Webis Share News (WEB)

LONDON (Alliance News) - Royal Bank Of Scotland Group is one of the top gainers early Friday on a report that it will shrink dramatically, while GlaxoSmithKline is off to a good start after one of its new drugs was recommended for approval in Europe.

The London equity markets are higher early ahead of UK retail sales data.

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

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MARKETS
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FTSE 100: Up 0.6% at 6,854.26
FTSE 250: Up 0.3% at 16,417.14
AIM ALL-SHARE: Up 0.2% at 884.82
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DJIA: closed up at 16,133.23
S&P 500: closed up at 1,839.78
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GBP-USD: Up at USD1.6678
EUR-USD: Down at USD1.3713

GOLD: Flat at USD1,320.77 per ounce
OIL (Brent): Down at USD110.25 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

09:30 UK Public Sector Net Borrowing
09:30 UK Retail Sales
10:00 EU European Commission Releases Economic Growth Forecasts
15:00 US Existing Home Sales
18:10 US Fed's Bullard speech
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Confidence among British residents regarding the value of their homes increased to the record high in February, data from a survey by Knight Frank and Markit Economics revealed. The headline house price sentiment index, which measures households' views of the current value of their houses, climbed to 60.7 in February, hitting the highest level since the survey began. The index has now stayed above the no-change 50 mark, which separates growth from contraction, for the eleventh successive month. Property owners in every region of the UK perceived that the value of their home rose in February, led by London, data showed.
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Multinationals that shift revenue around the world to pare their tax bill will be in the firing line at this weekend's meeting in Sydney of global finance chiefs, Australia's top economics minister said.
Joe Hockey said that "where you earn the money you pay the tax" and that the G20 finance chiefs meeting he is hosting is "where the rubber hits the road on these issues."
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Negotiators from the EU and Russia have agreed with Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych and the opposition on a solution to the political crisis, the president's office says. The deal was due to be signed on Friday at 1000 GMT. Yanukovych told visiting EU ministers on Thursday he was ready to hold early presidential and parliamentary elections. Clashes between anti-government protesters and riot police in the capital Kiev left 45 people dead Thursday, including three policemen, the Ukrainian Health Ministry said.
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A draft UN Security Council resolution on humanitarian aid access in war-torn Syria has been finalized and will be put to vote Saturday morning, said Gary Quinlan, Australian ambassador to the UN. The draft backed by Western and Arab states calls for ending violence against civilians, allowing humanitarian aid into Syria and also makes provision for the use of force in the case of non-compliance, according to a copy of the draft obtained by dpa. The text calls for lifting the siege of several areas, including Old City Homs, Aleppo and Damascus, to allow civilians to leave and get access to food and medical help.
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UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon presented a six-point action plan to the UN Security Council Thursday, saying immediate measures are needed to stop violence in the Central African Republic.
"The international community must act decisively now to prevent any further worsening of the situation and to respond to the dire needs of the country's people," Ban told the council. The secretary general appealed for 3,000 additional troops, increased funding, political support to establish a functioning government in the country and assistance to get the peace process underway.
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Libyans voted on Thursday to elected members of an assembly that will draft a new constitution, which many hope will avert violence between rival militias and armed factions. Turnout was reported to be low. Many Libyans are disillusioned with politics three years after the outbreak of the revolt that ended with the caputre and killing of Moamer Gaddafi.
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Iran is complying with obligations under an interim agreement with six world powers by curbing its nuclear activities and allowing more intrusive inspections, the UN nuclear watchdog said in its second positive assessment. The International Atomic Energy Agency issued its report hours after Iran and the six nations agreed to an intensive schedule of talks to reach a comprehensive agreement and resolve the standoff over Tehran's nuclear programme.
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China urged the US to cancel a planned meeting Friday between US President Barack Obama and the Dalai Lama at the White House. The meeting would cause "serious damage" to ties between the two countries and amount to interference in China's domestic affairs, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said.
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North and South Korean families divided since the Korean War in the 1950s met again Friday in the latest set of reunions, a media report said. Eighty-two selected South Koreans accompanied by 58 family members saw 180 relatives from the North at the coastal resort of Mount Kumgang in North Korea, the South's Yonhap News Agency said.
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BROKER RATING CHANGES
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JPMORGAN CUTS BARRATT DEVELOPMENTS TO 'NEUTRAL' ('OVERWEIGHT')
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JPMORGAN RAISES BOVIS HOMES TO 'NEUTRAL' ('UNDERWEIGHT')
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EXANE BNP CUTS IMI TO 'UNDERPERFORM' ('OUTPERFORM') - TARGET 1400 (1700) PENCE
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SOCGEN RAISES BAE SYSTEMS TO 'BUY' ('HOLD') - TARGET 450 (480) PENCE
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UBS CUTS SMITHS GROUP TO 'SELL' ('NEUTRAL') - TARGET 1340 (1450) PENCE
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COMPANIES - FTSE 100
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Royal Dutch Shell has reached a binding agreement to sell its Australia downstream businesses, excluding Aviation, to Dutch-owned oil trader Vitol for a total of about USD2.6 billion. The sale covers Shell's Geelong Refinery and 870-site retail business, and includes its bulk fuels, bitumen, chemicals and part of its lubricants businesses in Australia. The sale also includes a brand license arrangement and an exclusive distributor arrangement in Australia for Shell Lubricants.
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Royal Bank of Scotland Group is preparing a dramatic retrenchment that would see it become a much smaller UK retail and commercial bank, a move that is expected to see staff numbers slashed by at least 30,000 in the coming years, the Financial Times reported, citing people familiar with the bank's plans.
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Legal & General has expanded its investment management arm in the world's largest economy by buying Atlanta-based Global Index Advisors Inc for up to USD50.4 million. The British insurer had wanted to expand its international investment management operations to help drive growth, and the Global Index deal, its first acquisition in the US, means its US investment management unit now has proforma assets of over USD50 billion. It said the acquisition will give it scale in the USD6 trillion US defined contribution market. It will pay USD30.75 million initially, a further USD1.5 million over the two years following completion, and up to USD18.15 million more over the three years following completion, subject to the performance of Global Index and its ability to grow assets.
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GlaxoSmithKline's Incruse, a treatment for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, had been recommended for marketing authorisation by the European Medicines Agency's committee for Medical Products for Human Use, a key step in getting approval for the drug.
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Rolls-Royce Holdings has won a USD182.7 million extension on its contract to provide support for the US Air Force's C-130J transport plane fleet. The British company looks after the AE 2100 engines on the planes.
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Tullow Oil said the operator of the Langlitinden prospect in Norway, in which it has a 15% stake, had failed to find any oil. The well on the site will be plugged and abandoned.
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COMPANIES - FTSE 250
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Millennium & Copthorne Hotels Group reported higher revenues and profits for 2013, solely due to a one-off profit boost from the Glyndebourne property development in Singapore at the end of the fourth quarter, and said its room refurbishment programme would continue to weigh on its results this year. It reported a pretax profit of GBP167.7 million for the fourth quarter of 2013, up from only GBP54.2 million a year earlier, and recorded a pretax profit of GBP263.6 million for the year as a whole, compared with a profit of GBP171.3 million in 2012.
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Informa FY Revenue GBP1.13B Vs GBP1.11B. Pretax Profit GBP115.7M Vs GBP70.4M. FY Net Loss GBP6.4M Vs Profit GBP90.7M. Says Key Objective For 2014 To Manage Transition In Leadership Smoothly. Currently Trading In Line With Expectations. Says Despite Currency Headwinds, It Will Focus On Growth To Deliver Continued Growth In Adjusted EPS.
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COMPANIES - ALL-SHARE AND AIM
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First Quantum Minerals said its gross profit, revenues and production all improved in 2013, and it forecast higher copper production but lower nickel and gold output in 2014. The multi-metal miner with operations in Zambia, Mauritania, Spain, Finland, Turkey and Australia, said its gross profit increased 2.7% to USD1.13 billion, from USD1.10 billion in 2012, as sales rose 20% to USD3.55 billion, from USD2.95 billion. That offset a USD313 million hit from lower commodity prices and a build-up in concentrate inventory at its Kansanshi mine.
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Seeing Machines Ltd has raised GBP1 million in an oversubscribed share placing, adding to the GBP15 million it raised in December. It will use the funds to grow its mining business through its alliance with Caterpillar.
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Porta Communications Raises GBP7.0M In Oversubcribed Placing Of 53.8 Million Shares. Says Proceeds From Share Placing To Be Used For Growth, Reduce Debt.
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Electrical Geodesics Says GES 400 Has Received FDA Clearance
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Webis Holdings H1 Revenue GBP79.2M Vs GBP71.4M. Operating Profit GBP77,000 Vs GBP62,000 Operating Loss. Says Confident Progress It Has Achieved So Far Places It In Strong Position. Expects To Announce International Partnership For WatchandWager.com.
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Victoria Oil & Gas Says Gaz du Cameroun Is Now Above Break-Even Cash Flow. Says Gaz du Cameroun Produces Average 3.2mmscf/d In February.
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North Midland Construction Expects To Post 2013 Operating Loss Of About GBP6M. Hit By Problematic Contracts. Says Highways Unit Also Hit By Bad Debts On Contract.
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Bushveld Secures Rights To Extension Of P-Q Deposit. Says Revised JORC Resource To Be Completed By End Of Q1 2014
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The Renewables Infrastructure Group Agrees Revolving Acquisition Facility With RBS And NAB
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Friday's Scheduled AGMs/EGMs

No events scheduled

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By Steve McGrath; steve.mcgrath@alliancenews.com; @stevemcgrath1

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