Murray International Share News (MYI)

LONDON (Alliance News) - UK shares have opened the week higher Monday, following strong leads from Wall Street and Asian markets and amid a sense of easing geopolitical tensions.

Synthomer leads the FTSE 350, up 5.3%, after lifting its interim dividend by 25% to 3 pence per share.

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 6,601.84
FTSE 250: up 0.6% at 15,337.58
AIM ALL-SHARE: up 0.4% at 752.21
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Hang Seng: up 1.0% at 24,581.07
Nikkei 225: closed up 2.4% at 15,130.52
DJIA: closed up 1.1% at 16,553.93
S&P 500: closed up 1.2% at 1,931.59
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GBP-USD: up at USD1.6787
EUR-USD: down at USD1.3393

GOLD: down at USD1,307.05 per ounce
OIL (Brent): up at USD104.87 a barrel

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

France and Germany 10-y Bond Auctions
10:00 UK CB Leading Economic Index
13:15 Canada Housing Starts
16:30 US 3-Month and 6-Month Bill Auction
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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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Ukraine on warned that it might cut Russian oil and gas transit flows to Europe and ban Russian airlines from crossing its airspace. The measures are part of a sanctions bill targeting Moscow that will be submitted to parliament, Prime Minister Arseny Yatsenyuk said in Kiev. Yatsenyuk explained that it could include complete or partial bans on transit of all manner of resources, including energy resources and overflights.
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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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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.
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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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Japan consumer confidence improved for the third consecutive month in July, data from the Cabinet Office showed. The consumer confidence index rose to 41.5 in July from 41.1 in June. The survey was conducted by the Cabinet Office on July 15 among 8,400 households.
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Money supply in Japan increased at a stable rate in July, confirming the consensus estimate, the Bank of Japan said. The M2 money stock grew 3% year-over-year in July, the same rate as in June. This confirmed economists' expectations. The M3 money supply increased 2.4% year-over-year, in line with the consensus estimate, following a revised 2.5% increase in June.
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An index measuring activity among tertiary industries in Japan declined unexpectedly in June, a report from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry showed. The tertiary activity index slid by a seasonally adjusted 0.1% month-over-month in June, partially reversing the 0.9% rise in May. Economists had expected the index to remain unchanged over the month.
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Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, elected Sunday as Turkey's new president by securing a first-round victory over two other candidates, promised the country is entering a new era. In a speech to supporters from his ruling Justice and Development Party's headquarters in Ankara, Erdogan sounded more conciliatory than in the recent past, reaching out to Turks across the polarized political spectrum. "Today we close the doors of the old era and open a new era," Erdogan told the large crowd which waved flags and cheered their leader.
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BROKER RATING CHANGES
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GOLDMAN RAISES WPP TO 'CONVICTION BUY LIST' ('BUY') - TARGET 1520 PENCE
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UBS CUTS DRAX GROUP TO 'NEUTRAL' ('BUY') - TARGET 680 (800) PENCE
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GOLDMAN CUTS UBM PRICE TARGET TO 750 (890) PENCE - 'BUY'
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COMPANIES - FTSE 100
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Rona Fairhead, the former Financial Times Group chief executive, has emerged as one of two leading contenders for the chairmanship of Barclays PLC, according to The Sunday Times. Fairhead, who led the newspaper group for seven years and who is a long-standing non-executive director on the board of HSBC Group Holdings PLC, is understood to be among the shortlisted candidates to replace David Walker. Howard Davies, the former Treasury mandarin tasked with resolving the UK's airports strategy, is believed to be the other shortlisted candidate, according to the newspaper.
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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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Centrica PLC warned it would take a hit to its earnings per share in 2014 after the release of boiler spine inspection results by EDF Energy regarding the Heysham 1 nuclear power station. EDF said the inspections undertaken at Heysham 1, where one of the two reactors on the site was shut down on June 11 for refuelling and to allow investigations of its boiler units, said a defect had been found in Reactor 1. As a result of the defect, Reactor 1 at the site remains shut down as it works to characterise the nature of the problem.
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COMPANIES - FTSE 250
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Balfour Beatty H1 Pretax Profit GBP22M Vs GBP47M; Revenue GBP4.85B Vs GBP4.96B; Maintains Interim Dividend
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Balfour Beatty also reaffirmed that it has terminated discussions with Carillion PLC regarding a merger and it will now look to create opportunities across the group while concentrating on the restoration of value to its shareholders.
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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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SVG Capital June 30 NAV Per Share 535.0p, Up 4.0% From 6 Months Before
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Synthomer H1 Pretax Profit GBP45.0M Vs GBP48.6M; Total Sales GBP510.1M Vs GBP558.3M
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RPS Group Acquires CgMs Ltd For GBP13M
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Murray International Trust H1 Net Return GBP64.8M Vs GBP107.4M
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COMPANIES - MAIN MARKET AND AIM
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Fairpoint Group PLC said it has acquired Bournemouth-based debt solutions provider Debt Line Topco Ltd for GBP3.0 million in cash. The consumer professional services company said the Debt Line business marks its third acquisition this year, and said management expectations for the current financial year remain unchanged.
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Monday's Scheduled AGMs/EGMs

Max Property Group
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By Tom Waite; thomaslwaite@alliancenews.com; @thomaslwaite

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