| The Markets The health of the US economy has been a focal point during the presidential campaign for both Obama and Romney, with both candidates attempting to convince voters they have a plan to kick-start faster growth and job creation. Romney has promised 12 million jobs in his first term, equating to 250,000 jobs per month, which critics say the economy would produce regardless. Obama has said that he would use half the money saved from ending wars in Iraq and Afghanistan to fund infrastructure projects. Meanwhile, manufacturing output in the UK did not increase by the forecast amount in September, as machinery and chemical production declined, raising further fears that the economic recovery is starting to lose momentum. On the continent, public and private sector workers in Greece have started a 48 hour strike in protest against a proposed new wave of austerity measures. The new measures, proposed by the EU, must be accepted if Greece is to receive the next part of its bailout fund and avoid bankruptcy. At the London close the Dow Jones was up by 89.08 points at 13,201.52 and the Nasdaq was up by 1.54 points at 2,674.45. In London the FTSE 100 rose by 45.84 points to 5,884.90; the FTSE 250 finished 51.09 points up at 12081.55; the FTSE All-Share dropped 0.66 points to 699.23; and the FTSE AIM Index decreased by 2.88 points to 3132.79. 
Broker Notes Canaccord Genuity maintains a "buy" stance on HSBC (HSBA) with a target price of 700p as the banking group reported an underlying profit before tax of 6.52 billion dollars (4.1 billion pounds) for the third quarter ended 30th September 2012, a figure which was above the broker's 5.9 billion dollars (3.7 billion pounds) forecast for the period. The shares crept up by 3.7p to 6.21.7p. Seymour Pierce Research reiterated its "buy" recommendation on Babcock (BAB) with a target price of 1,000p. The broker justifies its claim by emphasising the 6% increase in revenues to 1.56 billion pounds for the first half of the financial year and that operating profit was up over the same period by 12% to 174 million pounds - higher than the broker's expectation of 167 million pounds. The shares fell by 34.5p to 954.5p. 
Shore Capital kept its "sell" recommendation on meat packer Hilton Food (HFG) as it believes the company's earnings multiple is too full given current market challenges and trading momentum. The broker believes there are stocks that face similar market challenges yet offer an income yield at a higher level and therefore has a "sell" stance on the shares. HIlton Food shares rose by 3.625p to 277.875p. Blue-Chips Associated British Foods (ABF) announced a 17% increase in profit before tax to 974 million pounds on an 11% increase in revenues to 12.3 billion pounds for the year ended 15th September 2012. The company cited good performances from AB Sugar and Primark as key drivers in the improved results, yet warned of uncertain times to come. The company is wary that profit may decrease in the short-term due an increase in commodity prices. The shares dropped by 4p to 1,362p InterContinental Hotels (IHG) reported a 9% increase in operating profits to 167 million dollars (104.5 million pounds) on a 1% increase in revenues to 473 million dollars (295.9 million pounds) for the third quarter ended 30th September 2012. The improvement was primarily driven by 3.9% quarter-on-quarter growth in revenue per available room globally. Additionally, the amount of rooms operated by the group has risen by 2.1% to 672,572. The shares jumped by 21p to 1,545p. 
Marks & Spencer (MKS) announced a 9.6% fall in profits to 290 million pounds for the 6 months ended September 2012, although group sales were up by 0.9% to 4.7 billion pounds. The firm left the interim dividend flat at 6.2p per share. Despite the fall in profits the shares increased by 10.8p to 398.7p as the decline was slightly lower than expected due to an improved sales performance in the second half of the year. The food sector of the business did particularly well and outperformed the market on a like-for-like basis. Broker Shore Capital has recognised the impressive performance and cites the expansion of the company's e-commerce sales platform as a reason to be optimistic. Mid-Caps Premier Oil (PMO) has abandoned drilling on the Spaniards East Well in UK block 15/21, where it holds 28% of the equity, after reaching 10,694 feet and concluding it was a dry hole. After the plugging of the well, the exploration company is set to move the drill to the Cyclone prospect in UK block 28/7 where it holds a 70% stake. The shares were down 7.5p to 352.6p. Digital marketing group Aegis (AGS), has acquired IQ mobile, a leading mobile agency in Austria for an undisclosed amount. The acquisition has been completed as part of the company's strategy to differentiate Aegis Media's digital service offering in the market and increase its presence in Austria and across Central and Eastern Europe. The shares decreased by 1p to 233.9p. 
Easyjet (EZJ) reported a 6.2% increase in passenger numbers to 5.245 million for October compared with the same month last year. However, load factor dropped slightly from 88.8% to 88.4% on the same period. Taking into consideration the 12 months ended 31st October 2012, passenger numbers have risen by 7% to 58.7 million passengers. These figures were released as Easyjet announced a new plan to start operating a route from Gatwick to Moscow in a bid to boost passenger numbers even further. The shares flew up by 2.5p to 643.5p.. Small Caps, AIM and PLUS Caza Oil & Gas (CAZA) announced that production rates have continued to increase at the Caza Ridge 14 State No. 3H horizontal Bone Springs Well, which in the past 24 hours has produced 844 barrels of oil and 1.1 million cubic feet of natural gas. The exploration company currently has a 45% working interest in the well in New Mexico and is well positioned with approximately 3,300 net acres in the play. The shares were up by 3.95p at 17.95p. PPHE Hotel Group (PPH), reported a 27.5% increase in revenues to 66 million Euros (52.8 million pounds) for the three months ended 30th September 2012. Significantly, revenue per available room rose by 15.7% to 112.8 Euros. The hotel operator attributed these improvements to an increased hotel ownership level in the Netherlands and a strong performance from its hotels in the United Kingdom, especially during the London Olympics. The shares rose by 6p to 226.5p. Software provider First Derivatives (FDP) revealed a 9.8% increase in profit before tax to 3.8 million pounds for the 6 months ended 31st August 2012 on turnover which increased by 23.3% to 22.4 million pounds. These increases were boosted by a 30.7% increase in consulting revenue streams coupled with a 40.8% increase in recurring revenue streams. The company has signed numerous contracts in the period and now has a "healthy pipeline of prospects". The shares lost 20p to 535p 
Endace (EDA), the network monitoring specialist, announced a 3.5% increase in total revenues to 19.2 million dollars (12 million pounds) for the 6 months ended 30th September 2012. The company, who have their headquarters in New Zealand, reported a pre-tax break even position after generating a profit of 0.2 million dollars (0.125 million pounds) for the comparable period last year. The company attributed this slight drop in profits to investments that were "essential to take advantage of the growing market". The shares shot up by 15p to 302.5p. Cancer drug discovery business Sareum (SAR) saw its shares jump by 14% in early trading amid speculation that it was in discussions with Astra Zenenca regarding a partnership agreement. However, Sareum released a statement at lunchtime rejecting the claims they were in talks with the drugs giant. The firm did insist that "the board remains confident that our efforts will result in the conclusion of such a deal [with a different company] in the current calendar year". Sareum shares finished 0.0025p down at 1.6p. Europa Oil & Gas (EOG) announced a positive update regarding the Mullen prospect in the Irish Atlantic Margin and revealed indicative resources range from 66 million barrels of oil up to potentially 1.1 billion barrels of oil. The prospect, situated in the South Porcupine Basin, is being presented by Europa at the Atlantic Ireland 2012 Conference on 12 November 2012. The shares increased by 1.125p to 9.375p. Broker Northland Capital commented, "Given continued progress, we upgrade our rating to ADD from HOLD and our price target from under review to 9p." | 
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