1306 GMT - Although BHP Group has seen the U.K. civil liability proceedings in relation to the 2015 Samarco Fundao Dam collapse expand to include 700,000 claimants, with potential damages of up to GBP36 billion, there is limited prospect of the case succeeding, RBC Capital Markets analysts say in a note. Although the situation will likely provide a stream of negative headlines until it is settled, analysts think the liabilities would cover the same reparations and compensation that BHP has already legally committed to through the Renova Foundation. Moreover the claim will be even more challenging if the Samarco case in Brazil is settled first, the analysts say. RBC rates the stock sector perform. Shares are down 1.8% at 2,344 pence. (anthony.orunagoriainoff@dowjones.com)
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Markets Price In 50% Chance BOE Will Hold Rates Next Week
1253 GMT - Markets have shifted their Bank of England interest rate expectations to one last 25 basis points rate increase but with "considerable uncertainty about the precise timing of the rate rise", says AJ Bell head of investment analysis Laith Khalaf in a note. Increased concerns about banking sector instability have led markets "to price in a 50% chance we won't get an interest rate rise in March", he says. "The failure of SVB, and the more recent travails of Credit Suisse, have created widespread concern that something is about to break as a result of tighter monetary policy," Khalaf says. (miriam.mukuru@wsj.com)
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FTSE 100 Rises as Mood Improves; Rentokil, Banks Gain
1249 GMT - The FTSE 100 rises 0.9%, or 69 points to 7413 in midday trading as market nerves steady following the collapse of U.S. tech-lender Silicon Valley Bank and problems at Credit Suisse. Banks are among the biggest risers, though Rentokil Initial tops the index, up 8% after the hygiene and pest-control company reported higher annual revenue, adjusted earnings and dividends. "Support from the Swiss National Bank for Credit Suisse has catalysed a major rally for the Swiss lender and has spurred broader risk-on sentiment," Interactive Investor's head of investment, Victoria Scholar, writes. "On the FTSE 100, HSBC, Barclays and Lloyds are trading towards the top of the index while Rentokil has taken the top spot thanks to forecast-topping annual earnings." (philip.waller@wsj.com)
Contact: London NewsPlus, Dow Jones Newswires;
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
03-16-23 1352ET
