| The Markets The Olympics proved to be more of an impediment than a benefit to business in the UK, with retail sales for August falling by 0.2% from July, according to figures from the Office of National Statistics. However, the figure was mildly better than consensus forecasts for a decline of 0.3%. The only companies to benefit from the Games period were sports and toy retailers, which also gained a boost from the start of the football season. Meanwhile, there was dissent in the ranks of the Federal Reserve, with arch hawk Richard Fisher, president of the Dallas Fed, suggesting that the central bank's third round of quantitative will most likely increase inflation without creating any new jobs. At the London close the Dow Jones was down by 12.97 points at 13,564.99 and the Nasdaq was down by 8.00 points at 2,856.03. In London the FTSE 100 fell by 33.84 points to 5,854.64; the FTSE 250 finished 45.21 points behind at 11,928.98; the FTSE All-Share lost 16.64 points to 3,054.85; and the FTSE AIM Index declined by 4.82 points to 710.74. 
Broker Notes Panmure Gordon maintained its "buy" rating for Lookers (LOOK) with an increased target price of 79p, from 72p. Trefick recently sold its 17% stake in the the car retailer, following a failed takeover attempt, and the broker believes that the disposal will help increase the stock's liquidity. Panmure said that the group has a defensive revenue stream and that it is well positioned to outperform the sector despite the difficult economic conditions. The broker's forecasts put the shares on a prospective earnings multiple of 10 times for 2012, falling to 9.4 times in 2013. Shares in Lookers inched up by 0.25p to 69p.  Shore Capital reiterated its "buy" recommendation on Prudential (PRU), noting that the financial services company may be looking to buy the insurance assets of Thanachart Bank in Thailand. The broker noted that this purchase would help the firm catch up with its competitors in one of its weaker markets in South East Asia. On the broker's forecasts, the shares trade at a 7% discount to embedded value for the 2013 financial year and offer a prospective dividend yield of 3.2%. The shares slipped by 0.5p to 821.5p. Canaccord Genuity kept its "buy" stance for Optimal Payments (OPAY), raising its target price from 82p to 100p. The online payment processing company exceeded the broker's forecasts, with first half revenues of 78.9 million dollars (48.7 million pounds) against an expected 67.6 million dollars (41.7 million pounds). Canaccord attributed the strong performance to the firm's Straight Through Processing division, which achieved year-on-year revenue growth of 68%, and raised its full year revenue guidance by 16% to 168 million dollars (103.7 million pounds). Optimal Payments shares surged by 12.75p to 99p. Blue-Chips Imperial Tobacco Group (IMT) announced that it was trading in-line with targets and expects to report revenue growth of around 4% for the year ending 30th September, driven by strong performance in Eastern Europe, Africa and the Middle East. The cigarette firm said that this was achieved through increased prices, while overall stick volumes were down by around 3%. However, the firm noted that its core brands of Davidoff, Gauloises Blondes, West and JPS all achieved volume gains. Shares in Imperial Tobacco rose by 63p to 2,399p. 
Water treatment company United Utilities (UU.) expects revenues for the six months ended 30th September to be higher than in 2011's comparable period but lower than the regulated price rise due to lower commercial volumes and an increasing number of customers switching to meters. Additionally, the firm noted that revenue gains would be counteracted by higher depreciation and operation costs. The group also expects to finish its first half with a higher net debt position than at 31st March as a result of capital investment and the 2011 final dividend payment. The shares edged up by 3p to 730p. Mid-Caps Online grocery store Ocado Group (OCDO) saw sales growth in its third quarter, ended 5th August, slow to 9.9%, bringing total growth for the first three quarters of the year to 11.3%. The company blamed the decline on disruptions caused by the Queen's Jubilee and Olympics, although it noted that it was able to preserve margins by not resorting to short-term vouchering activity. The firm hopes to see increased sales growth in the final quarter, but does not expect consumer volatility to end any time soon. The shares sank by 2.8p to 64.4p. 
Meanwhile, Booker Group (BOK) reported year-on-year sales growth of 4.3% in its second quarter ended 14th September, excluding contributions from its recent Makro acquisition. The wholesaler's performance was driven by its tobacco business, which achieved growth of 5.1%, while foods sales rose by 3.9%. The company added that its two branches in Mumbai, India, are performing in-line with expectations and it has plans of opening a further two in the second half of the financial year. Booker shares lost 1.35p to 94.4p. Salamander Energy (SMDR) announced that the Atwood Mako rig has arrived at the Bualuang Alpha platform on its licences off the coast of Thailand and has begun drilling. This is expected to be a short term operation and the rig will then be moved onto a further two prospects in the Greater Bualuang area. It will then begin an extended development campaign from the end of October. The shares were unchanged at 198p. Small Caps, AIM and PLUS Shares in GEONG International (GNG) crashed by 2p to 5.75p after the firm warned that a number of its top 10 clients may be adversely affected by the economic slowdown in China. The business software developer, noted plans of moving the latest version of its SaaS service onto a cloud computing platform, with its main goal for the year being to maintain revenues at 2011 levels, while improving the sales mix. The firm added that it had net cash of 2.2 million pounds as at 31st August 2012. Metalrax Group (MRX) reported a 10.6% fall in revenues for the half year ended 1st July, to 27.7 million pounds, with pre-tax losses increasing to 1.4 million pounds, from 0.1 million pounds. The specialist engineering firm said that it suffered from overexposure to the UK consumer market, where order volumes declined, particularly in the second quarter. With the company expecting difficult conditions to persist for the remainder of the financial year, it said that its primary focus will be on overhead cost reduction. The shares tumbled by 0.675p to 4.7p. PLUS-quoted Mastermailer Holdings (MMHP) announced that its MasterEpay subsidiary has signed an agreement with Bond Teamspirit to incorporate its Regify e-payslip technology into Bond's payroll software. The digital payslip would be sent to an email address of the employee's choice and could be viewed on a computer or mobile device. Mastermailer shares gained 0.25p to 1.25p. 
PhotonStar LED Group (PSL) has won a one year rolling contract to exclusively supply an unnamed UK house builder with LED light fixtures for all its new homes. The company noted that the client completed 1,500 homes in the prior financial year and that this number is expected to rise in the current year. The group said that the deal followed on from a successful one year trial, where it successfully demonstrated reduced CO2 emissions across a range of properties. PhotonStar shares leapt by 1.125p to 9.375p. Hydrocarbons explorer Petrel Resources (PET) reported encouraging results from the technical study undertaken in the northern and eastern sections of the Porcupine Basin, off the coast of Ireland. The firm said that the first two phases have been completed and that it has identified several new targets in the region, which covers an area of 1,400 square kilometres. The shares swelled by 0.75p to 6.625p. Sticking with the "P" theme, Petards Group (PEG) announced that Water Hall Group (WTH), has approached it with a preliminary takeover bid. Water Hall was originally a waste management company before selling its operations in Aprial 2012 and is now an investment company which already owns a 29.99% stake in the security and surveillance business. Under the terms of the city code, it will have to make a firm offer for Petards by 18th October 2012, unless another potential buyer emerges. Petards shares advanced by 3.5p to 31p, while those of Water Hall were unchanged at 2p. | 
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