| From UK-Analyst.com: Thursday 30th 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 According to the latest research on UK house prices from mortgage lender Halifax, the value of homes increased in May at the fastest rate since November 2011. The findings revealed that house prices rose by an annual 1.1 % in May, more than the 0.9% increase which was exhibited in April. It is thought that a reduction in the cost of credit is the main factor behind the price increase as it moves more people into a position to buy, increasing demand and therefore pushing up prices. The modest increase in the underlying economic health of the UK is also thought to have played a part. Robert Gardner, Nationwide's Chief Economist explained "There has been an improvement in the availability and a reduction in the cost of credit, partly as a result of policy measures, such as the Funding for Lending Scheme." Meanwhile, it was confirmed that the US economy grew by an annual rate of 2.4% over the first three months of 2013, below preliminary readings of a 2.5% gain over the period. The final reading was only fractionally below analyst expectations of a 2.5% gain as the US government began the implementation of austerity measures, ramping up tax takes and cutting the federal budget in March. The bulk of the increase in economic activity came from consumer spending which was up by 3.4% in a hike driven by an increase in petrol prices. Yelena Shulyatyeva, a U.S. economist at BNP Paribas commented "The economy is still okay. Growth was decent at the beginning of the year. The economy will pick up in the second half as the sequestration effect fades." Over in Europe, economic confidence increased in May despite the economic woes which continue to plague the continent. The European Commission's monthly survey - which measures both consumer and business confidence - found that economic sentiment has risen to 89.4 this month, up from 88.6 in April. The figures come weeks after a data release which revealed that Eurozone exports were up by 2.8% in March, widening the trade surplus to 18.7 billion euros (16 billion pounds) while recent figures also show that car sales are now regaining momentum. Howard Archer at IHS Global did not get carried away with the figures and warned, "Sentiment is still pretty muted and fragile, and the situation varies markedly between countries. If the Eurozone does finally manage to stop contracting overall in the second quarter, it is likely to be heavily dependent on clear growth in Germany." At the London close the Dow Jones was up by 58.66 points at 15,361.46 and the Nasdaqwas up by 22.54 points at 3,017.36. In London the FTSE 100 finished 29.82 points ahead at 6656.99; FTSE 250 climbed 53.18 points to 14,442.74; the FTSE All-Share grew by 14.98 points to 3,509.72; and the FTSE AIM Index inched up by 3.79 points to 730.38.  Broker Notes Panmure Gordon retained its "buy" recommendation on African agricultural group Zambeef(ZAM) with a target price of 70p. The broker notes that Zambeef has entered into an agreement with Rainbow Farms to establish Zamhatch in an attempt to supply day old chicks in Zambia. Panmure Feels that this as a positive development and represents another example of Zambeef's ambition to maximise value from its supply chain. The shares crept up by 0.25p to 51.75p. Canaccord Genuity maintained its "buy" recommendation on software firm SQS Software Systems (SQS), increasing its target price by 25% to 380p. The broker noted yesterday's trading update and was particularly impressed with the healthy demand which was exhibited for its products across Germany, Switzerland, Austria and the Netherlands. Furthermore, Canaccord envisages improved visibility and less volatile margin fluctuation from the increasingly important managed services business which, according to the broker, should continue to drive a higher quality of earnings for the group. The shares remained unchanged at 335.5p. Shore Capital downgraded its "hold" stance to a "sell" recommendation on The Restaurant Group (RTN) due to scepticism regarding the pace of the group's current roll out programme. The broker notes that the Restaurant group aims to operate 770 sites but calculates that it will take over 10 years to reach this target at the current rate of expansion. The broker concedes that the firm has hardly put a foot wrong in recent years but as Shore Capital puts it, it is now time to "ask for the cheque rather than dessert". The shares were up by 5p to 517p. 
Blue-Chips Home improvement retailer Kingfisher (KGF) posted a 0.4% fall in total sales over the 13 weeks ending 4th May in a drop which equated to a 4.2% slump in like for like sales over the period. Kingfisher, like many other retailers, cited a combination of unfavourable weather conditions and challenging underlying market conditions for its plight. The retailers Brico Depot business in France was hit particularly hard with like for like sales down by 7.3% in a fall blamed on a slow house building market and tough comparatives. The shares climbed by 21.9p to 349.7p. Food group Tate and Lyle (TATE) announced a 6% increase in sales to 3.256 million pounds for the year ended 31st March while underlying operating profits grew by 4% to 358 million pounds. The improvement was boosted by a 7% increase in specialty food ingredients in a trend consistent with increased appetite for healthy-lifestyle products and urbanisation in emerging markets driving demand for convenience foods. Looking ahead, the group claimed that it would deliver profitable growth this year but warned that its "bulk" operations would have to contend with continued corn price volatility. The shares slipped by 12.5p to 836.5p. Oil exploration group Tullow Oil (TLW) revealed that it has plugged and abandoned the Calao-1X well offshore Cote D'Ivoire after encountering water bearing reservoir sandstones. The well was the second drilled on the CI-103 licence in which operator Tullow carries a 30% interest. The news is the latest in a string of disappointing exploration updates this year in a sequence which has seen its share price dive by 18% since the start of this year. The shares increased by 14p to 1,043p. 
Mid Caps Property investor Capital & Counties Properties (CAPC) confirmed its purchase of the remaining 50% stake in the Empress State Building from Land Securities Group for 117 million pounds. The Empress State Building is a 451,000 sq ft, 31 storey, office building located adjacent to the Earls Court & West Kensington Opportunity Area. Current tenants, The Mayor's Office for Policing and Crime, are paying 14.9 million pounds per annum, representing an initial yield of 6.2%. The shares slid by 329.9p. Small Caps Environmental and products services group Straight (STT) revealed a four-year contract to supply a range of plastic wheeled bins for YPO, a government-owned professional procurement service. The company, which has worked with YPO since 2005, claims that this new deal will be worth between 30 million pounds and 60 million pounds. Straight stressed that the contract win was testament to the its high compliance and product quality level. The shares gained 6.5p, finishing the day at 35p. Software provider to the broadcasting industry Pilat Media (PGB) posted a 15.3% increase in group revenues over the first three months of the year to 5.82 million pounds while pre-tax profits grew from 24,000 to 41,000 pounds over the period. Pilat media explained that the quarter benefited from increased demand from its existing client base with maintenance revenues up by 15.9% as more clients progressed from implementation to maintenance mode during 2012. The shares were up by 3.5p at 47p. New medical regulations in France have given a welcome boost to Deltex Medical (DEMG), the Oesophageal Doppler Monitoring (ODM) system provider. The new rules dictate that ODM-guided fluid management should be used in all "high risk" surgery in France in a move which should instantly increase the demand for Deltex's specialist product- a system which monitors blood circulation in the body. Deltex went on to stress that 750.000 patients currently undergo "high risk" surgery per year with only around 1% of patients treated with ODM, highlighting the opportunity for increased levels of sales as institutions are forced into adopting this new technology. The shares inched up by 1p to 14.13p. 
Kefi Minerals (KEFI), the gold and copper exploration company, today announced a maiden JORC compliant resource at its Jibal Qutman prospect in Saudi Arabia. The inferred resource stands at 10.3 million tonnes of material at a grade of 0.94 grams per tonne (g/t) gold for a total of 313,000 ounces. This confirmation follows drill and trench sampling results received up to mid-May this year. Broker Fox-Davies currently has a "speculative buy" stance on the company, refusing to stick its neck out with a more aggressive "buy" stance. The shares jumped by 0.45p to 3.2p. OMG (OMG), the technology group focused on image-recognition products, today posted a 4.4% fall in revenues to 13 million pounds for the six months ended 31st March, swinging the company into a loss before tax position of 0.2 million pounds after the group reported a profit of 0.7 million pounds in the previous year. OMG said that its performance was negatively affect by the uncertainty surrounding US Government budget cuts and more than expected levels of product investment. The shares tumbled by 4.5p to 31.5p. MDM Engineering group (MDM) revealed that it expects to report revenues of $138.3 million (90.9 million pounds) for the year ended 31st March, a 155% increase on the previous year's figure. Pre-tax profits are expected to come in at $20.3million (13.34 million pounds), up from $7.8 million (5.13 million pounds) in the previous year. MDM attributed this growth to an increase in activity in its African markets where it has been allocated extra work by existing clients. Separately, the group confirmed that the proposed merger between itself and Sedgman Limited will now not be proceeding. The shares fell by 4.5p to 140p. | 
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