| Competition Congratulations to David Mann whose caption (below) has been voted the funniest and has won the Friday competition. Watch out for another contest later in the week. 
"... then we push ALL the southern Europeans into the Med. and that's the end of the problem!" The Markets Shares across Europe climbed higher as investors remained bullish about the new measures put in place by the European Union (EU) last week to contain the sovereign debt crisis. In the UK, Prime Minister David Cameron announced the government would be conducting a full review of the banking sector in light of last week's inter-bank lending scandal at Barclays. At the London close the Dow Jones was down by 59.98 points at 12,820.11 and the Nasdaq was down by 3.10 points at 2,612.62.
In London the FTSE 100 rose by 69.49 points to 5,640.64; the FTSE 250 finished 161.34 points ahead at 11,093.47; the FTSE All-Share gained 35.67 points to 2,927.12; and the FTSE AIM Index climbed by 4.36 points to 679.43. 
Broker Notes Northland Capital reiterated its "buy" recommendation for Persimmon (PSN) with a 725p target price. The housebuilder enjoyed a strong first quarter trading period, with improved volumes and margins, and the broker expects this trend to have continued throughout the first half of the financial year. Northland Capital noted sales rates rose 20% in the first 15 weeks, year-on-year, and added that the firm is likely to benefit from the government's NewBuy scheme in the second half of the year. On the broker's earnings forecasts, the shares trade on a prospective multiple of 14.9 times for 2012, falling to 13.2 times in 2013. Persimmon shares jumped by 26p to 635p. Daniel Stewart initiated coverage of Ladbrokes (LAD) with a "sell" recommendation and 137p target price. The broker said that the bookmaker faces pressure from intense competition and added that profits will be impacted by machine gaming duty in 2013. Daniel Stewart forecasts earnings growth of around 2% in 2012 falling to below 2% in 2013, adding that the shares trade at a 13% premium to peer William Hill (WMH), which the broker believes has better prospects. The shares inched up by 0.3p to 157.5p. Shore Capital kept its "buy" rating for Greggs (GRG) following a management meeting where the baker outlined its strategies for future growth. The broker said that the firm has largely completed the centralisation of its business and can now look to expand into three formats: food-to-go, local bakery and Greggs' Moment coffee shops; with up to 100 new stores to be opened per year. Shore added that the group retains a strong balance sheet with high year end cash levels. The shares slipped by 1p to 503p. 
Panmure Gordon retained its "buy" stance on Carillion (CLLN) with a 400p target price. Despite the construction services company reporting a strong 2011 performance, with lower than expected net debt, the broker noted that the shares continue to trade at the lower end of its historic range. Panmure added that the company has an order book of 19 billion pounds, with a pipeline of 33 billion pounds, providing 77% revenue visibility for the 2012 financial year. Carillion shares grew by 3.9p to 280.1p. Seymour Pierce maintained its "buy" recommendation for Fusion IP (FIP) with a target price of 80p. The broker noted that Phase Focus, in which the company has a 34% shareholding has successfully raised 3.2 million pounds, primarily from technology investor Ombu Group, which will be used to develop a new imaging and microscopy technology for use in cell analysis. Seymour Pierce believes that this helps demonstrate the strength of Fusion IP's investment portfolio, and is encouraged by the interest shown by new investors. The shares tumbled by 3.5p to 47.5p. Blue-Chips Following outcries for ramifications over the Libor rate fixing scandal, Barclays' (BARC) chairman Marcus Agius announced that he will step down from his position as soon as a suitable replacement is found. Having held the position for six years, Mr. Agius accepted responsibility for "unacceptable standards of behaviour within the bank", stating that he had failed in his duty to maintain the firm's credibility. The next head to roll may belong to the firm's chief executive Bob Diamond, who will appear before the Treasury Committee on Wednesday. Shares in Barclays advanced by 5.55p to 168.4p. 
In-line with its strategy of focusing on its core markets, Serco Group (SRP) announced that it has disposed of the majority of its German business to the local management team, for a net nil cash consideration. The government services company began operations in Germany in 1961, but now believes that there is limited scope for revenue growth. The firm added that adjusted operating profits have remained broadly break-even and expects the disposal to have no material impact on adjusted earnings. The shares gained 8p to 544p. Following the acquisition of Amylin Pharmaceuticals by Bristol-Myers Squibb for 31 dollars (19.8 pounds) per share, AstraZeneca (AZN) announced that it will enter into a collaboration agreement with the US pharmaceuticals giant to develop and commercialise Amylin's product portfolio. The target specialises in treatments for diabetes and other metabolic diseases, which a core portfolio of GLP-1 agonists for the treatment of type 2 diabetes. AstraZeneca shares edged up by 29p to 2,882p. Mid-Caps Oil and gas explorer Soco International (SIA) has decided to acquire the remaining 20% of its Vietnam based subsidiary from Lizeroux Oil & Gas, for a cash consideration of 95 million dollars (60.6 million pounds). The purchase reflects the firm's confidence in the strength of the Ca Ngu Vang and Te Giac Trang fields, in which the subsidiary has holdings of 25% and 28.5% respectively. The group added that a second production platform is expected to being operating at Te Giac Trang shortly, which is expected to increase production to around 55,000 barrels of oil per day. Shares in Soco flew by 20p to 309.4p. 
In order to strengthen its position in the Il de France region around Paris, Segro (SGRO) has agreed to buy a portfolio of eight logistics estates in France for a consideration of 160.8 million euros (129.6 million pounds). The acquisition consists of 13 buildings, covering 255,000 square metres of lettable space and generate 14.2 million euros (11.4 million pounds) per annum. The property developer added that following the completion of this purchase it will have 1.4 billion pounds worth of prime logistics assets under management. The acquisition will be funded from the 377 million pounds worth proceeds from the disposal of non-core assets earlier in the year. The shares crept up by 1.5p to 218.8p. DS Smith (SMDS) has completed the acquisition of the packaging division of Swedish consumer goods company Svenska Cellulosa Aktiebolaget for a net consideration of 1.6 billion euros (1.3 billion pounds). The paper and plastic packaging manufacturer noted that the target is the second largest business of its kind in Europe and will help it gain access to new geographical markets, as well as provide a wider range of products. DS Smith shares climbed by 4.6p to 152p. Small Caps, AIM and PLUS Cloud video editing platform provider Forbidden Technologies* (FBT) announced that YouTube is using FORscene for "a major sporting event being held in London this summer". We assume that this doesn't refer to the Dog & Duck vs the Rose & Crown on Hackney Marshes. The development follows news last December that YouTube had signed a licensing agreement for the software. FORscene will now be integrated into a larger YouTube system for use by multiple YouTube clients for professional cloud editing of dozens of live and near-live sports feeds. Forbidden Technologies shares surged 5p to 25.5p. Motive Television (MTV) was another broadcasting technology firm with some positive news, revealing it had signed a deal with Central European Media Enterprises to provide its Television Anytime Anywhere technology to support the launch of its new television service, Voyo DTT in the Czech Republic. Under the five-year agreement Motive will be entitled to earn non-recurring engineering fees based on the achievement of certain performance milestones and monthly licence and maintenance fees based on the number of subscribers to the Voyo DTT service. Motive shares jumped 0.125p to 0.1p. Central Asia Metals (CAML) provided its maiden production update for the recently constructed SX-EW copper plant at Kounrad, Kazakhstan, which showed total production of 1,728 tonnes of cathode copper as of 30th June, a figure exceeding management's expectations. The plant, completed on 29th April, was constructed at a capital cost of 40 million dollars, 15% below budget. Central Asia added that more than 80% of the produced copper has now been sold to Traxys Europe SA. The shares climbed 5.75p to 74.75p. 
Solo Oil (SOLO) unveiled the results of an independent technical evaluation of the Ruvuma Basin onshore Tanzania, which showed a total mean unrisked gas in place discovery of 5.75 trillion cubic feet. As the first independent evaluation of the hydrocarbon potential of the Ruvuma Basin, management commented that the result "highlights the outstanding potential of this under-explored prospect." With the results exceeding the market's expectation, the shares rose 0.375p to 0.525p. Goals Soccer Centres (GOAL) noted recent press speculation regarding a possible takeover for the 5-a-side football centre owner, confirming it had received an approach from Patron Capital Partners. Goals noted that there is no certainty that a formal offer will be made for company, but that Patron had until 30th July if it wish to make one. Goals shares crept 9.5p higher to 136.5p. Shares in Scotgold Resources (SGZ) crept 0.25p higher to 4.375p as the Scotland-based precious metals miner unveiled it had reached an agreement with RMB Resources for a 1.18 million pound financing facility. The facility will enable Scotgold to continue drilling at the Cononish project through to its final development decision. The convertible loan will provide RMB with the opportunity to acquire shares in Scotgold equal to the value of the debt at a price of 4.5p and will command an interest rate of 5% plus Libor. * Forbidden Technologies is a corporate client of Rivington Street Holdings, the ultimate owner of UK-Analyst. | 
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