11th Aug 2014 10:34
LONDON (Alliance News) - The following is a summary of top news stories Monday.
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COMPANIES
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Balfour Beatty PLC said it has "lost confidence" in a successful merger with Carillion PLC and has concluded that it is in its best interest to continue with its current plan to refocus and simplify the group, including the sale of its US project management business Parsons Brinckerhoff. Balfour Beatty, which also published its first-half results ahead of schedule Monday, said it has terminated discussions after Carillion revised its proposal to demand that Parsons Brinckerhoff remain part of Balfour Beatty. In response to Balfour Beatty's statement Monday, Carillion said it will give further consideration to its position and will make a further announcement in due course. "In the meantime, there can be no certainty that any offer will be made by Carillion or as to the terms on which any such offer might be made," the company said. The announcements came as Balfour Beatty posted pretax profit of GBP22 million for the six months to June 27, down from GBP47 million a year earlier, as group revenue dipped to GBP4.17 billion from GBP4.31 billion.
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Blackstone Group LP is understood to be close to securing a deal to acquire Royal Dutch Shell PLC's stake in a massive gas field in Louisiana, US, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing sources familiar with the matter. The deal could value Shell's 50% stake in the Haynesville field at more than USD1 billion, according to the sources, and comes as private equity firms continue to buy up unwanted shale gas stakes held by oil companies, the newspaper said.
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Synthomer PLC saw its shares rise after it raised its interim dividend by 25%, despite reporting a fall in both sales and profit in the first half of its financial year, hit by weakness in Asia. The speciality chemical company reported a pretax profit of GBP45.0 million for the six months to June 30, compared with GBP48.6 million a year earlier, as revenue in the period fell to GBP510.1 million, down from GBP558.3 million in the first half of last year. It said revenue and profit were hit by significant weakness in the Asia and Rest of World region. Despite the fall in both profit and revenue, Synthomer raised its interim dividend by 25% to 3.0 pence. "Given the strong cash generative nature of our business, the board has today updated the group's dividend policy, increasing the level of cash returns for shareholders," said Chief Executive Adrian Whitfield in a statement.
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Mitie Group PLC said it has seen a "positive" start to its new financial year, with organic revenue growth driven by new and expanded contracts. The outsourcing firm said that it had secured 90% of its budgeted revenue for the current financial year, as at June 30, slightly higher than at the same point a year last year, although it said the phasing of the contracts will be weighted towards the second half of the year. Mitie's current financial year ends March 31, 2015.
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Workspace Group PLC said it has secured planning permission for its redevelopment project in Hayes, a 50:50 joint venture with Polar Properties. The London real estate investment trust said that the redevelopment of Enterprise House, within which its interest was valued at GBP3 million at the end of March 2014, will provide 98 apartments and a 38,000 square foot business centre for creative industries.
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MARKETS
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UK stocks have started the week strongly, following on from a positive session in Asia and a strong turn around in US stocks at the end of last week.
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FTSE 100: up 0.7% at 6,614.50
FTSE 250: up 1.2% at 15,426.42
AIM ALL-SHARE: up 0.4% at 752.42
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GBP-USD: flat at USD1.6779
EUR-USD: down at USD1.3391
GOLD: down at USD1,308.00 per ounce
OIL (Brent): up at USD104.74 a barrel
(changes since end of previous GMT day)
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ECONOMICS AND GENERAL
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Iraq's embattled Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki Monday won the backing of the country's top court in his efforts to gain a third term in office, state television reported. The broadcaster said the Federal Supreme Court ruled that al-Maliki's State of Law Coalition was the largest parliamentary bloc - meaning that President Fouad Massoum will be obliged to task al-Maliki with forming a new government. The report came hours after a midnight speech by al-Maliki, a Shiite, in which he said he would take Massoum to court for violating the constitution by failing to nominate him. The Islamic State jihadists have meanwhile won further gains against Kurdish forces at the eastern end of their front line, Baghdad-based Alsumaria news reported. IS overnight took control of most of Jalula district, where it has been locked in battles with the Kurdish Peshmerga since mid-June, the report said, quoting a local police source.
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US President Barack Obama on Saturday announced an open-ended military campaign against Islamic militants threatening Kurds and other minorities in northern Iraq. US airstrikes "successfully destroyed arms and equipment" used by the radical Islamic State militants, Obama said. The Iraqi government also said it was cooperating with Kurdistan's autonomous region against the common threat. Britain made air deliveries of relief supplies to thousands of Yezidis besieged on Sinjar Mountain by the jihadists. Two Royal Air Force C130s delivered water for 2,400 families and 500 solar lanterns that can be used to recharge mobile phones, the British Department for International Development said.
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Western leaders over the weekend warned Russia against military intervention in eastern Ukraine, as pro-Russian separatists there suffered more setbacks. US Secretary of State John Kerry told Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in a phone call that "Russia should not intervene in Ukraine under the pretext of "peacekeeping," the State Department said. Ukraine said on Saturday that a huge Russian "humanitarian convoy" with peacekeeping soldiers had advanced to the border in order to provoke "all-out conflict." The Kremlin denied that any of its troops had attempted to cross into Ukraine.
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A 72-hour ceasefire came into effect in the Gaza Strip at midnight after being accepted by Israeli and Palestinian factions at negotiations in Cairo. Egypt brokered the temporary truce between a Palestinian delegation representing Palestinian factions and an Israeli delegation that is currently in Cairo. It is the second 72-hour cease-fire in less than one week between the two sides. Twenty-seven Palestinians were killed between the end of the first one on Friday morning and the start of the most recent one. Five minutes before the ceasefire came into effect, the al-Qassam Brigades fired several rockets from the Gaza Strip into Israel.
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UK JUNE LEADING INDEX RISES 0.6% VS. 0.5% IN MAY; JUNE COINCIDENT INDEX UP 0.1% ON MONTH
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Consumer prices in China were stable in July, providing ample room for the authorities to roll out more measures to support the economy, official data showed Saturday. The CPI, a main gauge of inflation, rose by 2.3% on year in July, unchanged from last month, the National Bureau of Statistics said. The index also matched economists forecast, but remained below government's annual target of 3.5%. On month, the consumer prices grew 0.1%, after falling 0.1% a month earlier.
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Ireland's construction sector activity expanded at a fastest rate in three months in July as new orders rose at the strongest pace since late 2004, survey data from Markit Economics showed. The Ulster Bank purchasing managers' index, or PMI, for the construction sector rose to 62.6 in July from 59.9 in June, the sharpest increase in three months. This marked the eleventh straight month of expansion in activity. A reading above 50 signals growth in construction activity.
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The Bank of Japan said the economy is set to continue its moderate recovery trend as the effects of sales tax hike are expected to wane gradually. Further, in its monthly report, the central bank said exports are likely to head for a moderate increase mainly against the background of the recovery in overseas economies. According to BoJ, public investment will continue leveling off more or less at a high level. Business fixed investment is projected to follow a moderate increasing trend as corporate profits continue their upward momentum.
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At least two people were killed and dozens injured when a powerful typhoon slammed into western Japan Sunday, bringing torrential rains and strong winds, reports said. One woman was found dead in a rushing stream on the south-western island of Shikoku. A man also died after being swept away by a swollen river in central Japan, the Kyodo News agency reported. More than half a million residents had been ordered to evacuate their homes late Saturday in western regions where mudslides and flooded rivers were reported.
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Two more people have been infected with Ebola in Nigeria, the authorities say, bringing the total number of cases there to nine as the outbreak spreads through West Africa. All the infected patients are in hospital in Lagos, Health Minister Onyebuchi Chukwu announced late on Sunday. Two people have died of Ebola in Nigeria.
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Rory McIlroy won the 96th PGA Championship on Sunday, his second major in a row and fourth overall, shooting a 16-under 268 over 72 holes. The 25-year-old world number one from Northern Ireland, fresh off his Open victory at Hoylake last month, shot a 3-under 68 in the final round, eking out a victory over Phil Mickelson, who finished just minutes before with a birdie and ended at 15-under.
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Balfour BeattyWorkspaceSynthomerCarillion PlcMitie