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From UK-Analyst.com: Friday 8th February 2013 IMPORTANT: Are your UK-Analyst emails being delayed? Please add UK-Analyst@news.t1ps.com to your safe senders list/address book to help resolve the problem.
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The Markets Leaders of the European Union set the foundations for a new long-term budget on Friday, setting out plans for 960 billion euros (607 billion pounds) worth of spending on issues such as scientific research and agriculture over the years ahead. The agreement, which tried to legislate for the demands of the richer north and poorer south simultaneously, represented a 12 billion euro (7.6 billion pounds) cut to preliminary plans for the 2014-2020 plan. Staying in Europe, the French central bank expects that the nation's economy will avoid recession in 2013 and predicts that it will grow by 0.1% in the first 3 months of the year. The prediction, which is at odds with many analysts' forecasts, was based on the fact that the indicator for business confidence was at its highest level in almost a year. An extract from the Bank of France's monthly report reads, "Forecasts point to a modest rise in industrial activity in February". Interest rates on mortgages in the UK are seeing widespread lows as banks compete to entice home buyers, with 16 lenders currently offering mortgage loans at less than 3% if borrowers can put down chunky deposits. The Post Office, for example, launched a deal earlier in the week for a mortgage at a rate of 2.74%, conditional on a 40% initial deposit. The catalyst for such low rates is the Bank of England's Funding for Lending Scheme which has offered up to 60 billion pounds in cheap funds to banks and building societies. Ray Boulger at mortgage brokers John Charcoal said, "The number of very cheap deals has been rising for the last few weeks and we have also seen lenders cutting rates for people with just 20% or even 15% deposits". At the London close the Dow Jones was up by 39.17 points at 13,983.22 and the Nasdaq increased by 29.93 points to 2,776.43. 
In London the FTSE 100 increased by 35.51 points to 6,263.93; the FTSE 250 finished 74.60 points up at 13,375.25; the FTSE All-Share gained 18.62 points to 3,294.27 ; and the FTSE AIM Index crept up by 3.83 points to 745.90.  Broker Notes Shore Capital retained its "buy" recommendation on retailer Marks and Spencer (MKS) and is keeping an eye on the company's expansion into international markets as a potential value creator in the long-term. However, in the short-term the broker sees ladieswear in the UK as the primary engine for growth across the group and expects progress in this sector to commence this year in what would be a major positive catalyst for the shares. Additionally, Shore Capital is of the opinion that the group's food business is "somewhat understated" and sees a continuation of growth in its market share. The shares increased by 4p to 382p. Canaccord Genuity reiterated its "buy" stance on Tate and Lyle (TATE) with a target price of 900p. The broker acknowledges that Tate's Sucralose volumes were disappointing over the seasonally lower Q3 period but believes robust trading across the rest of the group's businesses was strong enough to indicate healthy end markets. Canaccord goes on to advise potential investors to take advantage of the short-term weakness in the share price to build positions in this "exciting long-term growth opportunity". The shares crept up by 2p to 793.5p. N+1 Singer stuck with its "buy" stance on publisher and events organiser Wilmington Group (WIL) with a target price of 162p. This comes on the back of the group's acquisition of NHiS, a provider of business intelligence, data analysis and workflow tools. The broker is impressed with how this business has been growing rapidly (+45% for the year ended March 2012) and believes it should be able to grow further as it can now cross sell to Wilmington's healthcare customer base. The shares climbed by 4p to 157.5p. 
Blue-Chips Utilities group Severn Trent (SVT) has sold its Analytical services business to ALS Limited, an Australian Stock Exchange listed firm which employs over 13,000 staff in 55 countries. Severn Trent Analytical services provides potable, wastewater and contaminated land testing services to UK commercial and utility services. The news hasn't prompted too much of an aggressive reaction from broker Seymour Pierce, which has retained its "hold" stance on the shares with a 1,600p target price. The shares fell by 29p to 1,589p.
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Mid Caps Insurance firm Catlin's (CGL) pre-tax profits grew to $339 million (214.5 million dollars) in 2012 in a huge uplift from the $71 million (44.93 million pounds) posted in the previous year. The increase was attributed to the performance of the group's underwriting services which generated revenues of $788 million (499 million pounds), the highest contribution in 5 years and an increase of 143% on the previous year. The shares dropped by 20.50p to 518p. Telecoms company Cable and Wireless Communications (CWC) claimed it is on track to fulfil its flat earnings guidance for the year ended 31st March 2013. However, the firm admitted it will take a $20 million hit in "one-off restructuring costs". Consistent with the global trend of increasing smartphone usage, the group said that mobile revenues grew strongly across the third quarter, with this trend expected to continue. The aforementioned restructuring cost relates to investments in "revitalising" retail operations in Barbados and accelerating engineering operations in other Caribbean Islands. The shares slipped by 0.01p to 40.7p. Provider of space to new and growing companies Workspace Group (WKP) announced a 1.4% increase in like-for-like rent roll to 44.2 million pounds for the quarter ended 31st January. Additionally, the group's occupancy level across its portfolio stands at 89.6%, up 0.8% in the quarter alongside a 1.5% growth in the value of its London property portfolio to 799 million pounds. On the back of this steady growth broker Seymour Pierce reiterated its "buy" recommendation on the shares with a target price of 375p. The shares grew by 16.6p to 333.60p. 
Small Caps & AIM Outsourcing group IP Plus (IPP) announced a 20% uplift in revenues to 687,000 pounds for the 6 months ended 31st December 2012 as a result of significant business won over the period. The group's document storage group, Ancora, exhibited the most growth divisionally, demonstrating an increase in revenues of 52%. However, pre-tax profits slipped by over 5,000 pounds to 71,000 pounds due to one off costs. The shares jumped by 1p to 18p. Byotrol (BYOT), the anti-microbial hygiene product developer, announced that Marks and Spencer's has entered into an agreement to use Byotrol sanitisers on surfaces in-store. Under the agreement the Byotrol product will be used in over 500 Marks and Spencer's stores. The agreement was reached after a successful trial period using the product in the food retailer's Deli operations. The shares slipped by 0.16p to 8.59p. Big data company WANdisco* (WAND) announced the release of its new big data platform, WANdisco distro, a product which the company says will be the foundation for its enterprise-level big data products. The main advantage of this product is in its ability to manage, protect and defend mission critical data centre installations. Significantly, WANdisco sees this product as a significant reputation enhancer within the rapidly growing big data market. The shares climbed by 69p to 741.5p. CLAIM A FREE PAIR OF TICKETS TO MASTER INVESTOR 2013 - CLICK HERE AND ENTER THE PROMO CODE UKA2013 Oil exploration group Trap Oil (TRAP) has entered into a sale and purchase agreement with Perenco Limited to acquire a 33.33% working interest in block 43/24a in the UK continental shelf area of the North Sea. Trap Oil has committed to securing a drilling rig within 6 months for the planned TET appraisal well, with the drilling costs projected to be around 5 million dollars. This transaction, however, is still conditional on approval by the Department of Energy and Climate Change. The shares inched up by 0.25p to 13.875p. Back on the 28th January Angel Biotechnology (ABH) announced that it was in discussions with a consortium of overseas organisations in relation to entering into a strategic relationship to develop its contract manufacturing business. The company said that its future was dependent upon this venture. However, discussions have now been terminated and the company requested an immediate suspension of trading in its shares on AIM. Angel now intends to appoint administrators. The shares were suspended at 0.05p Communications specialist Norcon (NCON) announced that 2012 turnover levels will be in line with market expectations but the group's loss before tax is expected to be marginally higher than current expectations. Norcon also revealed that net cash stood at $4.2 million (2.66 million pounds) at the end of 2012, down from $7.1 million (4.5 million pounds) at the end of 2011. In addition, the company does not intend to issue a dividend this year as it looks to "prioritise investment in new business lines". The shares were down by 2p at 18p. * WANdisco is a corporate client of Rivington Street Holdings, the ultimate owner of UK-Analyst. | 
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