WPP Share News (WPP)

- Italian PM Monti to resign- Japan in recession- Greece extends buy-back offerStock markets reacted to Mario Monti's resignation with moderate losses on Monday, as the departure of Italy's Prime Minister throws up another curve ball in the ongoing Eurozone debt crisis.Benchmarks across Europe showed their vulnerability to political uncertainty this morning, with Milan's FTSE MIB index (-3.2%) and Madrid's IBEX index (-1.7%) hit the hardest.Monti, Italy's current technocrat PM, announced this weekend that he would step down as soon as parliament passes a budget bill, paving the way for an early generation election in spring next year. Monti explained that he made the decision based on constant criticism from what had been his largest source of support in Parliament: Il Popolo della Libertà party (PDL), run by ex-PM Silvio Berlusconi."This certainly marks a new chapter in the Eurozone debt crisis in 2013, as Italy becomes the next target on the 'will it default or not?' list," said market strategist Ishaq Siddiqi from ETX Capital.The yield on a 10-year Italian bond was up a whopping 34.2 basis points at 4.871% on the secondary market before midday today.Siddiqi added: "Monti has been seen as a safe pair of hands across financial markets and pro-austerity countries like Germany- his departure in that case leaves the void to be filled by parties such as that of ex Italian PM Silvio Berlusconi who are very critical of Monti's government."Also weighing on sentiment this morning was the news that Japan had entered into a recession in the third quarter. Japanese gross domestic product (GDP) fell at a annual rate of 3.5% in the three months to the end of September, in line with the preliminary reading. This follows the revised 0.1% decrease in the second quarter.Elsewhere, industrial production figures in China were strong last month, rising at an annual rate of 10.1%, up from October's 9.6% gain and the 9.8% increase expected. However, the country's exports rose by less than forecast in November, by 2.9% month-on-month (consensus estimate: +9%). Markets were also digesting the news that US President Barack Obama and House Speaker John Boehner had an unscheduled face-to-face meeting yesterday to discuss the 'fiscal cliff'. "Thus, investors will be hoping for an early Christmas present this week in the form of announcement, which is backed by tangible evidence, that US policy officials are close to agreeing a deal to avoid the cliff," said financial trader Shavaz Dhalla.Meanwhile, Greece has announced that it will extend its debt repurchase plan by one more day in order to receive additional offers from bond holders. "We have decided to extend the invitation to offer designated securities for exchange to 11 December 2012," Stelios Papadopoulos, the head of the Public Debt Management Agency, said in a statement.FTSE 100: ENRC falls after DRC expansionMining titan Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation (ENRC), fell after saying that it is to buy the remaining 49.5% stake in Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) focused group Camrose Resources for $550m. The acquisition is an attempt to simplify its organisational structure and consolidate its position within the DRC. Power systems group Rolls-Royce was still under pressure after Thursday's news that it was under investigation by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) after matters of bribery and corruption involving so-called "intermediaries" were discovered in Indonesia and China. According to media reports this weekend, Rolls-Royce has been accused of giving $20m and a new car to the son of the former Indonesian President to help the company win an engine contract.Advertising and media giant WPP was under the weather this morning after Deutsche Bank lowered its rating for the stock to 'hold' and cut its target price for the share from 945p to 930p.Insurance giant Resolution gained after saying that it is nearing the final stretch of its simplified governance structure. The company expects that by 2013 it will adopt a unified membership of the boards of Resolution and Friends Life Group (FLG), the main UK holding company for its regulated insurance group. Sweeteners and food products group Tate & Lyle was on the rise after last week's investor seminar in Chicago. Investec, which maintained its 'buy' rating for the shares, said it was impressed by the meeting and the key takeaways were "innovation and collaborative capabilities, plus a potential cost advantage". Canaccord Genuity raised its target price for the stock this morning from 780p to 840p, keeping its 'buy' recommendation.Airline group IAG was lower as its Spanish division Iberia sits down with labour unions over what it called a "unnecessary and disproportionate" planned strike.FTSE 250: AZ Electronic Materials hit by downgradeSpeciality chemicals producer AZ Electronic Materials led the fallers after UBS cut its rating from 'buy' to 'neutral' on valuation grounds, removing the stock from its 'Pan-euro Midcap Key Call List'. Including Monday's over 5% decline (to 360.8p), the stock has still gained 50% in 2012. UBS said that following its strong performance, it has now closed the valuation gap compared with its UK speciality chemicals sector.Ken McMeikan, the Chief Executive Officer of bakery and hot snacks retailer Greggs, is to leave the company for catering firm Brakes Group. Shares fell early on after the CEO of four years said that he would leave as soon as a successor could be found. Shore Capital cut its recommendation for the shares to 'hold' this morning.Oil and gas group Salamander Energy gained after has announcing that it has started drilling at its Bontang project in the North Kutei basin in Indonesia.Irn-Bru maker AG Barr was flat after posting a 9% increase in revenue in the 18 weeks to the start of December and says it remains confident of delivering on full-year expectations. Numis downgraded its rating on the stock this morning to 'hold'.FTSE 100 - RisersAssociated British Foods (ABF) 1,500.00p +1.01%Tate & Lyle (TATE) 765.00p +0.79%Petrofac Ltd. (PFC) 1,699.00p +0.77%Resolution Ltd. (RSL) 247.00p +0.65%Johnson Matthey (JMAT) 2,458.00p +0.61%Kazakhmys (KAZ) 750.00p +0.60%GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) 1,356.50p +0.56%Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,312.00p +0.54%Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 6,420.00p +0.47%Reckitt Benckiser Group (RB.) 3,979.00p +0.43%FTSE 100 - FallersAviva (AV.) 357.50p -2.40%Eurasian Natural Resources Corp. (ENRC) 277.00p -2.12%Hargreaves Lansdown (HL.) 719.50p -2.11%Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 881.00p -1.73%WPP (WPP) 855.00p -1.67%Capita (CPI) 748.00p -1.51%Aggreko (AGK) 2,214.00p -1.34%Experian (EXPN) 1,037.00p -1.33%International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 169.20p -1.17%Admiral Group (ADM) 1,117.00p -1.15%FTSE 250 - RisersMan Group (EMG) 76.70p +4.14%Centamin (DI) (CEY) 51.40p +2.90%Ruspetro (RPO) 85.30p +2.28%Kenmare Resources (KMR) 31.21p +2.09%Halfords Group (HFD) 345.00p +1.95%ITE Group (ITE) 228.80p +1.69%Daejan Holdings (DJAN) 2,979.00p +1.67%Raven Russia Ltd (RUS) 62.75p +1.62%Morgan Crucible Co (MGCR) 259.70p +1.48%Jupiter Fund Management (JUP) 278.00p +1.27%FTSE 250 - FallersAZ Electronic Materials SA (DI) (AZEM) 363.40p -4.44%Pace (PIC) 184.60p -3.75%Perform Group (PER) 368.10p -3.13%African Barrick Gold (ABG) 402.10p -3.11%Bumi (BUMI) 267.50p -2.87%New World Resources A Shares (NWR) 272.00p -2.86%Greggs (GRG) 473.80p -2.61%Hochschild Mining (HOC) 462.80p -2.57%Shanks Group (SKS) 76.05p -2.56%Sports Direct International (SPD) 390.50p -2.13%BC