From UK-Analyst.com: Monday 19th November 2012
The Markets According to the British Retail Consortium, more than one in 10 shops in Britain are empty, as the town centre vacancy rate has reached 11.3%, the worst figure since July 2011. The worst affected region is Northern Ireland, where the vacancy rate stands at one fifth, with Wales and Yorkshire having 15% of retail premises lying empty. These figures come on the back of a number of retailers, including Comet, JJB Sports and Clinton Cards, either entering into administration or cutting back on their high street presence. Meanwhile, in Spain, problem loans at banks hit a new all-time high in September as the country's property bubble continued to disintegrate. Bad debts, mostly loans to home buyers and property developers, have reached 182 billion euros (146 billion pounds) according to central bank data. The news comes a week after the Spanish government announced a two-year suspension of evictions for the most vulnerable people. Over in China, property prices increased in 35 of the country's 70 biggest cities during October, suggesting a slight rebound in demand. The increases are thought to have been aided by two recent interest rate cuts, relaxing lending restrictions and easier access to local government funds. At the London close the Dow Jones was down by 160.58 points at 12,748.89 and the Nasdaq fell by 44.20 points to 2,578.36. In London the FTSE 100 increased by 132.07 points to 5,737.66; the FTSE 250 finished 167.81 points up at 11,744.79; the FTSE All-Share gained 64.42 points to 2997.14; and the FTSE AIM Index crept up by 5.54 points to 686.11.  Broker Notes Seymour Pierce reiterated its "sell" stance on Mothercare (MTC) with a target price of 200p. The broker believes that it will be difficult to make Mothercare relevant for the modern mother again as it faces strong competition from Amazon and supermarkets. The broker also predict a 2 million pounds pre-tax loss to be reported for the 28 weeks to 13th October as gross margins will have been negatively impacted by promotional activity to clear stock. The shares inched up by 1.5p to 296p Canaccord Genuity maintained its "buy" recommendation on communications and sports marketing group Chime Communications (CHW) and increased its target price by 12% to 230p. This comes after a "reassuring" quarter 3 IMS which illustrated trading in line with management expectations. The broker was also impressed with the growth of both margins and revenues due to benefits brought about by the Olympics. Because of the diverse nature of the company, the broker believes that it has a more attractive revenue mix than its peers. The shares gained 3p to 214.75p. Panmure Gordon keep to its "sell" stance on online food retailer Ocado (OCDO) with an unchanged target price of 61p. The broker cites underperforming sales and the regular requirement for equity funding as reasons for its stance. Ocado's business model is "inefficient" according to the broker and the firm is growing below City expectations as well as its multichannel competitors. The shares were up by 14.45p at 75p as the retailer announced a 35.8 million placing and the extension of its banking facilities. 
Blue-Chips Intertek (ITRK), the provider of safety services for businesses, reported a 20.1% increase in organic revenues for the first 10 months of this year. The business has been exhibiting growth in all markets, with the Americas, Asia and the Middle East performing particularly well. The firm attributed its robust performance in these areas to fast growth in the commodities and pharmaceutical industries and went on to state that full year adjusted operating profit margins are expected to be flat on last year. Intertek shares remained flat at 2,836p. Temporary power provider Aggreko (AGK) has signed a contract to provide 100 MW of gas-fuelled temporary power to the Ivory Coast, with an estimated value of 75 million dollars (47 million pounds). The length of the contract is two years and adds to 100MW the firm installed in the country in 2010. The power will be used as the infrastructure for a permanent facility is still under construction. The shares climbed 25p to 2,120p. 
Financial Services giant Old Mutual (OML) has acquired a majority stake in Latin American business Aiva Business Platforms for an undisclosed amount. This is in an effort to strengthen its presence in its selected emerging markets. The transaction with Aiva Business Platforms, which currently has 800 million dollars (502.6 million pounds) in assets under management, is expected to be completed in early 2013. The shares jumped by 4.9p to 171p. Mid Caps Diploma (DPLM) posted a 13% increase in revenues to 260.2 million pounds for the year ended 30th September, while pre-tax profits climbed by 17% to 46 million pounds. The provider of specialist machines attributed the growth to a strong performance in its seals business, while it reported good performances from its life sciences and controls businesses also. Although the results were largely positive, the firm did report reduced activity in the Continental Europe region and UK Food and Beverage business. Shares in the company increased by 10.2p to 448.2p. Outsourcing and energy company Mitie Group (MTO) posted a 5.6% increase in revenues to 1.03 billion pounds, while pre-tax profits fell by 12.9% to 37.7 million pounds for the 6 months ended 30th September. The fall in pre-tax profits reflects a 7% increase in the cost of sales as the company battles against margin erosion. The increase in revenues was boosted by the firm's largest ever contract, with Lloyds Bank, worth 775 million pounds over 5 years, and further deals with BskyB and Golding Homes. Shares in the company fell by 10p to 280p. 
Global infrastructure company Balfour Beatty (BBY) has been selected as best value bidder for the "Dallas horseshoe project", which involves upgrades and replacements of river crossings in Dallas, Texas. The Texas Department of Transportation's estimate for the entire project is approximately 502 million pounds and is expected to be complete in 2017, run as a joint-venture with Flour Corporation. The shares rose by 6.2p to 256p. Small Caps & AIM Software company WANdisco* (WAND) has acquired the silicon valley based software company, AltoStor for 3.2 million pounds, in a move that is aimed at speeding up product development. WANdisco believes that this purchase fits in with its strategy to develop new products targeting the "big data" market, which is seen as highly lucrative by the firm. Another reason for the acquisition is the expertise offered in the shape of AltoStor's founders. The shares closed up by 18.75p to 456.25p. Wine specialist Majestic Wine (MJW) reported a 3.9% increase in pre-tax profits to 9.2 million pounds for the 26 weeks ended 1st October as customer numbers increased by 11.2%. Profits were boosted by an increase in the average sale price of a bottle of wine which grew to 7.46 pounds from 7.13 pounds. The company is continuing to expand, opening nine new stores this year including its first one in Cornwall and seeing online sales grow by 14%. The shares gained 11p to 476p. Financial software company FfastFill (FFA) reported an increase in group revenues to 10.9 million pounds, from 7.3 million pound,s for the six month period ended 30th September. As a result profits grew from 0.1 million pounds to 1.4 million pounds over the period. These improving results were driven by an extension of geographical coverage in Asia and the completion of delayed back office efficiency implementations. The shares increased by 0.5p to 13.88p. Greenko (GKO), the Indian developer of clean energy projects, has acquired three run-of-river hydro power projects totalling 15MW. This brings the company's portfolio to over 275 MW and is part of its strategy to have 1000 MW under its operation by 2015. All power produced by the plants is sold under long term purchase agreements to the local state electricity board. The shares lost 3p to 131p. 
IPSA Group (IPSA), the power generation operator based in Southern Africa, has sold its two remaining gas turbines to Iris Eco Power Sdn Bhd, a Malaysian power company, for a consideration of 31 million dollars (19.5 million pounds). IPSA has been working to sell these turbines for several years and once complete the deal should help to alleviate the company's tight financial position. The shares fell by 0.125p to 4.25p. Bango (BGO), the mobile payments company, announced that operator billing for purchases on Facebook, powered by Bango, is now live for Orange France subscribers. Orange smartphone customers in France are now able to pay for digital goods and services on Facebook's mobile website, charging the cost to their phone. Bango and Facebook are now working on rolling out this development in other Markets across Europe. Shares in the company were up by 5.5p at 210.5p. Renewable energy group, Good Energy (GOOD) will introduce the UK's first local tariff, to reward households near its wind farms with lower electricity bills. Customers that live within two kilometres of the company's flagship wind farm in north Cornwall will qualify for the 20% discount, saving the average customer in the area around 100 pounds per year. Shares in the company slipped down by 2p to 164.5p.
Competition
Congratulations to Peter Land whose caption (below) has been voted the funniest and has won the Friday Competition. Look out for another contest later in the week. 
"One sick individual, now universally loathed by a nation for shafting the innocent, seen here with Jimmy Saville." | 
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