| From UK-Analyst.com: Thursday 11th April 2013
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The Markets According to a survey by housing charity Shelter, 35% of the UK workforce currently would not have enough money to pay their mortgage or rent payments for more than a month if they were to be made redundant. The figures come amid increased governments cuts to welfare payments and the introduction of the infamous "bedroom tax" which could add extra pressure on people already struggling to keep their head above water. Campbell Robb, Chief Executive of Shelter, commented, ‘These figures paint an alarming picture of a nation where the buffer between having a home and potentially becoming homeless is a single pay cheque." Over in Europe, the unemployment rate in Greece hit a new record of 27.2% in January according to official figures from the nation's statistics office, Elstat. The jobless rate of 27.2% was up from 25.7% in December, which pushes the country's unemployment rate further away from the Eurozone's average unemployment rate of 12%. Worryingly, the situation does not look like improving in the foreseeable future as the Greek economy, which has already been in recession for 6 years, is forecast to shrink by a further 4.5% this year. Nikos Magginas, an economist at Greek lender, National Bank, warned, "The first quarter will remain tough amid the deep recession, despite an improvement in the previous two months due to seasonal hirings." In the US, Barack Obama has proposed a 2.45 trillion pounds budget which encompasses cuts to social safety net programs and tax increases on the wealthy in an attempt to accelerate the pace of deficit reduction. According to economists, this plan would lower the ratio of deficits to GDP to 2.8 percent by 2016, below the 3% level economists believe is necessary to put debt on a path to shrinking as a share of the economy. However, the proposals are unlikely to become law because of staunch opposition from the Republicans. Barack Obama said in a short briefing, "I don't believe that all these ideas are optimal, but I'm willing to accept them as part of a compromise... I hope that Republicans will come forward and demonstrate that they're really as serious about the deficits and debt as they claim to be." ________________________________________________________________________ ADVERTISEMENT 
Chartwell Black is a boutique commodities brokerage based in the City of London. Alongside a number of global affiliates, and with a strong focus on capital growth opportunities, Chartwell Black facilitates the physical delivery of hard commodities. ________________________________________________________________________ At the London close the Dow Jones was up by 65.36 points at 14,867.60 and the Nasdaq gained 1.73 points to 2,860.94. In London the FTSE 100 was up by 28.77 points at 6,416.14; the FTSE 250 finished 173.80 points up at 13,968.08; the FTSE All-Share grew by 18.48 points to 3,383.26; and the FTSE AIM Index edged up by 3.69 to 728.84.  Broker Notes Panmure Gordon retained its "sell" recommendation on clothing retailer Mothercare (MTC) with a 222p target price. The broker feels that the new management team has successfully pulled some footfall-driving levers in the "neglected" UK business. However, Panmure expects that the UK business will lose money over the next three years and therefore feels that peers Dunelm and Ted Baker, for example, are both superior investment propositions within the sector. The shares climbed by 23.75p to 315.75p. N+1 Singer maintained its "buy" recommendation on pharmaceutical group Summit Corporation* (SUMM) but reduced its 13.3p target price to 9p. Although Summit's 2013 figures were below the broker's expectations, N+1 Singer feels that the groupÂÂ's development remains on track and it remains positive on its future prospects. In particular, N+1 Singer is optimistic on top line results from the SMT 19969 Phase I trial which are expected in Q2 2013. However, the broker has reduced its forecasts on the back of the higher than expected R&D and administrative costs which were exposed in today's full year results. The shares slid by 0.075p to 4.3p. Canaccord Genuity retained its "sell" recommendation on brand developer PZ Cussons (PZC) with a 332p target price. The broker based this negative rating on its view that macroeconomic challenges in the majority of the group's regions of operation (Nigeria, UK, Greece, Australia) will hold back earnings growth over the medium-term. Furthermore, Canaccord cites the distinct possibility of further social and/or political disruption in Nigeria as another factor which could cause a downturn in share price. The shares grew by 11p to 397.9p. 
Blue-Chips Food and clothing retailer Marks & Spencer (MKS) posted a 3.1% increase in total group sales for the 13 weeks ended 30th March after a weak performance from its clothing operations was more than offset from a sales uplift from its food business. UK food sales were 4% higher than a year ago, but general merchandising - which includes sales of clothing - fell by 3.8% over the period. M&S went on to reveal that mobile sales grew by over 70% on last year and that its e-commerce distribution is on schedule to open later this month. The shares were up by 16.6p to 400.4p. Russian steelmaker Evraz (EVR) announced that revenues fell by 10.2% to $14.7 billion (9.55 billion pounds) in 2012, swinging the company into a $106 million (68.9 million pounds) pre-tax loss after it recorded pre-tax profits of $873 million (567 million pounds) in 2011. Evraz cited subdued steel prices as the dominant reason for the deterioration in performance. Furthermore, the group - controlled partly by Chelsea Football Club owner Roman Abramovich - warned that global prospects remain fragile, with strong downside risks and volatility likely to persist throughout the year in trends which it has used to explain its decision to not offer a final year dividend for this year. The shares lost 23.9p to 185.8p. Mining giant Xstrata (XTA) announced that that its Koniambo Nickel project in New Caledonia has gone into production after metal was extracted for the first time this week. The Koniambo Nickel project is a $5 billion (3.25 billion pounds) greenfield project in New Caledonia and has been under construction for the past six years. The Anglo-Swiss company see Koniambo as integral to its organic growth programme and maintains that the project is now on track to deliver the full production rate of 60,000 tonnes per annum by the end of 2014 as scheduled. The shares slipped by 14p to 1,060.5p. ADVERTISEMENT Spreadbet UK equities at t1pspreadbetting.co.uk - as well as Stock Indices, Commodities, Bonds & Forex - CLICK HERE to open an account at our brand new trading platform
Mid Caps Asset manager Ashmore Group (ASHM) announced a 9.4% increase in assets under management to $77.7 billion (50.5 billion pounds) as at March 2013, primarily due to new funds attracted from government clients in emerging markets. The $6.7 billion (4.35 billion pounds) increase was comprised of net inflows of US$7.3 billion (4.74 billion pounds) and an adverse investment performance of US$0.6 billion (0.39 billion pounds) which was driven by a negative performance from its fixed income investments. Recent broker consensus surrounding the shares has been positive, with both Jefferies and Numis Securities re-iterating their respective "buy" and "add" recommendations last week. The shares swelled by 46.1p to 401p. Recruiters Hays (HAS) reported a 3% decline in fees received for the first three months of the year in a fall which was driven by a marked slowdown in activity in the Asia-Pacific region. On a sector basis, net fees in the temporary business - which accounted for 59% of group net fees - increased by 1% year-on-year while underlying net fees in the permanent business fell by 8%. The recruitment company expects full-year operating profit to be at the top of the current range of market estimates but warns that market conditions could remain fragile but mixed in the short-medium term. Nevertheless the shares jumped by 7.8p to 101.2p. Book retailer WH Smith (SMWH) posted a 5% increase in pre-tax profits to 69 million pounds for the six months ended 28th February in an increase which was boosted by a robust performance from its Travel division. The travel arm - which sells refreshments and reading material for people on their journey - grew revenues by 7% to 29 million pounds as further progress was made in the divisionÂÂ's international channel with 121 stores open and a further 30 kiosks in China. The high street business grew revenues by a more modest 2% as the focus within the division remained on cutting costs. The shares increased by 48.5p to 793.5p. Small Caps & AIM Entertainment group reach4entertainment (R4E) posted pre-tax profits of 0.16 million pounds for 2012 in a swing from a loss of 2.95 million pounds in 2011. This increased profitability was achieved despite an 11% fall in revenues as the group was streamlined to focus on its core theatrical marketing business. Geographically the group's London operations grew EBITDA by 1.1 million pounds to 1.4 million pounds as R4E strived to drive efficiencies between its New York and London operations. The shares grew by 1.125p to 5p. Engineering firm Corac Group (CRA) reported that its energy technology subsidiary has successfully completed the first phase of field testing a Downhole Gas Compressor (DGC) in a gas well in Texas. Various system checks were carried out during the deployment leading to the DGC running to high speed as planned at the intended operating depth. Corac will now remove the system from the well to carry out inspections and final system checks before redeploying and beginning live operation. The shares ended 2.38p higher at 13p. African agricultural company Agriterra (AGTA) revealed that it is expanding and accelerating the development of its cocoa farming operations in Sierra Leone. The company acquired a 1,200 hectare site in February and predicts that it will have this fully planted by the end of next year. Agriterra is also in negotiations to acquire a further 3,150 hectares of land surrounding the site with a view to planting seedlings around 2015. The shares edged up at 0.01p to 2.53p. 
Housebuilder Mar City (MAR) announced that it generated pre-tax profits of 978,000 pounds in 2012 in a turnaround from a loss of 1.3 million for the previous year. The swing into profit comes as a result of an increased level of new house building projects in the West Midlands and Leicestershire regions. Separately, the group confirmed it has secured a new contract to construct 137 new homes on a site in the West Midlands in a contract worth an estimated 10.9 million pounds. Additionally, the housebuilder announced that it has raised 1.65 million pounds by placing 47.2 million new ordinary shares at a price of 3.5p each in a fundraise which will be used to finance future land purchases The shares rocketed by 2.05p to 3.85p.
Mobile application designer Crimson Tide (TIDE) announced it has secured five year contracts with Associated Newspapers to extend mobile application service for Metro Newspapers. In addition, a new five-year contract has been signed between the parties to upgrade the system currently used throughout London and South East England to record Metro deliveries and audit rack quality. These contracts are expected to generate revenues of over 1 million pounds for the company. The shares gained 0.125p to 1.325p. Software group Idox (IDOX) has acquired Artesys International, a French engineering document control software provider, for a cash consideration of 2 million pounds. Artesys supports the efficient and safe operation of processing plants and its document control software is used by over 8,000 engineering and maintenance professionals. The business is expected to report revenues of 2.9 million euros (2.47 million pounds) and operating profits of 0.4 million euros (0.34 million pounds) in the year ended 31st March 2013. The acquisition is hoped to act as a springboard for gaining extra business in French speaking countries around the world and will be funded from Idox's cash and existing debt facilities. The shares were up by 0.125p at 1.325p. * Summit is a corporate client of Rivington Street Holdings, the ultimate owner of UK-Analyst.
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