SHB.L Share News (SHB)

LONDON (Alliance News) - UK shares have opened slightly higher Tuesday following gains on Wall Street over the long Easter weekend.

Merger and acquisition activity and discussion surrounding UK pharmaceutical giants GlaxoSmithKline and AstraZeneca dominate company news at the start of the shortened week.

Here is what you need to know at the UK market open:
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MARKETS
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FTSE 100: up 0.9% at 6,684.40
FTSE 250: up 0.7% at 16,012.73
AIM ALL-SHARE: up 0.4% at 832.84
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Hang Seng: up slightly at 22,768.72
Nikkei 225: closed down 0.9% at 14,388.77
DJIA: closed up 0.3% at 16,449.25
S&P 500: closed up 0.4% at 1,871.89
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GBP-USD: up at USD1.6810
EUR-USD: up at USD1.3795

GOLD: up at USD1,290.45 per ounce
OIL (Brent): down at USD109.85 a barrel

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

10:00 EU Construction Output
13:30 Canada Wholesale Sales
13:55 US Redbook index
14:00 US Housing Price Index
15:00 EU Consumer Confidence Preliminary
15:00 US Existing Home Sales Change
15:00 US Richmond Fed Manufacturing Index
16:30 US 4-Week Bill Auction
16:45 US Bernanke Speech
18:00 US 2-Year Note Auction
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Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Monday accused Ukrainian authorities of violating the recent accord reached in Geneva for ending the ongoing crisis in the former Soviet Republic. Lavrov told reporters in Moscow that the government in Kiev, which incidentally is not recognized by Moscow, has not acted to disarm illegal militants, especially the ones belonging to ultra-nationalist Right Sector. Lavrov's remarks came a day after at least three people were killed in a shooting incident at a checkpoint manned by pro-Russian separatists near Sloviansk in eastern Ukraine. While the separatist blamed ultra right wing militants for the shooting, the government in Kiev said it was "provocation" staged by Russian special forces.
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US President Barack Obama is slated to depart Tuesday on an Asia trip, with a stopover on the US West Coast to visit a community hit hard by a deadly mud slide. Air Force One will land in Everett, Washington, for Obama to visit the buried village of Oso, hit by a March 22 mudslide with a death toll now at 39. From there, Obama will continue flying west to Japan, where he is to arrive Wednesday for the first stop on his seven-day journey to four countries, including South Korea, Malaysia and the Philippines.
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The death toll in the sinking last week of a South Korean ferry has climbed to 104, the broadcaster KBS reported Tuesday. The bodies recovered so far have been found in the sea or were retrieved from the wreck of the Sewol. Almost 200 of the 476 people on board the ferry are listed as missing. Divers are to search through the ship's cabins where it is presumed that most of the bodies are trapped, the report said. The ferry capsized and sank on Wednesday off the south-west coast.
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China is planning to permit local governments to directly issue bonds to fund essential projects, the official Xinhua News Agency reported Monday. The Standing Committee of National People's Congress is reviewing the draft revisions on the budget law. According to the draft law, local governments will be able to issue bonds within a quota set by the State Council.
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Japan's leading index fell less than estimated in February, but it remained at a six-month low, final survey data from the Cabinet Office showed. The leading index fell to 108.9 in February from 113.5 in the prior month. However, the score was above the preliminary estimate of 108.5. At the same time, the coincident index that measures current economic situation, fell more-than-estimated to 113 in February from 114.9 a month ago. The preliminary estimate for February was 113.4.
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The international watchdog charged with overseeing the destruction of Syria's chemical weapons said that 80% of the country's stockpile has now been shipped out or destroyed. "This development will contribute to meeting the 30 June 2014 target set by the OPCW Executive Council for the completion of Syria's entire chemical weapon programme," a statement from the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons said. Syria destroyed its chemical weapons equipment on schedule within weeks of acceding to the UN Chemical Weapons convention last October, but has previously missed several deadlines for shipping its most lethal chemicals out of the country.
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Saudi Arabia relieved its health minister of his duties on Monday for mishandling the issue of the MERS virus, media reports said. The official Saudi Press Agency reported that Abdullah bin Abdulaziz al-Rabiah by royal order "was relieved of his post as minister of health and was appointed as advisor at the royal court." Labour Minister Adel bin Mohammed Faqih was named to take over the health portfolio, while continuing in his current post. The agency did not give the reason behind the changes. Arab media said that the kingdom was displeased with al-Rabiah's handling of the virus crisis. MERS (Middle East Respiratory Syndrome) surfaced in Saudi Arabia in 2012 and has been hitting the headlines in the country.
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BROKER RATING CHANGES
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TRADERS: CITIGROUP RAISES ASTRAZENECA TO 'BUY' ('NEUTRAL')
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CITIGROUP RAISES LAMPRELL TO 'BUY' ('NEUTRAL') - TARGET 200 (160) PENCE
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COMPANIES - FTSE 100
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US pharmaceutical giant Pfizer Inc. offered to acquire rival UK drugmaker AstraZeneca PLC for USD101 billion, according to media reports. The Sunday Times reported the takeover approach, citing senior investment bankers and industry sources. However, no talks are currently under way after AstraZeneca resisted the approach, the report said. Nonetheless, Pfizer could return with a better offer for AstraZeneca as it sits on a huge cash hoard in overseas subsidiaries that it could utilize for a major acquisition. Pfizer, the maker of erectile dysfunction drug Viagra, would be heavily taxed if it repatriates the USD70 billion to the US.
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GlaxoSmithKline PLC said it has signed a three-part inter-conditional transaction with Novartis AG which will see it sell off its Oncology portfolio, acquire Novartis' global Vaccines business, and create a dually-offered Consumer Healthcare business. The transaction is designed to drive sustainable sales growth, improve long-term earnings and deliver increasing returns to shareholders, it said. Glaxo shareholders will receive GBP4 billion capital return funded by net cash transaction proceeds and expected to be delivered via a B share scheme.
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Anglo American PLC is preparing the way to exit part of its South African platinum business, after three months of labour strikes in the region, according to the Financial Times. The FTSE 100 miner is in talks with the South African government to try to eventually withdraw from its deep platinum mines at Rustenburg, said the FT.
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Shaftesbury Completes Refinancing With Lloyds Banking Group
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Barclays PLC is set to become the next big bank to wind down its commodities trading activities, according to a weekend report from the Financial Times. The FT reports that, in a move likely to be announced Tuesday, Barclays is set to move away from "exposure areas that do not generate returns above their cost of capital".
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COMPANIES - FTSE 250
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Polymetal International PLC said revenue fell in its first quarter despite an increase in gold and silver production, as seasonal factors and lower copper production hit the company. The gold, silver and copper-mining exploration and production company, with operations in Russia and Kazakhstan, said its revenues fell 2% during the three months ended March 31 to USD336 million from USD341 million in the same period the previous year. The company said sales lagged behind improvements in production of gold equivalent by 46,000 ounces as a result of New Year holidays at its refineries, and it expects a reversal of this gap during the year ahead.
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QinetiQ Group Subsidiary Proposes Disposal Of US Services Division To The SI Organisation; Says Deal Has Cash Consideration C.USD165M Plus USD50M Earnout In Cash; Says Deal Creates Stronger, More Focused Group; Proposes Return Of Capital To Shareholders Of GBP150M Through Share Buyback
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Colt Group Q1 EBITDA EUR74.1M Vs EUR80.5M; Q1 Revenue EUR399.8M Vs EUR392.1M; Expects FY EBITDA 5-10% Lower Than Consensus Estimates Of EUR325M; Currently Undertaking Strategic Review, Focusing On Operational And Financial Improvement; Reorganising Business To Create New Units; Expects EUR30M Charges In H2 For Execution Of Management Plans
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COMPANIES - ALL-SHARE AND AIM
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Shanta Gold Ltd said it narrowed its losses in 2013, after it got its New Luika mine into production and was able to reverse a bad-debt provision. The gold producer posted a pretax loss of USD4.4 million for 2013, compared with USD14.7 million a year earlier, as its operating losses fell to USD3.2 million from losses of USD10.6 million in the previous year. A fair value gain of USD6.0 million was recorded, compared with USD263,000 in 2012. Shanta also reversed a bad debt provision amounting to USD1.7 million.
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Genel Energy PLC said its production has jumped in its first quarter in line with its guidance, improvements in particular at its Taq Taq and Tawke sites. The oil and gas exploration and production company, which has major assets in the Kurdistan region of Iraq, said its net working interest production for the three months ended March 31 increased 35% to 50,000 barrels of oil per day compared to the previous year.
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Haydale Graphene Industries PLC, one of the newest listings on London's AIM market, is considering taking legal action following its broker's decision to pull out of market-making activity on the day of its flotation, according to a report from The Telegraph. Hume Capital Securities PLC, also an AIM-listed company, made the highly unusual decision to "temporarily" drop all of its market-making activities on the day of Haydale's listing, the newspaper reported.
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Tuesday's Scheduled AGMs/EGMs

Genel Energy
Herald Investment Trust
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By Tom Waite; thomaslwaite@alliancenews.com; @thomaslwaite

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