Wood Group (J) Share News (WG.)

LONDON (Alliance News) - Brewer and acquisition target SABMiller issued a surprise trading update early Tuesday, reporting a decline in revenue at actual currency rates but a rise at constant rates. SABMiller said it issued the statement early due to the bid approach from Anheuser-Busch InBev last month. The stock down 1.8%.

Shares have opened generally weaker, with volatile blue-chip Glencore leading FTSE 100 decliners, off 7.7% after the miner's gains in recent sessions.

Here is what you need to know at the London market open:
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MARKETS
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FTSE 100: down 0.2% at 6,286.92
FTSE 250: down 0.1% at 17,101.72
AIM ALL-SHARE: up 0.1% at 734.55
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Hang Seng: down 0.4% at 21,776.17
Nikkei 225: closed up 1.0% at 18,186.10
DJIA: closed up 1.9% at 16,776.43
S&P 500: closed up 1.8% at 1,987.05
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GBP: flat at USD1.5149
EUR: up at USD1.1198

GOLD: up at USD1,137.90 per ounce
OIL (Brent): down at USD49.11 a barrel

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

China National Day holiday
EU Eurogroup and EcoFin meetings

13:30 US Trade Balance
13:30 Canada International Merchandise Trade
13:55 US Redbook index
15:00 US IBD/TIPP Economic Optimism
15:00 Canada Ivey Purchasing Managers Index
18:00 EU ECB President Draghi speech
22:30 US FOMC Member Williams speech
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Twelve Pacific Rim countries reached an agreement on a trade pact that will lift most duties on trade and investment, set new business standards and protect intellectual property rights, the countries' trade ministers said. "After more than five years of intensive negotiations, we have come to an agreement that will support jobs, drive sustainable growth, foster inclusive development and promote innovation across the Asia-Pacific region," the ministers said in a statement after reaching final agreement on the Trans-Pacific Partnership. The US-led initiative, which US President Barack Obama aims to make one of his signature achievements, would encompass nearly 40% of the world's economy and cover about 800 million people. The US hopes it will tilt the economic balance of power in the region away from China. The Pacific Rim countries involved in the negotiations are Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, the US and Vietnam.
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The Reserve Bank of Australia maintained its key interest rate for the fifth straight meeting. The policy board governed by Glenn Stevens decided to leave the cash rate at a record low 2.00%, in line with expectations. The bank had lowered the rates by 25 basis points each in February and May.
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Germany's factory orders declined in August as both domestic and foreign demand deteriorated from July, data from Destatis revealed. Factory orders dropped 1.8% month-on-month in August, confounding expectations for a 0.5% rise. Orders had declined 2.2% in July, which was revised from a 1.4% drop estimated initially. This was the second consecutive decrease in orders.
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Eurozone finance ministers expressed wariness on suggestions that the EU should grant budgetary leeway to member states that are contending with refugee influxes. The EU requires the public deficits in its member states to be brought down to 3% of gross domestic product while debt should be no higher than 60%. Within the eurozone, the commission can enforce its recommendations with fines. But some have been calling for Brussels to loosen the economic straitjacket as Europe contends with its largest influx of migrants and refugees since World War II, straining local resources. Diplomats said Austria, Italy and Luxembourg have been pushing for leeway under the EU budget rules, which foresee flexibility if there are "exceptional circumstances."
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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called for progress in EU relations with Ankara and support for what he called a terrorist crackdown as Brussels sought help in stemming the flow of refugees reaching the bloc. Europe is grappling with the largest influx of refugees and migrants since World War II with many fleeing the war in Syria. Neighbouring Turkey has taken in more than 2 million Syrian refugees but is also a transit country for those seeking a better life in the European Union.
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BROKER RATING CHANGES
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GOLDMAN RAISES PZ CUSSONS TO 'BUY' ('NEUTRAL') - TARGET 355 (370) PENCE
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TRADERS: BARCLAYS RESUMES TESCO WITH 'EQUAL WEIGHT'
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TRADERS: BARCLAYS RAISES JOHN WOOD GROUP TO 'OVERWEIGHT' ('EQUAL WEIGHT')
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BERENBERG INITIATES CINEWORLD WITH 'BUY' - TARGET 650 PENCE
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TRADERS: INVESTEC RESUMES WILLIAM HILL WITH 'REDUCE'
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SOCGEN CUTS DARTY TO 'HOLD' ('BUY') - TARGET 92 PENCE
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COMPANIES - FTSE 100
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SABMiller said that group net producer revenue declined in both the second quarter and first half of its financial year due to unfavourable movements in foreign exchange rates. The brewer said it had brought forward its half-year trading update as it is in an offer period under the UK Takeover Code, resulting from the bid approach from Anheuser-Busch InBev last month. The drinks giant said that group net producer revenue in the six months ended September 30 fell 9% on the year before, also falling 9% in the second quarter to the same date, which it said was due to the continued depreciation of its key operating currencies against the US dollar. On an organic, constant currency basis, net producer revenue grew 4% year-on-year.
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BP completed a USD20.8 billion agreement with the US government and states on the Gulf of Mexico to settle claims over the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The US Justice Department said the resolution - which includes federal civil environmental damages and economic damages for the five states and hundreds of local governments from Texas to Florida - is the largest settlement with a single company in the department's history.
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Royal Dutch Shell Chief Executive Ben van Beurden is set to tell a conference on Tuesday that clean renewable energy will struggle to displace fossil fuels as heavy industries will only gradually wean themselves off of coal, oil and gas, Reuters reported. In a speech due to be given at the Oil and Money conference in London, van Beurden will again call on governments to put a price on carbon emissions in order to cut coal consumption in favour of less-polluting natural gas.
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Two of the UK's biggest fund management companies are to quit the Investment Management Association amid criticism that the industry trade body has been "too aggressive", the Financial Times reported. Schroders and M&G Investments, which is owned by Prudential, have around GBP550 billion in combined assets under management, about 10% of the total of GBP5.5 trillion in assets managed by the IMA's members. Some City investors have said the association has been overzealous in carrying out reforms in areas such as the transparency of fund management fees and transactions costs, the FT said.
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Dixons Carphone said Graham Stapleton has been appointed chief executive of the company's Connected World Services division. Stapleton was formerly chief executive of Carphone Warehouse in the UK & Ireland.
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Low-cost airline easyJet said its passenger traffic and load factor both improved in September. The budget carrier said it carried 6.6 million passengers in September, versus 6.1 million a year earlier, up 7.6%. On a rolling 12-month basis, passenger numbers were up 6.0% to 68.6 million, it said. It also said its load factor for the month improved, up by 0.9 percentage point to 93.1% from 92.2% a year earlier.
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COMPANIES - FTSE 250
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Safety, heath and environmental technology group Halma said it has spent USD110.0 million to acquire US-based fire detection and suppression systems maker Firetrace USA. Halma said Firetrace is based in Scottsdale, Arizona and designs and manufacturers automatic fire detection and suppression products for small enclosed environments. Firetrace will continue to operate from its existing facility and its management team will remain in place following the acquisition. Halma said it is paying cash from its existing facilities for the acquisition.
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Barclays Bank said it has completed the accelerated bookbuild offering to investors of 8.0 million shares in Betfair Group at GBP32.50 each. On Monday, the bank announced that it had launched the bookbuild on behalf of LE PEIGNÉ and Rothschild Wealth Management acting on an agency basis for Betfair shareholders that are connected to Betfair Co-Founder Edward Wray. It said at the time that the number of shares to be placed was 7.4 million, but on Tuesday said that this increased to 8.0 million owing to strong investor demand, 5.0 million of which were on behalf of LE PEIGNÉ, and 3.0 million on behalf of Rothschild and the Wray shareholders.
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Playtech said it will formally challenge the Central Bank of Ireland's decision to oppose its acquisition of Ava Trade, after the Irish financial services regulator clarified its position to the company. On Monday, Playtech reported it had received a letter from the regulator opposing its proposed USD105 million deal to buy contracts-for-difference broker Ava Trade. The deal has already been approved by the Financial Services Commission of the British Virgin Islands.
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Oil services company John Wood Group said it has appointed Robin Watson as its chief executive officer, with plans for him to take over on January 1, 2016. Watson will replace Bob Keiller, who will retire from his role as the end of 2015. Watson has been on the board of the company since 2013 and was appointed chief operating officer in April 2015.
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Greggs reported growth in sales in the third quarter of its financial year and said it expects to report full-year growth slightly ahead of previous expectations amid favourable market conditions. The bakery and food-to-go retailer also said the new UK National Living Wage will raise its costs, but noted that it already pays staff above the current minimum. Greggs said that total sales in the 13 weeks to October 3 rose 5% on the same period the year before, while own-shop like-for-like sales grew 4.9%, slightly ahead of its expectations. In the year to date, total sales grew 5.1% and own-shop like-for-likes rose 5.6%.
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Ted Baker reported a rise in profit in the first half of its financial year as it grew sales strongly in each of the regions in which it operates. The luxury fashion retailer reported a 15% rise in pretax profit in the 28 weeks ended August 15 to GBP17.8 million from GBP15.6 million the year before, as revenue grew by a quarter to GBP226.8 million to GBP182.2 million. Ted Baker will pay an interim dividend of 13.2 pence, up 17% on the 11.3p it paid the year before.
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Acacia Mining said its production output in the third quarter was weaker than anticipated and said its full-year production will now fall below previous guidance. Acacia said its production in the third quarter was around 164,000 ounces of gold, lower than its had expected due to several short-term issues which hit production at its Bulyanhulu and Buzwagi mines over the period to the end of September, while North Mara performed in line with its expectations. All three mines are based in Tanzania.
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Speciality pharmaceuticals company BTG said it anticipates it will deliver full year revenue in the lower half of its guidance range, as interest in its varicose veins treatment Varithena has "not yet translated into sales growth." However, the company reiterated its expectations of double-digit revenue growth for the year.
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COMPANIES - LONDON MAIN MARKET AND AIM
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Paragon Entertainment said it anticipates its full-year results will miss current expectations due to delays on some projects. Paragon Entertainment, which designs, builds and operates attractions such as theme parks and museums, now expects to report earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation of GBP200,000 for 2015, on revenue of GBP9 million. In 2014, the company reported an Ebitda loss of GBP100,000, and revenue of GBP7.7 million.
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COMPANIES - INTERNATIONAL
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Vivendi announced the company now owns 19.9% of Telecom Italia's ordinary shares, its largest shareholder. The company said the new investment confirms its intention to support the telecoms group over the long term and to develop its activities in southern Europe.
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Apple has acquired Perceptio, a startup developing technology to let companies run advanced artificial intelligence systems on smartphones without needing to share as much user data, Bloomberg reported. The report said that Apple confirmed the acquisition. Terms of the deal weren't disclosed.
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The US Securities and Exchange Commission announced that New York-based pharmaceutical company Bristol-Myers Squibb has agreed to settle charges that its joint venture in China made cash payments and provided other benefits to health care providers at state-owned and state-controlled hospitals in exchange for prescription sales. Bristol-Myers Squibb will pay more than USD14 million to settle the SEC's finding that it violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and reaped more than USD11 million in profits from its misconduct.
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Chemicals giant EI DuPont De Nemours & Co said Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Ellen Kullman will retire from the company on October 16. Edward Breen has been appointed to take over the role of chairman and CEO on an interim basis, while the board has appointed a recruitment firm to search for a full-time replacement. Looking forward, the company also lowered its earnings outlook to USD2.75 per share from prior outlook of USD3.10. DuPont said it lowered its outlook largely due to continued strengthening of the US dollar and a further weakening of agricultural markets, primarily in Brazil.
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Tuesday's Scheduled AGMs/EGMs

No events scheduled
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By Tom Waite; thomaslwaite@alliancenews.com; @thomaslwaite

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