From UK-Analyst.com: Thursday 24th January 2013
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The Markets Chief Economist of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Oliver Blanchard, has warned that George Osborne should place less of an emphasis on austerity in his March budget. Blanchard believes that the impact of spending cuts and tax rises on economic growth since 2008 have been negative and said, "We've never been passionate about austerity. From the beginning we have always emphasised that fiscal consolidation should be slow and steady." Over in Japan, the trade deficit for 2012 hit a record high as exports to China and Europe remained on a downward spiral. Imports outweighed exports by 49 billion pounds for the full year according to the Japanese Ministry of Finance. However, many analysts believe the worst has now passed as exports are expected to rise in the coming months. Tatsushi Shikano from Mitsibushi UFJ Morgan in Toyko said, "As exports pick up due to gradual recovery in the global economy, Japan's trade deficit is likely to shrink in the coming months." Staying in Asia, Chinese manufacturing has shown signs of further expansion as activity grew to its fastest rate in two years in January. The preliminary reading of the Purchasing Managing Index (PMI) was 51.9, an increase from 51.5 in December. Chief China Economist at HSBC said, "Despite the still tepid external demand, the domestic-driven restocking process is likely to add steam to China's ongoing recovery in the coming months."
At the London close the Dow Jones was up by 92.38 points at 13,871.71 and the Nasdaq fell by 15.77 points to 2,746.40. In London the FTSE 100 increased by 67.27 points to 6,294.91; the FTSE 250 finished 132.04 points up at 13,066.44; the FTSE All-Share gained 34.48 points to 3,283.10; and the FTSE AIM Index crept up by 1.81 points to 739.36.  Broker Notes Canaccord Genuity reiterated its "buy" recommendation on financial services group Hansard Global (HSD) with a target price of 140p. The broker believes that Hansard's figures, due to be released next week, will show a reversal of the previous quarter's slowdown in sales, reflecting a widespread improvement in the investment markets. According to Canaccord's forecasts Hansard is trading at a 36% discount to its intrinsic value; a discrepancy which is "unwarranted" in the eyes of the broker. The shares slipped by 0.5p to 108.5p. Shore Capital retained its "buy" recommendation on drinks company Britvic (BVIC) on the back of a "solid" trading update. The broker is impressed with the 4.8% increase in revenues in the quarter ended 31st December, with Britvic outperforming the soft drinks market in the UK, Ireland and France. Also of interest to Shore Capital was a potential agreement with PepsiCo Americas Beverages to distribute its Fruit Shoot branded drink in a further 21 US states by summer this year, significantly widening its market and increasing revenue prospects. The shares climbed by 16.7p to 446.8p. Seymour Pierce maintained its "buy" recommendation on medical research entity Fusion IP (FIP) with a target price of 80p. The broker is excited about the potential of the group's new Ultravision "smoke clearance" medical device which has now completed the relevant medical trials. Seymour Pierce is particularly excited because there is an estimated 7.5 million operations carried out per year which would benefit from this device and believes that the imminent launch of the product should build shareholder value. The shares remained flat at 59p. Blue-Chips Russian gold producer Polymetal (POLY) has completed the acquisition of Olymp Ltd, a Russian entity which holds the mining and exploration licence for the Olcha gold-silver deposit, in exchange for 775,000 ordinary Polymetal shares. The license in question covers a 2.5 sq km area with an audited mineral resource estimate of 653,000 oz of gold at an average grade of 2.2 grams per tonne. Polymetal intends to start mining on the site in Q1 2014. The shares were up by 31p to 1,090p.
Mid Caps Low cost airline EasyJet (EZJ) announced a 9.2% hike in revenues for the 3 months ended 31st December last year in a reflection of improved load factors and an 8% growth in revenues per seat. The airline attributed this improvement to a string of promotion initiatives including its "Europe by Easyjet" campaign, as well as capacity reductions from its competitors. Additionally, the cost per seat, an important metric in the industry, increased by a less than expected 0.5% as a result of mild weather and limited external industrial action. The shares rose by 43.5p to 898.5p. Chemring (CHG) revealed a 78% drop in pre-tax profits to 18.8 million pounds for the year ended 31st October 2012. The company, a supplier to the pyrotechnic, aerospace and military defence sectors, attributed this to "difficult market conditions" as defence spending in the UK, US and Europe remained under significant pressure. In its outlook the company said that 2013 will be a year of re-organisation as the difficult conditions look set to continue. The shares were up by 14.4p at 296.9p. 
Greggs (GRG) announced it has appointed Rodger Whiteside as Chief Executive following the resignation of Ken McMeikan last December. Whiteside, who will officially take up his post at the baker on 4th February 2013, has a wealth of experience in the food industry. He began his career at Marks and Spencers where he spent 20 years and eventually became head of the food business. He also spent time with Ocado and more recently was responsible for the turnaround of off-licence chain Threshers. The shares jumped by 5p to 480p. Small Caps & AIM Lighting engineers LPA Group (LPA) declared a 5.9% increase in sales to 18.4 million pounds and a 119% increase in pre-tax profits to 877,000 pounds for the year ended 30th September 2012. The increase in profitability was driven by a higher than expected number of short-term orders and major contract wins including a 0.5 million pound agreement to provide aircraft ground power supply units at Heathrow. The shares were down by 10p at 744p. Clinical software provider EMIS Group (EMIS) expects 2012 revenues to be at least 17.5% higher, at 86 million pounds, driven by the rollout of its EMIS web package to GPs across the country. This increase was posted despite lower than planned revenues from the Australian defence contract and lower than expected performances within its training and integrated care services divisions. The shares plummeted 150p to 750p. Getech (GTC), the oil and gas services business, announced expects to exceed current market expectations for the year to 31st July 2013 as a result of a string of contracts secured in the last six months. In addition, the company expects the strong momentum in its global gravity and magnetic data sales to continue and said that it is observing an increasing amount of synergy between its flagship product "Globe" and sales of other products and services. The shares were up by 6p to 63p. 
Renewable Energy Generation (WIND) has agreed the sale of its two newly built wind farms in Sanction Hill and South Sharply for a combined total of 32.1 million pounds. Of this figure, 16.15 million pounds will be paid up front in cash followed a deferred consideration of 0.65 million pounds, while 15.3 million pounds of the consideration will be settled with debt. The shares gained 9p to 61p. Industrial cell power company AFC Energy (AFC) has extended the life of its electrodes to more than 6 months for the first time after work at its laboratory in Dunsfold, Surrey. The new electrodes have the potential to generate substantial revenues for AFC as the discovery could open up new commercial opportunities in areas such as Germany, where the group is carrying out long-term longevity trials with chemical group Akzo Nobel. The shares increased by 3p to 33p. The suspension of trading in Gold Oil (GOO) shares has been lifted as the company has raised 2.085 million pounds, whith the new shares being admitted to trading on 28th January. The proceeds of the fundraise will be used to strengthen the group's balance sheet as well as re-affirming its position in the Nancy Burdine field in Colombia. Separately the group revealed that William Colvin has been appointed as an additional non-executive director of the group. The shares crumbled by 1.425p to 1.54p. | 
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