Ricardo Share News (RCDO)

LONDON (Alliance News) - Shares were firm in London at the open Friday, despite continued volatility in oil prices. A positively received trading update from Experian saw the credit checker at the top of the FTSE 100, up 3.4%.

BT was up 1.2%, after its return to being a mobile operator via the purchase of EE was approved by UK competition authorities. BT previously had owned BT Cellnet, which later became O2.

Here is what you need to know at the London market open:
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MARKETS
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FTSE 100: up 0.1% at 5,923.55
FTSE 250: up 0.2% at 16,445.25
AIM ALL-SHARE: up 0.3% at 710.10
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Hang Seng: closed down 1.5% at 19,520.77
Nikkei 225: closed down 0.5% at 17,147.11
DJIA: closed up 1.4% at 16,379.05
S&P 500: closed up 1.7% at 1,921.84
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GBP: flat at USD1.4384 (USD1.4391)
EUR: firm at USD1.0869 (USD1.0852)

GOLD: flat at USD1,084.01 per ounce (USD1,082.80)
OIL (Brent): flat at USD30.38 a barrel (USD30.35)

(changes since previous London equities close)
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ECONOMICS AND GENERAL
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Friday's Key Economic Events still to come
(all times in GMT)

09:00 Italy Consumer Price Index
09:30 UK BOE Credit Conditions Survey
10:00 EU Trade Balance
13:30 US NY Empire State Manufacturing Index
13:30 US Retail Sales
13:30 US Producer Price Index
14:00 US Fed New York President William Dudley speech
14:15 US Industrial Production and Capacity Utilization
15:00 US Reuters/Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index
15:00 US Business Inventories
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China's bank lending declined in December and money supply growth slowed from last year, the People's Bank of China said. Banks extended CNY597.8 billion in December, which was below November's CNY708.9 billion lending. It was forecast to fall marginally to CNY700 billion. The loose monetary stance currently adopted by the Chinese central bank means a further pickup in credit growth is likely going forward, despite the recent market turmoil, commented Julian Evans-Pritchard at Capital Economics.
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Ten Islamic State militants were killed by NATO airstrikes in Afghanistan's eastern province of Nangarhar, an official said. "Two airstrikes, one and a half hour apart, were conducted by international forces which killed Daesh members in Achin district of Nangarhar," provincial police spokesman Hazrat Hussain, using the Arabic acronym for Islamic State.
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Indonesian police were hunting for Islamist militants after terrorist attacks in the capital killed two civilians, as security was tightened across the country. Five men armed with explosives and handguns attacked a police post and a Starbucks cafe near the Sarinah shopping center in the heart of Jakarta on Thursday, killing one Canadian and an Indonesian. Two of the attackers blew themselves up while the other three died in a shootout with police, officials said. Twenty people were injured, including one each from Germany, Austria, Algeria and the Netherlands.
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Twelve trucks of humanitarian supplies, the second in a week, entered three besieged Syrian towns Thursday, a member of a relief committee in one of the areas told dpa. "Six of the 44 trucks which are carrying mainly winter clothes," entered the rebel-held town of Madaya near the capital Damascus, Mazen Burhan told dpa by Skype.
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BROKER RATING CHANGES
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CITIGROUP CUTS JUPITER FUND MANAGEMENT TO 'SELL'
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SOCGEN RAISES ASOS PRICE TARGET TO 5611 (5050) PENCE - 'BUY'
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BERENBERG CUTS RICARDO TO 'HOLD' ('BUY') - TARGET 910 (935) PENCE
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COMPANIES - FTSE 100
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The UK Competition and Markets Authority said it has approved BT Group's GBP12.5 billion acquisition of mobile operator EE. The CMA, the UK's antitrust regulator, said it decided, despite a number of concerns raised by other UK telecoms operators, that the deal would not result in a substantial lessening of competition. BT welcomed the decision, saying it paves the way for it to complete the acquisition and begin the process of integrating the EE business. BT said the deal is set to close on January 29.
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Experian reiterated its guidance for the full year, although the strength of the dollar continues to exert a considerable drag on the contribution of its operations in Latin America, as the group posted total and organic revenue growth of 3% in the third quarter of its financial year at constant exchange rates. The provider of credit checks said organic revenue growth was balanced across the regions in which it does business. However, total revenue was down 3% at actual exchange rates in the quarter ended December 31.
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International Consolidated Airlines Group said it has signed a joint venture agreement between its British Airways, Iberia carriers and LATAM Airlines Group that will lead to the companies co-operating commercially on flights between the European Union and South America. IAG is the owner of British Airways and Spanish carrier Iberia, which will work with LATAM, a group of South American carriers that recently formed one of the largest airline groups in the world in terms of network connections. IAG said customers will be able to travel more easily on the airlines' combined route network which will serve more than 100 destinations in South America and 87 destinations in Europe.
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US antitrust officials have started an in-depth investigation of Anheuser-Busch InBev's proposed acquisition of London-listed rival SABMiller, seeking additional information on the merger of the two brewing giants, Bloomberg reported. The Justice Department's antitrust division recently issued a so-called second request to the beer maker. The inquiry, which had been expected by the two companies, will lengthen the review of how the combination will affect competition and prices for beer. To resolve antitrust concerns in the US, AB InBev has agreed a deal to sell SABMiller's 58% stake in MillerCoors to joint-venture partner Molson Coors Brewing.
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Separately, Anheuser-Busch InBev said it has listed shares on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange as part of its takeover of Anglo-South African SABMiller. AB InBev had announced in December the plan to list to demonstrate its commitment to the South African market as it progresses with the GBP71.0 billion acquisition of SABMiller.
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BHP Billiton said it expects to recognise an impairment charge of about USD4.9 billion on the value of its US shale assets due to the fall in oil prices. The impairment will reduce the value of the miner's onshore US net operating assets to about USD16 billion. BHP said it will reduce the number of operated rigs in its onshore US business from seven to five in the March 2016 quarter. Beyond this, other investment and development plans for the remainder of the 2016 financial year are under review, with a focus on preserving cash flow.
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Centrica is preparing a bid in excess of EUR1.00 billion for Northern Ireland's largest power company, Viridian, the Financial Times reported. The FT said the owners of Viridian, Bahrain-based Arcapita, have put the business up for sale and set a deadline of Friday for first-round bids, with Centrica thought to be preparing an offer. People familiar with the process said Centrica was likely to bid alone for the company, but might invite consortium partners to join at a later date to take on the generation side of the business, the FT said.
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Legal & General Group said it will sell Suffolk Life, a UK provider and administrator of self-invested personal pensions, to AIM-listed Curtis Banks Group for GBP45.0 million, as part of a strategy of selling non-core assets to improve returns. The deal is subject to a placing of 8.4 million new shares at 320 pence each by Curtis Banks, which is looking to raise GBP27.0 million to fund the deal, along with a new debt and revolving credit facility. The deal will make Curtis Banks the second largest independent full SIPP provider in the UK, according to Executive Chairman Chris Banks.
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COMPANIES - FTSE 250
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Moneysupermarket.com Group said full-year operating profit adjusted for costs relating to amortisation and acquisitions, should grow by around 13% and end up slightly ahead of market expectations. However, there was a decline in revenue at the price comparison website's insurance activities in the final quarter of the year, as rivals stepped up the competition. Moneysupermarket said it expects to report adjusted operating profit of about GBP99.0 million for 2015, versus company-provided market expectations of GBP98.3 million.
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Bovis Homes Group said it expects to deliver a big rise in pretax profit and revenue for 2015 following a strong year for the UK housebuilding industry. The housebuilder said it sold 3,934 homes in the year to the end of December, up 8.0% year-on-year, at an average selling price of GBP231,000, up from GBP216,600. Bovis said its operating margin improved to over 17%, which should result in its return on capital employed for the year rising to over 18%, up from 16.2% in 2014. Bovis said the UK land market remains strong, and it expects to increase its estate of sales outlets in 2016 as it remains optimistic the robust conditions in the housing market will continue.
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Online trading provider IG Group Holdings said it has appointed Mark Ward as its interim chief financial officer.Ward is a senior partner at Deloitte LLP, the accountancy, and the head of the firm's investment management and wealth division. He is being seconded to IG from Deloitte, starting on January 25. IG said he will remain in place until a new permanent CFO is appointed.
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Defence and aerospace company Cobham said it has sold its Surveillance unit to an affiliate of private equity group Marlin Equity Partners. Cobham said it had sold the unit, part of its Communications & Connectivity unit, for USD10.0 million in cash.
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Industrial property and warehouse investor SEGRO said it has appointed Gerald Corbett as a non-executive director, with plans for him to take over as chairman after its annual general meeting in April. Corbett will take the chairmanship of the group from April 22, when Nigel Rich will retire from the role. Corbett currently is chairman of online gaming company Betfair Group, though this is set to merge with Irish rival Paddy Power. He also is chairman of drinks company Britvic and investment bank Numis Corp.
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Outsourcer Serco Group said it will work to improve conditions at the Yarl's Wood detention centre in Bedfordshire following a news report and a second review of conditions at the site last year. Serco came in for criticism last year, first after a Channel 4 News undercover report on Yarl's Wood and then after another independent report by Nick Hardwick, the chief inspector of prisons, saying Serco employees had verbally abused detainees, along with other accusations of abuse. Serco said it will make a series of changes to try to improve conditions at the centre, including an increase in staff numbers and the recruitment of more female staff. The majority of the detainees at Yarl's Wood are women.
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COMPANIES - LONDON MAIN MARKET AND AIM
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Women's value retailer Bonmarche Holdings said trading remains in line with its expectations for the full year, despite a decline in like-for-like sales over the Christmas period. Bonmarche said its like-for-like sales declined 0.8% in the 13 weeks to December 26, its third quarter, but fell 2.7% in the 5 weeks to the same period. Total sales in the quarter were up 3.4%, however, and rose 1.7% over the festive weeks. For the 39 weeks to December 26, like-for-like sales rose 1.1%, while total sales are up 5.3% year-on-year.
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Bakery products manufacturer Finsbury Food Group said it saw a strong trading performance over Christmas, though it said this was hard won and required significant spending by the group. Finsbury said total sales revenue for the first half to December 26 was up 46% year-on-year, boosted by the acquisitions of Fletchers and Johnstone's. Like-for-like growth hit 7.4% in the half, with 6.1% growth in its UK bakery unit and 19% growth in its overseas arm. Finsbury said, however, that consumer markets in the UK remain challenging and said the sales growth was driven by heavy promotional activity and other spending it had to make to boost its performance.
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COMPANIES - INTERNATIONAL
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General Electric is near a deal to sell its appliance business to China's Haier Group for more than USD4 billion, after GE's previous effort to sell the unit for a lower amount was blocked by antitrust regulators, the Wall Street Journal reported citing people familiar with the matter. The paper noted that the Chinese appliance maker outbid other foreign corporate bidders for the Louisville, Kentucky-based business.
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The Goldman Sachs Group said it agreed to a USD5.1 billion settlement to resolve US and state claims related to securitization, underwriting and sale of residential mortgage-backed securities from 2005 to 2007. The agreement in principle will reduce earnings for the fourth quarter of 2015 by about USD1.5 billion on an after-tax basis. Separately, The US Securities and Exchange Commission announced that Goldman, Sachs has agreed to pay USD15 million to settle charges that its securities lending practices violated federal regulations.
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Intel reported stagnant profits for the fourth quarter, despite a slight advance in revenues. Still, the computer chip maker's bottom line beat what market analysts were predicting. The company reported net income for the fourth quarter of USD3.6 billion, or USD0.74 per share. This was down from USD3.7 billion, or USD0.74 per share, in the same period last year. Revenue came in at USD14.9 billion, compared to USD14.7 billion last year.
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French hypermarket operator Carrefour reported 2015 sales of EUR86.3 billion, an increase of 5.3% excluding petrol and at constant exchange rates and an increase of 3.0% on an organic basis. Total sales under banners including petrol in 2015 reached EUR104.4 billion, up 4.5% at constant exchange rates.
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Friday's Scheduled AGMs/EGMs

No Events Scheduled
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By Tom Waite; thomaslwaite@alliancenews.com; @thomaslwaite

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