| The Markets The streets of a number of major European cities were awash with protesters, angry over new spending cuts and tax rises, as austerity measures in the Eurozone tighten their grip. General strikes are taking place in Spain and Portugal with other significant walkouts in Greece and Italy. The protests, which come amid fears of a compromise in public livelihoods and increased unemployment, have caused hundreds of flights to be grounded and severe reductions in intercity rail services across the continent. In the UK, the Bank of England slashed its quarterly growth forecast from 2% to 1% and warned that the recovery will be "slow and protracted", with inflation higher than expected. Although unemployment fell to 7.8% in the July-September quarter, the Bank said that the UK could be stuck in a "low-growth" environment with economic problems in the Eurozone and rest of the world continuing to have an impact on UK shores. Over in India, Asia's third largest economy, the inflation rate fell from 7.8% to 7.4% in October from September, with price pressures on food and fuel starting to ease. At the London close the Dow Jones was down by 66.49 points at 12,689.69 and the Nasdaq fell by 3.31 points to 2,558.55. In London the FTSE 100 decreased by 64.24 points to 5722.01; the FTSE 250 finished 78.57 points down at 11,718.65; the FTSE All-Share gained 31.42 points to 2,989.03; and the FTSE AIM Index slipped 1.97 points to 688.99.
 Broker Notes Seymour Pierce maintained a "buy" recommendation on Hangar8 (HGR8), the operator of privately owned passenger aircraft, with a target price of 200p. The broker was impressed with the firm's 331% year on year increase in EBITDA to 461,000 pounds for the nine months ended 30th September. As a result the broker believes that results will now be materially above market expectations for the full financial year. Seymour Pierce also noted the success of management's strategy of focusing on securing fixed-term charter contracts for its fleet and how it now has a better visibility of revenues as a result. The shares flew upwards by 35p to 176.5p. Canaccord Genuity reiterated its "buy" stance on satellite technology company Pace (PIC) and increased its target price by 11% to 228p. The broker appreciates the way that the firm has reduced costs and has improved cash generation, as seen in the quarter 3 IMS. The company is raising its guidance again, after doing so in July, as it becomes clear that earlier concerns over supply issues hurting profits will not have the anticipated negative impact that was initially predicted. The shares dropped by 10.3p to 184.7p. N+1 Singer kept its "buy" stance on social housing company Mears (MER) with an increase in target price from 345p to 390p. The broker cites the acquisition of a "sizeable competitor", Morrison Facilities Services, for 24 million pounds as justification of the increase in its target. Although the company is currently loss making, the broker believes that management will turn the business around and deliver medium-term earnings. The shares remained flat at 302.25p. 
Blue-Chips Sainsburys (SBRY) announced an underlying profit before tax of 373 million pounds for the 28 weeks ended 29th September 2012, an increase of 5.4% on 2011. This was above forecasts from both Seymour Pierce and Charles Stanley, who plumped for 370 million pounds and 363 million pounds respectively. Total sales for the supermarket chain were up 4% at 13.37 billion pounds, driven by robust growth in online performance, with grocery orders online regularly exceeding 165,000 a week, The shares fell by 8.4p to 338.8p despite the firm increasing its interim dividend by 6.7% to 4.8p per share. Energy supplier SSE (SSE) reported that adjusted profit before tax increased by 38.3% to 397.5 million pounds for the 6 months to 30th September, with the interim dividend increased by 5% to 22.4p per share. The UK's second biggest energy supplier has caused controversy as the improvements in its financial position have come at the expense of customers, who were subject to a 9% increase in household energy tariffs earlier this year. The shares gained 17p to 1,400p. 
Financial services company Prudential (PRU) revealed a 13% rise in profits to 1.7 billion pounds for the current year to date. Growth was largely driven by a 15% surge in new business in South East Asia, which helped Britain's largest insurer to narrowly beat market expectations. The growth in Asia is particularly significant as the firm makes almost half of its sales in the region. The shares crept upwards by 5.5p to 871p. Mid Caps The world's largest inter-dealer broker ICAP (IAP) announced a 14% fall in revenues to 746 million pounds for the 6 months ended 30th September 2012. Revenues were dented by a significant drop in trading activity as investment banks cut back in the current troubled environment. As a result, the broker is embarking on a cost reduction programme and is "on track" to deliver in excess of 50 million pounds in savings this year. The results come just days after Credit Suisse gave the shares an "outperform" rating. ICAP stock tumbled by 28.5p to 281.4p. Building products distributor SIG (SHI) reported that sales per day from continuing operations were flat for the 10 months to 31st October on a constant currency basis but were down by 4% taking currency fluctuations into account. Positives included strong progress in Benelux and France but these were offset by slumps in both the UK and German markets. Overall, trading has been in line with expectations, with the overall gross margin remaining ahead of the same period last year. The shares were up by 2.7p at 105.3p. 
Interserve (IRV), the international construction group, has been announced as the preferred bidder on a 100 million pounds, seven year residential and corporate property contract with East Thames Group. The proposal is for integrated repairs and maintenance services to 13,000 properties across East London and Essex, with the option of other local government bodies accessing the improved services and reduced costs of Interserve's approach. The shares lost 4.1p to 359.1p. Small Caps, AIM and PLUS Security risk management firm Red24 (REDT) posted a 15.4% increase in revenues to 3.3 million pounds and a 6.8% increase in pre-tax profits to 440,000 pounds for the 6 months ended 30th September. The bulk of growth came from from red24 Assist, the company's food safety product, which was launched in the autumn of 2011 and generated 433,000 pounds of revenue in the half year. The shares rose by 0.25p to 11.875p, with broker Seymour Pierce having a target price of 15p. Machine tool and laser manufacturer 600 Group (SIXH) announced a 9.5% increase in revenues to 19.91 million pounds for the 6 months ended 29th September 2012. As a result pre-tax profits shot up from 0.19 million pounds to 1.34 million pounds, boosted by the North American operations recording a 27% increase in revenues. Shares in the company soared by 2.125p to 11.5p. Caledonian Mining (CMCL) revealed record levels of production from its Blanket Mine in Zimbabwe as it produced 12,918 ounces of gold in the quarter ended 30th September 2012, 12% higher than the previous quarter and 33% higher than the corresponding period last year. A 7% increase in average sales price per ounce to $1,673 (1,053 pounds) and a fall in cash operating costs to $508 an ounce pushed cash flow from continuing operations up by 25% to $12,364,000. The shares gained $C0.01 to $C0.11. 
Bluestar SecuTech (BSST), a provider of video surveillance systems in China, reported a sharp 15.4% drop in gross profits to RMB35.7 million for the 6 months ended 30th September, despite a 4% increase in revenues. The company made a pre-tax loss of RMB4 million however, compared to a profit of 0.4 million pounds last year, largely driven by an increase in costs and an increase in interest payments. The shares fell by 0.5p to 2.5p. Pharmaceutical research company Pysiomics (PYC) announced a 16% reduction in operating losses to 577,922 pounds as turnover more than doubled to 135,306 pounds for the year ended 30th June. The business, which specialises in determining optimal doses of medication, has signed up with two undisclosed "top-tier" pharmaceutical companies for the use of its virtual tumour package, which has increased the presence of its technology platform in the drug discovery process. The shares gained 0.005p to 0.13p. Terrace Hill Group (THG), the UK property development and investment group, has signed an agreement with Darlington Borough Council to redevelop a 1.9 acre former bus station in Feethams. The firm will build a new, 30 million pounds, state-of-the-art leisure complex, to include a nine screen cinema, an 80 bedroom hotel and numerous bars, restaurants and shops. The shares remained flat at 9.875p. 
Artist's impression of the new site | 
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