Walker Crips Share News (WCW)

LONDON (Alliance News) - Shares have opened higher Friday adding to three consecutive days of gains for the FTSE 100, despite renewed concerns about Greece.

Shares in InterContinental Hotels Group lead blue-chip losers, down 3.6%, after the hotelier said after the market close Thursday that it is not in talks with US hotel group Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide about a merger. The stock had gained 4.6% on Thursday on speculation about a combination of the two companies and on a strong set of interim results from IHG.

Here is what you need to know at the London market open:
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MARKETS
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FTSE 100: up 0.2% at 6,685.10
FTSE 250: up 0.4% at 17,588.27
AIM ALL-SHARE: up 0.1% at 750.67
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Hang Seng: up 0.1% at 24,529.21
Nikkei 225: closed up 0.3% at 20,585.24
DJIA: closed flat at 17,745.98
S&P 500: closed flat at 2,108.63
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GBP: down at USD1.5564
EUR: up at USD1.0940

GOLD: down at USD1,083.30 per ounce
OIL (Brent): down at USD52.81 a barrel

(changes since end of previous GMT day)
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ECONOMICS AND GENERAL
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Friday's Key Economic Events still to come
(all times in BST)

09:00 Italy Unemployment
10:00 Italy Consumer Price Index
10:00 EU Consumer Price Index
10:00 EU Unemployment Rate
11:00 Italy Producer Price Index
13:30 US Employment cost index
13:30 Canada Gross Domestic Product (MoM)
14:45 US Chicago Purchasing Managers' Index
15:00 US Reuters/Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index
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Consumer confidence in the UK stalled in June, the latest survey from polling firm GfK revealed on Friday with an index score of +4. That missed forecasts for +5 and was down from +7 in June.
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Greece's ruling Syriza will hold an emergency party congress in September to settle the rift between Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and the party's left wing, Syriza's central committee decided late Thursday. Tsipras proposed the party congress, which is expected to be a test of his leadership. In a televised address to the central committee, he warned that the government could fall if not supported by its leftist deputies. "The first leftist government in Europe after the Second World War is either supported by leftist deputies, or it is brought down by them because it is not considered leftist," he said. Tsipras said it was up to the Greek people to decide whether the bailout terms amounted to blackmail, as many in Greece feel.
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The Syriza central committee meeting coincided with the arrival in Athens of Delia Velculescu, the International Monetary Fund's head of mission. A report by the Financial Times cited an internal document that showed the IMF board had been told that Greece's levels of debt and past record of slow or non-existent reform disqualify it for a third bailout from the Washington-based crisis lender. According to the leaked document, the IMF could take months to decide whether it will take part in a fresh bailout. A Greek Finance Ministry official denied the report, saying the IMF would participate in the bailout negotiations as planned.
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The unemployment rate in Japan came in at a seasonally adjusted 3.4% in June, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said. That was above forecasts for 3.3%, which would have been unchanged from the May reading.
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Consumer prices in Japan gained 0.4% on year in June, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said. That beat expectations for an increase of 0.3%, although it slowed from 0.5% in May. On a monthly basis, inflation dipped 0.2%. Core inflation, which excludes the volatile prices for fresh food, added 0.1% - unchanged from the previous month and above estimates for a flat reading. On a monthly basis, core inflation was flat.
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The head of the Organization for Petroleum Exporting Countries said Thursday that prices for oil will not significantly rise even if the cartel's daily production quota is reduced by 2 million barrels from the current 30 million. Therefore the organization does not plan to reduce the quota, Secretary General Abdallah Salem el-Badri said in comments carried by Russian state news agency RIA Novosti. He made the comments after meeting with Russia's energy minister in Moscow to discuss the influence of Iran increasing sales of oil following the removal of Western sanctions against that country.
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BROKER RATING CHANGES
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S&P CAPITAL IQ RAISES ASTRAZENECA TO 'BUY' ('HOLD') - PRICE TARGET 4950 PENCE
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COMPANIES - FTSE 100
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Lloyds Banking Group reported higher profit in the first half, said it will consider returning surplus capital to shareholders in future, and raised its guidance for 2015. The results were not free of bad news. The bank took a "disappointing" GBP1.4 billion provision for the payment-protection insurance scandal in the half. Lloyds said it made a GBP1.19 billion pretax profit in the six months to the end of June, up from GBP863 million in the corresponding half last year. Underlying profit, which strips out costs such as the provision for PPI, increased to GBP4.38 billion from GBP3.82 billion. The bank said it will pay an interim dividend of 0.75 pence per share, and said it will consider special dividends or share buy-backs in future.
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The UK government is set to launch its first sale of shares in The Royal Bank of Scotland Group since the lender was bailed out by the taxpayers nearly seven years ago, The Times reports. The Times said banks have been sounding out investors in the past week about a sale of RBS stock, which could happen in the next few days. The newspaper said the aim is to sell around GBP2.5 billion, or 6%, of the bank's shares in the initial sale, with taxpayers set to make a loss.
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International Consolidated Airlines Group maintained its targets for the current financial year as its operating profit surged in the first half. The airline, which owns British Airways and Iberia and which is in the process of acquiring Irish flag carrier Aer Lingus Group, said its operating profit excluding exceptional items in the first half to the end of June was up to EUR555 million, sharply higher than the EUR230 million it posted a year earlier. Total revenue for IAG rose to EUR10.36 billion from EUR9.29 billion, as its passenger revenue in the half increased to EUR9.12 billion from EUR8.18 billion. At constant currencies, however, revenue was down by 2%, as the reported figure was flattered by the weak euro.
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BG Group reported a slump in revenue in the second quarter leading to an almost halving of earnings by one measure, as a large rise in production was not enough to offset the fall in oil and gas prices. The multi-commodity company reported earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation of USD1.37 billion in the second quarter of 2015, down from USD2.64 billion a year earlier as revenue slumped to USD3.97 billion from USD5.50 billion. A 19% rise in E&P production volumes and a 17% lift in LNG delivered volumes was not enough to offset the fall in oil and gas prices compared to a year earlier. BG Group maintained its interim dividend of 14.38 cents per share as expected.
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Miner Antofagasta said it has entered into a definitive agreement with Barrick Gold which will lead to the company acquiring a 50% stake in the Zaldivar copper mine in Chile. Antofagasta will acquire the stake in the holding company, Compañia Minera Zaldívar, from Barrick Gold for a total consideration of USD1.00 billion in cash, of which USD980 million will be paid once the deal has been closed, followed by five annual payments of USD5 million starting in 2016. The transaction will be funded with cash from Antofagasta's balance sheet, and is expected to be immediately accretive to Antofagasta's earnings and cash flow per share, it said.
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Telecommunications and cable group Liberty Global said it has increased its stake in broadcaster ITV to 9.9%. Liberty has acquired a further 138.7 million shares in ITV, increasing its total holding to 398.5 million. At the same time it has entered into a hedging transaction in respect the new shares it has acquired and has obtained further financing from its hedge counterparty.
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InterContinental Hotels Group late Thursday said it is not in talks with US hotel group Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc about a merger. IHG said in a statement after the market close that it was responding to recent market speculation. "The board of directors of IHG states that it is not in talks with Starwood with a view to a combination of the businesses," the statement read. The two companies have been the subject of frequent rumours in recent months, with IHG thought to be facing investor pressure to consider a tie-up.
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COMPANIES - FTSE 250
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Construction and support services company Balfour Beatty said its joint venture with engineering company NG Bailey has been appointed preferred bidder on the GBP460 million Hinkley Point C power station electrical package, awarded by French energy company EDF Energy. The six-year project is set to start in 2016, with the construction phase to begin in 2017.
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Martin Lewis, the founder and editor-in-chief of MoneySavingExpert.com, has sold a 1.6% stake in price comparison website Moneysupermarket.com Group for GBP25.2 million. Credit Suisse said it sold 9.0 million shares on behalf of Lewis, who sold MoneySavingExpert.com to Moneysupermarket in 2012, leaving him with a 1.5% stake in the company. Lewis, who still holds 8.4 million shares in the company, will be unable to sell further shares for 180 days on completion of the placing. Another 4.3 million shares were placed with investors on behalf of the Charities Aid Foundation, which cut its holding to 0.1% from 0.9% as a result.
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Retailer JD Sports Fashion said it anticipates beating market expectations for the full year, after the group said trading remained strong in its business in the first half of the year. JD said like-for-like sales in the half year to August 1 have been ahead of its expectations, though the group has seen its margins squeezed by the weakness of the euro. But, assuming its current performance continues, JD Sports said it expects its headline pretax profit for the full year will be around 10% ahead of the current market consensus of GBP110 million.
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COMPANIES - LONDON MAIN MARKET AND AIM
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Emirates National Oil said it has extended its offer to acquire Dragon Oil until late August and said it holds nearly 70% of the total issued share capital of Dragon. Emirates, which is owned by the government of Dubai, is already Dragon Oil's majority shareholder, and the offer for the stake it doesn't own is worth about GBP1.7 billion in total. It said its offer is 47.2% above Dragon Oil's share price on March 13, the day before it first approached Dragon Oil. The offer values the whole of Dragon Oil at around GBP3.7 billion.
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Private equity-owned food distributor Brakes Group has begun preparations for a stock market listing in a deal which could value the company at up to GBP2.5 billion, Sky News reports. Sky said Bain Capital, which acquired Brakes in 2007, has hired investment bank Lazard to advise on a public share offering in London. The listing would not take place until next year but the valuation would mean Brakes would go straight into the FTSE 250 index.
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COMPANIES - INTERNATIONAL
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Spanish financial services firm Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria reported that its second-quarter 2015 earnings, which includes corporate operations, increased 79% to EUR1.23 billion from last year. At current exchange rates, net profit in the second quarter, excluding Venezuela and corporate operations, increased 58% to EUR1.08 billion. If the contribution from Venezuela is added, the BBVA Group posted EUR1.22 billion euros in earnings in the latest-quarter, up 74% from the prior year. Quarterly net interest income rose 12% year-over-year at constant exchange rates to EUR3.81 billion.
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BNP Paribas reported first-half net income attributable to equity holders of EUR4.20 billion compared to a loss of EUR2.81 billion in the first half of 2014. Excluding the impact of one-off items, profit was up sharply by 14%. For the first half of the year, revenue totalled EUR22.14 billion, up by 14% compared to the first half of 2014.BNP said it is actively implementing the remediation plan agreed as part of the comprehensive settlement with the US authorities and is continuing to reinforce its internal control and compliance system.
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French aerospace giant Airbus Group reported that its net income for the first-half 2015 increased 34% to EUR1.524 billion from the prior year's EUR1.135 billion, driven by the improved operational performance. The company confirmed its 2015 guidance. Group revenue for the period rose 6% to EUR28.9 billion from last year's EUR27.2 billion, reflecting the strong delivery mix at Commercial Aircraft and strengthening dollar. Group order intake in the first six months of 2015 increased sharply to EUR53.9 billion from last year's EUR27.7 billion, with the order book value rising to EUR927 billion as of 30 June from EUR858 billion at the end of 2014.
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Steel giant ArcelorMittal reported that second-quarter net loss attributable to equity holders of the parent surged to USD179 million from USD52 million in the prior-year quarter. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization, a key metric for the steel company, declined to USD1.40 billion from last year's USD1.76 billion. Sales for the quarter declined to USD16.89 billion from USD20.70 billion in the same quarter last year. Meanwhile, steel shipments for the quarter grew 3.4% to of 22.2 metric tonnes Mt from the year-ago quarter.
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Online travel services company Expedia reported a surge in profit for the second quarter from last year, reflecting double-digit revenue growth on growth in travel bookings and also helped by a one-time gain. Adjusted earnings per share for the quarter beat analysts' expectations, while revenues matched their estimates. In addition, the company raised its quarterly dividend by 33%.
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L'Oreal Co reported an increase in profit for the first half of 2015, driven by growth in North America and new markets, and favourable currency helping results. The French cosmetics company said that on the back of comprehensive growth, it is making investments in the digital sphere and is poised for increased momentum in the second half. L'Oreal reported first-half net profit of EUR1.88 billion, compared with EUR1.73 billion last year. L'Oreal's first-half sales rose 15% to EUR12.82 billion from EUR11.17 billion in the prior year.
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Friday's Scheduled AGMs/EGMs

Vitesse Media
Walker Crips Group
Securities Trust of Scotland
Charles Stanley
3Legs Resources
KCOM
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By Tom Waite; thomaslwaite@alliancenews.com; @thomaslwaite

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