16th Oct 2015 10:20
LONDON (Alliance News) - The following is a summary of top news stories Friday.
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COMPANIES
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Anglo-Australian mining giant Rio Tinto said iron ore production and shipments, the company's main profit driver, rose in the third quarter of 2015 as it reiterated its full-year guidance across all of its commodities. The general rise in production and reaffirmation of its full-year guidance, particularly from its iron ore division, from which the FTSE 100-listed miner makes the majority of its profit, will be welcomed by its investors following news from peer Glencore that it has cut production across some of its commodities due to the fall in prices. The world's second-largest iron ore producer said third-quarter iron ore production rose 8% sequentially to 86.1 million tonnes and was up 12% year-on-year, aided by productivity gains and the ramp-up of operations in addition to favourable weather conditions.
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London Stock Exchange Group said it has teamed up with six major dealer banks and the Chicago Board Options Exchange on a new derivatives venture. Together with Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Barclays, Citi, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan and Société Générale, the London Stock Exchange and the Chicago Board Options Exchange are to create CurveGlobal. More shareholders are expected to join in the coming months. The LSE will invest an initial GBP9.5 million in the venture, equating to about one-third of the expected total funding capital requirements for the venture, in exchange for an initial 31.67% stake. That shareholding is to fall to about 25% as new investors join.
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Vodafone Group said it has expanded its strategic partnership with MTS Ukraine whereby the pair will roll-out a 3G network and develop a number of new services using the Vodafone brand. The pair already have an agreement spanning back to 2008 which was due to expire later in 2015, but the new agreement allows MTS to use the Vodafone brand and name in Ukraine. The original agreement saw the pair share marketing and technological expertise, as well as jointly purchase equipment. Last year, Russian firm MTS tried to secure a deal with Virgin so it could use its name in Ukraine, but negotiations fell through.
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British American Tobacco said its Brazilian unit has completed the tender offer to acquire the remaining shares in Souza Cruz, and said the target company will now start the process of cancelling its listing. The tobacco giant said its BAT Prestação de Serviços unit will acquire a further 22.4% of Souza Cruz's shares under the offer, increasing BAT's total ownership of the company to 97.7%. BAT now will start to compulsorily purchase the remainder of the shares.
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AstraZeneca said the US Food and Drug Adminstration has published a Complete Response Letter on the New Drug Application made for the fixed-dose combination of saxagliptin and dapagliflozin for the treatment of adult patients with type 2 diabetes. The letter said more clinical data will be required to support the application for the drug, and AstraZeneca said it will work with the US regulator to take the appropriate next steps on the application. The conclusions made by the FDA are not expected to affect the individual approvals for saxagliptin and dapagliflozin in treating type 2 diabetes.
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The UK Department for Business, Innovation & Skills said it will look into ways to make supermarket price comparisons more simple for shoppers, part of the government's response to an investigation by the competition regulator. The UK Competition and Markets Authority published a report in July on the super-complaint made by consumer group Which? which alleged pricing malpractice in the grocery sector. The CMA found there was not a systemic problem in the market, but did identify examples of particular pricing and promotional practices which had the potential to mislead or confuse consumers. The UK's so-called Big Four supermarkets comprise Tesco, J Sainsbury, Wm Morrison Supermarkets, and Asda, owned by US giant Wal-Mart Stores.
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Evraz said production of all of its products and commodities rose in the third quarter from the second, but in the first nine months of 2015 most production areas were down year-on-year. Coking coal production was the only area to experience a quarter-on-quarter fall. However, all of Evraz's commodities were hit by lower commodities and steel prices. The Russian steel maker and coal miner said crude steel production rose to 3.5 million tonnes in the third quarter of 2015, up 3.3% from 3.4 million tonnes in the immediately previous quarter on the back of completed repair works at Russian steel mills.
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Provident Financial said it has found a new managing director for its Vanquis Bank credit cards division, after Michael Lenora stated his intention to retire in 2016. The news came as the lender said that all three of its businesses performed well in the third quarter, reinforcing the company's confidence in generating "good-quality growth" in 2015 as a whole. Michael Lenora, the managing director of Vanquis Bank, has decided to retire in 2016, Provident Financial said, having led the bank since 2007. Provident Financial named Chris Sweeney, currently group executive, Cards and Payment Solutions, at South Africa's Standard Bank, as Lenora's successor.
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MARKETS
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UK indices were trading higher with Eurozone inflation figures coming in line with expectations ahead of next week's European Central Bank policy decision.
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FTSE 100: up 0.8% at 6,389.70
FTSE 250: up 0.5% at 17,038.66
AIM ALL-SHARE: up 0.3% at 738.54
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GBP: flat at USD1.5453 (USD1.5468)
EUR: down at USD1.1365 (USD1.1402)
GOLD: down at USD1,176.36 per ounce (USD1,185.00)
OIL (Brent): up at USD50.15 a barrel (USD48.81)
(changes since previous London equities close)
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ECONOMICS AND GENERAL
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Eurozone inflation turned negative as initially estimated in September, final data from Eurostat showed. Consumer prices fell 0.1% in September from prior year, offsetting a 0.1% rise in August. The rate matched flash estimate published on September 30. The ECB's target is to bring inflation to "below, but close to, 2% over the medium term".
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Eurozone's trade surplus in August declined by more than forecast from the previous month, as exports declined and imports increased, figures from Eurostat showed. The seasonally adjusted trade surplus fell to EUR19.8 billion from EUR22.4 billion in July. Economists had expected a EUR22.1 billion surplus. Exports dropped 1.3% from July, while imports grew 0.2%.
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Demand for passenger cars in the EU increased for the 25th consecutive month in September underpinned by ongoing scrappage schemes and economic recovery of Southern Europe, the European Automobile Manufacturers Association said. Car registrations advanced 9.8% year-on-year in September, but slower than the 11.2% growth seen in August.
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British Prime Minister David Cameron pledged to submit in early November the concrete changes he wants from the EU before the country votes on whether to remain in the bloc. "I welcome [Cameron's] commitment to send me letter early November with a list of UK's demands," EU President Donald Tusk wrote on Twitter, as the bloc's 28 leaders were meeting in Brussels. "Then real negotiations can start." Several of the leaders had urged Cameron to provide more details on the concessions he is seeking, even though they are not due to discuss the issue in earnest until December.
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Backed by a Russian air campaign, Syria said that its troops started a large-scale attack on rebel-held areas Thursday in the central province of Homs. "Our armed forces, backed by aerial strikes and ground artillery, began a major assault on the headquarters of the terrorists in the towns of Talbisseh and Teir Maaleh on the north and north-eastern outskirts of Homs," Syrian television quoted an unnamed military official as saying. The official said that government forces had destroyed arms depots and two military headquarters in the area manned by what he called "terrorists," a term used by regime to describe opposition rebels.
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The EU and Turkey have agreed to join forces in tackling the flow of migrants and asylum seekers heading to the bloc, its top officials said, though key elements of a joint action plan remain open. A senior EU delegation was in Turkey this week to enlist the country's help in tackling the biggest migration movements in Europe since World War II. More than half of those arriving are estimated to be from war-torn Syria, which borders Turkey. The role of the EU membership candidate is considered crucial, as Turkey hosts 2 million Syrian refugees and is a key transit route for those trying to reach the EU.
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Last month the Taliban took over the key city of Kunduz in northern Afghanistan, the first provincial capital to fall to the Islamic insurgent movement. After weeks of fighting, the group retreated earlier this week. US President Barack Obama has since recognized the country's security situation as "very fragile," prompting a policy U-turn as he vowed Thursday to keep 5,500 troops in Afghanistan after 2016. Afghan officials and activists have welcomed the change in course.
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Australian conservationists vowed to continue their fight against plans to build the country's biggest coal mine in the state of Queensland after the government gave it the all clear. The Indian mining group Adani's AUD16 billion Carmichael coal mine project was given the green light Thursday by Environment Minister Greg Hunt. Hunt was forced to redraft the government's earlier approval for the mine after a court ruled in August it had not taken into account the impact the mine might have on two vulnerable native species - the yakka skink and ornamental snake.
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It was supposed be an Orange Tsunami, a crushing wave of New Democratic Party members of parliament with their trademark orange banners sweeping aside Canada's traditional parties - the Conservatives and the Liberals - for a brighter, more equal future. Instead, as Canadians prepare to cast their ballots on Monday, polls show it's shaping up to be a photo finish final dash between the newly resurgent Liberals led by Justin Trudeau and the incumbent Conservatives led by Prime Minister Stephen Harper, with perhaps neither party capturing enough votes to form a majority government. And NDP leader Tom Mulcair could end up being the big loser of Canada's longest ever election campaign.
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By Arvind Bhunjun; [email protected]; @ArvindBhunjun
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