| From UK-Analyst.com: Friday 17th May 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 The Markets New car sales in Europe rose by 1.8% year-on-year to 1.08 million in April according to data from the European Automobile Manufacturers Association. The rise was the first monthly increase in 18 months and was boosted by a pivotal 15% uplift in sales in the UK. However, for the first four months of the year, overall volumes were down by 7% compared with the same period a year ago, with car manufacturers experiencing less demand for smaller, more compact cars with lower income buyers not in a position to buy. Carlos da Silva at consultancy IHS Automotive said, "The west European market remains at one of its lowest trend levels for a long time. But compared to the dreadful start of this year, the trend may be slowly - very slowly - starting to change." Staying in Europe, Spain delivered a monthly trade surplus of 634.9 million euros (536 million pounds) for March - the first surplus the country has recorded since records began over 40 years ago. The result was driven by a significant plunge in Spanish imports, which fell by 15% on March 2012, in a reflection of the continued weakening of domestic demand. Spanish Economic Minister Luis de Guindos believes that that the trade figure is a "sign supporting the improvement of the Spanish foreign sector" and that the foreign sector is the "fundamental source for the current and future recovery and the modification of the Spanish economy's performance model." Here in the UK, the National Audit Office (NAO) has warned that the economic benefits of the HS2 high-speed rail project are "unclear". The High Speed 2 railway line is proposed to run from London Euston to Birmingham, before forking off towards Manchester and Leeds, slashing journey times by 50%. The government argues that the project would create 100,000 jobs but critics, including the National Audit Office and Public Accounts Committee, argue that these jobs would have been created anyway and that the schedule in place is "ambitious" with "no room for mistakes". Stop HS2 campaign manager Joe Rukin said, "The project is out of control because the politicians involved have been seduced by the words 'high-speed rail' and have been complicit in fabricating a case for their vanity project."
 At the London close the Dow Jones was up by 61.43 points up at 15,294.65 and the Nasdaq grew by 10.58 points to 3,009.92. In London the FTSE 100 grew by 35.26 points to 6,723.06; the FTSE 250 finished 126.52 points higher at 14693.06; the FTSE All-Share was up by 20.05 points to 3,547.38; and the FTSE AIM Index grew by 2.45 points to 727.67.  Broker Notes Cantor Fitzgerald retained its "sell" recommendation on home improvement products retailer Kingfisher (KGF) with a 240p target price. Over the medium-term, the broker continues to be concerned by the recent decline in Kingfisher's earnings, feeling that the fall is not just down to the extreme weather over both this year and last year but is a symptom of structural faults within the company. Moreover, the broker feels that the company has too much space for a multi-channel society with its stores too large, difficult to shop in and not aligned to the new trend for convenience. The shares increased by 1.5p to 330.6p. N+1 Singer retained its "buy" recommendation on financial services firm IFG Group (IFG) with a 130p target price. The broker sees considerable organic growth opportunities for both divisions as management implement initiatives aimed at net book growth and new client wins. N+1 Singer's 12 million pounds valuation is based on a "much transformed balance sheet" and what the broker perceives to be underlying growth potential. The shares gained 2.5p to 118.5p. Canaccord Genuity maintained its "buy" recommendation on medical technology company Optos (OPTS) but lowered its target price by over 20% to 248p. The broker does concede that the firm's recent results are disappointing but feels that slow sales are already factored into the share price. Looking ahead, Canaccord Genuity expects a more positive Q3 update, as the quarter benefits from the resolution of the Daytona software issue and several trade shows. The shares slipped by 11p to 122.25p. 
Blue-Chips Supermarket Morrisons (MRW) confirmed that it has entered into a partnership agreement with Ocado (OCDO) which will enable Morrisons.com to begin grocery deliveries to customers by January 2014. Morrisons follows the likes of Tesco and Sainsbury's as it commences online operations in a move which has been long anticipated by the market. Morrisons will make an initial capital payment of up to 170 million pounds to Ocado to acquire the Dordon Customer Fulfilment Centre and intends to invest a further 46 million pounds in expanding the site. Morrison shares were up by 3.9p at 286.5p while shares in Ocado soared by 72.2p to 274.1p. Business support services group Intertek (ITRK) announced a 9.9% increase in revenues for the first four months of the year. The uplift in turnover was boosted by growth in textiles revenues and good demand in factory auditing services. However, the group's operating profit margin is currently below last year's levels as a result in a reduction of profitability within Intertek's minerals business, a trend which the group expects to continue into the second half of the year. The update comes after Goldman Sachs retained its "buy" recommendation and 4,250p target price last week. The shares were down by 67p at 3,385p. 
Mid Caps Aviation and distribution firm John Menzies (MNZS) revealed that trading levels this year have been slightly above last year's levels due to favourable foreign exchange movements and some significant contract wins. The group's aviation arm has grown like-for-like revenues by 2% despite a slight fall in cargo handling volumes. However, the distribution operations, which focus on UK newspapers and magazines, is trading below last year's levels, suffering from tough comparators as the Olympics, Diamond Jubilee and Euro 2012 all boosted activity last year. The shares fell by 29.5p to 762p. Technology firm Premier Farnell (PFL) reported growth of 2.8% in sales per day for the three months ended 5th May, in a swing from a 3% decline in the metric for the previous three months. The bulk of this growth was driven by its Rasberry Pi product. If sales of these products were excluded from growth calculations, group sales would have actually declined by 0.6%. The update impressed broker Jefferies who retained its "buy" recommendation on the firm with a 250p target price. The shares inched up by 0.2p to 226.7p. Alent (ALN), the chemicals group, announced a 5.8% reduction in its net sales value to 101.8 million pounds for the year so far, impacted by a slight dip in smartphone, personal computer and semiconducter volumes in Q1 2013. The decline in sales value came despite increased demand for its performance coatings products in the automotive industry in Asia and the Americas. Alent went on to stress that electronics end markets "seemed to be returning to a normal seasonal cycle" and remained adamant that it is in line to hit 2013 targets. The shares grew by 15.9p to 340.9p. Small Caps
Temporary accommodation provider Snoozebox Holdings (ZZZ) conceded that it requires a "more rigorous approach to management" and that it needs an injection of capital for it to maintain trading. The group also revealed that it is has cancelled plans to set up temporary hotel facilities at 2 of the 14 originally planned sites this year, explaining that the "prospective return was likely to be inadequate". The shares plummeted by 9p to 26.5p. Messaging International (MES), has proposed to purchase up to 25.7% of the issued share capital of the company at a Tender Price of 1 penny per share. The Tender Offer is being made at a premium to the previous day's closing market price of 73.9%. Once the shares have been purchased by the company they will be cancelled. The shares leapt by 0.25p to 0.83p. MTI Wireless Edge (MWE), posted a 6% increase in revenues to $3.4 million (2.2 million pounds) for the three months ended 31st March 2013, helping the group to bag a pre-tax profit $26,000 (17,100 pounds) - an improvement of the previous year's loss of $246,000 (161.9 million pounds). The group attributed this improvement to a number of military orders over the period including one particular contract which was worth 1.45 million pounds to the group. Looking ahead, management predicts that the trend of increasing profitability will continue over the course of the year. The shares jumped by 0.75p to 7.5p. 
Engineering services group Lamprell (LAM) claimed that its financial position is stable at present and stressed that its immediate focus is to complete discussions with its key lending banks in order to restructure its debt facilities and agree revised terms on a long-term basis. Lamprell also revealed that its bid pipeline at the end of April was $4 billion (2.6 million pounds) which is viewed positively against the backdrop of a robust industry landscape. The shares were down by 9p at 169.75p. Clinical research group Venn Life Sciences (VENN) announced the launch of InnoVenn, its new innovation arm which is set up to focus on co-development opportunities, particularly in the medical device arena. The objective of this new division is to "accelerate the commercialisation of life science products in the later stages of development". The division's first project will be a joint venture with two Irish biomedical companies, Cellulac Limited and Biopharmed West Limited, developing the next generation of biodegradable human implants. The shares remained unchanged at 30p. Gold explorer Oxus Gold (OXS) reported a full year loss of $6.84 million (4.5 million pounds ) for 2012 in a swing from making a profit of $22.6 million (14.9 million pounds) in 2011. This stark turnaround in results has come about because Oxus spent most of the year embroiled in a legal battle with the government of Uzbekistan, which has taken control of its Khandiza and Amantaytau Goldfields. However, management remain confident of a successful outcome to the legal wrangling and believe they will secure the rights to both mines. The shares slid by 0.075p to 1.975p. | 
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