| From UK-Analyst.com: Thursday 25th 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 In a culmination of several pieces of positive economic news it has emerged that the UK economy grew by 0.6% over the April-June quarter. The numbers released by the Office for National Statistics were very much in line with analyst expectations and build upon the 0.3% growth which was exhibited in the first quarter of the year. Although the UK economy is still some way off the peak level of output which was achieved before the financial crisis, it has now clawed back half of the 7.2% contraction which was seen over the 2009-09 recession period. Chancellor George Osborne issued a rallying cry on the back of the results and stressed, "These figures are better than forecast. Britain is holding its nerve, we are sticking to our plan, and the British economy is on the mend - but there is still a long way to go and I know things are still tough for families." A rare piece of good news for the Spanish economy has shown that the nation's unemployment rate has fallen for the first time in two years, to 26.26%. Government data revealed that the number of people of out of work fell by 225,200 to 5,977,500 for the second quarter of the year on the back of increased demand for workers to service the extra business brought about by tourism at this time of year. The new data is consistent with other news released this week that suggests that the troubled Eurozone could be emerging from the depths of recession. An extract from the report released by the Spanish statistics office read, "If we compare the development of unemployment of this quarter to the same quarter during the last five years, it must be underlined that the fall in unemployment is the biggest since 2008." Over in Asia, the South Korean economy delivered its biggest quarterly growth in two years over the April-June period, seemingly unaffected by the economic slowdown of its Chinese neighbours. Asia's fourth largest economy saw its gross domestic product grow by 1.1% over the period, in an increase some way above the average analyst estimate for a 0.8% expansion. A breakdown of the figures showed that the combination of increased government spending and a rise in domestic spending helped to overshadow the impact of a struggling property market. Lee Jae Hyung, a fixed-income analyst at Tongyang Securities, commented, "The GDP figures are a positive surprise, which will give investors more confidence about the economic outlook. Today's data will reduce calls for further monetary easing. The next rate move for the BOK will be a hike." ADVERTISEMENT 
At the London close the Dow Jones was down by 76.55 points at 15,465.69 and the Nasdaq grew by 2.66 to 3,043.82. In London the FTSE 100 slumped by 32.48 points to 6,587.96 and the FTSE 250 fell by 67.24 points to 14,767.89. The FTSE All-Share fell by 16.62 points to 3,491.11, while the FTSE AIM Index slipped by 2.01 points to 720.20.  Broker Notes N+1 Singer initiated coverage on wealth managers Mattioli Woods (MTW) with a "buy" recommendation and 335p target price. The broker feels that the firm offers an impressive range of services at a competitive price - differentiating its approach from discretionary wealth managers and IFAs. Furthermore, N+1 Singer sees growth opportunities in the form of organic asset gathering through multiple channels and acquisitions in an industry disrupted by RDR and increasing capital adequacy requirements. The shares were up by 5p at 294p. Canaccord Genuity maintained its "buy" recommendation on investment firm Brooks Macdonald (BRK) with a target price of 1,620p. The broker notes today's full year update which shows a 20% year-on-year increase in total assets under management. Canaccord feels this is a validation of Brooks Macdonald's business model as it continues to deliver profitable growth and believes the current valuation has already factored in the forecasted increase in costs for FY14. The shares grew by 69p to 1,272p. N+1 Singer also maintained its "buy" stance on software provider Allocate Software (ALL) with a target price of 98p. The broker feels that the strong cash inflows and bookings in the core UK healthcare business, which were highlighted in yesterday's preliminary results, are indicative of the underlying progress which is being made by the company. Looking ahead, N+1 Singer envisages growth being driven by Allocate's new products, in particular a new planning product for hospitals. The shares swelled by 2p to 86p. 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 
Blue-Chips Professional publishers Reed Elsevier (REL) announced a 2% increase in underlying revenues to 3.025 billion pounds for the 6 months ended 30th June, while pre-tax profits grew by 6% to 870 million pounds. The group - which also operates an events business - said that the improvement was a result of "process innovation and portfolio development" while the firm also benefited from growth in digital revenues. The update comes two days after Nomura re-iterated its "buy" recommendation and 827p target price. The shares gained 33.5p, finishing the day at 834.5p. Engineers Rolls Royce (RR.) posted an unexpectedly high 34% increase in pre-tax profits to 840 million pounds for the first half of 2013 as underlying revenues nudged up by 27% to 7.3 billion pounds. Rolls Royce explained that it has benefited from the Engine Alliance restructuring and higher volumes. However, the firm did concede that it could make improvements on the cost side of things as costs are currently growing at a quicker rate than revenues. The shares zoomed ahead by 60p to 1,240p. Outsourcers Capita (CPI) revealed that revenues swelled by 13% to 1.82 billion pounds for the first 6 months of this year, pushing up pre-tax profits by 10% to 205.2 million pounds. The firm ' which provides radios for emergency services in the UK amongst many other things ' has prospered in recent months as it has secured 2 billion pounds worth of new contracts over the period including a bumper 1.2 billion pounds deal with O2. Despite the gathering momentum behind Capita, Westhouse Securities stuck with its "sell" recommendation and 813p target price. The shares dived by 40.5p to 996.5p. Mid Caps Boozer-owner Mitchells & Butlers (MAB) saw like-for-like sales increase by 0.7% for the 42 weeks ended 20th July, in a performance driven by an increased level of demand for its food offering. Although the Harvester and Toby Carvery operator admitted that "cash in people's pockets remains tight", the firm stuck with its pledge to hit the board's expectations for the full year. The shares lost 13.8p, finishing the day at 413p. Fellow pub operator Marston's (MARS) claimed that the recent good weather has resulted in a "strong trading performance" of late with like-for-like sales over the 10 weeks to 20th July up by 6% at the group's "destination and premium" pubs. The owner of the Pitcher and Piano bar chain had been suffering in the early part of the year as the prolonged cold period took its toll on sales. The update comes a day after HSBC stuck with its "neutral" stance on the group, increasing its target price from 140p to 160p. The shares fell by 4p to 160.5p. Kitchen manufacturer Howden Joinery (HWDN) reported a surge in pre-tax profits from 25.9 million pounds to 43.2 million pounds for the first half of 2013 as revenues sourced from its UK depots swelled by 7%. The firm highlighted that the results included the impact of an extra trading week this time around but stressed that the bulk of the improvement came as a result of strategic price increases. Looking ahead, the group re-affirmed its expectations for an increase in costs, yet remained adamant that it is on track to meet expectations for the full year. The shares edged up by 13p to 288.5p. Small Caps Precious metals explorer Orsu Metals (OSU) revealed that it has agreed to raise c$10 million (6.34 million pounds) on the back of the completion of the sale of its 40% stake in the Talas gold-copper joint venture in Kyrgyzstan. Orsu will now be hoping that it can push forwards to production at its flagship Karchiga VMS copper project in Kazakhstan ' a project which Orsu has a 94.75% stake in. The news comes after broker Canaccord Genuity stuck with its "speculative buy" stance on the explorers earlier this week. The shares soared by 2.75p to 5.75p. Green energy player Ultima Networks (UTN) confirmed that its Green Technology division has received its first order for the provision of its Containerised Hybrid Solar Power Solution to The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The product in question has apparently been built especially for the desert-like conditions which are commonplace in Saudi Arabia. The initial agreement is to proceed on a trial basis but Ultima argued that it is likely that this order will eventually translate into a concrete deal. The shares were up by 0.05p to 0.95p. Recruiters Impellam Group (IPEL) announced a 0.8 million pounds increase in revenues to 591.7 million pounds for the 26 weeks ended 28th June while operating profit slid by 1 million pounds to 11.8 million pounds. Impellam attributed these disappointing figures to troubles within its Medacs Healthcare and Carlisle Support Services divisions, which offset progress in its core UK and US staffing arms. Looking ahead, management insisted that it is positioned well to capitalise on the improving trends in the UK economy. The shares dived by 30p to 375p. 
Carpet merchants United Carpets (UCG) revealed that revenues for the 6 months ended 31st March came in at 11.3 million pounds, while pre-tax profits were recorded at 250,000 pounds. Although there is no direct period for comparison as the firm went into administration last year, United Carpets did record a loss of 0.72 million pounds for the year ended 5th October 2012. This turnaround was driven by a streamlining of its store portfolio as it reduced the size of its business in accordance with the tough market conditions. The shares climbed by 0.25p to 2.13p. Mining outfit Sunrise Resources (SRES) revealed that it has applied for two Australian mining licences in relation to two gold projects in the west of the country. The licenses relate to sites in the Meekatharra Greenstone Belt which has yielded over 5.5 million ounces of gold to date. Separately, the miner said that it had uncovered a 200kg sample of Kimberlite at its Cue diamond project. The shares rose by 0.025p to 0.53p. Avacta Group (AVCT), the provider of diagnostic tools, revealed that it has extended its commercial partnership with ForteBio to encompass a distribution agreement for the sale of Optim, a protein analysis product, in the Asian markets of China, Hong Kong and Taiwan. The deal builds on an existing agreement that covered sales to the markets of the US, South East Asia and India. The shares surged by 0.21p to 0.93p. | 
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