| The Markets The International Monetary Fund warned that banks in Europe may need to dispose of 4.5 trillion dollars (2.8 trillion pounds) worth of assets in 2013 if struggling Eurozone members fail to meet their austerity targets. The organisation added that, despite the efforts of policy makers, the risk to financial stability has increased over the last six months. Back home, the National Farmers' Union said that the heavy rainfall and flooding will drive up food prices as wheat yields in England are 15% lower than the five-year average. It added that this will have a knock on effect on the price of meat as 50% of pig costs and 60% of poultry costs are attributable to grain. At the London close the Dow Jones was down by 67.67 points at 13,405.86 and the Nasdaq was down by 1.62 points at 2,740.30. In London the FTSE 100 fell by 33.54 points to 5,776.71; the FTSE 250 finished 83.44 points behind at 11,828.32; the FTSE All-Share lost 12.48 points to 3,023.04; and the FTSE AIM Index declined by 2.94 points to 700.82. 
Broker Notes Panmure Gordon retained its "sell" stance for Home Retail Group (HOME) with a 51p target price. The broker expects the company's first half pre-tax profits to have halved to 14 million pounds and believes that the Argos operator will struggle during the Christmas trading period, due to high levels of pricing competition from company's such as Amazon and John Lewis. Panmure forecasts Argos to be loss making in the 2014 financial year, claiming that it has too many stores and that a large scale closure programme is required. The shares rose by 2.9p to 100.2p.  N+1 Singer upgraded its rating for Mythrah Energy (MYT) from "hold" to "buy" with an increased target price of 73.7p, from 58p. The India focused wind farm operator's shares have fallen by 50% since March, which the broker attributed to delays in the commissioning of its development portfolio. Singer said that when operational this will add 270 megawatts to its existing capacity of 340 megawatts. On the broker's forecasts, the shares trade on a prospective earnings multiple of 17.9 times for 2013, falling to 6.5 times in 2014. Mythrah shares slipped by 0.75p to 61p. Shore Capital reiterated its "buy" recommendation for Bunzl (BNZL) ahead of the haulage company issuing its third quarter results. The broker expects the firm to report organic revenue growth of between 4% and 5%, driven by its North American operations. Shore added that the company's margins are likely to improve by around 10 basis points as its sales mix in the UK and North America improves. The broker noted that the group is still facing headwinds in the UK but believes that conditions will improve in the 2013 financial year. The shares dropped by 15p to 1,101p. Blue-Chips SABMiller (SAB) announced that its Chibuku beer brand is now being sold across 10 countries in Africa, compared to just four at the start of 2011. The alcoholic drinks company invested 16 million dollars (10 million pounds) in developing the product and has hopes that volumes across new markets will reach over half a million hectolitres by the end of the current financial year. SABMiller shares inched up by 4p to 2,683p. 
Mobile telecommunications firm Vodafone Group (VOD) has launched the first commercial 4G service in South Africa, accessible through 70 base stations in Johannesburg. The company added that it hopes to expand the service across other cities in the country shortly. Vodafone noted that this follows on from similar launches in Germany and Portugal. The shares crept down by 0.1p to 179.25p. Aerospace engineer BAE Systems (BA.) said that the proposed merger with European peer EADS has been canceled due to political opposition in France and Germany. The two companies claimed that they had already agreed to terms between themselves covering the new legal and board structure of the enlarged group, as well as a near-term dividend policy, but that government stakeholders were not able to reach a mutual understanding. BAE shares descended by 1.9p to 323.5p. Mid-Caps Ferrexpo (FXPO) reported quarter-on-quarter pellet production from own ore growth of 2.8% for its third quarter to 2.37 million tonnes, bringing year-to-date production to 6.93 million tonnes. However, the iron ore miner's total production for the nine months ended 30th September declined by 1.4% to 7.16 million tonnes as it continued to reduce its purchasing of third party concentrate. Ferrexpo shares slid by 7.2p to 195.4p. 
Small Caps, AIM and PLUS Powerhouse Energy Group's (PHE) shares were readmitted to trading on AIM, having been suspended since April 2012, pending clarification of its financial position. The firm suffered pre-tax loses of 35.3 million dollars (22.1 million pounds) for the year ended 31st December 2011 as its option to acquire the remaining 70% stake in Pyromex Holding, in which it already had a 30% interest, lapsed. The firm was able to secure a £380,000 convertible loan from Hill Grove Investments and settled litigation in the US. Shares in Powerhouse Energy crashed by 7.375p to 3.625p. Summit Corporation* (SUMM) reported a positive top-line result for the Phase I clinical trial of its Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy treatment SMT C1100. The tests were performed on healthy volunteers on a dose-escalating basis, and the results showed that the treatment was "safe and well tolerated" at all levels. The group added that the trial showed higher levels of absorption than thought to be required to be clinically effective. The shares surged by 1.125p to 4.875p. Shares in Avanti Communications Group (AVN) plunged by 58.75p to 290p after it fell short of its full year revenue target of 17.8 million pounds, reporting sales of just 15 million pounds for the year ended 30th June 2012. The satellite operator also saw pre-tax loses widen to 16 million pounds, from 12.7 million pounds. Meanwhile, the firm noted that its HYLAS 2 satellite has entered service and that the HYLAS 3 is fully financed and is expected to launch in 2015. 
WANdisco* (WAND) announced that third quarter, ended 30th September, subscription bookings rose to 2.0 million dollars (1.3 million pounds), up 86% from 2011's comparable period, bringing total bookings for the year-to-date to 5.4 million dollars (3.4 million pounds). The software developer noted that it secured a number of new blue-chip clients, including Nokia Siemens Networks and Home Depot while also achieving an annualised renewal rate of 117%. The shares jumped by 34p to 435p. Kazakhstan focused fertiliser manufacturer Sunkar Resources (SKR) reported that its Temir Service subsidiary has signed an 1.2 billion Kazakhstani tenge (5.0 million pounds) earth moving contract and that it expects to receive a 30% prepayment by the end of the year. The work sets the stage for the building of a new railway line in western Kazakhstan and is expected to be completed in the second quarter of 2013. Separately, the firm noted that its has mined over 300,000 tonnes of phosphate ore in the year to date. Sunkar shares lost 0.01p to 3.75p. PLUS-quoted Quercus Publishing (QUPP) said that it will establish a new office in New York as it prepares to launch a publishing programme North America in the Autumn of 2013. The launch will feature 40 titles across a broad range of genres, including commercial fiction, fantasy, horror and children's books. The firm also announced that it has secured a multi-year sales and distribution partnership with publisher Random House. The shares leapt by 3.5p to 85p. * WANdisco and Summit Corporation are corporate clients of Rivington Street Holdings, the ultimate owner of UK-Analyst. | 
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