TOP NEWS: Greece Still Hopeful Of Reaching Deal Despite IMF Walkout

LONDON (Alliance News) - The following is a summary of top news stories Friday.
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COMPANIES
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UK telecoms regulator Ofcom proposed controls on the wholesale prices BT Group charges for its business lines, with the aim of reducing costs over a three-year period. Ofcom believes the proposed price caps "should lead to significant real-terms price reductions for most customers" in this market, including businesses, schools, universities and libraries. Consumer mobile and broadband operators also would see savings which could be passed on to customers, Ofcom said.
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GlaxoSmithKline said the Pulmonary Allergy Drugs Advisory Committee of the US Food and Drug Administration voted unanimously that efficacy and safety data for mepolizumab supported its approval for adults aged 18 or older with severe asthma. The committee voted against approval of mepolizumab for use in adolescents aged between 12 and 17 with severe asthma. It voted that the efficacy and safety of mepolizumab had not been adequately demonstrated for this age group mostly due to the limited number of patients in the age group in the overall database. It recommended further data is needed in this group.
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Royal Dutch Shell has notified Ukraine that it will pull out of a shale gas exploration project in the east of the country, the Financial Times reported, as a result of the ongoing conflict in the region. Insiders cited heightened geopolitical risk and sharp drop in global oil prices, which has made shale gas exploration projects less attractive, the report said.
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Fashion retailer Ted Baker said it is on track to meet expectations for its full year to January 31, 2016, following a strong start, with revenue up 24.2% in the eighteen weeks from the beginning of February to June 6. Retail sales during the period were up 18.9%, or 18.1% at constant currency, the company said. E-commerce sales rose 46.9%, driven by further growth in the UK and a strong performance from Ted Baker's US site, as well as a contribution from its new Canadian site launched at the end of 2014.
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Petra Diamonds said it expects to report lower revenue when it next reports annual results, as average prices for selling its diamonds have come under pressure. The diamond producer said that a "lower incidence" of high quality stones, together with higher volumes of smaller diamonds, has put pressure on the average prices it has attracted for its gems. The company expects revenue for the year ending June 30 to amount to about USD430 million, compared with USD471.8 million in the year that ended June 30, 2014. Petra Diamonds' production target of about 3.2 million carats for the year ending June 30 remains intact.
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Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment said takeover proposals for the company will be unaffected as two shareholders look to sell 50 million shares in the online gambling company. In a statement, bwin.party said it has "become aware" that the independent trustees of both Emerald Bay and Stinson Ridge have decided to sell up to 50 million shares in the company through a placing. Chairman Philip Yea said the news gives clarity to the market about a big block of shares due to be sold. Various suitors have been circling bwin.party as a potential takeover. 888 Holdings is one of the companies vying for the company, while AIM-listed GVC Holdings's interest is backed by Canadian gaming and gambling company Amaya.
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MARKETS
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UK shares are trading mixed as the Greek debt drama retakes centre stage, with European major indices also falling on renewed uncertainty over the negotiations.
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FTSE 100: down 0.7% at 6,801.63
FTSE 250: down 0.6% at 17,984.12
AIM ALL-SHARE: up 0.2% at 775.05
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The euro fell to a to a four-day low of USD1.1150 against the dollar.
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GBP: down at USD1.5496
EUR: down at USD1.1171

GOLD: down at USD1180.05 per ounce
OIL (Brent): down at USD64.32 a barrel

(changes since end of previous GMT day)
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ECONOMICS AND GENERAL
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Greece could reach a deal with its creditors on its bailout at a meeting of eurozone finance ministers on Thursday next week, the country's state minister said, amid stark warnings by EU and IMF officials over the lack of progress in negotiations. "I hope it (a deal) will come very soon, on June 18, when the eurogroup takes place," state minister Alekos Flabouraris told the newly relaunched state TV channel ERT. His comments came a day after the technical team of the International Monetary Fund left the negotiations in Brussels, citing major differences between Greece and its creditors' proposals for reform, and a senior EU official urged Greece to be more "realistic."
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Eurozone industrial production growth eased sharply in April to its slowest pace in three months and came in below economists' expectations, figures from the Eurostat showed. Industrial production grew a working-day adjusted grew 0.8% year-on-year following 2.1% growth in March, which was revised up from 1.8%. Economists had forecast 1.1% increase. The latest growth was the smallest since January's 0.6% gain.
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Germany's wholesale prices continued to decline in May, but at a slower pace than in the prior month, figures from Destatis showed. Wholesale prices fell 0.4% year-over-year in May, following a 0.9% decrease in April. The measure has been falling since July 2013. The annual decline was largely driven by a 8.8% fall in the wholesale prices of solid fuels and related products.
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Japan's industrial production climbed more than initially estimated in April, latest figures from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry showed. Industrial production rose a seasonally adjusted 1.2% month-over-month in April, revised up from a 1.0% gain in the flash data. It was the first increase in three months. In March, production had fallen 0.8%.
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Fast-track trade authority, which would clear the way for an up-or-down vote on a trade deal between the US and 11 other Pacific Rim countries, is expected to come up for a vote Friday in the US House of Representatives. Republican leaders of the lower chamber of Congress scheduled the vote after weeks of wrangling as President Barack Obama scrambled to persuade enough fellow Democrats to support it. The fast-track trade measure cleared he Senate last month, with 14 Democrats joining 48 Republicans to get it through the 100-member body. But Democratic support has proved more difficult to find in the House.
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Andreas Lubitz, the Germanwings co-pilot who intentionally flew a crowded passenger jet into a French mountainside in March, feared he was losing his eyesight, which would mean he would have become jobless, according to French investigators. Suffering from a raft of ailments that apparently had no physical cause, Lubitz had been to seven medical appointments - including with psychiatrists - in the month before the crash, investigators said. Even while some of Lubitz's doctors said he was unfit to fly, Robin said that under German privacy laws they were not able to disclose personal medical details to his employer. Due to the medical laws, Robin added that there is currently insufficient evidence to open negligence proceedings against either Germanwings or its parent company, Lufthansa.
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The confirmed death toll from landslides in Nepal's north-eastern district of Taplejung rose to 21, police said. Landslides hit at least six villages in the west of the district after heavy monsoon rain fell Wednesday night on ground destabilized by earthquakes in April and May. Taplejung District Office said 37 more people were feared buried. Some villagers were moved to safer locations.
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By Arvind Bhunjun; arvindbhunjun@alliancenews.com; @ArvindBhunjun

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