SEPU.L Share News (SEPU)

LONDON (Alliance News) - London share prices have opened lower Wednesday, adding to their losses from Tuesday as the Chinese yuan continues to fall against other major currencies following a second devaluation by Chinese authorities.

Mining stocks and UK-listed exporters to China are bearing the brunt of the early selling, with Glencore, BHP Billiton, Unilever and Burberry the worst blue-chip decliners. Unilever shares also have been cut to Sell from Neutral by Goldman Sachs.

Here is what you need to know at the London market open:
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MARKETS
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FTSE 100: down 1.2% at 6,584.49
FTSE 250: down 1.1% at 17,467.03
AIM ALL-SHARE: down 0.2% at 752.64
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Hang Seng: down 2.6% at 23,877.92
Nikkei 225: closed down 1.6% at 20,392.77
DJIA: closed down 1.2% at 17,402.84
S&P 500: closed down 1.0% at 2,084.07
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GBP: up at USD1.5592
EUR: up at USD1.1100

GOLD: up at USD1,118.40 per ounce
OIL (Brent): down at USD49.02 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 in BST)

09:00 Italy Trade Balance
09:30 UK ILO Unemployment Rate, Average Earnings, Claimant Count
10:00 EU Industrial Production
10:00 Switzerland ZEW Survey
12:00 US MBA Mortgage Applications
15:30 US EIA Crude Oil Stocks
16:00 US JOLTS Job Openings
19:00 US Monthly Budget Statement
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China's central bank devalued the yuan for the second time in two days, to aid a slowing economy. The People's Bank of China unexpectedly adjusted its daily reference exchange rate by a further 1.6%, setting it at 6.3306 to the US dollar. On Tuesday, the bank had cut the rate by 1.9%, triggering the biggest one-day slide in yuan value against the dollar since China unified official and market exchange rates in 1994. Addressing market concerns Wednesday, China's central bank said there was no basis for a sustained depreciation of the yuan given international and domestic economic conditions. The International Monetary Fund said Beijing's move to devalue the yuan was "a welcome step," to allow market forces to have a greater role in determining the exchange rate.
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China's industrial production and retail sales growth eased in July, providing broad signals that policies taken so far are proving insufficient to achieve its GDP growth target of about 7%. According to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics, industrial production expanded 6% year-on-year in July, slower than June's 6.8% increase and the 6.6% rise forecast by economists. At the same time, retail sales growth slowed marginally to 10.5% from 10.6% in June. The growth rate was expected to remain unchanged at 10.6%.
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Greece and its creditors have struck a provisional deal on a new bailout for the near-bankrupt country, the two sides said Tuesday, with efforts underway to secure political backing for the agreement in the coming days. The breakthrough came after two weeks of intense negotiations on what Athens will have to do in return for the three-year bailout, which is expected to total between EUR82 billion and EUR86 billion. "What we have at the moment is a technical-level agreement reached by the staff of the [creditor] institutions and the Greek authorities," European Commission spokeswoman Annika Breidthardt said. "What we don't have at the moment is a political agreement."
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The leading economic index in the UK, which measures the future economic activity, decreased for the second straight month in June, the results of a survey by the Conference Board showed. The Conference Board leading economic index fell 0.2% in June, following a 0.4% fall in May. In April, the index had risen 0.3%.
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Japan's industrial production increased more than initially estimated in June, latest figures from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry showed. Industrial production grew a seasonally adjusted 1.1% month-over-month in June, revised up from a 0.8% rise in the flash data. In May, production had fallen 2.1%.
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The members of the Bank of Japan's monetary policy board believe that the country's economic recovery continues on pace, minutes from the bank's meeting on July 14 and 15 revealed. At the meeting, the policy board decided to maintain its target of raising the monetary base at an annual pace of about JPY80 trillion. It also kept its benchmark lending rate on hold at 0.10%.
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Militias loyal to exiled Yemeni President Abd Rabu Mansour Hadi said they were advancing on the key central Yemeni city of Ibb, a day after they claimed full control of Hadi's native Abyan province in the south. Sources in the Gulf-backed militias fighting the Iran-backed Houthi rebels said they had captured two districts neighbouring Ibb and were surrounding the city. Ibb residents told dpa that Houthi fighters and allied military units were present in force on the streets and said they feared clashes inside the city.
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Thirty-two people have been charged over an alleged scheme to use stolen, unpublished news releases to make millions on illegal stock trades, US authorities said. The US Securities and Exchange Commission said the alleged conspiracy netted 100 million dollars over several years and was one of the most intricate and sophisticated they had ever seen.
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BROKER RATING CHANGES
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GOLDMAN CUTS UNILEVER TO 'SELL' ('NEUTRAL') - PRICE TARGET 2560 (2820) PENCE
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GOLDMAN CUTS RECKITT BENCKISER TO 'NEUTRAL' ('BUY') - PRICE TARGET 6070 (6390) PENCE
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TRADERS: KEPLER CHEUVREUX CUTS INTERNATIONAL AIRLINES GROUP TO 'HOLD' ('BUY')
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TRADERS: MERRILL LYNCH CUTS FRESNILLO TO 'NEUTRAL' ('BUY')
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UBS RAISES INTU PROPERTIES TO 'BUY' ('NEUTRAL') - TARGET 380 (370) PENCE
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COMPANIES - FTSE 100
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Pearson said it has struck a deal to sell its 50% stake in The Economist Group for GBP469 million in cash. The education and publishing company, which recently sold the Financial Times newspaper to Japanese publisher Nikkei, is selling the stake to Exor SpA, the investment vehicle run by Italy's Agnelli family, and to The Economist publisher itself. Under the deal, Exor will acquire 27.8% of The Economist Group's shares for GBP227.5 million, along with all of the B special shares for GBP59.5 million from Pearson. In addition, The Economist Group will acquire the rest of Pearson's shares for GBP182 million.
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Outsourcing firm G4S said its pretax profit fell in the first six months of 2015 on the back of restructuring and impairment charges, but its revenue edged higher despite a decline in the UK and Ireland. The group said its pretax profit fell to GBP70 million in the first six months of the year, down from GBP80 million a year earlier as a rise in revenue was offset by restructuring charges and goodwill impairments it booked in the half. G4S said it would pay an interim dividend of 3.59 pence per share, up 5% year-on-year.
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The size of the bids set to be tabled for Tesco's Dunnhumby data analysis business are set to be slashed after those interested in acquiring the unit found it was less profitable than initial forecasts, the Financial Times reports. Dunnhumby was put up for sale by the retailer earlier this year with a price tag of up to GBP2 billion, but the FT, citing two people familiar with the auction, said bidders are now understood to be considering offers of around GBP700 million, having found the business was less profitable than thought.
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COMPANIES - FTSE 250
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Construction and support services company Balfour Beatty scrapped its interim dividend as it posted a substantially wider pretax loss for the first half of 2015 thanks to writedowns of onerous contracts in its UK construction arm. The group said its pretax loss for the six months to the end of June was GBP150 million, sharply wider than the GBP58 million loss it posted a year earlier. As a result of the drop in profit, the company said it won't pay an interim dividend, having paid 5.6 pence per share a year earlier.
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Construction and support services company Interserve posted a rise in half-year profit on the back of robust revenue growth and a stronger order book at the end of the period, though it expects its UK support services business to see margins squeezed by the UK's new National Living Wage. The company said its pretax profit for the six months to the end of June was GBP33.7 million, up 19% on the GBP28.3 million it posted a year earlier, as revenue increased by 16% to GBP1.60 billion from GBP1.37 billion.
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Zoopla Property Group said its UK estate agency membership returned to growth in the first four months of its current financial year and said the uSwitch price comparison business it acquired earlier in 2015 is trading well. The property portal said it added 213 net new branches to its UK agency membership in the period from April 1 to July 31, returning to growth after having taken a hit from the launch of OnTheMarket.
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Telecommunications and IT services company Colt Group said its takeover by US financial services company Fidelity has been declared unconditional after the bidder secured enough support for the offer. FMR LLC and FIL Ltd will acquire Colt in a 190 pence per share deal, valuing Colt at around GBP1.72 billion. The bidder said it has now secured acceptances from shareholders representing a total of 89.9% of Colt's issued share capital, including shares Fidelity already owned.
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Centamin said its pretax profit rose in its second quarter and the first half of 2015, leading the company to increase its interim dividend by 11%. The gold miner with its flagship Sukari gold mine in Egypt reported a pretax profit of USD18.8 million in the second quarter of 2015, rising from USD11.3 million in the same period a year earlier, as revenue rose to USD124.2 million from USD102.6 million. Centamin raised its interim dividend to 0.97 cents per share from 0.87 cents a year earlier.
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Construction and housebuilding company Galliford Try said its facilities management business has secured a place on the new Crown Commercial Services Facilities Management Framework. Galliford said its Galliford Try Facilities Management unit, via a joint venture with OCS Group UK Ltd, has been appointed to the Total Facilities Management lot of the framework under the moniker Sigma Support Services. That part of the framework will be offering work of up to GBP3 billion. Without OCS in tow, Galliford Try Facilities Management separately has been appointed to the Hard Facilities Management portion of the framework, which is worth up to GBP500 million.
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Tullow Oil said it is confident of achieving its full-year production guidance after gas exports from the Jubilee field offshore Ghana resumed ahead of schedule, but said its latest two exploration wells failed to strike oil. The oil and gas producer said that, following the completion of work on the gas compressor on the Kwame Nkrumah floating production storage and offloading vessel, gas exports from the Jubilee field have resumed ahead of the mid-August forecast.
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Bank of Georgia Holdings said it has completed a legal restructuring that will split its banking business from its investments arm. The banking business includes banking subsidiaries in JSC Bank of Georgia and non-banking financial subsidiaries in JSC BG Financial. The investment business, JSC BGEO Investments, includes affordable housing, healthcare, water and utilities, among other investments. "The reorganisation was undertaken in accordance with the National Bank of Georgia's intention to regulate banks in Georgia on a standalone basis and thereby limit investments in non-banking subsidiaries by locally regulated banking entities," Bank of Georgia Holdings said in a statement.
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COMPANIES - LONDON MAIN MARKET AND AIM
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Vehicle retailer and aftersales services provider Lookers said its pretax profit and revenue both rose in the first half of 2015, prompting it to hike its dividend, and said it anticipates it will slightly outpace market expectations for the full year. Lookers said its robust performance in the first half came against an already tough comparator in 2015 and said it is confident it will make further progress in the second half and will deliver results slightly ahead of market expectations. Pretax profit for the group was up to GBP39.9 million from GBP37.7 million in the half, up 6% on a year earlier, on the back of a 9% rise in revenue to GBP1.75 billion from GBP1.60 billion.
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COMPANIES - INTERNATIONAL
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General Electric said it will sell its US healthcare finance unit to Capital One Financial in a deal of about USD9 billion, as the company streamlines its business to focus more on industrial manufacturing. The deal includes about USD8.5 billion of health care-related loans. Separately, GE agreed with an another unidentified buyer to sell about USD600 million of healthcare finance unit's real estate equity investments.
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German utility E.ON reported its first-half underlying net income was EUR1.2 billion, down 21% from last year's EUR1.5 billion. E.ON posted half-year EBITDA, a key earnings metric, of EUR4.3 billion, down 13% from prior year's EUR4.9 billion. The reduction in EBITDA is primarily attributable to a further decline in wholesale electricity prices, lower oil prices, and a weak ruble.
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German detergent maker Henkel reported its net income for the second-quarter grew by 19% to EUR531 million from EUR446 million last year. In the second quarter of 2015, sales rose by 13.5% to EUR4.695 billion. Adjusted for positive foreign exchange effects of 7.3%, sales improved by 6.2%. Organically - meaning adjusted for foreign exchange and acquisitions or divestments - sales rose by 2.4%.
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Wednesday's Scheduled AGMs/EGMs

Alpha Real Trust
Sepura
HICL Infrastructure Co
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By Tom Waite; thomaslwaite@alliancenews.com; @thomaslwaite

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