| The Markets There seemed to be little positive reaction to the re-election of Barack Obama as the main share indices in the UK, Germany and France were down on average between 0.1% and 0.2% after the news was released. In the UK, figures from the Office of National Statistics suggested that pay rates have risen much faster for the wealthy than they have for the poorest. Adjusting for inflation, the top 10% of earners have seen a 62% rise in wages over the last 25 years, while the bottom 10% of earners have experienced just a 47% increase in the same period. Over in Greece, which has now been in recession for 5 successive years, politicians are charged with the task of voting on a fresh round of spending cuts and tax rises totalling 10.8 billion pounds. The vote, which will take place on Wednesday night, relates to the fourth such package since the debt crisis began. At the London close the Dow Jones was down by 358.7 points at 12,886.98 and the Nasdaq fell by 75.26 points to 2,605.79. In London the FTSE 100 fell by 93.27 points to 5791.63; the FTSE 250 finished 120.23 points down at 11,961.32; the FTSE All-Share dropped 45.55 points 3,028.97; and the FTSE AIM Index decreased by 4.29 points to 695.16. 
Broker Notes Seymour Pierce maintained its "sell" recommendation on home improvement retailer Kingfisher (KGF) with a target price of 240p. The broker believes that the company's stores are too large, difficult to shop in and not aligned to the new trend for convenience. The broker is also cautious that earnings in the UK and France have peaked and believes the firm's property portfolio requires restructuring. The shares slipped by 1.3p to 290.50p. Panmure Gordon reiterated its "buy" recommendation on global infrastructure business Balfour Beatty (BBY) with a target price of 310p. The broker has a positive stance on the company and justifies this by emphasising the international diversification the firm has gone through and believes this will lead to increased opportunities. Panmure is also impressed with the "strong" professional services the company offers, which complement its core construction activities and has the potential to increase the margins. The shares fell by 4.9p to 306p. Investec kept its "buy" recommendation on environmental consultancy firm RPS Group (RPS) with a target price of 270p. The broker notes that the group is on track to meet expectations for the 2012 financial year after the first 9 months were "well ahead of the same period last year". The broker believes the company, which earns two-thirds of fee income from the energy markets, has a high enough international profile in the sector for a continuation of growth in the near future. The shares dropped by 15.5p to 222.7p.
Blue-Chips Old Mutual (OML) announced a 4% increase in funds under management to 26.3 billion pounds for the three months ended 30th September 2012. These figures come after the investment group continued its transition away from selling traditional life assurance products to unit trusts, with sales in these products up 19% in emerging markets. Funds under management in the long-term savings sector also grew 3% over the quarter to 118.2 billion pounds. The shares decreased by 5.1p to 168.8p. Burberry (BRBY) reported an almost 30% drop in profits to 112 million pounds for the 6 months ended 30th September 2012 despite a 8% increase in total revenue growth to 883 million pounds. The luxury brand cited a one-off charge relating to the termination of a fragrance and beauty license deal as an explanation for these drop in profits. If these charges are stripped out, pre-tax profits would have been up by 6% at 137 million pounds. The shares were down 52p at 1199p. 
Randgold Resources (RRS) revealed a 15% dip in profits to $121.3 million (75 million pounds) for the third quarter ended 30th September 2012, driven by lower sales.. Gold production was down 3% on the second quarter but up 12% on the third quarter figures in 2011. On a positive note, the gold exploration firm experienced a strong improvement in performance at its Loulo mine in Mali which increased production by 78% and reduced total cash cost per ounce 8%. The shares tumbled by 465p to 6,950p. Mid-Caps Firstgroup (FGP) announced a 42.4% drop in underlying pre-tax profits to 42.4 million pounds for the 6 month period ended 30th September 2012 despite a 2.6 % increase in revenues to 3.25 billion pounds. The transport operator said that profits were in line with its expectations and understands "the pressure that economic uncertainty creates on public and consumer spending", citing this as a reason for the slump in profits. The shares were down 10.4p at 194.9p. Online gaming company Playtech (PTEC) announced a 30% increase in revenues to 70.9 million Euros (64.1 million pounds) for the three months ended 30th September 2012. These figures were boosted by a 33% increase in casino revenues to 38.5 million Euros (30.9 million pounds) and a 27% increase in poker revenues to 4.1 million Euros (3.3 million pounds). William Hill Online, which Playtech own a 29% stake in, continued to grow strongly and delivered an increased contribution to the group. The shares rose by 14p to 425p. 
Fenner (FENR), the polymer technology group, reported a 16% increase in revenues to 830.6 million pounds and a 27% increase in pre-tax profits to 88.6 million pounds for the year ended 31st August 2012. In the engineered conveyor solutions sector of the business, growth was driven by record levels of coal and iron ore extraction, while growth in the company's advanced engineered products division was boosted by strong demand from the oil and gas sector and investment to broaden geographic coverage. The shares increased by 9.5p to 359.5p. Small Caps, AIM and PLUS WANdisco (WAND), the provider of global collaboration software, announced that its patent application to protect the company's core replication technology has been allowed. The patent states that "unlike conventional solutions, the multi-site computing system architecture does not rely on a central transaction coordinator that is known to be a single-point-of faillure." The patented technology is used in the company's product range, including Subversion, which is used by major companies such as HP, Intel and Barclays. The shares were up by 41.75p at 449.25p. Feedback (FDBK), the workforce management company, announced a loss of 1.8 million pounds for the year ended 31st May 2012 after a loss of 831,000 pounds for the same period last year. Group revenue grew 8% to 4.9 million pounds which was well under expectations, with export sales being particularly disappointing. The shares plummeted by 0.25p to 0.5p. Technology enabled outsourcing company Quindell Portfolio* (QPP) revealed it has signed a 5 year contract with a leading risk management company to provide its Challenger ICE Claims solution for an undisclosed amount. This package enables automation of current manual processes to improve accuracy in claims handling , faster settlement and more effective customer service to assist in managing the clients business.. The shares were up by 0.875p at 16p. Greenwich Loan Income Fund (GLIF) has entered into an agreement to purchase BMS Specialist Debt Fund Limited for a total of 11.6 million pounds. The Guernsey based investment firm will issue 23,322,056 ordinary shares to the seller although the company may settle part of the consideration in cash. The acquisition will enable GLIF to increase its asset base outside of its core U.S investments which will diversify its portfolio geographically. Shares in the company fell by 0.5p to 47.5p. 
Alexander David Investments (ADI) reported that it is operating under a restricted working capital position as it is currently without access to income from its portfolio. The company also cited insufficient cash balances to provide meaningful capital support for investment activities. The shares were down 0.005p at 0.13p. 3 Legs Resources (3LEG), the exploration company which focuses on unconventional oil and gas, has commenced further testing on its Lieben LE-2H horizontal well in Poland. This well is now showing significantly improved performance, does not now need the assistance of a nitrogen lift and flows at a rate of 560 and 780 mscf/d compared to between 320 and 450 mscf/d in 2011. The shares gained 3p to 43p. AFC Energy (AFC), announced it has been awarded a grant of 3 million Euros (2.4 million pounds) to install the world's largest alkaline fuel cell energy generation system at ICL'S alkaline chemical plant in Essex. The deal, which will see AFC partnered with Industrial Chemicals Limited, will provide more than four years financial support for the project. The project is due to commence in spring 2013 and funding will be split 50:50 between the two companies. The shares were up by 5.75p at 41.5p. * WANdisco and Quindell Portfolio are corporate clients of Rivington Street Holdings, the ultimate owner of UK-Analyst. | 
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