| The Markets Markets across Europe dropped on news that the Spanish economy continued to contract significantly in the third quarter of its financial year and as yields on Spanish 10 year bonds surged to 6%. In Greece, the police have clashed with anarchists who were protesting against the country's austerity measures, which involve spending cuts of some 11.5 billion euros (9.1 billion pound)s. Over in the US, the president of the Philadelphia Fed, Charles Plosser, joined arch-hawk Richard Fisher, of Dallas, in claiming that the Federal Reserve's latest round of quantitative easing, which will see 40 billion dollars (24.7 billion pounds) worth of bonds being bought per month, is unlikely to stimulate job creation. At the London close the Dow Jones was down by 25.77 points at 13,431.78 and the Nasdaq was down by 27.23 points at 2,777.30. In London the FTSE 100 fell by 91.62 points to 5,768.09; the FTSE 250 finished 189.32 points behind at 11,742.11; the FTSE All-Share lost 42.78 points to 3,014.74; and the FTSE AIM Index declined by 7.01 points to 701.80. 
Broker Notes Panmure Gordon reiterated its "sell" recommendation for Carnival (CCL), but with a slightly increased target price of 1,584p. The cruise company's third quarter earnings were 9% ahead of the broker's forecasts, at 153 cents (94.6p) per share, but Panmure maintained its view that it will take at least three years for the firm's net revenue yields to return to pre-Costa Concordia incident levels. On the broker's revised forecasts, the shares trade on a prospective earnings multiple of 19.3 times for the 2013 financial year, which it believes it too high for a company with growth prospects of just 6% per annum. The shares sank by 41p to 2,301p.  Canaccord Genuity maintained its "buy" rating for Majestic Wine (MJW) with a a 505p target price. The broker believes that the firm's first half will have been very volatile, due to contributions from the Diamond Jubilee, Euro 2012 and Olympics. Canaccord added, that the drinks retailer will have also benefited from the maturing of 28 stores, but that the poor weather conditions will have had an adverse effect. The broker noted that the group plans to open a further 16 stores over the next three years, expanding its estate by 30%. Shares in Majestic Wine leaked by 41p to 2,301p. Seymour Pierce retained its "buy" stance on Clean Air Power (CAP) with a target price of 25p. The broker pointed to Volvo's announcement that it plans to increase its presence in Asia, South American and Africa, with a range of heavy duty trucks that will use the Euro 5 engine, which includes the duel-fuel technology developer's fuel systems. Seymour Pierce noted that the engine will be replaced by the Euro 6, for which Clean Air is not a supplier, in Europe by the end of 2013. However, given the size of its new potential market, the broker believes that this news is not significant. The shares dropped by 0.125p to 9.25p. Blue-Chips ICAP (IAP) warned that revenues for the six months ended 30th September 2012 are likely to be 14% lower that 2011's comparable performance as it suffered from low trading volumes due to lack of investor confidence, as well as the London Olympics. However, the interdealer broker noted that it saw some improvement in volumes in September and that it was well on its way to delivering cost savings of at least 50 million pounds per year. ICAP shares tumbled by 11.4p to 332.5p. 
Credit checker Experian (EXPN) announced that the 175 million dollar (108.3 million pound) sale of its PriceGrabber comparison business to Ybrant Digital has broken down after the Indian marketing company failed to meet its obligations. Experian added that it was committed to disposing of the business and is exploring new options to achieve this goal. The firm noted that in the five months ended 31st August PriceGrabber achieved year-on-year organic growth of 1%. The shares slipped by 7p to 1,026p. Mid-Caps Shares in Shanks Group (SKS) crashed by 11.25p to 79p after the waste management company said that weak demand in the sold waste market will result in its performance for the year ending 31st March 2013 coming in below current market expectations. The group said that it was undertaking a cost cutting scheme, but that this will not be enough to fully compensate for the weak trading. Meanwhile, the firm noted that its other operations were performing in-line with expectations, with the hazardous waste division enjoying a strong order book and growing margins. 
Homeserve (HSV) expects to report year-on-year growth in pre-tax profits for the six months ended 30th September, benefiting from its 100% ownership of French business Domeo, in which it only had a 49% stake in the prior year. The home emergency insurance company added that its UK business is on track to reach customer numbers of between 2.2 and 2.4 million by the year end, with operating profits expected to be broadly flat on last year's result of 25.8 million pounds. The shares fell by 2.6p to 218.5p. Fast food delivery company Domino's Pizza Group (DOM) reported a slowdown in sales growth for the quarter ended 23rd September of 7.9%, bringing year-to-date growth to 10%. The firm's UK business achieved like-for-like sales growth of 3.7%, while the decline in Ireland was reduced to 2.1%, from 4.1% in 2011's third quarter. The group continued to enjoy rising online orders, which accounted for 58.4% of UK delivered sales and increased the number of stores from 702 to 758. Domino's Pizza shares slid by 22.5p to 540.5p. Small Caps, AIM and PLUS Following five years of poor performance, PME African Infrastructure Opportunities (PMEA) has decided the best course of action is to return 13 million dollars (8.03 million pounds) of cash to investors. The is will be done through a tender offer for up to 30% of the existing share capital, valuing the shares at 40 cents (24.7p) each. The group noted that it had placed its Dovetel telecommunications business into administration and liquidated its TMP Uganda equipment vendor. The shares soared by 15 cents to 26 cents. Semiconductive wafer manufacturer IQE (IQE) announced a pre-tax loss of 91,000 pounds for the six months ended ended 30th June, compared to a pre-tax profit of 2.8 million pounds in the first half of 2011, with net debt nearly doubling to 7.5 million pounds. However, the group noted an improved start to the second half of the year, with demand returning to to prior levels, adding that it's recent acquisition in North Carolina was integrating well. IQE shares declined by 1p to 26.25p. A weak property market and the reluctance of banks to provide funding have resulted in further delays to Red Leopard Holdings' (RLH) plan of purchasing a site in south west England for 1.85 million pounds. In light of the difficulties, the property investor added that it is considering a rather drastic strategy change, with a focus on natural resource projects which are likely to achieve production in the near term. The shares tumbled by 0.125p to 0.95p. 
Richland Resources (RLD) said that Increased levels of illegal mining from neighboring mines resulted in Tanzanite production falling by 3.2% to 1.21 million carats in the half year to 30th June. The gemstone miner noted a 19.2% fall in revenues to 8.4 million dollars (5.2 million pounds) and slipped into a pre-tax loss of 31,000 dollars (19,176 pounds), compared to a profit of 1.6 million dollars (0.99 million pounds) in the first half of 2011. Shares in Richland crumbled by 0.375p to 5.25p. Nanotechnology developer Oxford Advanced Surfaces Group (OXA) announced that it has secured a significant contract to commercialise its VISARC anti-reflective coating, noting that it expects to complete the final manufacturing trial in the fourth quarter of 2012. Meanwhile, the firm said that it was making good progress towards the commercialisation of its Onto adhesive technology. It added that it retained a strong balance sheet, with cash of 5 million pounds and no debt. The shares leapt by 1.25p to 11.125p. PLUS-quoted Shepherd Neame (SHEP) reported pre-tax profits of 9.1 million pounds for the year ended 30th June, up 39.7% on 2011's performance, on like-for-like managed sales growth 7.6%, driven by food growth of 10.9%. During the period, the brewer acquired seven pubs and hotels and added that it also acquired an additional hotel since year end, bringing the total number of lettable rooms under management to 499. Like many of its peers, the firm complained about the discrepancy between taxes on alcohol between the UK and its EU neighbors, claiming that it is costing the sector 100 million pounds per year. Shares in Shepherd Neame climbed by 30p to 775p. | 
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