Vedanta Resources Share News (VED)

LONDON (Alliance News) - The Bank of England said Wednesday that, while some UK banks showed capital inadequacies in its latest round of stress tests, those banks have plans to build further resilience, and the UK banking system can support the real economy in a severe stress scenario.

The tests introduced for the first time a systemic reference point, a threshold which takes into account the potential global consequences of a lender's collapse, in addition to its normal individual hurdles for each bank.

The central bank said Royal Bank of Scotland Group, Barclays and Standard Chartered showed capital inadequacies based on their balance sheets as they stood at the end of 2015. HSBC Holdings, Lloyds Banking Group, Nationwide Building Society and Santander UK did not reveal any capital inadequacies in the test.

Lloyds was one of the best blue-chip performers in a flat early market, up 1.2%, while RBS was one of the worst, down 2.7%.

Here is what you need to know at the London market open:
----------
MARKETS
----------
FTSE 100: up 0.1% at 6,782.09
FTSE 250: flat at 17,532.10
AIM ALL-SHARE: up 0.1% at 818.78
----------
Hang Seng: closed up 0.2% at 22,789.77
Nikkei 225: closed flat at 18,308.48
DJIA: closed up 0.1% at 19,121.60
S&P 500: closed up 0.1% at 2,204.66
----------
GBP: flat at USD1.2473 (USD1.2490)
EUR: flat at USD1.0625 (USD1.0619)

GOLD: up at USD1,188.27 per ounce (USD1,185.40)
OIL (Brent): up at USD48.03 a barrel (USD46.47)

(changes since previous London equities close)
----------
ECONOMICS AND GENERAL
----------
Wednesday's Key Economic Events still to come
(all times in GMT)

all day OPEC meeting

0855 Germany unemployment rate
1000 EU consumer price index preliminary
1000 Italy consumer price index preliminary
1030 UK Financial Stability Report
1100 Italy producer price index
1200 US MBA mortgage applications
1230 EU ECB President Draghi speech
1315 US ADP employment change
1330 US personal income and spending
1330 US personal consumption expenditures - price index
1330 Canada gross domestic product
1330 Canada raw material and industrial product price indices
1445 US Chicago purchasing managers' index
1500 US pending home sales
1530 US EIA crude oil stocks
1900 US Fed Beige Book
----------
The outlook for UK financial stability remains challenging, the Bank of England said in its half-yearly Financial Stability Report. The central bank said the economy has entered a period of adjustment following the referendum. The likelihood that some UK specific risks to financial stability could materialize remains elevated. Risks associated with the global environment also remain elevated, the bank cautioned. Uncertainty is further heightened over the coming months by the forthcoming Italian referendum and a number of elections in the euro area, the bank noted.
----------
Consumer confidence in the UK fell sharply in November, the latest survey from GfK revealed with an index score of -8. That was well shy of expectations for a reading of -4 after coming in at -3 in October. A reading below 0 suggests that pessimists outnumber optimists. "The slump across the board this month points to continuing uncertainty about the state of the economy among consumers," Joe Staton of GfK said in a statement.
----------
UK Prime Minister Theresa May said Scotland has a "special place" in the Union as the devolution of new tax powers to Holyrood took another step forward. The UK government is using St Andrew's Day, taking place on Wednesday, to make the formal parliamentary orders necessary for the transfer which will see the Scottish parliament take control over income tax rates and bands from April 6 2017. It comes two years after the Smith Commission, set up by former PM David Cameron in the wake of the 2014 independence referendum, published its report.
----------
The UK government is launching a review into the scale of the so-called "gig" economy, in which temporary positions are common, and why workers take up jobs in the sector. The move is part of a wider review of employment practices, being led by Royal Society of Arts Chief Executive Matthew Taylor, looking at workers' rights and employers' obligations.
----------
Munitions manufacturers across Europe could see more funding for research under a plan being presented by the European Commission in Brussels on Wednesday. The goal of the so-called European Defence Action Plan is to encourage closer and more efficient cooperation across EU member states. A common fund that could finance large joint armament projects is one of several points in plan, along with more support for defence research and funding for small and medium-sized firms to help with cross-border competition. EU member states spent a total of EUR203 billion on defence in 2015, according to the EU's Institute for Security Studies.
----------
Canada has approved two major oil pipeline projects despite the objections of environmental campaigners and indigenous leaders, local media reported. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Tuesday told reporters the CAD6.8 billion proposal by Kinder Morgan to triple the capacity of its Trans Mountain pipeline will create 15,000 jobs. He also gave the green light to a CAD7.5 billion plan by Enbridge to expand its Line 3 pipeline from Alberta to the US state of Wisconsin. The projects are expected to pump nearly a million more barrels of oil a day from Alberta's oilsands to global markets. However, Trudeau rejected a second proposal by Enbridge to build a Northern Gateway pipeline linking the oilsands with British Columbia's northern Pacific coast, a route that would have passed through the Great Bear Rain Forest, the world's largest intact temperate rainforest.
----------
Industrial production in Japan added 0.1% on month in October, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said. That beat forecasts for a flat reading following the 0.6% gain in September. On a yearly basis, industrial production sank 1.3% - matching forecasts following the 1.5% jump in the previous month.
----------
Two Hong Kong lawmakers lost their court appeal against a government-led block on their appointment to the city's legislature, local media reported. The Court of Appeal upheld the decision by a lower court, saying that by altering their swearing-in oaths back in October, Sixtus "Baggio" Leung Chung-hang and Lau Wai-ching declined to take the oaths, RTHK reported. The two politicians from the Youngspiration party will not be allowed to re-take their oaths to become fully-fledged members of the Legislative Council, the court said. The two had refused to swear allegiance to China, instead pledging to the Hong Kong nation.
----------
South Korean opposition parties agreed to continue their efforts to impeach embattled President Park Geun Hye despite her conditional offer to resign, local media reported. The head of the main opposition Democratic Party, Choo Mi Ae, and the leaders of two smaller opposition parties met and renewed their demand for Park's unconditional resignation, according to South Korean television reports. The parties agreed to put an impeachment vote to parliament Friday, however the vote might be pushed back one week. As a two-thirds majority is required for the impeachment vote to be successful, votes from members of Park's own Saenuri Party would be required.
----------
BROKER RATING CHANGES
----------
HSBC CUTS CAPITA GROUP TO 'REDUCE' ('HOLD') - TARGET 450 (1,020) PENCE
----------
TRADERS: MORGAN STANLEY INITIATES 3I WITH 'EQUAL-WEIGHT'
----------
GOLDMAN RAISES ANTOFAGASTA TO 'NEUTRAL' ('SELL') - TARGET 750 (500) PENCE
----------
TRADERS: MORGAN STANLEY RESUMES VEDANTA RESOURCES WITH 'EQUAL-WEIGHT'
----------
Liberum Initiates Restaurant Group With Buy, Target At 450p
----------
N+1 Cuts Restaurant Group To Hold From Buy, Target At 350p
----------
UBS RAISES CARD FACTORY TO 'BUY' ('NEUTRAL') - TARGET 295 (325) PENCE
----------
COMPANIES - FTSE 100
----------
Sage Group reported results in line with its guidance for its most recently ended financial year, and guided for a similar year ahead as it continues its business transformation. The FTSE 100-listed payroll software company reported a pretax profit of GBP274.5 million for the year to the end of September, down slightly from GBP275.8 million the previous year, as a rise in revenue to GBP1.57 billion from GBP1.44 billion was offset by GBP126.6 million in one-off costs related to its restructuring. Sage proposed a final dividend of 9.35 pence per share for the year, taking its total dividend to 14.15p, up 8% from the 13.10p it paid the previous year.
----------
Vodafone Group said it has agreed to renew its roaming agreement with Singapore's StarHub for a further three years. Under this renewal, StarHub mobile customers will continue to benefit from mobile voice and data roaming propositions, including high-speed data, on Vodafone's 4G networks, and Vodafone customers visiting Singapore will continue to be able to utilise data roaming on StarHub's 4G network.
----------
Sky late Tuesday detailed the terms of its mobile network launch, including rollover of data allowance and free UK calls and texts for its Sky TV customers. Sky said that its new Sky Mobile service, set for a full launch in 2017, has had 46,000 pre-registrations. Sales of SIM-only contracts will start in mid-December to existing and pre-registered customers, with handsets to be offered later in 2017. Sky TV customers will not have to pay for UK calls and texts on Sky Mobile, and will be able to access TV recordings from their Sky box on their phone. Sky Mobile also will allow customers to roll over unlimited unused data each for month for up to three years and let customers change their plan each month.
----------
Medical devices maker Smith & Nephew said it has appointed Graham Baker as chief financial officer, to formally take up the role at the beginning of March next year. Baker joins from generic-pharmaceutical firm Alvogen, and prior to that worked at AstraZeneca for 20 years in multiple senior roles.
----------
COMPANIES - FTSE 250
----------
Playtech said Brickington Trading sold a 12.0% stake in the company, ahead of the 10% originally planned, for GBP329.0 million. The gaming software company had said late Tuesday that Brickington was planning to sell around 32.2 million shares, or an around 10% stake, via an accelerated bookbuild. Brickington sold 38.7 million shares at a price of 850 pence per share, representative of a 12% stake. Playtech shares were down 7.7% at 851.16p early Wednesday.
----------
Pub company Greene King reported growth in profit and revenue in the first half of its financial year thanks to a robust performance in its estate which has offset increased cost pressures. The group reported a pretax profit of GBP92.5 million for the 24 weeks to October 16, up 9.0% on GBP84.9 million a year prior. Total revenue grew to GBP1.04 billion from GBP917.7 million. Greene King said it continued to benefit from synergies derived from its merger with Spirit Pub and said it will deliver annualised savings from the deal of GBP30.0 million by the end of its current financial year, a year earlier than originally planned. Greene King declared an interim dividend of 8.80 pence per share, up 4.1% from 8.45p a year prior.
----------
Zoopla Property Group reported increases in both annual profit and revenue, and said it has purchased a cloud-based estate agency website design business Technicweb. Zoopla, which owns consumer brands focused around property including uSwitch and PrimeLocation, reported revenue of GBP197.7 million for the twelve months ended September 30, up 84% on the prior year when revenue came in at GBP107.6 million. Zoopla's pretax profit rose 38% year-on-year to GBP46.2 million from GBP33.6 million, and the group declared a dividend for the year of 5.20 pence per share, up 53% from 3.50p per share the prior year. Zoopla oalso announced it has bought Technicweb, a cloud-based estate agency website design and hosting business.
----------
Soft drinks maker Britvic reported 10% growth in both profit and revenue for its recently ended financial year and said it remains confident it will meet market expectations in the current year. The mid-cap group, which makes Robinsons and J20 drinks, said it made a pretax profit of GBP151.9 million in the 53 weeks to October 2, compared to a GBP137.6 million profit in the 52 weeks to September 27, 2015. Total revenue increased 10% to GBP1.43 billion from GBP1.30 billion a year prior. On a like-for-like, constant currency basis, revenue was up 0.4%. Britvic declared a final dividend of 17.50 pence per share, up 7.4% year-on-year, taking its total annual payout up 6.5% to 24.50p from 23.0p.
----------
Wealth management firm Brewin Dolphin Holdings said its full-year results showed a resilient business, despite a drop in profit and a dip in income. Brewin Dolphin reported pretax profit of GBP50.1 million for its financial year ended September 30, down from GBP60.1 million in the prior financial year. However, adjusted pretax profit was GBP61.0 million, just marginally below GBP62.2 million the year before. The stockbroker's total income for the period was GBP282.4 million, down slightly from GBP283.7 million the previous year. Brewin Dolphin declared a final dividend of 9.15 pence per share, increased 11% from 8.25p in financial 2015. This put its full-year dividend up 8.3% to 13.0p from 12.0p previously.
----------
COMPANIES - INTERNATIONAL
----------
The South Korean government plans to ban sales of certain cars made by German auto makers BMW and Porsche, as well as Japan's Nissan Motor, for alleged fabrication of environmental certification documents, reports said, citing Seoul's environment ministry. The ministry would also fine the local units of these companies a combined KRW6.5 billion or USD5.6 million after it found the companies manipulated documents to make their vehicles road worthy.
----------
Warner Bros, one of Hollywood's biggest movie studios, joined calls for the industry to allow new films to be released sooner for home viewing. The studio is in talks with cinema owners to shorten the typical 90 days of exclusivity that they have over new releases, Kevin Tsujihara, chief executive officer of the Time Warner subsidiary, said at a Credit Suisse investors conference Tuesday, without providing additional details. That could allow for a new release window for home-video customers willing to pay a premium for earlier access.
----------
The Walt Disney Co said in a memo posted on its website that it wil no longer allow the Dongguan Qing Xi Juantiway Plastic Factory to make products featuring the company's characters. The violations had been flagged by China Labor Watch, a New York-based non-profit that monitors manufacturing abroad.
----------
Linde said it received a revised proposal from US-based Praxair concerning a potential merger of equals. The executive board of Linde is reviewing the proposal, it said. Praxair confirmed it had approached Linde about resuming discussions regarding a potential merger. In September, Praxair had said that its preliminary discussions with Linde regarding a potential merger terminated.
----------
Wednesday's Shareholder Meetings

Weatherly International
Ruffer Investment Co
Ferrum Crescent
Salt Lake Potash
Aura Energy
Picton Property Income
Genedrive
London Finance & Investment Group
BlackRock Greater Europe Investment Trust
RPS Group (re directors remuneration policy)
Unite Group (re conversion to real estate investment trust)
----------
By Tom Waite; thomaslwaite@alliancenews.com; @thomaslwaite

Copyright 2016 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.