| The Markets Europe's benchmark indices were put under pressure on Wednesday as Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras conceded that his nation would need more time to implement tough spending cuts. The news will not be greeted openly by Eurogroup head Jean-Claude Juncker, who he will be holding talks with later in the week to discuss Greece's next bailout. All attention at this meeting will focus on whether Greece has done enough to receive its next 31.5 billion euro installment, which it needs to avoid default. At the London close the Dow Jones was down by 65.22 points at 13,138.36 and the Nasdaq was down by 4.16 points at 2,768.04. In London the FTSE 100 fell by 83.32 points to 5,774.20; the FTSE 250 finished 145.12 points behind at 11,494.35; the FTSE All-Share lost 40.04 points to 3,004.97; and the FTSE AIM Index declined by 2.40 points to 683.10. 
Broker Notes Peel Hunt reiterated its "sell" recommendation for Rightmove (RMV) with a 1,180p target price. While the broker admits that the real estate search engine deserves a premium rating, it believes that there is considerable opportunity for strong competition to emerge. Peel Hunt added that investors have overreacted to one-off contributions in the first half of 2012, while the company's medium-term outlook has not changed. On the broker's forecasts, the shares trade on a prospective multiple of 31.1 times for 2012, falling to 27.4 times in 2013. The shares dropped by 50p to 1,629p.  Canaccord Genuity maintained its "buy" rating for Quarto Group* (QRT) with a target price of 165p. The illustrated books publisher's first half results were slightly ahead of the broker's forecasts, with profits rising by 13% year-on-year. Canaccord believes the firm's core illustrated, special interest titles will be relatively unaffected by the rise of E-Books, while the broker added that the company is actively looking to reduce costs. Quarto shares inched down by 1p to 140.5p. Panmure Gordon initiated coverage of Johnston Press (JPR) with a "buy" rating and target price of 12p. The newspaper publisher has demonstrated tight cost control and the broker noted that it its making good progress towards de-leveraging. Panmure added that the firm is undertaking a title re-launch programme, with a focus on developing its digital capabilities. The broker's earnings forecasts put the shares on a prospective multiple of just 2.4 times for 2012, falling to 2.2 times in 2013. The shares tumbled by 0.25p to 5.6p. Blue-Chips Gloom reigned over BHP Billiton (BLT) as declining iron, copper and aluminium prices led to pre-tax profits for the year ended 30th June falling by 26.3% to 23 billion dollars (14.6 billion pounds). The mining giant hopes to see a resurgence in metal prices, particularly iron, over the medium term, driven by demand from China. Separately, the group said that it will postpone the expansion of its Olympic Dam copper project as it considers less capital intensive methods of developing the site. BHP Billiton shares slipped by 36.5p to 1,943.5p. 
WPP (WPP) is considering suing New Delhi Television for defamation over a "hypothetical" law suit that was allegedly issued in New York. The Indian broadcaster has claimed that the media company's joint venture TAM Media Research has manipulated ratings figures, but WPP said that it is yet to be served. In addition, the company believes that the New York courts would have no jurisdiction to hear the claims. The shares fell by 14p to 849.5p. From 15th October, SSE (SSE) will increase its electricity and gas prices by 9%, affecting 5 million electricity customers and 3.4 million gas customers. The power company blamed the increases on mandatory government sponsored scheme, such as the Carbon Emissions Reduction Target which requires energy supplier " to locate hard to reach groups of people and provide them with eligible energy efficiency measures". SSE shares advanced by 16p to 1,354p. Mid-Caps Waste management company Shanks Group (SKS) announced that it has increased the recycling rate at the Silverburn Shopping Centre in Glasgow from 9% to 97% just six weeks after being awarded the contract. The firm noted that this should reduce costs by over 50% per month and that no waste is sent to landfills. The shopping centre is owned by real estate developer Hammerson (HMSO) and has a footfall of 14 million customers per year. Shares in Shanks jumped by 2.95p to 88p. 
Hochschild Mining (HOC) reported a 28.6% fall in revenues to 354.5 million dollars (224.7 million pounds) for the six months ended 30th June as it suffered from reduced production and weakening silver prices. The South America focused precious metal miner saw silver equivalent production fall 8% to 10,243 ounces, while the average price of silver fell by 14% year-on-year. However, the group noted good progress in the expansion of its Imaculada and Crespo projects and maintained that it is on track to achieve its production target of 20 million ounces of silver equivalent for the 2012 financial year. The shares slid by 6.1p to 429.9p. Shares in Spirax-Sarco Engineering (SPX) tumbled by 83p to 1,977p after it announced a 15% fall in first half pre-tax profits to 50.8 million pounds, despite revenues rising 2% to 313.5 million pounds. The steam and industrial fluid pump manufacturer attributed the decline to the weakening of the euro against the sterling and lower volumes in Europe. The group also saw a shift in the US sales mix to lower margin products. In order to compensate, the company said that it will implement cost reduction and expects to see improved sales and profitability in the second half. Small Caps, AIM and PLUS Shares in Goals Soccer Centres (GOAL) plummeted by 29p to 115.5p as the five-a-side football centres owner conceded it had failed to receive enough shareholder votes approving the company's 144p per share takeover by Goliath Bidco. For the acquisition to go ahead, Goals required a 75% approval rating from shareholders via a general meeting vote, but only received 71.4%. With the company confirming it is not in discussions with any other parties regarding a potential takeover of the company, the business is no longer deemed to be in an offer period. Conygar Investment Company* (CIC) unveiled a new four year 20 million pound loan with Barclays Bank, which the property investment and development group intends to use to pursue new opportunities. The borrowing facility is secured on the nine properties of the Edinmore portfolio acquired by Conygar last December, and using an interest rate swap has allowed the business to lock in a rate of 4.5% on the loan. Conygar shares inched 1.375p higher to 86.5p. Wireless technology business Software Radio Technology (SRT) confirmed its first batch of identifiers for the 3.7 million dollar order announced in June has now been shipped to the customer. The first batch represents 15% of the total order and will be followed by a further two batches before the end of the year. The company explained the products would be used as part of the US government supported programme to improve safety and security in Central America. In addition, Software Radio reiterated that it believes the 3.7 million dollar order represents just a fifth of the estimated total project requirement, and thus further orders should come in over the next two years. The shares closed 0.25p ahead at 20.75p. 
Shares in simulation training systems company SimiGon (SIM) surged 2.75p to 14p on news it has signed a 'substantial' contract to provide a South American country's armed forces with its SIMbox training technology. The contract marks the first time SIMBox has been deployed as a training system across an entire armed services. The system and training will be delivered over the next couple of months, with revenue from the deal to be apportioned in line with delivery milestones. Online consumer electronics retailer eXpansys (XPS) meanwhile announced it has signed an agreement to become the exclusive distributor for the new device of a technology giant in the Asia region. Under the terms of the deal, which stresses the name of the manufacturer must remain confidential, eXpansys will provide product storage, logistics and fulfillment services for customers, initially in Australia, but then extending into other Asian markets in due course. eXpansys will charge a volume dependant fee per item shipped, with material volumes anticipated over the length of the twelve month contract. The group's shares lifted 0.0275p to 1.15p. Africa focused mineral production business Gemfields (GEM) provided an operational update for the three months to June, unveiling a 49% jump in production at its Kagem emerald mine to 7.3 million carats. This was despite average grades falling from 236 carats to 181 carats per tonne, although unit production costs did drop an impressive 49% to 0.57 dollars per carat. The company reported it collected revenue of 9 million dollars in June following the successful auction of 3.47 million carats, which equates to 2.59 dollar per carat. Gemfield shares climbed 0.25p to 37p. * Quarto Group and Conygar Investment Company are corporate clients of Rivington Street Holdings, the ultimate owner of UK-Analyst. | 
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