| From UK-Analyst.com: Friday 19th July 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 government figures, the UK economy benefited to the tune of 9.9 billion pounds as a result of the Olympic and Paralympic Games - a figure conveniently 1 billion pounds higher than the Olympic outlay of 8.9 billion pounds. The government report attributes these economic benefits to new business contracts, sales and foreign investment. A year on and the Olympics is also thought to have created 31,000 jobs. However, the data has not convinced everyone and, in defence of the report, Business Secretary Vince Cable commented "A lot of people were very cynical about this... but as a result of all the work that was done we have this very considerable amount." Rating agency Moody's has pushed its outlook for U.S. government debt from negative to stable, maintaining the country's AAA rating. The rating agency cited a brightening US economic outlook and a healthy decline in government spending as reason for the upgrade, in a move which will go some way towards re-assuring potential US investors. Steven Hess, Moody's lead U.S. sovereign credit analyst, explained, "We feel that we have enough information on the debt trajectory at this point to make a conclusion even without information on any possible further actions in Washington." ADVERTISEMENT Get free trading guides from Evil Knievil (How to successfully short stocks), Zak Mir (Top AIM market picks for 2013) and other top financial commentators by CLICKING HERE 
At the London close the Dow Jones was down by 22.07 points at 15,526.47 and the Nasdaq was 33.3 points higher at 3,044.52 In London the FTSE 100 rose by 3.69 points to 6,630.67 and the FTSE 250 was down by 4.9 points at 14,814.90. The FTSE All-Share slipped 1.93 points to 3,511.20, while the FTSE AIM Index dipped 0.28 points to 718.33.  Broker Notes Cantor Fitzgerald maintained its "buy" recommendation on Tesco (TSCO) with a target price of 443p. The broker sees significant potential for Tesco Bank to grow share and profitability now the IT systems and product range are complete. Furthermore, Cantor feels there is good potential for Tesco to build on its margins in immature International markets, especially in Eastern Europe and China. The shares inched up by 2p to 370.2p. Panmure Gordon stuck with its "buy" recommendation on brand owner PZ Cussons (PZC) with a target price of 384p. The broker feels that the recent acquisition of Rafferty's Garden strengthens the Australian business further, and provides a new growth platform for PZC in South-East Asia. Panmure also goes on to cite the fact that the shares are trading on 19.2x P/E and 11.8x EV/EBITDA for calendar 2014E - a 5% discount to its peers - as further justification of its "buy" stance. The shares were down by 4.4p to 379.6p. Shore Capital re-iterated its "buy" recommendation on outsourcers Capita (CPI), evidently taking a sceptical view on the future fortunes of the group. The broker is cautious on the direction of margin development at Capita relative to investor expectations and feels that the public sector outsourcing market may again slow in FY2014F ahead of the next UK General Election in May 2015. Moreover, Shore Capital feels that a current year P/E multiple of 19 is unsupported by its cash flow valuation. The shares edged upwards by 4p to 1,049p. 
Blue-Chips Telecoms giant Vodafone (VOD) posted a 3.5% fall in service revenues for the three months ended 30th June as increased competition and tough European market conditions took their toll. Falls in activity across the continent largely overshadowed better trading fortunes across emerging markets such as India - a territory which delivered revenue growth of 13.8%. The update prompted Deutsche Bank to re-iterate its "buy" stance on the group with a target price of 217p. The shares crept upwards by 2.5p to 193.85p. Pharmaceuticals group Astrazeneca (AZN) has finalised the acquisition of Omthera Pharmaceuticals, a US-based drug developer focused on new therapies for abnormal levels of lipids in the blood. AstraZeneca justified the $323 million (211.64 million pounds) purchase by arguing that the acquisition strengthens its late-stage cardiovascular disease pipeline with the addition of Epanova, a medication which has this month been submitted to the US Food and Drug Administration for approval. The shares slipped by 25p to 3,280p. Mid Caps Marketing firm DCC (DCC) claimed that it has made "a strong start" to its financial year with trading "well ahead of its expectations for the first quarter". DCC attributed this uplift in performance to colder than normal weather conditions coupled with organic and acquisition-driven growth from within its largest division, DCC energy. On the basis of this recent success, the group now anticipates that full year operating profit will be 15% ahead of last year at around 187 million pounds. Previous guidance estimated operating profit to be up by around 10-12%. The shares climbed 96p to 2,697p. Small Caps Diagnostic tool manufacturer Akers Biosciences (AKR) revealed that revenues generated over the first half of the year will come in above current management expectations as the firm is already "over halfway to its full year target." This good performance was boosted by the sale of 4.9 million disposable breath alcohol detectors to the company's new global partner, Chubeworkx Guernsey Limited. The product in question seems to be gaining traction in global markets with sales having now been made in Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and most recently the US. The shares soared by 0.18p to 1.22p. Sports betting firm Webis Holdings (WEB) announced that its WatchandWager.com business has received approval for a multi-jurisdictional Advanced Deposit Wagering license. This new license allows residents in California to bet using the watchandwager.com platform in an agreement which covers standardbred racing. Webis went on to stress that it is now seeking similar approvals for betting on thoroughbred and quarter horse racing. The shares grew by 0.38p to 4.5p. Communications network specialist Norcon (NCON) announced that its "Norconsult Telematics" subsidiary has been selectedTrueMove H, a Thai mobile operator, to provide technical strategy, design and planning consulting services for its forthcoming 4G LTE network deployment. Management - who confirmed that Norcon was otherwise trading in line with expectations - explained that the move was in line with its strategy of diversifying into new markets. The shares increased by 1.13p to 15.25p. 
Printing specialists Printing.com (PDC) today released a trading update in which it confirmed that the group continues to trade broadly in line with expectations. The group reserved special praise for its new SaaS offerings, namely templatecloud.com and w3p.com, insisting that the websites have continued to gain traction in both domestic and international markets. As a result, the group confirmed that it is exploring the idea of acquiring further international trading licences. The shares remained flat at 18.5p. African agricultural group Zambeef (ZAM) today responded to reports that aromatic aldehydes - chemicals used for embalming dead bodies - have been found in its meat, insisting that it has now removed all Imported Beef Products from Zambeef's retail outlets as a precautionary measure. Zambeef also pledged to undertake a comprehensive review of its internal food transport, handling and storage procedures in order to find the cause of the contamination. The shares lost 4p, finishing the day at 41.5p. Mining player Sirius Minerals (SXX) confirmed that a report by AMEC for the North York Moors National Park Authority dismissed the viability of its flagship potash project in Yorkshire. Sirius defended the project by insisting that there was a number of crucial omissions in the report and pointed to the fact that the report makes no reference to the Company's extensive crop study programme and results. Separately, Sirius said that it has entered into additional agreements and commitments with fertilizer distributors and manufacturers in Mexico, Chile, Ecuador, Thailand and Indonesia. The shares fell by 4p to 18.5p. | 
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