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LONDON (Alliance News) - Shares of Irish building materials giant CRH are up 4.0% at the London open Monday, the top FTSE 100 gainer, after it agreed a deal with Lafarge and Holcim to buy a range of assets being sold by its French and Swiss rivals as part of the conditions for their merger.

CRH will use existing cash and the proceeds of a share placing to fund the EUR6.50 billion deal, which it said will increase its earnings per share by 25%.

Ryanair shares are down 2.7% despite announcing a EUR520 million special dividend and a EUR400 million share buyback and once again raising its full-year guidance

Mining companies are out of favour with analysts Monday morning. Liberum has cut Rio Tinto, BHP Billiton and Anglo American to Sell from Hold, while traders say UBS has cut Fresnillo and Randgold Resources to Neutral from Buy.

Here is what you need to know at the UK market open:
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MARKETS
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FTSE 100: up 0.2% at 6,762.92
FTSE 250: up 0.2% at 16,337.02
AIM ALL-SHARE: flat at 690.29
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Hang Seng: closed down 0.1% at 24,484.74
Nikkei 225: closed down 0.7% at 17,558.04
DJIA: closed down 1.5% at 17,164.95
S&P 500: closed down 1.3% at 1,994.99
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GBP-USD: down at USD1.5052
EUR-USD: up at USD1.1313

GOLD: down at USD1,279.19 per ounce
OIL (Brent): down at USD51.52 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
09:30 UK Markit Manufacturing PMI
10:00 EU Unemployment Rate
13:30 US Personal Consumption Expenditures
14:45 US Markit Manufacturing PMI
15:00 US Construction Spending
15:00 US ISM Manufacturing PMI
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Greece's finance minister kicked off a European roadshow in Paris on Sunday as the country's newly elected prime minister showed willingness to negotiate on Greek debt repayment ahead of talks with EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker. A telephone conversation between Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and Juncker went smoothly on Saturday, sources close to the commission president said. The two agreed to hold face-to-face talks on Wednesday, when Tsipras will also meet French President Francois Hollande in Paris.
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The Chinese manufacturing sector contracted slightly more than the initially estimated in January, although the contraction slowed from the previous month, the results of the latest survey from HSBC revealed. Revised estimates based on the final survey showed that the manufacturing purchasing managers' index, or PMI, came in at 49.7 in January, slightly less than the flash estimate of 49.8. However, the score was marginally more than the 49.6 reading in December. This marked the second consecutive month of contraction. A reading above 50 signals expansion in activity while that below 50 indicates contraction.
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Japan's manufacturing sector continued to expand at a steady pace in January, the latest survey from Markit Economics showed. The manufacturing purchasing managers' index edged up to 52.2 in January from 50 in February. It marked the eight consecutive month of expansion.
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IRELAND JAN MANUFACTURING PMI 55.1 VS. 56.9 IN DECEMBER
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At least 20 people were killed and 40 others injured in eastern Ukraine in the 24 hours since peace talks between Russian and Ukrainian delegations in Minsk stalled, the military and separatist leaders said. Military spokesman Vladimir Polevoi said that 13 soldiers were killed and 20 other military personnel injured, while separatist leaders said that seven civilians had been killed and at least 20 injured in the restive eastern regions of Donetsk and Luhansk. The news comes after pro-Russian separatist envoys present at talks in Minsk effectively blocked the negotiations and sought to revise a previous ceasefire deal, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) said.
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Constitutional Court Judge Sergio Mattarella was elected as Italy's new head of state, sealing a presidential election that was expertly steered by Prime Minister Matteo Renzi to the detriment of opposition leader Silvio Berlusconi. The incoming president, 73, is a former Christian Democrat minister from Sicily, active in politics from 1983 to 2008, who was promoted to the top court in 2011. He has a reputation for moral integrity and solid anti-Mafia credentials but little international recognition.
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Iraqi Kurdish troops retook a major oilfield from the Islamic State on Saturday, almost a day after the militant group seized it, an Iraqi security official said. The troops, backed by allied warplanes, launched an attack and drove the jihadists out of the Khbaz oil complex west of the oil-rich city of Kirkuk, Brigadier Sarhad Qader, a senior police officer in Kirkuk, told dpa. He said that around 40 militants were killed in the operation and two armoured vehicles belonging to Islamic State were seized. On Friday, Islamic State fighters overran the complex and held 24 of its employees hostage.
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Japan will stand firm in its support for international anti-terrorism operations, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said, after the Islamic State posted a video at the weekend showing the beheading of a second Japanese hostage. "Japan will never yield to terrorists. We will ensure the safety of Japanese nationals with a unified effort," Abe told a meeting of lawmakers from the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and coalition allies the New Komeito Party.
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BROKER RATING CHANGES
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LIBERUM CUTS RIO TINTO, BHP BILLITON, ANGLO AMERICAN TO 'SELL' ('HOLD')
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TRADERS: UBS CUTS FRESNILLO TO 'NEUTRAL' ('BUY')
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TRADERS: UBS CUTS RANDGOLD RESOURCES TO 'NEUTRAL' ('BUY')
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TRADERS: UBS CUTS KINGFISHER TO 'NEUTRAL' ('BUY') - TARGET 360 (375) PENCE
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JEFFERIES CUTS KINGFISHER TO 'HOLD' ('BUY') - TARGET 350 (385) PENCE
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TRADERS: JEFFERIES CUTS NEXT TO 'UNDERPERFORM'
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GOLDMAN RAISES BARCLAYS TO 'CONVICTION BUY LIST' ('BUY') - PRICE TARGET 330 (300) PENCE
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TRADERS: HSBC RAISES RBS TO 'NEUTRAL' ('UNDERWEIGHT')
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TRADERS: HSBC CUTS LLOYDS TO 'NEUTRAL' ('OVERWEIGHT')
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TRADERS: HSBC CUTS WOLSELEY TO 'NEUTRAL' ('OVERWEIGHT')
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COMPANIES - FTSE 100
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CRH said it has agreed a deal with Lafarge and Holcim under which the Irish building materials company will buy a range of assets being sold by its French and Swiss rivals as part of the conditions for their merger to be given regulatory approval. Under the deal, CRH will pay EUR6.5 billion to buy assets from the companies primarily in Europe, Canada, Brazil and the Philippines. It will use EUR2.0 billion of cash from its balance sheet, new bank debt, and the proceeds of a share placing to fund the deal, which it expects to result in EUR90 million of synergies by year three after completion. It also expects the deal to boost earnings per share by about 25% in the first full year of ownership of the assets.
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Standard Life confirmed it intends to return about GBP1.75 billion, or 73 pence a share, to its shareholders after it completed its sale of its Canadian units to a subsidiary of Manulife Financial Corp for CAD4.0 billion, or about GBP2.2 billion in cash. The shareholder return will be done by way of a B/C share scheme accompanied by a share consolidation, a move expected to take place before April 6. Its final dividend will be paid on the resulting number of ordinary shares after the consolidation.
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Randgold Resources said it is looking at developing a third underground mine at its Loulo-Gounkoto gold mining complex in Mali, a move that would bolster rising production from the site. Randgold Chief Executive Mark Bristow, who is leading a group of international investors on Randgold's annual tour of its West and Central African operations, said a feasibility study on an underground mine at Gounkoto had been completed and its findings would be made known when the company publishes its 2014 results later this month. As things stand, Loulo-Gounkoto has reserves in excess of 8 million ounces of gold.
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Tesco is understood to be closing in on the appointment of John Allan as its new chairman, The Daily Telegraph reported. Allan, currently the deputy chairman of Dixons Carphone, is believed to be the only candidate still in the frame after Ian Cheshire, the former chief executive of Kingfisher, withdrew from the race.
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Shire said Friday the US Food and Drug Administration has approved Vyvanse Capsules, the first and only medication for the treatment of moderate to severe binge eating disorder in adults, shown to significantly reduce the mean number of binge days per week. Vyvanse is not indicated or recommended for weight loss or the treatment of obesity. Other sympathomimetic drugs used for weight loss have been associated with serious cardiovascular reactions.
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COMPANIES - FTSE 250
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RPS Group said it expects its 2014 results to be at the top end of market expectations. The company said its energy business has grown profits significantly since June 2014, in spite of the drop in the oil price over the period.
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Satellite communications firm Inmarsat said it had successfully launched its second 'Global Xpress' satellite on Sunday. Inmarsat said that it expects to launch its third satellite in the series in the coming months, and is on schedule to achieve full global coverage early in the second half of 2015.
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Grainger said it has exchanged contracts to buy a regional tenanted residential property portfolio for about GBP58 million from Sarunas Properties Ltd, a deal that will take its total investment into residential assets in the UK regions to about GBP76 million over recent months. The residential property owner and manager said the portfolio comprises 614 residential properties, which are predominantly tenanted and subject to Assured Shorthold Tenancies, located in Cambridgeshire, Greater Manchester, Lancashire, Cheshire, Derbyshire, Merseyside and Nottinghamshire, as well as a small proportion of properties in Scotland.
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Balfour Beatty said its joint venture with Skanska and MWH Treatment has signed a GBP800 million five-year contract with Thames Water, to help build and maintain the water company's pipe, pumping stations and water treatment plant network. In a statement, Balfour said the initial deal is worth about GBP265 million to it, as it is a one-third partner in the joint venture.
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Afren late Friday said it has struck a deal with the lenders on its USD300 million Ebok facility for the deferral to February 27 of a USD50 million amortisation payment that had been due on Saturday. In a a statement issued after the market close Friday, the struggling FTSE 250-listed oil and gas company added it has decided to utilise a 30-day grace period under its 2016 bonds in relation to a USD15 million interest payment due on February 1 in order to allow it to complete a review of its capital structure and funding alternatives.
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COMPANIES - LONDON MAIN MARKET AND AIM
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Irish airline Ryanair Holdings announced a EUR520 million special dividend and a EUR400 million share buyback, as it raised its full-year guidance on the back of falling fuel prices and said it swung to a profit in the third quarter of its financial year compared with a loss a year earlier. Europe's low-cost carrier said it had noticed some softening in prices on forward bookings during the first few weeks of January, but it is now expecting a 5% decline in unit costs for the financial year as a whole. It is therefore raising its full-year net profit guidance to between EUR840 million and EUR850 million, from between EUR810 million and EUR830 million previously.
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RM upped its total dividend for its recently ended financial year, as it posted a jump in pretax profit despite a decline in revenue, as a result of restructuring in its largest business. The educational IT, software and services firm proposed a total dividend of 4.00 pence for the year to end-November 2014, up from 3.30 pence a year before. RM posted pretax profit of GBP15.8 million, up from GBP9.4 million a year before, despite seeing revenue fall to GBP202.5 million from GBP261.8 million, due to lower cost of sales and exceptional costs. In the previous year the company had posted GBP5.1 million in exceptional restructuring costs.
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Fenner said its Fenner Drives Inc subsidiary has struck a deal to buy the US's Charter Medical Ltd for USD29.9 million in cash. Fenner will buy Charter, a medical device manufacturing company, from Connecticut-based Lydall Inc and will integrate the business into its Solesis Medical Technologies subsidiary, which is part of Fenner's AEP division.
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Dialight said Non-Executive Director Richard Stuckes has been appointed interim chief executive while the company looks for a permanent CEO, after ill health forced Roy Burton to decide to step down from the role on March 2.
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ISG issued a warning on its full-year results after it said problems with a few contracts in its UK construction arm had offset a strong performance for the rest of the business. The construction services company said three contracts entered into more than eighteen months ago had continued to impact on its performance, and added it is in protracted negotiations over a large construction contract entered in 2012 and has decided to make a provision against the contract.
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COMPANIES - INTERNATIONAL
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American Airlines Group on Friday said pilots at its subsidiaries American Airlines and US Airways, represented by Allied Pilots Association, have approved a new five-year contract which provides immediate pay raises of 23% and subsequent annual raises of three percent for the next five years. The multi-year agreement of a single labour contract by the pilots at American Airlines and US Airways is a part of the process toward combining the two carriers' workforce.
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Chinese internet giant Alibaba claimed vindication after regulators played down earlier criticism of the company. The scathing government report on Wednesday accused the company of not doing enough to stop "illegal business" from appearing on its e-commerce platforms, allowing the sale of illegal, fake and substandard goods. But in a follow-up statement posted on the website of the State Administration for Industry and Commerce late Friday, the regulator said the report was a "white paper" and carried no legal force.
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South Korean conglomerate Samsung Electronics agreed to buy Brazilian printing solutions company, Simpress, to bolster its printing business in the Latin American market, according to reports. The Sao Paulo-based firm provides printing outsourcing solution services to local companies, financial and public organizations.
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Monday's Scheduled AGMs/EGMs

Matomy Media Group
John Lewis of Hungerford
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By Tom Waite; thomaslwaite@alliancenews.com; @thomaslwaite

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