Vodafone Share News (VOD)

LONDON (Alliance News) - UK shares have opened mostly lower Monday, following a disappointing GDP report from China.

Shell has grabbed attention at the start of a second straight trading day, revealing that it will sell its interest in the Wheatstone-Lago joint venture for USD1.1 billion to Kuwait Foreign Petroleum Exploration Co. On Friday, Shell issued a profit warning, raising expectations for such disposals.

JP Morgan has cut Royal Bank of Scotland to Underweight from Neutral, according to traders.

Here is what you need to know at the UK market open:

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MARKETS
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FTSE 100: down 11.28 at 6,818.02
FTSE 250: down 12.92 at 16,174.17
AIM ALL-SHARE: up 0.06 at 884.71
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DJIA: closed up 41.55 at 16,458.56
S&P 500: closed down 7.19 at 1,838.70

US markets closed Monday for Martin Luther King Day
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GBP-USD: up at USD1.6425
EUR-USD: up at USD1.3540

GOLD: up at USD1,255.30 per ounce
OIL (Brent): up at USD106.35 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 Day US Martin L. King's Birthday
09:00 Italy Industrial Sales
14:00 Russia Industrial Output
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House prices in the UK increased for the first time in three months in January, marking the biggest ever increase for the month, a survey by Rightmove showed. Average asking prices of a property increased 1% month-on-month to GBP 243,861 in January. This followed a 1.9% fall in December and 2.4% decline in November. Year-on-year, prices increased 6.3%, the sharpest rise since November 2007, Rightmove said.
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China's economic growth eased in the fourth quarter amid slower gains in industrial production, investment and retail sales, suggesting that the recovery is yet to attain a firm footing, data released by the National Bureau of Statistics showed. In the whole year of 2013, the GDP grew 7.7%, the same pace as in 2012, which was the slowest since 1999. The gross domestic product grew 7.7% year-on-year in the fourth quarter of 2013, following a 7.8% gain in the third quarter. This was slightly better than the 7.6% growth expected.
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Separately, the statistical office reported that China's industrial production grew 9.7% year-on-year in December compared with an expected 9.8% gain and slower than a 10% growth reported in November.
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Germany's producer prices declined for the fifth consecutive month in December, Destatis reported. Producer prices dropped 0.5% from the preceding year, which was slower than the 0.8% fall seen in November and 0.6% decline forecast by economists.
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Japan's industrial production fell 0.1% in November from October, instead of a 0.1% increase estimated previously, final data from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry showed. In October, production was up 1%.
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Violence broke out Sunday at anti-government protests as hundreds of opposition supporters armed with clubs tried to break through a police blockade and storm the Ukrainian parliament. Opposition leader and former boxing champion Vitaly Klitschko was attacked as he tried to calm down the crowd, media reports said. Klitschko was sprayed with a fire extinguisher, they said. Police fired stun grenades and tear gas.  emonstrators set off fireworks, and some threw rocks at police. At least one police bus was damaged. Unconfirmed reports said several people were injured. Klitschko called for calm and negotiations with the police.
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The United Nations has invited Iran to attend international peace talks on the Syrian conflict this week in Switzerland, Secretary General Ban Ki-moon announced late Sunday. The participation of Tehran, a close ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, has been a sticking point in the long-delayed peace conference. The Geneva II conference, scheduled to start Wednesday, will bring Syrian officials and the opposition to the negotiating table for the first time since the war began in March 2011.
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The EU and the US are expected Monday to suspend sanctions against Iran for several months, in return for Tehran's scaling back of nuclear enrichment - the first concrete step to address fears that Iran is seeking a nuclear weapon. The carefully choreographed sequence of events begins when inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Association (IAEA) confirm that Tehran is complying with its side of a deal struck in November with Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the US.
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Dozens of major international clothing brands expressed "grave concern" to Cambodia over the shooting deaths of five striking garment workers during a protest this month. The brands including Puma, Walmart, Gap, Levi and H&M sent a joint letter to Prime Minister Hun Sen urging an investigation.
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Explosions at an anti-government protest site on Sunday injured at least 28 people, four seriously, adding to a growing list of victims in the country's political stand-off. The blasts, believed to have been caused by grenades, occurred at the Victory Monument, one of seven sites that have been occupied by the Bangkok shutdown campaign.
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EU foreign ministers are expected on Monday to approve a European military intervention in the Central African Republic, according to diplomats, to provide backup to French and African Union peacekeepers already in the conflict-ridden country.
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BROKER RATING CHANGES
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DEUTSCHE BANK INITIATES OCADO WITH 'SELL' - TARGET 440 PENCE
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CREDIT SUISSE CUTS BURBERRY TO NEUTRAL (OUTPERFORM) - TARGET 1600 (1700) PENCE
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TRADERS: CREDIT SUISSE RAISES HARGREAVES LANSDOWN TO 'NEUTRAL' ('UNDERPERFORM')
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TRADERS: NUMIS RAISES SPIRENT TO 'ADD' ('HOLD')
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TRADERS: JPMORGAN CUTS RBS TO 'UNDERWEIGHT' ('NEUTRAL')
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JPMORGAN RAISES AVEVA GROUP TO 'OVERWEIGHT' ('NEUTRAL') - TARGET 2450 PENCE
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COMPANIES - FTSE 100
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Shell To Sell Interest In Wheatstone-Lago Joint Venture For USD1.1 Billion To Kuwait Foreign Petroleum Exploration Co
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Vodafone Group PLC and British Sky Broadcasting Group PLC have held high-level talks aimed at curbing BT Group PLC’s growing power in the broadband market, The Sunday Times reported, quoting "senior" sources. Sky and Vodafone have discussed striking deals on Sky’s sports and movie channels and collaborating on a high-speed broadband service, the paper said, adding that senior sources said it was unlikely they would build a nationwide fibre network, which would cost several billion pounds. Sky and Vodafone declined to comment to the paper.
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Tesco PLC is weighing a surprise swoop on Mothercare PLC, the troubled baby products chain, as part of its wider campaign to reinvigorate its British hypermarkets, The Sunday Times reported, citing sources in London's financial district. Tesco examined a bid six months ago, retail sources told the paper, but put the plan on hold. Mothercare’s shares have since collapsed, with a Christmas trading warning taking it from 420 pence to close last week at 272p, giving a market value of GBP241 million. City insiders said the fall could rekindle Tesco’s interest. The sources said it had made no approach. Tesco declined to comment to The Times.
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The UK Serious Fraud Office has been given extra funding by the UK Treasury in order to pursue its criminal investigation into alleged bribery by Rolls-Royce Holding PLC in Indonesia and China, the Financial Times reported late Sunday. The FT said the Treasury has agreed to so-called blockbuster funding "in the low millions" of pounds, citing "people familiar with the arrangement". The move is rare, the FT said, but also was used for the SFO's investigations into alleged Libor rigging and in Barclays PLC's funding arrangements with Qatar.
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Paul Coyle, group treasurer of Wm Morrison Supermarkets PLC, was arrested in December after an insider-trading investigation by the UK Financial Conduct Authority, The Telegraph reported. The newspaper said Coyle, who also is Morrison's head of tax, was arrested on suspicion of buying shares in Ocado Group PLC before the two company's online partnership was announced in March. Coyle, 49, has not returned to work since the arrest, the Telegraph said, and has yet to be charged.
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COMPANIES - FTSE 250
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Electra Private Equity PLC said it bought show retailer Hotter Shoes for GBP85 million, its first investment of the year. In a short statement, the company said the investment would have no impact on its diluted net asset value per share at September 30, 2013. Hotter Shoes was founded in 1959 by the parents of current owner Stewart Houlgrave. Its main selling point is the comfort of its shoes for both men and women.
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Amlin Received Regulatory OK To Open Branch Office In Germany; Offering Insurance Products In Germany From Jan 1
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COMPANIES - ALL-SHARE AND AIM
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Laura Ashley Holdings PLC said it will pay a bonus interim dividend of 1.0 pence a share for its 2014 financial year, a payment it says shows its appreciation of the continued support of its shareholders. It said the payment for the year to January 25, 2014, will be paid February 10. It will go ex-dividend January 29. Last week, the company disposed of its entire stake in Moss Bros Group PLC for nearly GBP8 million, but said it would use those funds for working capital and other purposes.
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Rockhopper Exploration PLC said Finance Director Peter Dixon-Clarke will step down early in 2014, but it is already advanced in its efforts to find a successor. The company said it still has to agree Dixon-Clarke's leaving details, but expects him to stay on as a consultant for a period while his replacement is appointed.
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Cloudbuy PLC said it has appointed Jonathan Holden as the chief executive of its Europe, Middle East and Africa operations, with responsibility for global partnerships, including the one it has with Visa Inc. In a statement, cloudBuy said Holden will join from Visa. He had previously worked for Barclaycard.
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City Of London Investment Group H1 Pretax Profit GBP3.3M Vs GBP4.7M; H1 Funds Under Management Down To USD3.5B
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Portmeirion Expects Full Year Pretax Profit In Line With Expectations
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Max Petroleum Says SAGW-11 Appraisal Well To Be Plugged, Abandoned; Didn't Encounter Commercial Rate Of Hydrcarbons
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COMPANIES - OTHER
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German lender Deutsche Bank AG Sunday reported a narrower net loss in its fourth quarter, but revenues declined due largely to weak results at Fixed Income & Currencies business. The loss during the final quarter reflected litigation and other charges. For the fourth quarter, the company generated net loss of EUR965 million, compared to a loss of EUR2.51 billion a year earlier. Loss before income taxes was EUR1.15 billion, narrower than the EUR3.17 billion loss in the previous year period. The latest quarter results were hurt by material charges of EUR623 million for Credit Valuation Adjustment, Debt Valuation Adjustment and Funding Valuation Adjustment, EUR509 million of CtA, and EUR528 million for litigation.
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Monday's Scheduled AGMs/EGMs

No Events Scheduled
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By Tom Waite; thomaslwaite@alliancenews.com; @thomaslwaite

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