Johnson Service Share News (JSG)

LONDON (Alliance News) - UK shares have opened moderately higher Wednesday, supported by firm markets in the US and Asia another strong reading on UK house prices.

FTSE 100 housebuilder Persimmon reinforced the figures from Nationwide by saying its own revenue in the first half of 2014 rose by 33% and total forward sales revenue by 28% on the previous 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 6,817.85
FTSE 250: up 0.5% at 15,914.20
AIM ALL-SHARE: flat at 787.29
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Hang Seng: up 1.2% at 23,473.51
Nikkei 225: closed up 0.3% at 15,369.97
DJIA: closed up 0.8% at 16,956.07
S&P 500: closed up 0.7% at 1,973.32
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GBP-USD: up at USD1.7151
EUR-USD: down at USD1.3675

GOLD: up at USD1,325.46 per ounce
OIL (Brent): up at USD112.24 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)

09:30 UK PMI Construction
10:00 EU Gross Domestic Product
10:00 EU Producer Price Index
12:00 US MBA Mortgage Applications
12:30 US Challenger Job Cuts
13:15 US ADP Employment Change
14:45 US ISM New York index
15:00 US Factory Orders
15:30 US EIA Crude Oil Stocks change
16:00 US Fed's Yellen Speech
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House prices in the UK rose more the expected in June,the results of a survey by housing society Nationwide showed. Nationwide house prices rose 1% month-over-month in June, more than the 0.5% increase expected by economists and the 0.7% rise recorded in May. This marked the fourteenth consecutive month of growth. The average price of a UK house was 188,903 pounds, with the average house prices in London topping the 400,000 pound mark for the first time. The Nationwide noted that house prices have now surpassed the 2007 peak. On a year-over-year basis, house prices were up 11.8% in June, topping the consensus estimate of 11.2% growth. This follows the 11.1% increase in May.
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Japanese firms expect inflation to stay below the central bank's 2% target in a year from now, survey data from the Bank of Japan showed. Firms forecast inflation of 1.5% in a year, unchanged from the projections made three months ago. The survey signals difficulties in achieving 2% inflation target. Companies expect inflation to rise to 1.6% in three years and 1.7% in five years. In March, they estimated 1.7% inflation for both three years and five years. According to official figures, core inflation, excluding the effect of the higher tax, slowed marginally to 1.4% in May from 1.5% in April.
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Germany's Foreign Minister was hoping to host Ukrainian, Russian and French diplomats Wednesday in Berlin to establish a new ceasefire between Kiev and pro-Moscow rebels in eastern Ukraine. A Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin and French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius had been invited to the afternoon meeting. Lavrov welcomed Steinmeier's initiative.
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The leader of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi called on fellow Muslims to join his jihadist group and help build the Islamic State, in an audio message posted online on Tuesday. "There is no deed in this holy month or in any other month better than jihad. So take the chance and walk the path of your righteous predecessors," al-Baghdadi said, referring to the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan, which began few days ago. This is the first message since the group declared itself an Islamist caliphate in Iraq and Syria on Sunday, with al-Baghdadi as the first caliph and asked Muslims to pledge allegiance to him.
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BROKER RATING CHANGES
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JEFFERIES RAISES LAND SECURITIES TO 'BUY' ('HOLD') - TARGET 1216 (1165) PENCE
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JEFFERIES RAISES BRITISH LAND TO 'BUY' ('HOLD') - TARGET 810 (771) PENCE
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TRADERS: NUMIS RAISES ST JAMES'S PLACE TO 'ADD' ('HOLD')
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TRADERS: NUMIS RAISES SCHRODERS TO 'BUY' ('ADD')
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JEFFERIES RAISES DERWENT LONDON TO 'BUY' ('HOLD') - TARGET 3062 (2902) PENCE
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DEUTSCHE BANK RAISES OCADO TO 'HOLD' ('SELL') - TARGET 330 (350) PENCE
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TRADERS: NUMIS RAISES HENDERSON GROUP PLC TO 'REDUCE' ('SELL')
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TRADERS: JEFFERIES RAISES LONDONMETRIC PROPERTY TO 'BUY' ('HOLD')
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TRADERS: JEFFERIES RAISES CAPITAL & COUNTIES TO 'BUY' ('HOLD')
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COMPANIES - FTSE 100
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HSBC Holdings PLC has agreed to pay USD10 million to the US to settle allegations of fraud over foreclosure fees. The claims were related to HSBC's failure to oversee the reasonableness of foreclosure-related charges it submitted to HUD's Federal Housing Administration and the Federal National Mortgage Association for reimbursement, contrary to program requirements and HSBC's certifications that it had done so. Preet Bharara, the US Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and Michael Stephens, Acting Inspector General for the Federal Housing Finance Agency Office of Inspector General Tuesday said that the US has settled these civil fraud claims.
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Tullow Oil PLC said that its revenues and gross profits for the first half of 2014 are expected to be in line with expectations but that it will book a USD415 million exploration write-off charge after poor drill results in Mauritania, Ethiopia and Norway. The FTSE 100 oil and gas exploration company said it expects to post roughly USD1.3 billion in revenues for the six months ended June 30, a figure which is flat on the previous year, and USD650 million in gross profits, a reduction of 15% from USD764 million in the first half 2013.
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Housebuilder Persimmon PLC said it continues to benefit from the recovery in the UK housing market, with revenues in the first half of 2014 up 33% and total forward sales revenue up 28% on the previous year. Persimmon said total revenues increased to GBP1.2 billion in the six months to June 30, from GBP900 million a year earlier. Persimmon said it completed 6,408 new homes during the period up from 5,022 a year earlier.
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COMPANIES - FTSE 250
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Premier Oil PLC said that first gas under its Domestic Swap Agreement in Indonesia began to flow on Tuesday, allowing the company to provide gas into both Indonesia and Singapore from the Natuna Sea Block A, offshore Indonesia. The FTSE 250-listed oil and gas company said that under the swap deal it will supply up to an additional 40 billion British thermal units of gas per day to Singapore from the Natuna block. The additional supplies will replace Premier Oil's current flow of gas from Natuna to Singapore, freeing up the previous supply volumes to be re-directed into the Indonesian domestic gas market.
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Struggling construction company Carillion PLC said its performance in the first half was in line with expectations and it remains on track to resume revenue growth in the full year, despite an expected dip in first-half revenue due to the rescaling of its UK construction activities.
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Spirent Communications PLC said it has agreed to acquire Radvision Ltd's technology business unit for USD25.0 million in cash, funded from existing resources. Israel-based Radvision, which is owned by the US's Avaya Inc, provides voice and video communications services over the internet and mobile networks, including high-speed 4G Long-Term Evolution networks.
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Kier Group Says Services Order Book Remains Stable At GBP3.6B; Says Construction Division Has Experienced Good Second Half; Says Operating Margins Remain Stable At Around 2%; Says Property Division Has A Pipeline In Excess Of GBP1B
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COMPANIES - MAIN MARKET AND AIM
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Graphene NanoChem PLC said it is confident it will meet the market's expectations for its 2014 results and will see substantial revenue increases from 2015, after it won its first purchase order for its graphene-enhanced PlatDrill Series oilfield chemicals. The company had entered into a framework agreement with Scomi Oiltools Sdn Bhd last November, and said the order for the PlatDrill chemicals, for an unnamed national oil company, was down to that framework deal. It expects revenue from the initial purchase order to be GBP1.0 million, payable on delivery.
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Recruiter and training company Staffline Group PLC said it has bought Leicester-based training procurement consultancy Softmist Ltd, further boosting its presence in the UK government-funded training sector after it bought Avanta Enterprise Ltd in May. The company didn't provide any financial details about the Softmist acquisition, but said it will be earnings neutral in the current financial year and was funded from its existing bank facility.
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Blinkx PLC said its earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation will be around USD5 million below management expectations, as it saw lower demand than expected in its Desktop division. The company, which provides companies with advertising for use with online videos, said as a result of this lower demand over the last three months it has seen a shortfall in revenues and EBITDA. The firm attributed this to "industry-wide issues of efficiency and effectiveness", which it said had been compounded by the lingering effects of a disparaging blog about its business in January.
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Recruitment company The Rethink Group PLC said it has extended a contract it has with retail giant Marks and Spencer Group PLC for a further three years. In a statement, the talent manager said that it will continue to provide M&S with IT staff at a number of the retailer's London offices. It didn't provide any financial details of the contract, but said the extension started in June.
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Security and surveillance systems maker Petards Group PLC Wednesday said it has won a deal worth over GBP4.5 million from the UK Ministry of Defence to upgrade countermeasures equipment fitted to some Royal Air Force aircraft. In a statement, Petards said its Petards Joyce-Loebl unit will replace obsolete components within the ALE-47 Threat Adaptive Countermeasure Dispensing System Programmers fitted to the RAF's C-130 J transport aircraft, Merlin Mk.3, Chinook Mk.2, 2A, 3, and 6 and Puma helicopters.
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Workwear and textile rental company Johnson Service Group PLC said it expects its 2014 results to be slightly ahead of expectations, after it saw strong trading in the first half of the year, particularly in its textile rental business. In a short trading update, the company said it expects to report that its net debt was about GBP32.0 million at the end of June, down from GBP34.0 million on a pro-forma basis at the end of December.
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Destination Maternity Corp confirmed it has submitted two non-binding written proposals to Mothercare PLC about a possible combination of the two companies, which have both been rejected by the board of directors of Mothercare. Destination Maternity noted that it believes its latest increased proposal, which was delivered on June 1, provides a strong basis for discussions between the parties but Mothercare has refused to engage with Destination Maternity on its proposals. Destination Maternity continues to evaluate its options with regard to a possible combination.
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COMPANIES - OTHER
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JPMorgan Chase Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon has been diagnosed with throat cancer, but he says 'condition is curable." Dimon revealed this in message sent to colleagues and shareholders on Tuesday, which had a subject line, "Sharing some personal news." Dimon, age 58, said the cancer was confirmed following tests such as a CAT scan, PET scan and a biopsy, but it is confined to the original site and the adjacent lymph nodes on the right side of the neck. There is also no evidence of cancer elsewhere in the body, he added. Dimon noted that he will continue to run the company as normal and will be actively involved in the company's business.
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Wednesday's Scheduled AGMs/EGMs

Home Retail Group
Sports Direct International
NewRiver Retail
Cobham
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By Tom Waite; thomaslwaite@alliancenews.com; @thomaslwaite

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