UK MORNING BRIEFING: Lloyds To Set Out New Strategy By End Of 2014

LONDON (Alliance News) - The market is dissecting the Lloyds Banking Group earnings statement early Thursday. The state-controlled bank said it swung to profit in 2013, while confirming its intentions to restart paying a dividend and to sell off more of the UK government's shareholding.

Lloyds also said it would set set out its new strategy for 2015-17 by the end of 2014.

Meanwhile, Davy Stockbrokers has cut both William Hill and Ladbrokes, to Neutral and Underperform, respectively.

Here is what you need to know at a mostly lower UK market open:
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MARKETS
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FTSE 100: down 19.50 at 6,655.53
FTSE 250: down 81.23 at 15,997.95
AIM ALL-SHARE: up 2.85 at 873.53
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DJIA: closed down 30.83 at 15,963.94
S&P 500: closed down 0.49 at 1,819.26
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GBP-USD: up at USD1.6616
EUR-USD: up at USD1.3627

GOLD: down at USD1,287.50 per ounce
OIL (Brent): down at USD107.90 a barrel

(changes since end of previous GMT day)
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ECONOMICS AND GENERAL
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Thursday's Key Economic Events still to come

09:00 EU ECB Monthly Report
13:30 US Initial Jobless Claims
13:30 US Retail Sales
15:00 US Business Inventories
15:00 US Fed's Yellen Speech
15:30 US EIA Natural Gas Storage change
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UK JANUARY HOUSE PRICE BALANCE PLUS-53 VS. DEC. PLUS-56 - RICS
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Germany's EU harmonized inflation held steady in January, in line with the preliminary estimates, latest data revealed Thursday. The harmonized index of consumer prices (HICP) advanced 1.2% annually in January, which was unchanged from the December growth rate, the Federal Statistical Office said. The outcome matched the preliminary estimates. The HICP decreased 0.7% compared to December, when it recorded a 0.5% growth. The monthly change matched the flash estimates.
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The US Senate Wednesday agreed to temporarily lift the nation's debt ceiling, adopting a measure that cleared the House of Representatives a day earlier and ensuring that the country will not face another costly standoff over paying its bills. The measure, which passed with a simple majority of 55-43, now goes to President Barack Obama, who has indicated he will sign it into law.
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A snow and ice storm crept across several southern US states Wednesday before turning to the north-east - towards Washington, Baltimore and Philadelphia - where severe weather warnings were posted. New York and Boston were also in its path. Snow and ice plagued several southern US states, hitting Atlanta, Georgia, and Charlotte, North Carolina, especially hard. An estimated 480,000 homes were left without electricity, news reports said.
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The International Monetary Fund agreed to disburse EUR910 million to Portugal on the completion of its tenth review under the bailout program. The Executive Board of the IMF said all prior actions for the completion of this review were met. But they urged Portugal to put the public debt firmly on a downward path.
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Senior representatives from North and South Korea failed to reach agreement during high-level talks between the two sides, South Korean news agency Yonhap reported Thursday. An official from Seoul's Unification Ministry said following late-night talks in the border village of Panmunjom Wednesday that "differences between the two Koreas have not been narrowed," the agency reported. North Korea demanded that Seoul and the US delay joint military manoeuvres due to begin on February 24, a request that Seoul refused, the official said.
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Aid workers Wednesday evacuated 217 civilians from the besieged Old City of Homs in central Syria, hours before a local humanitarian truce was due to expire. A United Nations official, who asked not to be named, said the evacuees on the sixth and last day of the truce were mostly women and children.
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BROKER RATING CHANGES
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DAVY CUTS WILLIAM HILL TO 'NEUTRAL' ('OUTPERFORM')
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DAVY CUTS LADBROKES TO 'UNDERPERFORM' ('NEUTRAL')
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TRADERS: HSBC RAISES ROTORK TO 'NEUTRAL' ('UNDERWEIGHT')
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TRADERS: MERRILL LYNCH RAISES KINGFISHER TO 'BUY' ('NEUTRAL')
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TRADERS: JEFFERIES CUTS ABERDEEN TO 'UNDERPERFORM' ('HOLD') - TARGET 350 PENCE
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COMPANIES - FTSE 100
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Lloyds Banking Group PLC said it swung to a GBP415 million statutory pretax profit for 2013. In 2012, the bank made a GBP606 million statutory pretax loss. It reiterated that it will apply to restart dividend payments in the second half of 2014. Chief Executive António Horta-Osório will receive GBP1.7 million in deferred shares, subject to performance conditions.
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Lloyds CEO: I Will Take This Bonus If Set Of Conditions Met, And Only In 2019; We Will Communicate New Strategy For 2015-2017 By Year End; Dividend Depends On How Much Capital We Need To Retain For Loan Growth; Dividend Payout Ratio To Be At Least 50% In Future; Ready To Return To Private Sector When UKFI, Treasury Decide; We Will Start Paying Dividends In The Short Term; e Are Very Confident On Capital Position Of This Business
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Lloyds Finance Director: Continuing Work On Prospectus For Next Share Sale; TSB Float Plans Proceeding Well
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AMEC Enters Definitive Agreement To Acquire Foster Wheeler For Roughly GBP2.0B In Cash And Shares; AMEC FY Pretax Profit Down, GBP239M Vs GBP256M; Proposed Dividend Up 15% To 42.0P; Joint Venture Secures 5-Year Plus Contract For ShellONEgas Assets In The North Sea
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Rio Tinto PLC said it swung to a pretax profit, increased underlying earnings 10% and will raise its dividend for the full-year 2013. The Anglo-Australian mining giant said its profit before tax for the year reached USD3.51 billion for the twelve months ended December 31, compared from a loss of USD2.43 billion a year ago. Underlying earnings grew 10% to USD10.2 billion, and the company exceeded its cost-cutting expectations, with net operating costs falling to USD36.10 billion from USD37.53 billion.
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Imperial Tobacco Group Says Net Revenue For Q1 GBP1.564B, Down 6% On Reported Basis, Underlying Change Up 1%; Says Growth Brands Up 2% In Q1 To GBP29B
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Tate & Lyle Says Adjusted Pretax Profit Lower Than Expectations For Q1; Expects Overall Unit Margins For 2014 To Be "Modestly" Higher Than Comparable Period
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Rolls Royce Says Underlying Pretax Profit For FY Up 23% To GBP1.759B; Underlying Revenue Up 27% To GBP15.5B; Increases Payment To Shareholders By 13% To 22P Per Share
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COMPANIES - FTSE 250
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Oxford Instruments Expects Full Year Results Broadly In Line With Previous Year; Year-To-Date Sales Remain Behind Previous Year, Expecting Strong February & March
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Keller Group Wins USD41M Contract To Repair Seattle's Elliott Bay Seawall
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SVG Capital Says NAV Per Share Rose 32% To 514.5p In Year To End 2013, Beating Benchmarks; Says GBP151.1M In Capital Returned To Shareholders In 2013; Further GBP217.0M Targeted; Says Will Tender For Minimum Of GBP50.0M In May At Price Set On March 31
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Salamander Energy Says Damaged Risers At Bualuang Have Now Been Repaired And Production Has Restarted
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Lancashire Holdings FY Pretax Profit USD218.1M Vs 236.8M; FY Special Dividend USD0.65 Vs USD1.95
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Oilex Halts Trading On ASX, Pending Proposed Capital Raising Announcement In Next Few Days
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Morgan Advanced Materials Says Pretax Profit Down 16.6% To GBP64M Vs GBP76.6M; Revenue For FY Down 4.9% At GBP957.8M Vs GBP1.008B; Increases Dividend To 10.5P, Up 0.5P; CEO: Expectations For H1 Subdued With Market Conditions To Remain Similar
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FCA Fines Homeserve GBP30.6M
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IP Group Announces Proposed placing To Raise Up To GBP100M
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Entertainment One Expects To Announce Commencement Of Progressive Dividend Policy With FY Results; Full-Year Earnings To Be Ahead Of Expectations
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COMPANIES - ALL-SHARE AND AIM
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Helical Bar Says Has GBP69.2M In Bank Facilities To Fund Acquisitions, Refurbishment Works; Completed GBP82M In Property Purchases Since October 1, 2013
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Redcentric Wins Contract With Large Specialist Electrical Retailing Company
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Clarkson Says Philip Green To Step Down As Chairman; Bob Benton To Be Interim Chair
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New World Resources FY Pretax Loss EUR1.1M Vs Pretax Profit EUR3,076; Revenues Down, EUR850,456 Vs EUR1.2M; FY 2014 Production And Sales Volume Target Of 9Mt To 9.5Mt
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S&U Acquires Ambassador Financial Services Ltd For GBP500,000
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Hogg Robinson Says H2 Trading Conditions Similar To H1; Sterling Strength Is Having Translation Impact; Expects Full Year Performance In Line With Market Expectations
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Plexus Holdings Receives Purchase Order Worth GBP1.5M From GDF Suez E&P UK Ltd
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Pressure Technologies Confident Full-Year Results Will Be At Least In Line With Expectations
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Renold Expects FY Adjusted Operating Profit At Upper End Of Expectations
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Gem Diamonds Recovers Two Over 160 Carat Diamonds From The Letseng Mine In January; To Sell Them In February Sale
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Petroceltic International Sells 18.375% Interest In Isarene Production Sharing Contract In Algeria To Sonatrach
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Inland Homes Says It Has Performed Strongly In H1
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Norcros Says Revenue For 18 Weeks To Feb 2 Up 12.8% On Constant Currency, 5% Higher In Sterling; Says Market Conditions Remain Mixed, Good Signs Of Recovery In Trade Sector For Housing
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GeoPark Completed NYSE Listing Wednesday, AIM Last Trading To Be Feb 18
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Vectura Group Says Performing In Line With Expectations; Says New Royalty Streams Expected From Novartis From Q1 2014; Receives Royalties From Sales Of Glaxo's Anoro Ellipta, Breo Ellipta Up To A Cap Of GBP13M Per Year
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Nostra Terra Announces Says Production Results From Jones 1-5H Well Exceed Expectations At Average 521BOEPD
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Amerisur Resources Finds Good Flow Rates From Platanillo-16, 320BPD Average
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Paragon Entertainment Hires Richard Arden Chief Financial Officer
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COMPANIES - OTHER
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US cable giant Comcast Corp. is acquiring Time Warner Cable in an all stock deal valued at USD158.82 per share or USD45.2 billion, reports said Wednesday. An announcement on a friendly deal is expected on Thursday. The companies expect to close the transaction by the end of the year, after obtaining regulatory approvals.
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Thursday's Scheduled AGMs/EGMs

LXB Retail Properties
Blackrock North American Income Trust
easyjet
IMI
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By Tom Waite; thomaslwaite@alliancenews.com; @thomaslwaite

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