| From UK-Analyst.com: Monday 8th April 2013
IMPORTANT: Are your UK-Analyst emails being delayed? Add UK-Analyst@news.t1ps.com to your safe senders/contact list to help resolve the problem
Margaret Hilda Thatcher 1925 - 2013 UK-Analyst would like to pay tribute to Margaret Thatcher who sadly passed away today. Whatever your views on the Baroness and her policies, her defiance, strength of character and patriotism puts her up there with the most influential Britons of all time. She will be remembered for her controversial and bold free market reforms and curbs on union power which are now regarded as conventional wisdom by the majority of the political spectrum. The country, and indeed the world, has suffered a great loss. The Markets British businesses expect to increase recruitment levels over the next 6 months according to a survey from accountancy firm BDO. BDO's optimism index - which quantifies business activity expectations two quarters ahead - grew from 90.6 in February to 92.2 in March, edging towards the 95 mark which separates expansion and contraction. However, optimism within the manufacturing sector fell sharply on last month, with the individual manufacturing index falling from 94.5 to 88.2 in March as confidence falls on the back of a sliding pound and weak demand for British exports from struggling Eurozone economies. Peter Hemington, partner at BDO, said of manufacturing, "It was disappointing to see little action taken in last month's budget to help this beleaguered sector." Shares in Greek banks tumbled on the Greek Central Bank's announcement that the four biggest banks in the country would be recapitalised separately. Both the National Bank of Greece and Eurobank saw their share prices fall by around 30%, while Piraeus Bank and Alpha Bank experienced losses of 20.6% and 15.1% in early trading. A proposed merger of the National Bank and Eurobank fell through on concerns that the newly formed entity would dominate the market and would be hard to capitalise. The Greek Central Bank said in a statement, "The Bank of Greece confirms that the recapitalisation process for the four systemic banks [National Bank, Alpha, Eurobank and Piraeus] is proceeding normally and will conclude in April in any case (regardless of the fact the merger has fallen through)." Staying in Europe, the main Portuguese equity index fell sharply after a court in the country labelled the nation's spending cuts as "unconstitutional". The PSI 20 share index was down by 1.6% in early trading and bond yields remained high at above 6%. The Portuguese court dismissed four out of nine austerity measures from the nation's recent budget, including reductions to state employees' wages and pensions which would have saved a combined 765 million pounds for the country. Despite the gloomy news on Portugal and Greece, the pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index, which fell by 1.6% on Friday, bounced back by 0.7% to a peak of 1,169.77 points, boosted by substantial gains by pharmaceutical group Novartis. The consensus surrounding European equities seems to be positive at present despite the sluggish economic conditions in the region. Citi strategists wrote in a research note, "We stay bullish on European equities despite regional macro risks." 
At the London close the Dow Jones was down by 42.86 points at 14,522.39 and the Nasdaq lost 3.55 points to 2,768.20. In London the FTSE 100 was up by 27.16 points at 6,276.94; the FTSE 250 finished 43.50 points up at 13,523.71; the FTSE All-Share grew by 13.77 points to 3,306.04; and the FTSE AIM Index edged up by 4.22 to 716.18.  Broker Notes Panmure Gordon retained its "buy" recommendation on medical group Hutchinson China Medtech (HCM) with a 600p target price. The broker is excited on upcoming data which will be presented on product candidate fruquintinib, a tumour fighting medication, which could emerge as a new source of value accretion in the business via a global licensing route. Furthermore, Panmure feels that the stock provides a well-diversified consumer healthcare opportunity in a market that should see strong growth in the next 3-5 years. The shares climbed by 15p to 481.5p. Canaccord Genuity maintained its "buy" recommendation on optical technology firm Gooch & Housego (GHH) with a 515p target price. The broker remains positive on the high tech photonics portfolio the group has assembled and anticipates rising momentum as its new markets of Aerospace & Defence and Life Sciences continue to progress from investment towards commercialisation. Moreover, on Canaccord's existing forecasts the shares trade on a P/E of 14.6x for the 2013 calendar year, a 6% discount to the sector on 15.6x. The shares increased by 15p to 455p. HB Markets re-iterated its "speculative buy" stance on oil and gas exploration outfit New World Oil and Gas (NEW) with a target price of 6.5p. The broker is encouraged by the group's exposure to drilling in Belize and is excited about drilling prospects in Denmark which, according to HB, have considerable exploration upside. In particular the broker anticipates significant news in the short-term which could propel the shares upwards, including imminent 3â€D results in Denmark and results from its WGJc well in Belize. The shares slid by 0.125p to 1.75p. 
Blue-Chips Gold and silver producer Polymetal (POLY) posted a 40% increase in revenues to $1.854 million (1.208 billion pounds) for 2012. This was driven by a 33% increase in gold equivalent sold, boosted by a de-stockpiling of concentrate inventories at the Dukat mine. Polymetal was keen to stress that cash costs remained stable at around $703/GE oz "as a result of intense management focus on cost control despite external and inflationary cost pressures". As a result of the increased earnings and stable costs, adjusted EBITDA was up by 47% at $918 million (599 million pounds). The shares surged by 44p to 882p. Marketing group WPP (WPP) announced that its digital investment arm has undergone a third round of financing relating to its minority interest in China's Leading Smart Holdings - which has a controlling interest in digital measurement company Moment Systems. It is the third time WPP digital has invested in the company since 2010 and the move is in line with the group's strategy of developing its presence in fast growing markets and sectors such as China. Recent opinion amongst brokers on WPP has been overwhelmingly positive, with Numis, Nomura and Jefferies all re-iterating their "buy" recommendations on the group last week. The shares swelled by 10p to 1,034p. ADVERTISEMENT Spreadbet on the UK blue-chips at t1pspreadbetting.co.uk - as well as other Equities, Stock Indices, Commodities, Bonds & Forex - CLICK HERE to open an account at our brand new trading platform
Mid Caps Premier Oil (PMO), the Norwegian oil exploration company, revealed that results from its 16/4-6s exploration well suggested a "potentially significant " oil discovery. The well in question - in which Premier has a 30% working interest - is situated approximately 15 km south of the Edvard Grieg field in the Norwegian North Sea and was drilled in water depth of 101 metres. Premier went on to reveal that the oil water contact was encountered at approximately 1,950 metres below mean sea level and the discovery will now be now be drill stem tested. The shares gained 22.2p to 385p.
Small Caps & AIM Africa-focused gold exploration group Goldstone Resources (GRL) has entered into a joint-venture agreement with Randgold Resources over the Sangola gold project in Senegal. Under the agreement Randgold will fund all costs up to and including the completion of a pre-feasibility study. Furthermore, the joint venture will be 51% owned by Randgold and 49% by GoldStone with the latter having the option to reduce its interest down to 35%. The shares increased by 0.2p to 2.05p. Outsourcers Quindell Portfolio* (QPP) reported in an update that EBITDA for the first 3 months of the year was 25 million pounds, an increase of 350% on a year earlier as it continues to convert 100% of its pilot schemes into fully paid-for contracts. The group, which last week announced a deal with RAC which could be worth up to 500 million pounds, went on to reveal that it is currently in final contract negotiations with three more "major" potential clients. The shares inched up by 0.25p to 13.5p. 3D technology firm DDD Group (DDD) announced a 56% increase in revenue to $8.62 million (5.64 million pounds) for 2012 and posted pre-tax profits of $1.314 million (860,000 pounds) in a swing from a recorded loss of $96,000 (62,840 pounds) in 2011. In its outlook, the company said it will endeavour to build on these promising results and is planning to expand its product offering into glasses-free 3D tablet PCs during 2013 as well as planning to augment its Yabazam streaming service by adding new content. The shares grew by 0.5p to 23.5p. 
Software supplier SCISYS (SSY) revealed that its Media & Broadcast division has received an order from the BBC for replacement of the dira! radio production and playout system used on all radio channels at BBC Scotland. The value of the project should exceed 1 million pounds and should be completed by during 2015. The software firm went on to stress that this deal is a significant step towards meeting market expectations for the current financial year. The shares were up by 0.5p at 63p. Business support services provider Christie Group (CTG) posted a 5.4% increase in revenues to 56.1 million pounds for 2012 while pre-tax profits were recorded at 1.3 million pounds, more than double 2011's profits. Christie said that the increase in profitability could have been even higher if it were not for a disruptive September which resulted in a particularly slow third quarter. The shares slipped by 2p to 65p. Digital surveillance installer UniVision Engineering (UVEL) has secured a "number of new contracts" in Hong Kong with a sales value of approximately 1.1 million pounds. The acquired contracts include the installation of CCTV at Hong Kong International Airport and the Hong Kong government's Civil Aviation department. In addition, UniVision has also confirmed that it will pay a final dividend for the first time for the year ended 31st March 2013. The shares soared by 0.175p to 0.775p. * Quindell Portfolio is a corporate client of Rivington Street Holdings, the ultimate owner of UK-Analyst. | 
No comments:
Post a Comment