| Competition Congratulations to Stephen Greengage whose caption (below) was voted the funniest and has won the UK-Analyst Friday Competition. Watch out for another contest at the end of the week. 
1st dog "Woof". 2nd dog "I was going to say that". 3rd dog, "B****r me a talking dog!" The Markets Business Secretary Vince Cable announced a government plan to establish a bank with funds of 1 billion pounds in order to help provide finance to small and medium sized companies. The new institution will operate through existing lenders and is expected to be launched within the next 18 months. Meanwhile, the European Union is struggling to agree upon its budget for the years from 2014 to 2020. The European Commission's proposal of a total budget of 1.03 trillion euros (823 billion pounds) for the period has been met with opposition from a number of members, including the UK, who have argued that this figure is too high. At the London close the Dow Jones was down by 23.87 points at 13,555.60 and the Nasdaq was down by 20.36 points at 2,841.28. In London the FTSE 100 fell by 13.78 points to 5,838.84; the FTSE 250 finished 46.92 points behind at 11,903.11; the FTSE All-Share lost 7.23 points to 3,047.79; and the FTSE AIM Index declined by 4.86 points to 711.54. 
Broker Notes Westhouse Securities reiterated its "buy" recommendation for Euromoney Institutional Investor (ERM) with a target price of 855p. The financial magazine publisher will release a fourth quarter update on 27th September and the broker expects to see full year revenue growth of 8.4%, benefiting from a contribution from its Ned Davis Research acquisition. Westhouse also forecasted EBITDA growth of 17.5%, reflecting the company's increased focus on cost control and a shift in sales mix to higher margin digital products. Euromoney shares slipped by 5p to 758p.  Panmure Gordon initiated coverage of EG Solutions (EGS) with a "buy" recommendation and 115p target price. The broker believes that the operations management software developer is well positioned to benefit from the economic downturn, as companies look to cut costs and improve efficiency. Panmure noted that the group has 41 international customers and that the size of newly won contracts have increased nearly ten fold recently. On the broker's forecasts the shares trade on a prospective earnings multiple of 6.6 times, a 56% discount to the sector. The shares were unchanged at 62p. Singer Capital maintained its "buy" stance for JD Sports Fashion (JD.) with a target price of 790p. The sporting goods retailer's first half performance was in-line with the broker's forecasts, with revenue growth of 26.4% to 556 million pounds. Singer believes that the successful turnaround of outdoor clothes retailer Blacks would be a major catalyst for the share price and also sees international expansion possibilities for the firm's core business. The broker's earnings forecasts put the stock on a prospective earnings multiple of 13 times for the 2013 financial year. Shares in JD Sports lost 11.5p to 720.5p. Blue-Chips Aberdeen Asset Management (ADN) reported assets under management of 184.3 billion pounds as at 31st August 2012, up from 182.7 billion pounds on 30th June, attributable to 1.7 billion pounds of market appreciation, while incurring 0.1 billion pounds of net outflows. The fund manager noted a return of investor confidence in its core equities fund, which enjoyed net inflows of 2 billion pounds. The group added that it expects the net flows for the two month period to add 10 million pounds of annualised recurring fees. The shares crept down by 0.5p to 308p. 
Mid-Caps QinetiQ Group (QQ.) announced that it has delivered the majority of two key orders for its Q-Net product ahead of schedule. The defence technology company added that it received a greater number of orders for spares, compensating for lower sales from its other key products. The firm noted that its US services division was suffering from high levels of uncertainty, due to federal spending cuts and a number of contract award delays. QinetiQ shares rose by 11.1p to 182.9p. 
Soft drinks manufacturer AG Barr (BAG) reported sales of 130 million pounds for the six months ended 28th July, up 4.9% year-on-year, but pre-tax profits slipped by 8.6% to 14.9 million pounds. The group noted that it outperformed the market, achieving volume growth, while the wider market declined as it suffered from the poor summer weather. The company added that it received a good response from a new advertising campaign for its flagship product Irn-Bru but revealed no new information about the proposed merger with Britvic (BVIC), stating that "a further announcement will be made as and when appropriate". The shares gained 8.9p to 459.9p. Shares in Bumi (BUMI) crashed by 48.9p to 147p after the coal miner said that an independent investigation has begun into possible financial irregularities at its 29% owned Indonesian operation, PT Bumi Resources. The firm noted that the investigation will focus on a write-off made on a development asset in PT Berau Coal and Energy and development funds in the year ended 31st December 2011, which had previously been valued at a combined 322 million dollars (198.5 million pounds). Small Caps, AIM and PLUS JJB Sports (JJB) shares were suspended from trading after the sporting goods retailer looks to be headed into administration. The firm said that while it has received a number of offers for parts of or indeed all of its business, it has failed to secure any bids for its shares. The group noted that its stores will continue to trade for now and hopes to announce a buyer within the next few days. 
The final whistle for JJB? Music Festivals (MFP) also joined the ranks of the departed, having first listed on AIM just over a year ago, on 28th June 2011. The group's shares were suspended on 21st September pending financial clarification after it reported that it would incur a "material loss for the year ending 31st December" and that it was looking for a way to raise additional working capital. The company has been unable to secure the extra funding and will appoint an administrator. PLUS-quoted Pulse Group (PGRP) announced plans to de-list, having joined the market in June 2008, raising 0.5 million pounds. The Asia focused digital research agency said that it has suffered from limited liquidity and also raised concerns over the damage done to the PLUS market's reputation by its near bankruptcy. Separately, the firm said that its order book stood at 2 million dollars (1.2 million pounds) as at 31st July 2012 and that it expects to see modest growth in revenues and profitability for the year ending 31st May 2013. The shares tumbled by 0.4p to 0.75p. Craven House Capital (CRV) has agreed to buy a 49% stake in Cypriot holding company Ceniako for a consideration of 1 million euros (0.8 million pounds), in exchange for the target subscribing for 62,891,520 new shares in Craven to raise funds of 1 million euros (0.8 million pounds). Ceniako's only assets is 1,967 hectares of agricultural land in Brazil, by the seafront, which the merchant bank hopes to transform into real estate. Shares in Craven House surged by 0.15p to 0.425p. 
Shares in AEC Education (AEC) sank by 3p to 8.75p after the firm swung to a pre-tax loss of 0.67 million pounds for the six months ended 30th June, from a pre-tax profit of 0.298 million pounds in the first half of 2011. The diploma and degree program developer said that a steady performance in Asia was overshadowed by high levels of uncertainty resulting from the controversies surrounding UK student visas. As a result, the firm saw a significant fall in demand for its English language teaching business, incurring a one-off cost of 0.292 million pounds. UniVision Engineering (UVEL) warned that Guangzhou Jun Heng Mechanical and Electrical Equipment Company has asked for a three month extension on a due payment of 3.97 million dollars (1.8 million pounds). The payment relates to the sale of the security company's 51% stake in a shopping mall in Zhongshan, China, for a total consideration of 10.7 million pounds. The group has so far received just 0.5 million pounds and the balance is due to be received by 22nd December 2012. The shares dropped by 0.125p to 0.525p. Investment group Shore Capital (SGR) reported revenues of 17.8 million pounds for the half year ended 30th June, down 12.7% on 2011's comparable period, with pre-tax profits more than halving to 1.1 million pounds. However, the firm noted that this was a significant recovery on a very weak second half to 2011's financial year and remains confident that it's investment in German telecoms business Spectrum Investments continues to offer significant upside potential. The group said that it will not pay a dividend for the current financial year, but hopes to reintroduce one in 2013. Shares in Shore Capital swelled by 3.5p to 18p. Meanwhile, corporate advisor Alexander David Securities (ADS) saw pre-tax losses deepen to 148,039 pounds for the six months ended 30th June, from 85,122 pounds in 2011's comparable period. The group noted that private client business declined by 38% as the number of trades performed by clients fell significantly. The firm said that its second half will feature a full contribution from its acquisition of Bridge Hall Stockbrokers and added that it is pursuing a number of corporate finance transactions. The shares collapsed by 0.02p to 0.06p. | 
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