Trinity Mirror PLC Share News (TNI)

LONDON (Alliance News) - The following is a summary of top news stories Friday.
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COMPANIES
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Tesco reported another decline in like-for-like sales in the first quarter of its financial year, as the grocer tries to pick itself up from the difficult year it recently finished and it continues cutting prices in a deflationary UK food market. But its results were an improvement on the immediately previous quarter and its shares surged following the announcement. The UK's largest retailer reported a 1.3% drop in group like-for-like sales excluding fuel in the 13 weeks to May 30, as combined UK and Republic of Ireland like-for-like sales declined 1.5% and international like-for-likes fell 1.0%. "Whilst the market is still challenging and volatility is likely to remain a feature of short-term performance, these first quarter results represent another step in the right direction," Chief Executive Dave Lewis said.
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Homewares retailer Dunelm Group said it has appointed John Browett as its new chief executive, with current chief Will Adderley to revert to his role as deputy chairman. Browett will join Dunelm's board on July 1 and will take over as chief executive on January 1, 2016 following a six-month handover period working alongside Adderley. Browett is the former chief executive of Dixons Retail, the electronics retailer which merged with Carphone Warehouse to form Dixons Carphone last year, and spent his early career working at supermarket Tesco. He joins the company from his role as the chief executive of women's fashion retailer Monsoon Accessorize.
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Miner Lonmin welcomed the report published into the Marikana mine deaths in South Africa in 2012, when striking mineworkers were shot to death by police. In 2012, a wildcat strike was called at the Lonmin-owned mine, resulting in violent clashes between members of the South African Police Service, Lonmin security, and leaders of the National Union of Mineworkers. Forty one striking mineworkers were killed after the police opened fire, prompting international condemnation after much of the violence was caught by television cameras. Lonmin said it considered the publication of the report by the Marikana Commission of Inquiry to be a "vital step in the healing process after the tragedy of Marikana", though it said any detailed response to the findings would not be helpful so soon after its publication.
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Private equity firm Cinven confirmed it has sold its remaining 8.4% stake in private hospital group Spire Healthcare Group for GBP115.2 million. Cinven sold 33.89 million shares in Spire at 340 pence per share. Spire shares closed at 349.00p Thursday. Cinven previously sold a 10% stake in Spire for GBP136.4 million in April, and on Monday agreed to sell a further 29.9% interest in Spire to Remgro, the major shareholder in South Africa-based private hospital group Mediclinic, for GBP432 million. Following the completion of the sale of shares to Remgro, Cinven will no longer hold any shares in Spire.
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Security software and hardware developer Sophos Group said it has priced its upcoming IPO, with the company set to have a market capitalisation of around GBP1.01 billion at the start of conditional dealings Friday morning. The offer price for the issue has been set at 225 pence per share, with the company to float 156.5 million shares, representing 34.8% of its issued share capital. Sophos said it will raise around USD125 million in the offer, more than the USD100 million it said it expected to raise when it first announced its plans earlier this month.
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Trinity Mirror said it is expanding its cost reduction programme due to a "more challenging revenue environment", as it expects revenue in its first half to fall, although it still anticipates meeting profit expectations for its full year. For the 26 weeks to June 28, Trinity expects revenue to fall 11% compared to the previous year, as more challenging print advertising markets will lead to a 19% fall in print advertising revenue. Circulation revenue is expected to fall by 6%, although revenue trends will show improvement from May after a cover price increase for the Daily Mirror's Monday to Friday edition, the company said.
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MARKETS
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Concerns about Greece continue to damp investor sentiment with London stock indices all trading lower, but Tesco has provided some optimism as the grocer's decline in like-for-like sales slowed in its first-quarter.
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FTSE 100: down 1.0% at 6,740.46
FTSE 250: down 0.7% at 17,820.12
AIM ALL-SHARE: down 0.2% at 770.79
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GBP: flat USD1.5736
EUR: flat USD1.1197

GOLD: flat USD1173.88 per ounce
OIL (Brent): down at USD63.00 a barrel

(changes since end of previous GMT day)
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ECONOMICS AND GENERAL
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Greece may be forced to call snap elections if creditors do not budge on their demands, a Greek minister warned, saying the reform proposals being offered by lenders were tantamount to the country's "suicide."
"Every time (Greece) goes to find a solution, they come and tell you, 'bring some pensioners so that we execute them'," Labour Minister Panos Skourletis told Greek TV Mega of Athens' long-running negotiations with its creditors. His comments came a day after Greece and its international lenders once again failed to strike a reform-for-aid deal that would unfreeze bailout funds. The Eurogroup of eurozone finance ministers were expected to meet Saturday to continue negotiations.
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Britain and the EU kicked off a negotiation on the terms of the country's membership in the bloc, ahead of an in-out referendum that London plans to hold by late 2017. "The process of British reform and renegotiation...is now properly underway," Prime Minister David Cameron said after a first, brief presentation to his EU counterparts at a summit in Brussels. Officials expect the negotiation to be drawn-out, given its technical complexity and political sensitivity. "One thing should be clear from the very beginning: the fundamental values of the EU are not for sale and so are non-negotiable," warned the bloc's president, Donald Tusk.
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The Confederation of British Industry said the upcoming July 8th UK budget should lock in progress on deficit and investment. In a release following a meeting between the UK Chancellor George Osborne and CBI's John Cridland and Katja Hall, the CBI said progress on cutting the deficit, movement towards a business tax roadmap and an action plan to increase productivity should be the priorities for the upcoming budget. The CBI is of the view that business confidence is based on clear fiscal rules and reform of business rates.
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EU leaders agree on the principle of redistributing 40,000 asylum seekers across their bloc, but leave the details to be hashed out later amid disagreements on whether member states should be obliged to take in the migrants. "Leaders agreed that 40,000 persons in need will be relocated from Greece and Italy to other states over the next two years. Interior ministers will finalize the scheme by the end of July," EU President Donald Tusk said.
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EU member states gave the final approval for a EUR21 billion fund that will form the heart of a much-touted investment programme intended to boost growth and jobs across the bloc. Despite emerging from recession, the EU's economy remains sluggish, with investments still below pre-crisis levels. The aim of the fund is to provide guarantees attracting around EUR315 billion of investments for projects that would otherwise have been considered too risky.
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At least one death and multiple injuries were reported in a suspected terrorist attack at a factory in south-eastern France, according to French media. One decapitated body could be seen near the scene. Le Monde newspaper reported that two men forced their way into the building, near the city of Grenoble, with a car. The AFP news agency reported that the attackers were carrying Islamist flags.
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Russian President Vladimir Putin called US President Barack Obama to discuss the situation in Ukraine and other topics, the White House said. Obama reiterated his demand that Russia to fulfill its commitments under the Minsk agreements, including the removal of all Russian troops and equipment from Ukrainian territory. Putin and Obama also discussed the increasingly dangerous situation in Syria, according to the statement.
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US President Barack Obama's signature domestic achievement withstood another Supreme Court challenge, as the court upheld the subsidies provided under the healthcare reform law known as Obamacare. In a 6 to 3 ruling, the Supreme Court determined that the government can continue providing lower-income Americans with subsidies to purchase health insurance through either the federal or state exchanges.
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By Arvind Bhunjun; arvindbhunjun@alliancenews.com; @ArvindBhunjun

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