Xps Pensions Share News (XPS)

LONDON (Alliance News) - Shares have opened higher Thursday ahead of central bank meetings in the UK and Europe.

Europe's largest low-cost carriers, Ryanair Holdings PLC and easyJet PLC, both reported continued growth in passenger numbers in February, while passenger numbers declined at Irish carrier Aer Lingus Group PLC.

Here is what you need to know at the UK market open:
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MARKETS
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FTSE 100: up 21.00 at 6,796.42
FTSE 250: up 79.62 at 16,693.97
AIM ALL-SHARE: up 2.52 at 895.28
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Hang Seng: up 149.37 at 22,729.15
Nikkei 225: closed up 237.12 at 15,134.75
DJIA: closed down 35.70 at 16,360.18
S&P 500: closed down 0.10 at 1,873.81
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GBP-USD: flat at USD1.6720
EUR-USD: down at USD1.3725

GOLD: down at USD1,332.10 per ounce
OIL (Brent): up at USD107.75 a barrel

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

11:00 Germany Factory Orders
12:00 UK BoE Asset Purchase Facility
12:00 UK BoE Interest Rate Decision
12:30 US Challenger Job Cuts
12:45 EU ECB Interest Rate Decision
13:15 US Fed's William Dudley speech
13:30 EU ECB President Draghi's Speech
13:30 US Initial Jobless Claims
15:00 US Factory Orders
15:30 US EIA Natural Gas Storage change
18:00 US Philadelphia Fed's Plosser speech
23:00 US Fed's Lockhart speech
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The Bank of England's monetary policy meeting is likely to be a 'non-event', with policymakers expected to pledge a low interest rate regime and refrain from any action that risks recovery. The nine-member rate-setting committee is expected to retain the interest rate at a historic low 0.50% and its quantitative easing programme unchanged at GBP 375 billion. The interest rate has been at the current 0.50% since March 2009, when policymakers lowered it by half a percentage point, and launched its asset purchase programme valued at GBP 75 billion.
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The European Central Bank is expected to announce Thursday its decision to hold interest rates at a record low of 0.25% despite concerns about low levels of inflation. The ECB last trimmed borrowing costs in November, when it cut its benchmark refinancing rate by 25 basis points. Since then, a slew of key economic indicators have pointed to the eurozone economy gaining strength, helped along by a pickup in exports and corporate investment. However, ECB chief Mario Draghi warned this week that at 0.8% in February, consumer prices remained "way below" the bank's annual inflation target of just under 2%, which could create a problem in ensuring price stability.
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The Bank of Japan is prepared to adjust its monetary policy further if required to achieve the 2% inflation target, Deputy Governor Kikuo Iwata said, reiterating the central bank's policy stance. In a speech delivered at the Upper House Budget Committee, Iwata said that the central bank will continue to assess the risks to its economic and price outlook, and make necessary changes to meet the goal of hitting the price target. According to Iwata, Japan's economy is on steady track towards achieving the 2% inflation target.
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China's economic growth could be a little lower than the 7.5% target this year, and the government is focused more on creating jobs than strictly maintaining the strong growth momentum, Finance Minister Lou Jiwei said. Speaking to the media on Thursday during the annual parliament session, Lou said that he sees growth of 7.2% of 7.3% for this year, signaling that the 7.5% target is flexible.
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Economic growth in the emerging markets weakened further in February as an improvement in service sector activity was more than offset by a slowdown in the manufacturing sector, survey data published by Markit Economics and HSBC Bank revealed. The Emerging Markets Index, which gauges business activity across emerging market economies, dropped to 51.1 in February from 51.4 in January, marking the third successive decline.
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France's unemployment rate decreased moderately in the December quarter, after staying steady in the preceding two quarters, data published by statistical office Insee revealed. The ILO (International Labor Organization) measure of unemployment rate for metropolitan France and overseas departments decreased to a seasonally adjusted 10.2% in the fourth quarter from 10.3% recorded in each of the preceding three quarters. Compared to the fourth quarter of 2012, the jobless rate was unchanged.
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Russia has refused to bow to demands from the US and Europe for direct talks with the new Ukrainian government but agreed to continue talks Thursday in hopes of defusing the crisis in Crimea. US Secretary of State John Kerry said some progress was made at talks Wednesday in Paris, where he and the foreign ministers of Germany, France and Britain and French President Francois Hollande met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. Kerry characterized the talks as "very constructive" and said the focus now turns to a meeting Thursday in Rome, where he and Lavrov were both expected.
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The EU said it was freezing the assets of 18 people suspected of misappropriating Ukrainian state money including toppled president Viktor Yanukovych, who fled Kiev last month. Any assets the individuals have in the EU are to be frozen, and there are also provisions in place facilitating the recovery of the frozen funds, the EU governments said. EU leaders convening at an extraordinary summit later Thursday in Brussels were set to consider possible action against Russia over its military intervention in Ukraine, amid mounting tensions between Moscow and the West.
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The EU on Wednesday upped the pressure on France and Italy to reinvigorate their sputtering economies, warning that the wider eurozone may face trouble otherwise. Presenting the latest round of EU reviews, Economy Commissioner Olli Rehn noted that while the four largest economies in the crisis-battered currency bloc - Germany, France, Italy and Spain - "could make the largest contribution to growth in Europe," all four countries have problems with economic imbalances. Italy faces particular pressure because the European Commission deems that it faces an "excessive" imbalance that could warrant further EU action.
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Iran will not dismantle its nuclear programme but is prepared to provide assurances that it will remain peaceful, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said. "Those who are calling for the dismantling of Iran's nuclear programme are conducting wishful thinking," Zarif said after talks with his Indonesian counterpart Marty Natalegawa in Jakarta. "The only way you can have assurances that Iran's programme will remain peaceful is to have it out in the open under international monitoring," he said.
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North Korea turned down a proposal from South Korea for the Red Cross organizations in each country to hold talks on further reunions of families separated by the division of the peninsula. Pyongyang told Seoul that the atmosphere was not yet appropriate for such talks, the Unification Ministry in Seoul said, quoting a statement from the Red Cross in North Korea.
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Libya's government has Saadi Gaddafi, a son of the former dictator Moamer Gaddafi, in its custody, the government said Thursday on its Facebook page. Saadi Gaddafi took refuge in neighbouring Niger after the 2011 uprising against his father.
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Caracas broke off diplomatic relations with Panama late Wednesday for suggesting a special meeting of the Organization of American States (OAS) over the persistent street demonstrations in Venezuela. At least 18 people have died since mid-February in protests against the administration of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, who has accused his Panamanian counterpart Ricardo Martinelli of conspiring against him.
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Singapore police said the chief executive of a virtual currency exchange company whose body was found last week died an "unnatural death," news reports said. First Meta Exchange boss Autumn Radtke, 28, was found dead near an apartment block in the city-state. Preliminary investigations suggested that no foul play was involved, police said. Companies like First Meta Exchange allow users to exchange between different national and virtual currencies such as bitcoin.
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BROKER RATING CHANGES
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TRADERS: NUMIS RAISES CINEWORLD TO 'BUY' ('ADD')
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TRADERS: PANMURE RAISES AVIVA TO 'BUY' ('HOLD')
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TRADERS: HSBC RAISES ASHTEAD GROUP TO 'OVERWEIGHT' ('NEUTRAL')
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COMPANIES - FTSE 100
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easyJet said it carried 4.2 million passengers in February, up 2.9% from 4.1 million a year earlier, bringing its total for the rolling 12 month period to 61.6 million, up 3.5% from 59.5 million. Its load factor for February rose to 90.7%, from 90.5%, while the figure for the rolling 12 months was 89.4%, up from 89.2%.
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Aviva FY Operating Profit 6% Higher At GBP2.05B; Value Of New Business GBP836M Vs GBP746M; Total Dividend 15.0p Vs 19.0p; FY Combined Operating Ratio 97.3% Vs 97.0%
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Schroders FY Pretax Profit GBP447.5M Vs GBP360.0M; FY Net Revenue GBP1.41B Vs GBP1.13B; Total Dividend 58.0p Vs 43.0p; Q4 Net Inflows GBP2.4B
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IMI FY Pretax Profit GBP297.7M VS GBP274.8M; Revenue GBP1.784B Vs GBP1.70B; FY Dividend 35.3 Pence Vs 32.5 Pence; Expects To Deliver Modest Organic Growth In H1 2014 With Margins Slightly Lower
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Aggreko FY Pretax Profit Down, GBP333M Vs GBP367M; Revenues Down, GBP1.57B Vs GBP1.58B; FY Total Dividend Up To 58.0p From 43.0p After Surge In Final Dividend; Says 2013 Performance In Line With Expectations; FY Dividend Up 10%, 26.30p Vs 23.91p
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COMPANIES - FTSE 250
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Imagination Technologies Says Unit Shipments Have Been Behind Expectations Due To Slower Smartphone Growth; Says It Expects This Share To Recover In Latter FY 2015; Expects FY Licensing Revenue To Be Significantly Stronger Than Last Year
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Man Group PLC said it has entered into an irrevocable, non-discretionary arrangement with Goldman Sachs International to repurchase shares in the company on its behalf. Man had previosuly said it would buy back up to a maximum consideration of USD115 million during the period from March 6 to December 19. All shares repurchased will be canceled. As announced on February 27, the purpose of the share repurchase program is to return surplus capital to shareholders.
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Betfair Q3 Underlying EBITDA GBP20.2M Vs GBP15.8M; Q3 Revenue GBP95.4M Vs GBP90.5M; Expects FY EBITDA Towards Upper End Of Previously Guided GBP82M - GBP87M Range; Expects FY Investment In Italy, Jersey Impact At Lower End Of Previously Announced GBP5M-10M Range
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Shaftesbury To Place 25.3M New Shares, 9.99% Of Current Total, To Fund Property Acquisitions, Development Schemes; To Acquire Commercial Leasehold Of Newport Sandringham, Next To Chinatown In London; Expects To Have GBP185M In Resources Following Placing, Newport Sandringham Purchase
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Unite Group To Raise GBP100M Gross From Placing, Offer Of 24.5M Shares At 410p; To Use Half Placing Proceeds To Increase Stake In UNITE Student Accomodation Fund to 22% From 16%; FY Pretax Profit GBP77.1M Vs GBP126.2M; Revenue GBP101.6M Vs GBP214.6M; Declares Dividend Of 3.2 Pence Vs 3.0 Pence
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Kentz Awarded Moatize Phase 2 Contract In Tete, Mozambique
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Vedanta Announces That Tom Albanese Will Take Over As Chief Executive Officer In April
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Cobham FY Pretax Profit Down 38% To GBP127M Vs GBP204M; Revenue Up 2% To GBP1.79B Vs GBP1.75B; Ups FY Dividend By 10% To 9.68P Vs 8.80P
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Spirax-Sarco Engineering FY Pretax Profit GBP145.7M Vs GBP124.1M; Revenue GBP689.4M Vs GBP661.7M
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Inmarsat FY Pretax Profit USD189.1M Vs USD293.6M; Revenues USD1.26B Vs USD1.34B; Declares FY Dividend Of 59.0 Pence Vs 53.0 Pence; Total Dividend 46.61c Vs 44.39c
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Balfour Beatty FY Pretax Profit GBP32M VS GBP147M; Revenue GBP10.12B VS Vs GBP9.97B; Maintains FY Dividend At 14.1 Pence
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Hunting FY Pretax Profit Up, USD135.0M Vs USD127.4M; Revenues Up, USD1.33B Vs USD1.31B; Final Dividend Up, 21.8c Vs 21.3c
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COMPANIES - ALL-SHARE AND AIM
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Ryanair, Europe's largest low-cost carrier said it flew 4.5 million customers in February, up 7% from 4.2 million a year earlier, bringing the total number of people it has carried in the year to the end of February to 81.9 million, up 3% on the previous 12 months. The carrier's load factor, a measure of how full its planes are, also increased to 78%, from 77%, while the figure for the 12 months period was 83%.
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Aer Lingus said passenger numbers fell to 558,000 in February, from 575,000 a year earlier, while traffic measured in revenue passenger kilometres fell to 737 million, from 740 million. Its passenger numbers for the year to end-February are down 1.6% at 1.1 million. Its load factor also fell 1.0% in February to 67.3% as capacity rose 1.2%. Load factor for the year to end-February was up 0.5 points at 66.9%.
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Peter Jones' Holding Stands At 51.25% Of Expansys, 595M Shares
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Crawshaw Expects FY Results To Be Further Ahead Of Expectations; Says Post-Christmas Margins, Sales Particularly Strong;Says Strong Growth Has Continued Into New Year
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LSL Property Services FY Pretax Profit GBP17.1M Vs GBP6.7M; Revenue GBP258.6M Vs GBP243.8M; Declares Dividend Of 7.2 Pence Per Share
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Genel Energy FY Pretax Profit Up, USD186.5M Vs USD75.9M; Revenues Up, USD347.9M Vs USD333.4M; FY Production Largely Flat, 44,000BOPD Vs 44,500BOPD; Maintains 2014 Production Guidance At 60-70,000BOEPD
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Sirius Minerals To Raise Minimum GBP30M From Placing Of Shares At 12p
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Begbies Traynor Says Q3 Performance In Line With Hopes For FY; Says Q3 Net Debt Also In Line With Its Expectations; FY Outlook Unchanged, Based On Maintained Seasonal Pickup
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Rare Earth Minerals Completes GBP4.6M Placing Of 1.15B Shares At 0.4p
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London Mining FY Pretax Loss Narrows, USD19.2M Vs USD58.0M; Revenues Up Significantly, USD299.4M Vs USD120.6M; FY 2014 Marampa Production Guidance 4.9 to 5.4Mwmt
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Photo-Me International 9-Months Pretax Profit Up About 20% On Year; Q3 "Profitability" Up About 80% On Year; 9-Months Revenues Marginally Up; Expects FY Pretax Profit To Beat Market Expectations
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Cineworld FY Pretax Profit Dropped By 19.3% To GBP30.9M; Revenue Up 3.7% To GBP369.5M; Group Revenue, Including Picturehouse Brand, Up 13.2% To GBP406.1M; FY Proposed Dividend 10.1P
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Faroe Petroleum Announces Oil Discovery On Pil Exploration Well In Norwegian Sea
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Thursday's Scheduled AGMs/EGMs

Sage Group
The Local Shopping REIT
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By Tom Waite; thomaslwaite@alliancenews.com; @thomaslwaite

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