| From UK-Analyst.com: Thursday 1st 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 The Bank of England (BoE) today left interest rates unchanged at 0.5% and decided not to extend its current quantitative easing programme. The Monetary Policy Committee also pledged to announce next week whether or not it will begin a policy of informing the market well in advance if it is likely to change its stance on interest rates. The BoE's decision not to pump any more money into the economy was widely expected as last week's GDP figures indicated a UK economy that was now beginning to walk on its own two feet. David Kern, the Chief Economist at the British Chambers of Commerce, commented, "The MPC made the right decision to hold interest rates and quantitative easing. Minutes from the recent MPC meeting suggest that QE is unlikely to be increased any time soon and low interest rates will be maintained for a long period, which will provide a stable environment for businesses." Sticking with interest rates, the European Central Bank (ECB) followed the Bank of England's lead and kept interest rates on hold at 0.5%. The ECB also hinted that it expects the rate to remain at present or lower levels for an extended period of time in a bid to support the gathering signs of an economic recovery. The guidance should give comfort to European investors who flocked away from the markets after US Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke hinted at a "tapering" of stimulus measures in the US. Capital Economics Economist Jennifer McKeown argued that the decision to keep interest rates on hold "was fully anticipated" and said, "The recent improvement in some economic indicators might have reassured the governing council that the region is finally exiting recession." ADVERTISEMENT 
At the London close the Dow Jones was up by 130.78 points at 15,630.32 and the Nasdaq grew by 26.62 points to 3,116.81. In London the FTSE 100 was up by 60.92 points to 6,681.98 and the FTSE 250 grew by 163.70 points to 14,869.70. The FTSE All-Share increased by 27.62 points to 3,537.56 while the FTSE AIM Index grew by 4.32 points to 722.70.  Broker Notes Beaufort Securities stuck with its "speculative buy" recommendation on intellectual property group Fusion IP (FIP) after it emerged yesterday that it has signed a new Memorandum of Understanding with Finance Wales to support investments into companies born out of research conducted in Welsh universities. Essentially, Beaufort maintains its "Speculative Buy" recommendation on the group based on the "high quality" of Fusion's portfolio of businesses, many of which are already at the commercialisation stage. The shares slipped by 1.5p to 56.5p. Panmure Gordon upgraded its "sell" recommendation to a "buy" stance on recruiters Robert Walters (RWA) with a target price of 287p. The broker has been cautious on the potential for recovery in recruitment shares in general for some time, but believes that the unexpected increase in the dividend is indicative of a consistent improvement in trading conditions. Panmure also feels that the company's finances remain solid and expects H2 to focus on better returns from additional office openings and increased staff numbers rather than further physical expansion. The shares climbed by 11.25p to 246.25p. N+1 Singer maintained its "buy" recommendation on Clean Air Power (CAP) with a target price of 12p. Today's trading update gives the broker re-assurance that CAP can meet consensus forecasts for FY13. N+1 Singer notes that Clean Air Power's next objective is to continue growth into FY14, and the broker thinks the key to this is opening up new markets like the US and Russia. The shares inched up by 0.25p to 9p. 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 Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) announced a statutory profit of 2.1 billion pounds for the first half of 2013 after it made a loss of 456 million pounds in the first half of 2012. The bank - which is 39% owned by the government - partly attributed its success to 4% growth in its commercial banking core loan book. Although mindful of "legacy issues" such as its commitment to fulfil PPI claims, Lloyds is now adamant that its recent streamlining process leaves it in a position to react to any given macro-economic climate. The shares were up by 5.53p to 74p. Oil giant Royal Dutch Shell (RSDA) revealed that it made $2.4 billion (1.58 million pounds) in earnings over the April-June quarter, down from the $6 billion (3.95 billion pounds) it made in the corresponding quarter last year. The firm cited higher than expected costs in relation to its Nigerian operations and the tax impact of a weakening Australian dollar amongst the reasons for the shortfall. Looking ahead, Shell stressed that it is in line to increase production from current levels of 3.3 million barrels per day to 4 million barrels per day by 2017-18. Despite its difficulties, Shell increased its second quarter dividend by $0.02 to $0.45. The shares dived by 105p to 2,133p. Temporary power provider Aggreko (AGK) announced a 4% increase in revenues to 760 million pounds for the 6 months ended 30th June while after tax profits slipped by 3%. The group attributed the fall in profitability to an increase in the tax rate from 26% to 27% which came about as result of a slightly altered profit mix. Aggreko also conceded that it was hit with the impact of the discontinuation of some large cooling contracts in the Middle East. The update prompted broker Westhouse Securities to maintain its "buy" stance and 2,502p target price. The shares ended down by 137p at 1,643p. Mid Caps Intu Properties (INTU), the shopping centre owner, saw its net rental income slide by 1 million pounds to 181 million pounds in the six months to June, although occupancy rates remained at the 95% level. The firm - formerly named Capital Shopping Centres Group - also revealed that some of its retail centres, such as its Bromley and Potteries sites, have lost value. Intu conceded that its shopping centres are dealing with improving yet tough market conditions with footfall down by 2% across Intu's sites over the period. The shares fell by 3.6p to 333p. Lighting specialist Dialight (DIA) confirmed that it has received its first order from a "major operator" in North America for the provision of a lighting system on its new cellphone tower. The initial order is for $1 million (660,000 pounds) but this value could rise depending on whether further potential orders become concrete. This is the latest example of the increasing uptake of Dialight's technology as it continues to gain a reputation for providing safe and energy efficient lighting. The shares increased by 69p to 1,170p. Asset manager Jupiter Fund Management (JUP) grew assets under management from 23.4 million pounds to 29 million pounds for the first 6 months of the year and saw half year pre-tax profits increase by 25% to 59.1 million pounds. Jupiter has the majority of its assets invested in equities and benefitted from the increasing level of investors who sought to gain exposure to the overall upward trajectory in the global equity markets. As a result of the success, Jupiter hiked its dividend by 40% to 3.5p per share. The shares were up by 35.4p to 360p. Small Caps Interactive healthcare group Ultrasis (ULT) claimed that it has entered a business partnership with the Cheshire and Wirral Partnership NHS Foundation Trust. The new deal will see the two organisations establish a jointly-owned company to provide a range of mental health services across the public and private sectors. Management explained that the move was part of its "strategic refocus to become a provider of comprehensive healthcare solutions rather than just a developer of software." The shares crept up by 0.09p to 0.9p Provider of educational programmes AEC Education (AEC) claimed that its results for the first 6 months of 2013 will show a "much improved performance" from its European operations. AEC also said that its London business returned to profitability over the period, while its Cyprus joint-venture continued to trade profitably. However, this positivity was largely offset by the poor performance of its Singapore business, meaning that the company should "about break-even" for the full year. The shares dropped by 0.38p to 4.25p. Plastics provider Carclo (CAR) announced that it has begun the financial year by trading in line with expectations and hailed the growth prospects of its touch screen technology business after heavy praise from its major client, Amtel. Carclo also claimed that its technical plastics division was performing well in its US and Czech markets while a new US factory is due to be completed by the end of this year. The shares surged by 31.5p to 374.5p. 
Iodine production specialist Iofina (IOF) announced that it produced 45 tonnes of iodine paste over the April-June quarter, up on the 17.5 tonnes which it produced a year earlier. However, Iofina admitted that output would have been even higher if it the expected levels of water were available to it as customers brought on fewer wells than anticipated over the period. As a result, the company doesn't expect to be hitting its 800-900 kilograms per day target until later this quarter, a delay which is bound to impact the group's full year results. The shares were down by 22.5p at 139.5p. Stem cell technology business ReNeuron Group (RENE) confirmed that it has been awarded a 1.5 million pounds grant from the Technology Strategy Board, a UK government agency. The proceeds will be used to fund ReNeuron's phase II clinical trial of its ReN001 stem cell therapy for disabled stroke patients. Management argued that this latest grant would help to "drive forward value realisation across all of its therapeutic programmes over the next three years.". The shares swelled by 0.045p to 2.92p. Online entertainment firm Zattikka (ZATT) has warned that one of its creditors has demanded payment of 307,600 pounds by the 5th August - an amount which Zattikka said it cannot pay. To this end, the group stressed that it remains in discussions with its loan holders and said that it "continues to consider its options in the context of insolvency proceedings." The shares remain suspended from trading. | 
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