| Competition The UK-Analyst Friday Competition is back! For your chance to win a copy of the Dividend Investor by Rodney Hobson (RRP 17.99) send us your funniest caption for the picture below to richard.gill@t1ps.com by 9am on Monday morning. 
The Markets The governor of the Bank of England, Mervyn King said that he believes the UK economy is showing gradual signs of recovery. However, he admitted that it may take a long time for it to return to pre-crisis levels. Meanwhile, the Office of National Statistics reported that UK public sector debt stood at 14.4 billion pounds in August, slightly higher than in the prior month, but below consensus forecasts of 15 million pounds. Over in Europe, the European Central Bank's unlimited bond buying vow has come under pressure as many have said it will not help the countries who need it the most. It is claimed that the scheme will merely service to lower the cost of debt for countries such as France, while having a limited impact on struggling countries such as Spain and Italy. At the London close the Dow Jones was up by 26.39 points at 13,623.32 and the Nasdaq was up by 8.82 points at 2,870.52. In London the FTSE 100 fell by 2.02 points to 5,852.62; the FTSE 250 finished 21.05 points ahead at 11,950.03; the FTSE All-Share gained 0.17 points to 3,055.02; and the FTSE AIM Index climbed by 4.83 points to 715.57. 
Broker Notes Northland Capital reiterated its "buy" recommendation for Stellar Diamonds (STEL) with a 10.2p target price. The broker noted that the precious gems miner finished its exploration programme in just six months, half the time it was expected to take. Northland added that the results suggested that up to 1 million carats could be added to the Droujba and Tongo projects, with upgrades scheduled for October. The broker believes that the firm may now look to build strategic partnerships in order to secure funding of around 20 million dollars (12.3 million pounds). The shares were unchanged at 3.125p.  Panmure Gordon retained its "buy" stance on Escher Group Holdings (ESCH) with a target price of 359p. The postal software developer noted high demand for its products, with the broker noting that the firm secured a number of new contract wins in its first half. Panmure forecasts revenues of 8.7 million dollars (5.4 million pounds) for the period, up from 6.5 million dollars (4.0 million pounds) in the first half of 2011. On the broker's forecasts, the shares trade on a prospective earnings multiple of 12.2 times for the 2012 financial year, falling to just 6.6 times in 2013. Shares in Escher were flat at 220.5p. Singer Capital kept its "buy" rating for Centaur Media (CAU) with an increased target price of 52p, from 50p. The broker said that the publisher's first half was in-line with forecasts, while the firm has started the 2013 financial year slightly ahead of expectations. Singer added that the group is making good progress towards its goal of having 50% of its business come from digital markets. The stock trades on a prospective earnings multiple of just 7.5 times for 2013 and offers a dividend yield of 6%. The shares fell by 0.5p to 41p. Blue-Chips The Home Affairs Committee has placed the blame for the Olympic Security blunder solely on the shoulders of G4S (GFS) and requested that the security company waive a fee of some 57 million pounds. However, the group has claimed that this fee was not a profit, but merely served to cover the costs of training and delivering the staff that it was able to. The company has however agreed to cover the costs of deploying additional military and police staff to compensate for the staff shortfall. G4S shares crept up by 1.4p to 268.6p. 
In order to take advantage of good demand in the foodstore sector, British Land (BLND) announced that it has sold seven foodstores for a total consideration of 118 million pounds, yielding between 4.95% and 5.7%. The assets included a Tesco store in Wembley, which was sold for 61.9 million pounds, as well as a Sainsbury's outlet in Leicester, for 21.7 million pounds. The property developer said that the disposals were in-line with its strategy of recycling its capital to maximise portfolio returns. The shares slipped by 4p to 528.5p. In order to expand its presence in Brazil, Sage Group (SGE) has bought accounting and tax software provider EBS Empresa Brasileira de Sistemas for a cash consideration of up to 10.6 million pounds. The target services around 4,000 customers, primarily accountancy firms, and is based in the state of Parana, southern Brazil. The news follows on from the business software developers recent purchase of Cenize Infromatica for up to 3.9 million pounds and the acquisitions will be incorporated into its existing Folhamatic subsidiary. Shares in Sage advanced by 5.4p to 324.8p. Mid-Caps Moneysupermarket.com (MONY) has completed the acquisition of consumer information website MoneySavingExpert, following the admission of an additional 22.1 million ordinary shares to the official list. The deal was worth some 87 million pounds and will enhance the price comparison website's brand awareness and user content. Under the terms of the agreement, Martin Lewis will remain chief editor of MoneySavingExpert. The shares crept up by 0.4p to 138.4p. 
Small Caps, AIM and PLUS Essenden (ESS) reported revenues of 24.7 million pounds for the 26 weeks ended 1st July, down 2.5% year-on-year, but pre-tax profits surged by 550% to 0.78 million pounds. The bowling and family entertainment centre operator attributed the improved profitability to the culmination of a turn around strategy which it has been implementing over the last two and a half years. The group also reduced its net debt position to 1.1 million pounds, from 3.5 million pounds as at 31st December 2011. The shares soared by 5.5p to 17.5p. Shares in aerial work platforms manufacturer Tanfield Group (TAN) collapsed by 22.25p to 28.75p after it announced that US company Smith Electric Vehicles, in which it has a 24% stake, has abandoned plans of an initial public offering. Smith, which has previously secured 12 million dollars (7.4 million pounds) worth of short-term funds to keep it going until listing said that there was insufficient interest from investors at the recommended flotation price. Nighthawk Energy (HAWK) produced 600 barrels of oil during a 24 hour flow test at its John Craig 6-2 well in Colorado and added that it will now work to bring the well to permanent production. The group also noted that it had identified three further potential oil-bearing zones, which could provide cheap extension opportunities. Meanwhile, the firm said that the drilling of its Pike's Peak Williams 4-30 well, which began on 14th September, is on schedule with a planned depth of 8,000 feet. The shares swelled by 1.55p to 5.05p. 
Asian Citrus Holdings (ACHL) announced revenues of 1.78 billion yuan (174 million pounds) for the year ended 30th June 2012, up 25.7% on 2011's performance, but pre-tax profits fell 27.2% to 0.77 billion yuan (75 million pounds). The orange grower blamed the reduced profitability on significantly lower gains on the fair value of its biological assets, as the majority of its plantations had already reached maturity. Shares in Asian Citrus jumped by 2.25p to 35.75p. Sport and leisure products manufacturer Tandem Group (TND) reported a 9% fall in revenues for the six months ended 30th June, to 14.4 million pounds, blaming the poor weather on reduced business for bicycle retailers. The group also saw lower demand for its more expensive licensed products, with retailers opting for cheaper, generic items. However, the company noted that it did benefit from the Olympic games, with the strong performance by Team GB boosting bicycle sales. The shares sank by 5.5p to 95p. Faroe Petroleum (FPM) has agreed to acquire a 10% stake in the BP operated East Foinaven Field and a 0.5% interest in the West Shetland Pipeline System for a cash consideration of 32 million dollars (19.7 million pounds). The Foinaven asset currently has three production wells and contains 1.55 million barrels of proven and provable resources attributable to Faroe. Its gross production rate for 2012 is expected to be 3,500 barrels per day, 350 bpd net to Faroe. The shares were unchanged at 150.75p. | 
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