| From UK-Analyst.com: Tuesday 13th 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 Consistent with market expectations, UK inflation slipped slightly in July according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). The consumer price index fell to 2.8% last month, down from 2.9% in June, as lower priced clothing and air fares combined to offset an increase in petrol and diesel prices. Although the drop is a step in the right direction towards the Bank of England's 2% long-term inflation target, the figure is still closer to the 3% threshold which would require new Governor Mark Carney to write an open letter explaining why inflation is too high. Alan Clarke, an Economist at Scotiabank, commented ,"I think it's very hard for inflation to slow to 2% when you've got things like university tuition fees, tax hikes and the changing clothing methodology a few years back, all making it much harder to hit 2% than it used to be." Meanwhile, UK house prices continue to increase as transactions pick-up in areas where prices are most depressed. In a busy day for the ONS, their numbers showed that prices in the year to June rose by 3.1%, up from 2.9% in May. The pace of the year-on-year gains was helped by the West Midlands, where house prices were up by 3.1% compared to a year earlier, while London also drove the increase, as house prices in the capital grew by a staggering 8.1%. This latest piece of promising news for the UK property market meant that, for a third month in a row, the pace of price increases outstripped headline price inflation across the economy .Howard Archer, Chief UK Economist at IHS Global Insight, said, "It is looking ever more likely that house prices will see marked increases over the rest of 2013 and during 2014, with the result that we have raised our house price forecasts." 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 by 34.71 points at 15,384.97 and the Nasdaq contracted by 5.20 points to 3,120.72 In London the FTSE 100 was up by 37.60 points to 6,611.94 and the FTSE 250 grew by 23.93 points to 15,100.82. The FTSE All-Share increased by 17.70 points to 3,515.07, while the FTSE AIM Index was up by 4.32 points at 748.05.  Broker Notes N+1 Singer maintained its "buy" recommendation on cooker manufacturer AGA Rangemaster (AGA) with a target price of 135p. The broker cites evidence of improving consumer confidence and housing activity in the run up to the peak season as reason to be optimistic on the group's future performance. N+1 Singer goes on to point to the 2013 P/E multiple of 12.7 times as being undemanding against the backdrop of improving consumer markets. The shares inched up by 1.125p to 101.5p. Canaccord Genuity stuck with its "buy" recommendation on education support services firm Tribal Group (TRB) with a target price of 200p. The broker notes the firm's interim results which were in line with its own expectations. Canaccord believes that these results confirm that Tribal has not rested on its laurels following the successful turnaround of the past two years. The broker also feels that the current valuation of just over 16 times forecast 2014 earnings and less than 10 times EV/EBITDA is attractive given the ongoing transition to a software driven business and strong international contract momentum. The shares edged up by 1.75p to 202.5p. Westhouse Research re-iterated its "buy" recommendation on oil and gas operator Ithaca Energy (IAE), despite today's fall in share price following Ithaca's Q2 results announcement. In fact, Westhouse feels that the weakness in Ithaca's share price following this morning's Q2 results announcement provides a good buying opportunity ahead of the test results from the first development well in the Stella field. The shares slid by 4p to 115p. 
Blue-Chips Healthcare giant GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) confirmed that its Tivicay, HIV-combating drug has been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration. The drug in question is owned by ViiV Healthcare, a joint venture between GSK, Pfizer and Chinese drug firm Shionogi & Co in which GSK is the largest shareholder with a 76.5% stake. Sales projections are substantial for the new drug, with analysts expecting the product to generate sales of around $900 million (583 million pounds) by 2017. The shares grew by 14.5p to 1,680p. Insurance firm Resolution (RSL) announced a 17% increase in pre-tax profits to 191 million pounds for the first 6 months of the year as the value of new business acquired over the period grew by 41% to 89 million pounds. Resolution explained that it has benefitted from an improvement in its international business and has also prospered as a result of its continued policy of exiting its non-core businesses. Looking ahead, Resolution - which has the fewest employees of any FTSE 100 listed firm - fancies its chances of performing well as it attempts to capitalise on a growing corporate benefits market, which is shifting from defined benefit pension schemes towards auto-enrolment. The shares were up by 5.8p to 329.5p. Mid Caps Recruiter Michael Page (MPI) announced a 4.4% slip in gross profits for the 6 months ended 30th June, with revenues remaining flat at 503.2 million pounds. The reduction in profitability was driven by a 2.9% slip in revenues within the group's Europe, Middle East and African division - Michael Page's largest business, accounting for 41% of total gross profit. Although global job markets are showing signs of moderate improvement, the firm warned of challenging months to come as recruitment traditionally slows over the summer months. The shares dived by 18.8p to 450.2p. Oil producer EnQuest (ENQ) revealed a 13.2% fall in pre-tax profits to 192.6 million pounds for the first 6 months of the year as falling oil prices and numerous one-off costs took their toll. In further disappointing news, the group also confirmed that it now expects production from its new Alma/Galia field to begin over the first quarter of next year rather than the originally anticipated final quarter of 2013. Subsequently, production for 2013 will be towards the lower end of the 22,000 to 27,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day it predicted in March. The shares were down by 2.8p at 123.9p. Chemicals group Synthomer (SYNT) conceded that pre-tax profits were down by 10.3% at 48.6 million pounds in the first 6 months of the year as weak demand in Europe continued. Synthomer - which supplies speciality emulsion polymers to the coatings, construction, textiles, paper and latex gloves markets - also blamed a struggling construction sector for its troubles. The update prompted Morgan Stanley to retain its "overweight" recommendation and 280p target price on the firm. The shares increased by 9.5p to 215.5p. Small Caps Cloud technology firm Synety Group (SNTY) revealed that its first half pre-tax loss widened from 0.5 million pounds to 1.3 million pounds, in a result which was, according to the company, in line with the board's expectations. Management argued that the increased loss was a result of a hike in investment in the company for "the next phase of its journey". Separately, the firm outlined a plan to raise 2.1 million pounds through the placing of 1.4 million shares at 150p each as it looks to expand its UK sales force. The shares plummeted by 52.5p to 177.5p. African mineral explorer Mwana Africa (MWA) explained that its Trojan Mine in Zimbabwe will target a high high-grade nickel ore body as it looks to negate the fall in the price of the commodity. Under this new plan, Mwana's operating costs should reduce, making the whole operation a much more viable process. The firm is now in the process of seeking debt finance from Zimbabwean banks for this reduced level of working capital requirement. The shares were down by 0.01p to 1.11p. Manufacturer of water distribution units Waterlogic (WTL) admitted that trading weaknesses have persisted into 2013 in its international business while its UK business has been adversely affected by the termination of a distribution arrangement with a filter supplier. Furthermore, Waterlogic said that there had been delays in the deployment of certain other customer division projects with one particular project which was due to begin in Q1 yet to get off the ground. The Board expects that revenues for the year ended 31st December 2013 to be in the range of approximately $120-125 million (77.7 - 81million pounds), up on the $101 million (65.36 million pounds) which was achieved last year. The shares sunk by 25.5p to 142p. 
Secure payments specialist Eckoh (ECK) has secured a five-year contract with Capita Customer Management for the provision of its technology to one of the outsourcer's distribution clients. Eckoh argued that its services will help the client to cater for significant growth, also helping the company to manage unforeseen peaks in call traffic. The financial details of the contract were not released to the market. The shares crept upwards by 0.5p to 23.75p. Motorcycle maker Vmoto (VMT) has delivered two electric four-wheel cleaning vehicles to the Jianye District Government in China as part of a trial. Vmoto sees these vehicles as a potential new revenue stream and argues that the new vehicles can clean dirt and debris much more quietly than vehicles currently on the job. The Jianye district government has indicated it could buy as many as 100 units while as many as 1,000 could be purchased for the wider city of Nanjing, which has a population of more than eight million. This could result in a significant windfall for the group as each unit is expected to generate $18,700 (12,100 pounds). The shares ticked upwards by 0.13p to 1.3p. Livestock auctioneer John Swan (SWJ) plunged into a 114,000 pounds loss for the 6 months ended 30th June after it recorded a profit of 184,500 pounds for the previous year. Poor weather during the period saw a reduction in sheep prices which, in turn, dented commission at its auctioneering business while a drop in volume within the firm's cattle business cancelled out a resilient price performance in the cow market. The shares were down by 1.5p to 386p. | 
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