| From UK-Analyst.com: Monday 12th August 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 yet further promising news for the UK economy, a new survey has suggested that UK employers now intend to hire new staff at the fastest rate since early 2008. The survey by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) suggests an acceleration in employment in the private sector will more than offset the continued squeeze on jobs in the public sector, with the retail and construction industries expected to create the bulk of the new jobs. The survey comes after the Bank of England last week announced that it would not increase interest rates until the unemployment rate fell below 7% - a milestone that many economists do not expect to be achieved for another three years. Mark Beatson, Chief Economist at the CIPD, argued, "These results suggest we should see further jobs growth over the summer and autumn." According to the national statistics office in Greece, the nation's economy shrank more slowly in the second quarter of the year, contracting by 4.6% over the period, down from the 5.6% contraction which was recorded over the first three months of the year. The rare piece of good news for the country is consistent with International Monetary Fund projections for a 4.2% economic contraction in 2013, before an expected return to growth in 2014. The recession-stricken country saw its budget swing into a surplus between January and July as the budget was boosted by EU subsidies and its central banks generating profits on the back of selling Greece's government bonds in a deal which was part of its bailout. However the figures did not pull the wool over the eyes of industry experts, as Ryan Littlestone from Forex Live warned, "It's not all good news though as the figures follow horrendous unemployment figures and news over the weekend that they will require further aid." Over in Asia, the Japanese economy grew at a slower rate than expected over the second quarter of the year according to new government data. Gross domestic product grew by 0.6% in the April to June period, well under the average analyst estimate for a 3.6% expansion in output. The shortfall was driven by weak capital expenditure as Japanese companies held back on spending over concerns regarding the long-term prospects for the country. Weaker than anticipated growth could delay Japan's plans to tackle its soaring debt, which reached 6.65 trillion pounds in the latest quarter - more than double the size of its own economy. Harumi Taguchi, Principal Economist at research firm IHS, explained, "Corporations remained hesitant to increase capital expenditure and continued to cut inventory in light of the slow recovery of exports and uncertainty regarding the sustainability of the economic recovery." 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 up by 3.73 points at 15,429.24 and the Nasdaq up by 9.57 points at 3,128.14 In London the FTSE 100 was down by 9.05 points at 6,574.34 and the FTSE 250 slipped by 48.50 points to 15,076.89. The FTSE All-Share fell by 5.17 points to 3,497.30, while the FTSE AIM Index was up by 4.28 points at 743.02.  Broker Notes Beaufort Securities stuck with its "speculative buy" stance on gold exploration group Noricum Gold (NMG). The broker notes the much-awaited approval of the underground drilling programme at the Rotgulden gold mine, located in south-west Austria. Beaufort goes on to cite the company's successful track record, positive historical drilling results at Rotgulden and Noricum's level of preparedness for initiating the second phase of drilling operations at the mine, as reasons to be optimistic on the firm's future prospects. The shares were up by 0.075p at 1.03p. N+1 Singer upgraded its "hold" recommendation to a "buy" stance on heat engineer BodyCote (BOY), increasing its target price to 700p. The broker feels that increases in industrial confidence indicators in the group's main geographic territories of the US and Europe should feed through to improved sales prospects heading towards 2014. Moreover, N+1 Singer sees significant potential upside risk to its forecasts as a result of this increasing confidence and uses this to justify its "buy" recommendation on the firm. The shares slid by 1p to 643p. Cantor Fitzgerald stuck with its "buy" recommendation on outsourcing group Xchanging (XCH) with a target price of 160p. The broker notes the firm's interim results, released on Friday, which revealed a 54% increase in adjusted pre-tax profits to 21 million pounds. The numbers re-assure Cantor which now feels that Xchanging's business model is progressing well, with the company being on a much sounder footing than previously. This progression, in Cantor's eyes, has yet to be fairly reflected in the share price. The shares were up by 3p at 133p. 
Blue-Chips Building materials group CRH (CRH) confirmed that its "My Home Industries" joint-venture in India has acquired Sree Jayajothi Cements Limited, a cement company based in South India for an enterprise value of 175 million euros (150.3 million pounds). CRH argues that the transaction - which will be funded from the group's debt capacity and by equity inputs from shareholders - will make it the market leader in South India. The update comes after broker Jefferies international retained its "buy" stance last week, increasing its target price from 1,700p to 1,770p. The shares were down by 4p at 1,467p. Telecommunications giant BT Group (BT.A) boasted that its well advertised new BT Sport offering has attracted 1 million customers in the last three months. BT Sport is currently embroiled in an intense marketing war with Sky, which has recruited none other than David Beckham to promote its services, while BT Sport has gone with current Premier League stars such as Robin Van Persie and Gareth Bale to showcase its offering. Unlike Sky, BT broadband customers can enjoy its sports channel without any extra subscriptions - an advantage which has seemingly attracted numerous customers. The shares fell by 1.5p to 329p. Mid Caps Outsourcing firm Mitie Group (MTO) claimed that its trading performance since the beginning of April has left it "well placed" to meet management expectations. The firm boasted that it won and retained several key contracts over the period and reserved a special mention for a 10 million pounds waste management agreement with pub owner Mitchell and Butlers. In the public sector, the firm's medical arm also gained traction, securing a 4 million pound cleaning contract with Transport for London. The shares dropped by 2.4p to 273.5p. Investment firm SVG Capital (SVG) saw its NAV per share increase by 23% to 480p over the 6 months ended 30th June, an increase driven by both earnings and revenue growth in underlying portfolio companies. SVG highlighted the "strong performance" of the share prices of both Hugo Boss and ProSiebenSat - two companies in which SVG has long positions in - as further reasons for its success over the period. The update comes after Espirito Santo Execution stuck with its "buy" recommendation and 459p target price on the shares on Friday. The shares grew by 18.2p to 408.3p. Housebuilder Taylor Wimpey (TW.) declared that it has completed the refinancing of its revolving credit facility, due to mature in November 2014, with a new 550 million pound revolving credit facility which is due to mature in August 2018. Management argued that the new debt will help it achieve its "strategic objectives" while also reducing its finance costs. Taylor Wimpey - whose net debt has fallen by 40% to 68.4 million since September 2011 - claimed that its net finance costs will be 50% lower next year. The shares slipped by 0.2p to 112.3p. Small Caps Oil exploration group Caza Oil and Gas (CAZA) announced that its Caza Ridge 14 State No.4H well in New Mexico achieved a peak daily production rate of 1,004 barrels of oil in tests over the past few days. The well in the Bone Spring play also produced 1.3 million cubic feet of natural gas over a one day period, bringing the total production to 1,221 bbls of oil equivalent. Caza, which currently has a 58.75% working interest in the well in question, went on to remind the market that other areas of its Bone Spring site are also currently looking "prospective for oil and gas." The shares jumped by 1.825p to 12.45p. Peer TV (PTV), specialists in providing TV over the internet, declared that its Digitek SMT Assemblies subsidiary, has received confirmation that a recent order thought to be worth $500,000 (322,955 pounds) to the company will in fact be worth approximately $1 million (645,900 pounds ). The order in question was placed by a newly acquired customer, based in Israel, which is a designer and supplier of advanced medical and control systems. The shares were up by 0.25p at 3.5p. Pawnbroking firm H&T Group (HAT) conceded that trading over the first 6 months of this year has been difficult as reduced volumes of gold in circulation, a 25% reduction in the gold price and an increasingly competitive market have all taken their toll. In response to the competitive environment H&T has implemented several new initiatives with a view to driving footfall into stores, including the offering of foreign exchange services across the whole store portfolio and the opening of the Sona Loans store - a brand, which According to H&T, focuses on the "asset rich Asian community." The shares dived by 38.5p to 132p. 
Computer aided design software firm Delcam (DLC) announced a 9% increase in revenues to 25 million pounds for the six months ended 30th June, while pre-tax profits grew by 35% to 2.8 million pounds. In a meeting with management today, CEO Clive Martell stressed that increased R&D expenditure and a heightened presence in global markets fuelled the group's success and also give the firm the foundations to grow further in the coming years. The update prompted broker Numis to change its "buy" recommendation to an "add" stance, with a target price of 1,800p. The shares swelled by 32.5p to 1,665p. Manufacturer of car testing equipment AB Dynamics (ABDP) has received a 1.7 million pounds order for the provision of a suspension parameter measurement machine. AB Dynamics said that the order had come from a "prominent Japanese car manufacturer" with the related revenue expected to be recognised in the financial year commencing 1st September 2014. Separately, the firm announced the completion of an extension to its factory in Bradford on Avon, providing the group with a 20% increase in manufacturing capacity. The shares surged by 10p to 116p. Software group Proactis (PHD) confirmed that results are likely to be in line with expectations for the year ended 31st July, with revenues expected to come in at 8 million pounds, while pre-tax profits are predicted to be posted at around 0.6 million pounds. Proactis said that it achieved this as a result of the continued shift toward a blended SaaS/Cloud and perpetual licensed business model. The shares ticked upwards by 3.5p to 22p. | 
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