Breedon Share News (BREE)

LONDON (Alliance News) - UK shares have opened mostly higher Wednesday, cheered by positive Chinese economic data, which in turn has lifted Hong Kong shares.

The FTSE quarterly review is released after the close Wednesday, with Direct Line Insurance Group, and possibly the recently merged Dixons Carphone, set to enter the FTSE 100, while drinks can maker Rexam and house builder Barratt Developments could be the companies relegated to make way.

Goldman Sachs is happy playing with trains and buses Wednesday, raising its view on National Express, Go-Ahead and Stagecoach, 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 0.5% at 6,865.90
FTSE 250: up 0.1% at 15,986.11
AIM ALL-SHARE: down 0.1% at 779.15
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Hang Seng: up 2.1% at 25,278.75
Nikkei 225: closed down 0.4% at 15,728.35
DJIA: closed down 0.2% at 17,067.56
S&P 500: closed down 0.1% at 2,002.28
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GBP-USD: flat at USD1.6475
EUR-USD: flat at USD1.3130

GOLD: up at USD1,268.13 per ounce
OIL (Brent): up at USD100.99 a barrel

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

08:45 Italy Markit Services PMI
08:50 France Markit Services PMI
08:55 Germany Markit Services PMI
09:00 EU Markit Services and Composite PMI
09:30 UK Markit Services PMI
10:00 EU Retail Sales
12:00 US MBA Mortgage Applications
13:55 US Redbook index
14:45 US ISM New York index
15:00 Canada Bank of Canada Interest Rate Decision
15:00 US Factory Orders
19:00 US Fed's Beige Book
also US Vehicle Sales
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British shop prices were down 1.6% on year in August, the British Retail Consortium said. That beat expectations for a decline of 0.2% following the 1.9% fall in July. Food prices gained just 0.3% in August, unchanged from the record low in the previous month. "As the UK economy continues to pick up, the benefits of subdued cost increases incurred by retailers will be passed on to consumers," said Helen Dickinson, director general of the BRC.
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Service sector activity in Ireland expanded at a faster rate in August, results of a survey by Markit Economics showed. The Investec purchasing managers' index, or PMI, for the services sector rose to 62.4 in August from 61.3 in July. This marked the twenty fifth consecutive month of expansion.
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China's service sector expanded in August after showing no change in July, results of a survey by Markit Economics and HSBC Bank showed showed. The HSBC services business activity index increased to 54.1 in August from 50.0 in July. This indicated expansion as the index came in above the no-change mark of 50.
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The services sector in Japan contracted in August, albeit barely, the latest survey from Markit Economics revealed on Wednesday with a purchasing managers' index score of 49.9. That was down from 50.4 in July, and it slipped below the boom-or-bust score of 50 that separates expansion from contraction. Markit's composite PMI climbed to 50.8 from 50.2 in the previous month.
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US President Barack Obama arrived in Estonia Wednesday to meet with the heads of the Baltic states, amid growing concerns about Russia's military involvement in Ukraine. Obama was to meet with President Toomas Hendrik Ilves and Prime Minister Taavi Roivas as well as the leaders of neighbouring countries, President Andris Berzins of Latvia and President Dalia Grybauskaite of Lithuania. The three former members of the Soviet bloc have been anxiously watching Moscow's alleged support for eastern Ukrainian separatists, as each country also has Russian minorities. Later Wednesday, Obama was to give a speech in Tallinn and meet with local and US solders, before travelling to Wales for the two-day NATO summit.
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The Islamic State has beheaded a second US journalist, Steven Joel Sotloff, according to monitoring group SITE Intel, which posted the information on its website Tuesday. The beheading, which was posted in a video online, was carried out by a hooded man with a British accent, the reports said. CNN showed images of Sotloff clothed in an orange outfit, similar to the clothes worn by fellow US journalist James Foley, who was executed last week by the Islamic State militant group. Sotloff was also seen in the Foley footage. The White House could not confirm the killing, but spokesman Josh Earnest said the US had spent "considerable time and resources" trying to rescue Sotloff. He said the US government and intelligence officials will "very carefully" analyze the video. British Prime Minister David Cameron was the first politician to officially condemn the killing, referring to it as an "absolutely disgusting, despicable act."
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US President Obama has authorized the deployment of 405 additional military personnel to secure the safety of diplomats in Baghdad, the White House and Pentagon said. The net increase in personnel securing the US embassy in Baghdad, however, will be only 350, since 55 troops in Iraq since June will be rotated outside Iraq to "deal with other security contingencies in the region," Pentagon Press Secretary Rear Admiral John Kirby said in a statement. The 350 new troops will bring to 1,170 troops securing US diplomats and their facilities in Baghdad and Erbil.
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A Palestinian delegation was to meet with US Secretary of State John Kerry on Wednesday in Washington, in the wake Israel's appropriation of a large tract of West Bank land. Palestinian chief negotiator Saeb Erekat was leading the delegation. Israel and the Palestinians agreed last month to a truce after weeks of Israeli bombardment of alleged rocket-firing militants in the Gaza Strip, which remains under the control of Islamist militant group Hamas.
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US drone strikes have targeted the leader of the radical Islamist group al-Shabaab and his advisers as they were meeting in a hideout in southern Somalia, local officials said Tuesday. At least three al-Shabaab convoys were destroyed in the US air strikes, officials said. One of the convoys was believed to be carrying al-Shabaab leader Ahmed Abdi Godane - who the US military described as the principle target of the mission - but there was no information on whether he was killed or wounded.
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The US and Japan were among the top-ranked economies in terms of improving their competitiveness over the last year, according to an annual ranking published by the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Geneva. For the sixth year in a row, Switzerland took the top spot, followed by Singapore. The US came in third, owing to its innovative companies and strong institutions, said the WEF, which hosts the annual meeting of global leaders in the Swiss town of Davos. Since last year's ranking, the US overtook Finland as well as Germany and relegated them to fourth and fifth place, respectively. Hong Kong, the Netherlands, Britain and Sweden rounded out the list of the 10 most competitive economies.
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BROKER RATING CHANGES
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TRADERS: BARCLAYS CUTS ADMIRAL GROUP TO 'UNDERWEIGHT' ('EQUAL WEIGHT')
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BERENBERG CUTS ADMIRAL GROUP PRICE TARGET TO 1,166 (1,168) PENCE - 'SELL'
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PANMURE RAISES ASHTEAD GROUP PRICE TARGET TO 1,128 (1,090) PENCE - 'BUY'
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TRADERS: JEFFERIES RAISES ASHTEAD GROUP TARGET TO 1,185 (1,150) PENCE - 'BUY'
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DEUTSCHE BANK RAISES VEDANTA TO 'BUY' ('HOLD') - TARGET 1060 PENCE
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UBS RAISES AVEVA GROUP TO 'BUY' ('NEUTRAL') - TARGET 2500 PENCE
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TRADERS: GOLDMAN RAISES NATIONAL EXPRESS TO 'BUY' ('NEUTRAL')
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TRADERS: GOLDMAN ADDS GO-AHEAD TO 'CONVICTION BUY LIST'
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TRADERS: GOLDMAN RAISES STAGECOACH TO 'NEUTRAL' ('SELL')
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TRADERS: JEFFERIES INITIATES JUST EAT WITH 'BUY' - TARGET 450 PENCE
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TRADERS: BARCLAYS INITIATES DIRECT LINE WITH 'EQUAL WEIGHT' - TARGET 296 PENCE
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TRADERS: BARCLAYS INITIATES ESURE WITH 'UNDERWEIGHT' - TARGET 235 PENCE
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TRADERS: CREDIT SUISSE RAISES AFREN TO 'OUTPERFORM' ('NEUTRAL')
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SHORE CAPITAL INITIATES SSP GROUP WITH 'BUY'
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COMPANIES - FTSE 100
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Hargreaves Lansdown reported a 7% rise in full year pretax profit, boosted by growing client numbers and assets under administration, as the investment supermarket was helped by a busy year of stock market activity. Hargreaves Lansdown increased its full year dividend 8.1% to 32.00 pence from 29.59p. In a statement, Hargreaves Lansdown said it made a GBP209.8 million pretax profit in the year ended June 30, compared with GBP195.2 million in the corresponding period last year. Revenue increased to GBP358.4 million from GBP292.4 million, due to growth in complementary services such as stockbroking, fund management, discretionary management and pension drawdown services, the company said.
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Generic drugmaker Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd said the UK High Court has given a positive judgement in support of Teva's case against British drug maker AstraZeneca. The case is related to the validity of EP1,085,877 covering the Single inhaler Maintenance And Reliever Therapy (SMART) indication for AstraZeneca's fixed dose formoterol/budesonide combination product, Symbicort. The company said the court's decision invalidating AstraZeneca's patent supports Teva's launch of DuoRespSpiromax in UK.
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Equipment rental company Ashtead Group said it expects its full-year results to be above previous expectations, after a strong first-quarter performance in both its US and UK businesses, driven by new store openings and bolt-on acquisitions, continued into August. Ashtead reported a pretax profit of GBP117.5 million for the three months to July 31, up from GBP97.4 million a year earlier, as revenue rose to GBP457.9 million, from GBP410.5 million.
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Glencore and Brazil's Vale have withdrawn from talks over combining their Canadian nickel assets, a deal which could have produced more than USD1 billion in annual cost savings, Reuters reported Wednesday, citing sources close to the matter. The discussions are understood to have broken down partly due to a disagreement on how to share the costs and savings, as well as concerns about the likely government and union reactions to potential job cuts and shutdowns, Reuters citing the sources as saying.
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BP has attempted to remove the administrator of compensation payments under its settlement for the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill, accusing him of a "clear-cut conflict of interest", the Financial Times reported. The FT cited a court filing in which BP said emails had recently been identified revealing Patrick Juneau, the compensation claims administrator, had in the past "advocated vigorously on behalf of individual and business claimants seeking compensation from BP for alleged spill-related injuries".
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Direct Line Insurance Group is set to be one of two possible entrants to the UK's blue-chip index at the FTSE review on Wednesday, while initial public offerings will dominate the changes in the FTSE 250 for a second consecutive quarterly review. Recently merged Dixons Carphone is also experiencing a strong run in the lead up to the review, putting it in with a chance of entering the FTSE 100, while drinks can maker Rexam and house builder Barratt Developments could be the companies relegated to make way.
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COMPANIES - FTSE 250
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Housebuilding and construction group Galliford Try said it has been appointed to two new contracts in the affordable housing sector worth a combined GBP106 million. Galliford Try's Partnerships business has been selected by Notting Hill Housing to build the GBP81 million Great Eastern Quays project in East London, a regeneration scheme that includes the creation of up to 350 mixed tenure homes, and development of public spaces alongside the river and the docks, including business, retail and leisure areas. Galliford Try said it has also been selected for a new GBP25 million contract with Registered Provide Coast and Country Housing to build six new "extra care" developments in Redcar, Yorkshire.
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Animal genetics company Genus reported lower underlying profit in its last financial year, as the strength of sterling, a weak market in Asia, and investments it's making in expanding its pig business in China offset a strong performance in its dairy and beef cattle business and pigs business elsewhere. The company, which provides products like semen and breeding animals that it claims have superior genetics to animals currently in production, reported a pretax profit of GBP38.2 million for the year to June 30, up from GBP33.4 million a year earlier, buoyed by a GBP7.5 million accounting valuation gain on biological assets. The company said it expects to perform in line with expectations in the current financial year, and it raised its total dividend 10% to 17.7 pence.
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COMPANIES - LONDON MAIN MARKET AND AIM
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CityFibre Infrastructure Holdings said it has signed an agreement with Scotland-based ICT service provider Internet For Business, to deploy a gigabit-capable dark fibre network throughout Aberdeen, as the first step in the company's plan to establish Aberdeen as Scotland's first Gigabit City.
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Property investors A&J Mucklow Group reported an increase in profit for the full year, but warned that it may struggle to acquire any further investment properties while the market remains so competitive. The company, which develops property in the Midlands, posted pretax profit of GBP40.7 million for the year to June 30, up from GBP16.3 million a year earlier, boosted by revaluation gains of GBP22.6 million, compared with just GBP2.8 million a year earlier.
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Breedon Aggregates said it has bought a 50% stake in H V Bowen & Sons (Holdings) Ltd, the owner and operator of Tan-y-Foel quarry near Welshpool, giving it an interest in about 3.4 million tonnes of high 'polished stone value' aggregates, a scarce resource that's in big demand for road resurfacing. The company didn't provide any financial details about the acquisition, but said it was funded in cash from its own resources.
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Deltex Medical Group said it has opened a new account in the USA following a successful clinical evaluation. The company, which manufactures and markets Oesophageal Doppler Monitoring systems, said the new account is with a major teaching hospital in south-east USA. The hospital will be initially be introducing ODM into colorectal surgery, said Deltex.
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Ryanair Holdings said traffic and load factor both increased in August, attributing the rise to the launch of new family and business products. The budget carrier said its traffic increased by 400,000 customers to 9.4 million in August, from 9.0 million a year earlier. The company's load factor also improved from 89% to 93% over the year.
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Everyman Media Group said it has appointed Crispin Lilly as the company's new chief executive. Lilly joins from Cineworld Cinemas where he is currently vice president of business affairs; for the last six years he has looked after all aspects of commercial revenues including both the film and retail aspects of the business. He has also previously held roles at MGM Cinemas, Virgin Cinemas and UGC Cinemas.
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Nationwide Accident Repair Services said it has signed a new contract with Allianz Insurance PLC which will see the UK provider of automotive crash repair services become one of two preferred suppliers for vehicle accident repair and repair management services across the UK. Nationwide said the contract - which starts immediately - is estimated to be worth approximately GBP10 million per annum once fully implemented and supports Nationwide's trading performance in the current financial year and its expectations for beyond the year-end.
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Development Securities and Secure Property Development & Investment said they have added to their portfolios. Development Securities PLC said it has bought two investment assets, in Bristol and Sidcup, for a combined fee of GBP18.6 million. Secure Property Development & Investment PLC has agreed to acquire an income producing residential portfolio in Bucharest, Romania from a group of vendors including what it called a number of "prominent" European family offices and institutional investors.
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Goals Soccer Centres said pretax profit dropped in the first half despite a rise in revenue and sales in the period, hit by restructuring costs, though it expressed confidence for the future and said the restructuring has positioned the company well for the future. The group, which operates 5-a-side football centres, said pretax profit fell to GBP0.6 million in the six months to June 30 from GBP4.1 million last year.
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Horse Hill Developments, the operator of the Horse Hill Prospect, has started drilling on the Horse Hill-1 well. The Horse Hill-1 well is planned to be drilled to a total depth of 2,646 metres and is designed to test for a number of conventional stacked oil targets in the Jurassic, as well as a deeper conventional gas target in the Triassic, it said. Horse Hill Developments has a 65% operating interest in the Horse Hill Prospect, located to the north of Gatwick Airport in Surrey. Magellan Petroleum Corp has the other 35%. A number of companies have binding agreements in place to own direct interest, including UK Oil and Gas Investments, Solo Oil, Stellar Resources Regency Mines, and Alba Mineral Resources.
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Empiric Student Property said it has acquired the freehold of Centro Court, a direct-let, student accommodation site in Aberdeen from Scape Homes in a deal worth GBP6.5 million.
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COMPANIES - INTERNATIONAL
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US technology giant Apple said Tuesday it is in the process of fixing a data security breach that compromised private nude photos of more than 100 female celebrities. While providing an update, Apple said none of the cases it has investigated has resulted from any breach in any of Apple's systems including iCloud or Find my iPhone.
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Oilfield services firm Halliburton has agreed to pay USD1.1 billion to settle claims related to damages from the 2010 explosion on the Deep Water Horizon oil rig that left oil pouring into the Gulf of Mexico for months, the company said Tuesday. The money is to be paid to the fishing industry and other financial victims of the spill. BP agreed to a USD7.8 billion settlement in 2012.
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Investment banking firm Jefferies Group, a part of diversified holding company Leucadia National Corp, said Tuesday it expects to report third-quarter net earnings of USD82 million and revenue of USD835 million. Results for the quarter mainly reflect investment banking revenue of USD461 million, the company said. Investment banking results reflect solid contributions from equity and debt capital markets, strong performance in merger and acquisition advisory business, and solid participation across industry groups and geographies, the company said.
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Wednesday's Scheduled AGMs/EGMs

Ashtead Group
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By Tom Waite; thomaslwaite@alliancenews.com; @thomaslwaite

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