ABC.L Share News (ABC)

LONDON (Alliance News) - Shares have rebound at the open Tuesday, amid reports that Russian President Vladimir Putin has order troops near the Ukraine back to their bases.

Miner Fresnillo is down 6.8% at the open as it reported profit more than halved in 2013, though it did declare a special dividend.

John Menzies has reported GBP42.1 million in pretax profit for 2013, up from GBP28.1 million, and Numis has raised the stock to Add from Hold, according to traders.

Here is what you need to know at the UK market open:
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MARKETS
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FTSE 100: up 80.35 at 6,788.70
FTSE 250: up 184.24 at 16,559.08
AIM ALL-SHARE: up 3.88 at 886.25
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Hang Seng: up 206.79 at 22,707.46
Nikkei 225: up 69.25 at 14,721.48
DJIA: closed down 153.03 at 16,168.03
S&P 500: closed down 13.72 at 1,845.73
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GBP-USD: up at USD1.6713
EUR-USD: up at USD1.3764

GOLD: down at USD1,339.46 per ounce
OIL (Brent): down at USD109.76 a barrel

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

09:30 UK PMI Construction
10:00 EU Producer Price Index
13:55 US Redbook index
14:45 US ISM New York index
23:50 US Total Vehicle Sales
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Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered troops engaged in military exercises, some of which were taking place near Ukraine, to return to their bases, his spokesman Dmitri Peskov said Tuesday. The drills, designed to combat the troops' combat readiness, worried Western governments after Russia poured military personnel into the Russian-majority Ukrainian region of Crimea following the ouster of a Russia-oriented government in Ukraine and its replacement by a West-leading administration. The manoeuvres, which began last week, are to end as planned, Peskov said. Military personnel are to return to their bases on March 7, Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu told the Interfax news agency.
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The EU and US threatened Monday to impose sanctions against Russia unless Moscow withdraws its armed forces from Ukraine's Crimea peninsula and takes steps to reduce tensions. The EU threatened to suspend visa liberalization talks with Russia, and US President Barack Obama spoke of a series of diplomatic and economic steps that will "isolate Russia and have a negative impact on the Russian economy" and its status in the world if Moscow continues on the current path. Russia is "on the wrong side of history" in Ukraine, Obama said, urging Moscow to choose diplomacy over force.
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European Central Bank President Mario Draghi said tension in Ukraine will have limited impact on the euro area. "However, the geopolitical dimensions of this situation are indeed completely different from what we have seen" in the last bouts of spillovers from emerging markets, he told European parliament late Monday. The ECB will closely monitor the developments, he added. In the euro area, inflation outlook was seen to be broadly in line with price stability. Inflation was projected to increase toward levels close to 2%, Draghi said.
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Japan's monetary base climbed 55.7% on year in February, the Bank of Japan said, coming in at 201.322 trillion yen. That follows the 51.9% spike in January.
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North Korea's launch of two short-range ballistic missiles from the country's south-east coast was a violation of UN Security Council resolutions, the US State Department said Monday. North Korea launched the two Scud missiles at 6:19 am Monday (2119 GMT Sunday), the South Korean Defence Ministry said earlier in Seoul. In confirming the launch, US State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said the missiles flew in a north-easterly direction and landed in the sea. The missiles have a presumed range of more than 500 kilometres.
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US President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met Monday to discuss Middle East peace talks and Iran's nuclear situation. After setting a tense stage with an exchange of barbs over the weekend, the two leaders sat together in the Oval Office in a meeting that Obama called "a testimony to the incredible bonds" between the two countries. Obama vowed that he would affirm to Netanyahu his "absolute commitment that Iran does not acquire a nuclear weapon."
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A US district court opened the trial Monday of Osama bin Laden's son-in-law, who is accused of conspiring to kill Americans and aiding members of terrorist network al-Qaeda. Suleiman Abu Ghaith, a former spokesman for al-Qaeda, is the terrorist network's highest-ranking member to be tried on US soil since the September 11, 2001, attacks on New York and Washington, in which nearly 3,000 people were killed.
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BROKER RATING CHANGES
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GOLDMAN CUTS BRITISH AMERICAN TOBACCO TO 'NEUTRAL' ('BUY') - PRICE TARGET 3408 PENCE
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TRADERS: NUMIS CUTS ABCAM TO 'HOLD' ('ADD')
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TRADERS: NUMIS RAISES JOHN MENZIES TO 'ADD' ('HOLD')
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CREDIT SUISSE INITIATES ROYAL MAIL WITH 'UNDERPERFORM' - TARGET 530 PENCE
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TRADERS: LIBERUM RAISES INTERSERVE TO 'BUY' ('HOLD')
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TRADERS: MERRILL LYNCH CUTS WHITBREAD TO 'NEUTRAL' ('BUY')
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MERRILL CUTS ASTRAZENECA TO 'UNDERPERFORM' ('NEUTRAL') - PRICE TARGET 4000 PENCE
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COMPANIES - FTSE 100
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Fresnillo FY Pretax Profit Down Significantly, USD418.7M vs USD1.18B; Revenues Down, USD1.62B vs USD2.16B; Recommends One-Off Dividend Of USD50.1M, Or 6.8 Cents
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Glencore Xstrata FY Reported Net Profit Before Significant Items Up, USD3.67B Vs USD3.06B; FY Reported EPS Before Significant Items Down, 33 Cents Vs 44 Cents; FY Reported Revenue Up 9%, USD232.69B Vs USD214.44B; FY Reported Adjusted EBITDA Up 76%, USD10.47B Vs USD5.94B; Says It Has Substantially Delivered On Annual USD2.4B Synergies On Xstrata Merger
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Meggitt Says FY Pretax Profit Rises 3% To GBP377.8M Vs GBP366.0M; Revenue Up 2% To GBP1.64B Vs GBP1.60B; FY Dividend Boosted 8% To 12.75P Vs 11.80P; Says Revenue From Civil Aerospace And Energy Markets During FY Increased, Military Revenue Declined
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Ashtead Q3 Pretax Profit Up 54% To GBP80.4M Vs GBP53.5M; Q3 Revenue Up 22% To GBP400.1M Vs GBP333.9M
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Asia-focused lender Standard Chartered PLC is nearing deals to sell about a half-dozen units in Europe, Asia and the Middle East, reported the Wall Street Journal citing people familiar with the deals. The bank is in advanced talks to sell Standard Chartered Savings Bank and Standard Chartered Capital in South Korea, the Journal said. The report has not disclosed the details of the buyers.
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COMPANIES - FTSE 250
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Tullett Prebon 2013 Pretax Profit GBP99.6M, Down From GBP111.3M In 2012; Pretax Profit Before Items GBP84.4M, Vs 2012 Loss Of GBP38.1M; Revenue GBP803.7M, Down From GBP850.8M In 2012; 2013 Dividend 16.85p, Unchanged; Says Revenue In 1st 2 Months Of 2014 Was 12% Down On Year At Constant Currencies
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Moneysupermarket.com FY Pretax Profit GBP43.1M Vs GBP31.5M; Revenue GBP225.6M Vs GBP204.8M; FY Dividend 7.28p Vs 5.74p;Declares Special Dividend Of 12.92p; Says Trading In First Two Months Of Current Year Satisfactory
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Serco 2013 Pretax Proft GBP106.6M, Down 62% From GBP281.1M; Adjusted Pretax Proft GBP254.4M, Down 6.3% From GBP271.6M; Revenue GBP4.29B, Up 5.6% From GBP4.06B In 2012; 2013 Dividend 10.55p, Up 4.5% From 10.10p; Reaffirms Expectation For Mid-Single Digit Organic Revenue Decline In 2014
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Pace FY Pretax Profit USD96.7m Vs USD58.4M; Revenue USD2.47B Vs USD2.40B; FY Dividend 5.49c Vs 4.50c; Expects 2014 Revenues To Be Around USD2.7B
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Jardine Lloyd Thompson FY Pretax Profit Up 2% To GBP154.6M; FY Total Revenue Up 11% To GBP979.2M; FY Dividend Up 6.7% To 27.2p; Says CEO Dominic Burke Taking Short Break From Beginning Of May To June-End; Says Mark Brady To Be Acting CEO In Meantime
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Regus 2013 Pretax Profit GBP81.5M, Down 4% From 85.1M; Revenue 1.53B, Up 23% From 1.24B; 2013 Dividend 3.6p, Up 13% From 3.2p; CEO: Launching Driverless Car This Week Which Also Serves As An Office
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James Fisher 2013 Pretax Profit GBP46.2M, Flat With Restated 2012 GBP46.4M; Revenue GBP413.7M, Up From 2012 GBP363.3M; Total Dividend 20.0p, Up From 17.7p In 2012
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Vesuvius 2013 Pretax Profit GBP104.1M, Vs Restated 2012 GBP17.2M; Headline Pretax Profit GBP125.2M, Vs Restated 2012 GBP109.7M; Revenue GBP1.51B, Down From Restated 2012 GBP1.55B; Total Dividend 15.0p, Up 5.3% On 2012 Share Of Cookson Dividend
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COMPANIES - ALL-SHARE AND AIM
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John Menzies 2013 Pretax Profit GBP42.1M, Up From GBP28.1M; Revenue GBP2.00B, Up From GBP1.997B; 2013 Dividend 26.5p, Up From 25.2p; Says Trading Conditions, Particularly In Distribution, Likely To Remain Challenging In 2014
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Image Scan Holdings CEO Not Re-elected, Chairman, Non-Executive Director Resign
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City Of London Investment Group H1 Funds Under Management USD3.4B Vs USD3.5B; Group Interim Dividend 8p; Expects To Extend Chief Executive Barry Olliff's Employment Agreement To 2019
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Verdes Management Raises GBP750,000 From Placing; Trading On AIM Restored
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Paddy Power FY Pretax Profit EUR141.0M Vs EUR139.2M; Revenue EUR745.2M Vs EUR653.8M; FY Dividend 135.0c Vs 120.0c; Says Football Results Were Poor For Bookmakers In January; January To February Sportsbook Stakes In Constant Currency Grew 6% Like For Like In Retail, 19% In Online
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Breedon Aggregates FY Underlying EBITDA Rises 40.1% To GBP28.3M Vs GBP20.2M
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Foreign & Colonial Investment Trust FY NAV Total Return (Debt At Market Value) 21.4%; FY Dividend Up 5.9% At 9.00p; Says Jeremy Tigue To Step Down After 17 Years As Fund Manager
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IHG And Action Hotels Opens Holiday Inn Muscat Al Seeb, Oman
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ISG H1 Pretax Profit Up 7%, GBP2.4M Vs GBP2.2M; Revenues Up 8%, GBP708M Vs GBP659M; Interim Dividend Up 3% To 4.54p
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Tuesday's Scheduled AGMs/EGMs

JPMorgan US Smaller Co IT
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By Tom Waite; thomaslwaite@alliancenews.com; @thomaslwaite

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