| The Markets A number of new ideas to help drive the Greek economy have been proposed, including extending the maximum working week to six days. Inspectors from the European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund are in the process of writing a report to determine whether the debt ridden county will receive another bailout payment of 31.5 billion euros (24.9 billion pounds). Back home, the Financial Services Authority has called out for greater controls on commissions paid on the sale of loans, credit cards and bank accounts. The decision is a response to a number of mis-selling debacles that have tarnished the City, including payment protection insurance. At the London close the Dow Jones was up by 42.00 points at 13,077.94 and the Nasdaq was up by 4.27 points at 2,776.30. In London the FTSE 100 fell by 14.15 points to 5,657.86; the FTSE 250 finished 17.23 points ahead at 11,446.07; the FTSE All-Share lost 5.81 points to 2,949.81; and the FTSE AIM Index climbed by 5.14 points to 684.12. 
Broker Notes Panmure Gordon reiterated its "sell" recommendation for Premier Farnell (PFL) with a target price of 50p. The broker noted that the electronic components supplier's first half results were below forecasts, with revenues down 5% year-on-year, and expects this weakness to have continued into the second quarter. Panmure added that while net debt had improved at the end of the second quarter to 212 million pounds, it maintained its full year net debt forecast of 225 million pounds. Shares in Premier Farnell declined by 1.9p to 184.4p.  Shore Capital maintained its "buy" rating for SThree (STHR) ahead of the recruitment agency's third quarter update on 7th September. The broker expects to hear positive news from the oil & gas and pharmaceutical sectors, particularly in Germany, offsetting weaker performances from UK banking. Shore also believes that the firm will have performed well outside of Europe. The broker noted a strong balance sheet and believes that the shares should be supported by a good dividend yield. The shares slipped by 2p to 264.25p. Canaccord Genuity retained its "buy" stance on Lo-Q (LOQ) with a 335p target price. The virtual queuing technology developer has formed a partnership with theme park builder The Sanderson Group, and the broker believes this is a key step for an expansion into the Asian market. Canaccord noted that Asia is the fastest growing theme park market, with the attendances rising by 9.4% in 2011. The broker added that a number of parks at which the firm operates have opened new attractions in 2012, which it believes will help drive numbers. Lo-Q shares inched down by 2p to 330p. Blue-Chips A new argument has broken out over the BP (BP.) Deepwater Horizon disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, with the US Justice Department accusing the oil and gas giant of "gross negligence and wilful misconduct". If the allegations are proven it could significantly increase damage payments owed by BP to around 21 billion dollars (13.2 billion pounds). The group has refuted the claims and a trial is scheduled to commence in in January 2013. The shares leaked 12.75p to 423.85p. 
Rio Tinto (RIO) announced that it has completed the disposal of the North American portion of its aluminium wire manufacturer Alcan Cable for 151 million dollars (95.0 million pounds) in cash. The next stage of the process will the the sale of the Tianjin, China, branch of Alcan, which is expected to be completed within the current financial year for a cash consideration of 34 million dollars (21.4 million pounds). Shares in Rio Tinto lost 4p to 2,718p. Financial services firm Hargreaves Lansdown (HL.) reported pre-tax profit growth of 21% to 152.8 million pounds for the year ended 30th June 2011 despite investor uncertainty and a weak economic background. The company noted that its iPhone app was downloaded 60,000 times and the firm now plans on launching an iPad app. The group expects the difficult conditions to persevere for at least the next 12 months, but has hopes that more customers will turn to equities and bonds due to low interest rates on cash savings. The shares fell by 4.5p to 626p. Mid-Caps Soft drinks manufacturers Britvic (BVIC) and AG Barr (BAG) have confirmed that they have entered talks to discus a possible merger. If successful this would create one of the largest soft drinks companies in Europe, with a market cap of 1.28 billion pounds, based on the closing prices on Tuesday 4th September. If the deal is successful, Britvic shareholders would own 63% of the new company's share capital, while AG Barr investors would own 37%. However, broker N+1 Brewin believes that the proposed split is unbalanced, stating: "we recognise the scale and distribution platform which Britvic brings to the deal, however, we believe that the greater potential lies in AG Barr's brand portfolio". Shares in Britvic fizzed up by 41.3p to 369.9p, while those of AG Barr sparkled by 34.6p to 450.2p. 
Sporting goods retailer Sports Direct International (SPD) reported year-on-year sales growth of 25.3% for the 13 weeks ended 29th July, to 519 million pounds, with gross profits rising by 20.4% to 211.1 million pounds. The firm attributed the strong performance to sales of Olympics merchandise boosted by the impressive performance of Team GB and added that it expects to achieve its 2013 "super stretch" underlying EBITDA target of 270 million pounds. During the period, the firm opened a net of 5 core stores in the UK and also opened 9 new stores across Europe. The shares gained 10p to 324p. Berkeley Group Holdings (BKG) announced that it expects full year earnings to be at the top end of analyst expectations, having completed 149 of the 185 properties at the Grosvenor Waterside development which were previously planned to be delivered over the next three years. The housebuilder noted that prices in London have remained strong despite the economic downturn, due to high demand and limited supply of high end properties. Berkeley shares edged up by 8p to 1,498p. Small Caps, AIM and PLUS Shares in Theo Fennell (TFL) soared by 3.25p to 15p after the jeweler confirmed that it was in preliminary talks with private equity group EME Capital with regards to a possible takeover bid. No information was given as to the possible size of the bid, but under the rules of the City Code EME will have to make a formal offer for company, which is popular among A-list celebrities such as Victoria Beckham and George Michael, by 3rd October. Metrodome Group (MRM) reported revenues of 4.3 million for the six months ended 30th June, up 3% year-on-year, with underlying EBITDA rising by 37.6% to 139,000 pounds. However, investors were more interested to see a profit from discontinued operations of 5.2 million pounds as the film and television content distributor was able to wipe the net liabilities of Target Entertainment, which entered administration on 28th February 2012, from its balance sheet. Metrodome shares leapt up by 0.2p to 0.75p. E-signature processing company Silanis International (SNS) saw revenues crumble to 3.3 million dollars (2.1 million pounds) for the six months ended 30th June, from 7.3 million dollars (4.6 million pounds) in the first half of 2011. The group attributed the decline to a fall in the sales of perpetual software licences as it looks to transition into a more recurring revenue based model. The firm added that it is investing in the development of its mobile technology, noting that it is being adopted by a number of leading insurance and financial institutions. The shares crashed by 3p to 24.5p. 
Corero Network Security (CNS) reported a pre-tax loss of 2.79 million dollars (1.76 million pounds) for the six months ended 30th June, more than double the losses of 1.38 million dollars (0.87 million pounds) in 2011's comparable period. The security and business software developer achieved revenue growth of 45.9% to 10.8 million dollars (6.8 million pounds) but suffered from significantly increased expenses as European customers delayed orders. The shares tumbled by 6p to 36p. In order to gain access to a sector with proven growth characteristics, Zenergy Power (ZEN) has announced the conditional acquisition of cloud based software developer Synety for an initial consideration of 75,000 pounds cash and 1,477,106 new ordinary shares. The target's primary asset is the CloudCall communication service, which allows organisations to receive and record telephone calls through CRM platforms. A deferred consideration of 740,861 shares would be issued on the achievement of certain sales targets. Zenergy shares fell by 0.25p to 3.125p. Advanced Medical Solutions (AMS) achieved pre-tax profit growth of 72% for the half year ended 30th June, to 4.5 million pounds, as its LiquiBand skin adhesive product gained market share in the US. The wound care company added that its ActivHeal product saw increased demand from the NHS, with revenues rising 40% and that its trilaminate foam range has been successfully launched. The group noted that the trend of customers destocking silver alginate dressings ceased and that its European business enjoyed renewed growth. The shares swelled by 7.75p to 76.75p. | 
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