnell Maintains Full Year Expectations; Q1 Gross Margin Expected To Be Consistent With Q4 Previous Year
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Restaurant Group Says Its Trading In Line With Expectations, On Track For Very Satisfactory H1 Performance
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Merlin Entertainments Total Revenue Up 10.8%, Up 16.5% At Constant Currencies
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Rank Group Expects FY Operating Profit To Be In Line With Management Expectations
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Euromoney Institutional Investor Does Not Expect Significant Changes To Revenue Trends In H2
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TalkTalk Expects Modest Growth In Net Adds In FY2015, Similar Number Of Net TV Adds To 2014; Expects FY2015 Revenues To Grow At Least 4%
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Centamin Q1 Pretax Profit Down 71%, USD20.6M Vs USD71.9M
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Thomas Cook H1 Pretax Loss GBP366M Vs GBP394M
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Kier Group Named Preferred Bidder On Anglian Water Contracts Worth Up To GBP130M; Says Underlying Trading Remains On Course, Good Visibility On 2015 Earnings
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COMPANIES - ALL-SHARE AND AIM
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Target Healthcare REIT Acquires Three Care Homes For GBP13.9M
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Staffline To Acquire Avanta Enterprise Ltd For GBP65.4M; Places 2.0M Shares At GBP8.00 Per Share, Raising GBP16M; Net Consideration For Avanta, After Retained Cash, Is GBP45M, Of Which GBP25M Cash Initial, GBP20M Deferred; Staffline Says Confident Will Meet Market Expectations For 2014
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Trinity Mirror 17W Revenue Down 3%, Improving Trend Over March And April; Performance For 2014 Tracking In Line With Expectations; On Track To Deliver Cost Savings Of GBP10M In 2014
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Premier African Minerals Says Circum Minerals Has Exercised Option To Acquire Mandalore Development Ltd
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Acal Sells Remainder Of Supply Chain Business To Management Team For GBP6.0M; Says IT Spares And Support Services Business Sale Will Result In Loss On Disposal Of GBP3.3M Including Goodwill
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UTV Media Says Better Trading Conditions In H2 2013 Have Continued Into New Year; Expects Revenue To Rise 18% In Q2, Boosted By FIFA World Cup
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Redcentric Wins 3-Year Contract With Salvation Army Worth GBP1.5M, With Annual Revenues Thereafter GBP400K
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French Connection Says UK, Europe Continued To Perform Well In Q1 Driven By Product Improvements
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Tavistock Investments Agrees To Buy County Life & Pensions Ltd And Blacksquare Ltd; Places 10M Shares At 7.5p To Raise GBP750K; Says 2 Acquisitions Will Constitute Reverse Takeover; Issuing 98M Shares At 7.5p, GBP7.4M Total, To Vendors Of County Life; Price Of Blacksquare To Be Deferred, Based On Funds Under Management In May 2016
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Thursday's Scheduled AGMs/EGMs

French Connection Group
Cairn
Next
Old Mutual
Balfour Beatty
Merlin Entertainments
Prudential
The Restaurant Group
Fidelity European Values
Hikma Pharmaceuticals
Lloyds Banking Group
Caracal Energy
Trinity Mirror
Unite Group
UTV Media
Computacenter
Petrofac
LMS Capital
London Mining
BG Group
Vesuvius
Direct Line Insurance Group
Target Healthcare REIT
Staffline Group
Hiscox
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By Tom Waite; thomaslwaite@alliancenews.com; @thomaslwaite

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