UK MORNING BRIEFING: Shares Rise Amid Rush Of Company Reporting

LONDON (Alliance News) - UK shares have opened higher Monday, following a firm close on Wall Street Friday and amid a flurry of UK company reporting on the last day of the half year.

Here is what you need to know at the UK market open:
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MARKETS
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FTSE 100: up 0.2% at 6,774.01
FTSE 250: up 0.3% at 15,731.95
AIM ALL-SHARE: up 0.3% at 784.38
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Hang Seng: down 0.5% at 23,102.44
Nikkei 225: closed up 0.4% at 15,162.10
DJIA: closed flat at 16,851.84
S&P 500: closed up 0.2% at 1,960.96
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GBP-USD: down at USD1.7021
EUR-USD: flat at USD1.3644

GOLD: down at USD1,313.74 per ounce
OIL (Brent): down at USD112.56 a barrel

(changes since end of previous GMT day)
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ECONOMICS AND GENERAL
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Monday's Key Economic Events still to come
(all times British Summer Time)

09:00 EU M3 Money Supply
09:00 Italy Producer Price Index
09:30 UK M4 Money Supply
09:30 UK Mortgage Approvals and Net Lending to Individuals
10:00 EU Consumer Price Index
10:00 Italy Consumer Price Index
13:00 Russia Gross Domestic Product
13:30 Canada Gross Domestic Product
14:45 US Chicago Purchasing Managers' Index
15:00 US Pending Home Sales
15:30 US Dallas Fed Manufacturing Business Index
16:30 US 3-Month and 6-Month Bill Auction
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British financial services firms expect business volumes to grow at a solid pace in the coming quarter, survey data from the Confederation of British Industry and PricewaterhouseCoopers showed. A positive balance of 28% of financial services firms felt optimistic about the overall business situation over the three months to June. About 48% of firms said that business volumes were up, while 15% said they were down, giving a balance of +33% in the three months to June. Looking ahead to the next quarter, 44% of firms expect business volumes to increase, while 7% said they will decrease, giving a balance of +37%.
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Europe's banking sector is in a critical situation even six years after the height of the global financial crisis, the Bank for International Settlements said in its annual report published Sunday. "The good news is that the global economy is healing and global growth has picked up during the past year," said Jaime Caruana, BIS general manager. "Reforms have taken hold, if unevenly." But while the euro area has emerged from recession, as Caruana acknowledged, the report noted that much more needs to be done to make banks more resilient and their business models more sustainable.
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The ageing populations of many industrialized nations will put a brake on rising real estate markets, the Bank for International Settlements says. "Demographic factors could dampen house prices by reducing property price growth considerably over the coming decades," the umbrella organization for central banks said in its annual report Sunday.
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German retail sales fell unexpectedly in May from the prior month, official data revealed. Retail sales were down 0.6% month-on-month in May, but slower than the 1.5% drop seen in April, provisional results from Destatis showed. This was the second consecutive fall in sales. Economists had forecast a 0.8% rise in turnover in May.
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Industrial production in Japan gained a seasonally adjusted 0.5% on month in May, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said. That was shy of forecasts for an increase of 0.9% following the 2.8% contraction in April. On a yearly basis, industrial production gained 0.8% - also below expectations for a gain of 1.5% and down from 3.8% in the previous month.
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The Iraqi government fighting Sunni militants was received five Russian fighter jets, while ground troops claimed Sunday they had the upper hand in the battle for Tikrit. "The first batch of Sukhoi Su-25 jets has arrived in Iraqi territory, which will enhance the combat capability of the Iraqi Air Force in eliminating terrorism," the Defence Ministry said. The aircraft will soon enter service and "change the battle situation," ministry spokesman Mohammed al-Askari told the independent Alsumaria News website. The jihadist Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) seized large swathes this month of northern and western Iraq. ISIL on Sunday apparently declared an Islamist caliphate in Iraq and Syria, in an audio clip on Twitter. Spokesman Abu Mohammed al-Adnani said in the recording that ISIL leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is the first caliph of the self-described state, and that all Muslims are obliged to swear him their allegiance.
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Hundreds of volunteer Ukrainian fighters on Sunday protested outside the presidential office in Kiev against an extension of the ceasefire with pro-Russian separatists in the country's east. According to local media, the protesters called on President Petro Poroshenko to end the ceasefire and proclaim martial law. They also wanted to be better equipped for a reboot of the recently stopped "anti-terrorist operation" in the east. In a bid to end two months of fighting, Poroshenko and pro-Russian rebels announced early Saturday that the week-long ceasefire set to end Friday was extended until 1900 GMT Monday. It is unclear whether a second extension will be agreed to.
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An Egyptian court Sunday started the trial of 24 activists on charges of holding an illegal protest under a controversial law issued last year, independent newspaper al-Masry al-Youm reported online. The defendants are also charged with damaging public and private property, possessing explosives and assaulting police.
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BROKER RATING CHANGES
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CITIGROUP REMOVES BAT FROM 'FOCUS LIST EUROPE' - STILL 'BUY'
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MERRILL LYNCH CUTS EASYJET TO 'UNDERPERFORM' ('NEUTRAL'); CUTS PRICE TARGET TO 1,150 (1,800) PENCE
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LIBERUM RAISES AVEVA GROUP TO 'HOLD' ('SELL') - TARGET 2,000 PENCE
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TRADERS: NUMIS RAISES INTERSERVE TO 'BUY' ('ADD')
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LIBERUM RAISES NATIONAL EXPRESS TO 'BUY' ('HOLD') - TARGET 300 (290) PENCE
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TRADERS: JPMORGAN INITIATES CAPE PLC WITH 'OVERWEIGHT' - TARGET 350 PENCE
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COMPANIES - FTSE 100
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Anglo American PLC has put up some of its platinum mines in South Africa up for sale in order to dispose of underperforming assets as part of a GBP2.35 billion clearout, according to a report in the Sunday Times. The newspaper reported that the Australian mining company has put some of its historic South African platinum mines up for sale as part of a company-wide clearout led by Chief Executive Mark Cutifani. Earmarked for disposal are the company’s oldest and deepest shafts in the impoverished mining region of Rustenberg, South Africa, some of which have been in operation since the 1950s, in a move that demonstrates the CEO's willingness to break with legacy operations, said the Sunday Times. South African investment bank, RMB, has reportedly been lined up to run the auction.
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Oil giant BP PLC has approached a US court seeking repayment from several companies part of the compensation they received related to the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. The oil company claimed these companies were allowed to inflate their losses by the administrator in charge of processing the claims.
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Shire PLC said it has received a USD248 million cash refund from the Canadian revenue authorities, and said it expects a further USD162 million in late 2014. The company said it intends to use the cash to repay debt, giving it increased capacity to invest in business development activities. The FTSE 100 listed pharmaceutical company is presently fending off a takeover approach from US based AbbVie Inc, after rebuffing three indicative offers from AbbVie.
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BAE Systems PLC said it plans to reorganises its interest in Saudi Arabia into one company to enhance its working relationship with Riyadh Wings Aviation Academy LLC, its partner in the region.
The two companies will being together their training, electronics and IT systems engineering in Saudi Arabia into a single holding company, which will be majority owned by FTSE 100-listed BAE. Riyadh Wings will progressively acquire a 49% stake in the holding company which will be called OMC.
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Coca-Cola HBC AG said it intends to delist its American depositary receipts from the New York Stock Exchange, ending the programme because most trading of its shares takes place on the London Stock Exchange. In a statement, Coca-Cola HBC AG said that the UK has become the main trading market for its shares, accounting for more than 85% of total volume in the 12 months ended June 18. In contrast, only 1.4% of its shares were held as ADRs at the end of that period, with trading volume in the US accounting for just 1.3% of the total.
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The investigation into allegations of bribery by GlaxoSmithKline PLC in China began with a sex tape involving the company's most senior executive in the country, Mark Reilly, the Sunday Times reported. The tape of Reilly and his Chinese girlfriend was attached to an email sent in March last year alleging that Glaxo was bribing doctors in China, the report said, and caused alarm at Glaxo. Glaxo's Chinese unit, run by Reilly, hired a company called Chinawhys to look into the breach, according to the Sunday Times. Chinawhys was run by Peter Humphrey, who has since been arrested after investigating Vivian Shi, suspected of being a whistleblower at Glaxo.
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TUI Travel PLC Chief Executive Peter Long cast aside earlier doubts about the UK tour operator's merger with German parent TUI AG because its 54.5% majority owner has become a better-run company, according to Financial Times report Sunday. TUI AG on Friday said it will buy the remaining 45.5% of TUI Travel in an all-share deal worth about GBP2 billion, a move that ends years of speculation that TUI AG would eventually take full control of TUI Travel. The merged entity will have two chief executive officers - both TUI Travel's Peter Long and TUI AG's Friedrich Joussen - up until February 2016, after which Long will become chairman of the supervisory board, and Joussen would lead solely as CEO. "There is far greater clarity within TUI AG,” said Long, according to the FT's report Sunday. “Under Fritz’s leadership, it’s very businesslike."
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Lloyds Banking Group PLC's private equity arm has turned down a takeover offer for part of its business, according to a Sky News report. The report states that Goldman Sachs recently proposed buying the London operation of Lloyds Development Capital. However, Goldman is not pursuing its interest in the business after its offer was rejected, while Sky News reported that a Lloyds spokesman denied it had any interest in offloading Lloyds Development Capital.
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Sports Direct Quashes Rumours That It Is Considering An Offer To Acquire Office
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COMPANIES - FTSE 250
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Henderson Group Acquires Geneva Capital Management; Acquisition Made To Strengthen In North America; Pays Initial USD130M, Deferred Up To USD45M, Earn-out Up To USD25M; Says Geneva To Add To Underlying Earnings In First FY Post Deal
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Galliford Try Selected For GBP35.7M Hull And East Riding Priority Schools Contract
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Premier Oil Sells Non-Operated Interests In Scott, Telford, Rochelle Fields To MOL Group In USD130M Cash Deal
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Carphone Warehouse Enters Into Legally Binding Agreement For Sale Of Virgin Mobile France Stake
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Hansteen Acquires Netherlands Portfolio for EUR106M
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Merlin Entertainment To Open Seventh LEGOLAND Park, In Japan; Says Park Will Be Second Largest Theme Park In The World; To Directly Invest About GBP53M In Park Over Next 3 Years
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COMPANIES - MAIN MARKET AND AIM
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Abcam Chairman Mike Redmond To Step Down At 2014 AGM; Non-Exec Director Murray Hennessy To Succeed Redmond
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eServGlobal Appoints Duncan Lewis As Non-Exec Chairman; H1 Revenue AUD16.9M Vs AUD13.6M; H1 Pretax Profit AUD33.8M Vs AUD2.1M Pretax Loss; H1 Boosted By AUD33.9M Gain On HomeSend Disposal
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Clarkson Says Trading In Line With Expectations
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Creightons FY Pretax Profit GBP471,000 Vs GBP302,000; Revenue GBP19.4M Vs GBP17.3M
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Getech Wins New Contract Worth USD600,000
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Globo Acquires Services Division Of Sourcebits Inc;Says Acquisition In Line With Strategy To Build Presence In Enterprise Mobility Market
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Helius Energy Says Delay In Financial Close To Avonmouth Project Means It Will Need To Raise More Funds; Had GBP1.1M Cash On Mar 31, Versus GBP4.7M Year Earlier
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Mecom Group Accepts Takeover Offer From Belgium's De Persgroep Publishing; Shareholders To Receive 155p Cash Per Mecom Share, 35% Premium To Friday Close; Takeover Values Mecom At GBP196M; De Persgroep Has Received Acceptances Representing 44.3% Of Mecom Group Shares
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Sierra Rutile Names Michael Barton As Non-Executive Chairman, Replacing Jan Castro
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Mar City Acquires Further 472 Plots Across The Midlands, London, South East
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Sirius Petroleum Signs Off-Take Agreement With Glencore
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William Sinclair Says Sales Since Half-Year Have Not Been As Strong As Expected; Expects Earnings For FY Ahead Of Expectations
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Lamprell Says Bid Pipeline Remains Strong
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Monday's Scheduled AGMs/EGMs

Alpha UK Multi Property Trust
Ark Therapeutics Group
Borders & Southern Petroleum
Faroe Petroleum
Graphene Nanochem
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By Tom Waite; thomaslwaite@alliancenews.com; @thomaslwaite

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