| From UK-Analyst.com: Wednesday 14th 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 troubled Eurozone managed to pull itself out of recession in the second quarter of the year, putting an end to a record 18 months of economic contraction. According to figures from European statistics house Eurostat, the Eurozone's GDP grew by 0.3% over the April-June period, slightly above the average analyst estimate for a 0.2% expansion. The growth was driven by a better-than-expected economic performance from Germany and a pickup from a French economy which has been widely criticised by economists of late. However, the figures masked discrepancies in the economic fortunes of different countries as the Netherlands, Spain and Italy failed to emerge from the depths of recession. On this basis, the headline figures failed to convince everyone with scribblers at Capital Economic writing, "The return to modest rates of economic growth in the euro zone as a whole won't address the deep-seated economic and fiscal problems of the peripheral countries." UK unemployment slipped slightly, by 4,000, over the April-June quarter, leaving 2.51 million people out of work according to the Office for National Statistics. The data means that the unemployment rate remains steady at 7.8%, significantly higher than the 7% target the Bank of England said would need to be hit before it would consider increasing interest rates. The unemployment rate has remained steady as, although employment has increased, the size of the eligible workforce has increased by a similar rate. John Philpott of the think tank, the Jobs Economist commented, "The headline jobs figures may continue to be broadly positive but one only has to dig a little deeper into the statistics to see that millions of people are continuing to be hit by a combination of lack of jobs and a ceaseless sharp fall in the real value of their pay." Prominent investor Carl Icahn yesterday revealed that, following a conversation with Apple's CEO Tim Cook, he has accumulated a large stake, as he feels that shares in the iPad-maker are currently "extremely undervalued". Apple's share price has fallen by around 30% since last September as its handset business has been surpassed by Samsung in terms of profitability. However, on the back of Mr Icahn's comments on twitter, shares in the world's most valuable company jumped by 4.75% to $489.57. Comments on Carl Icahn's twitter page read, "We currently have a large position in Apple. We believe the company to be extremely undervalued. Spoke to Tim Cook today. More to Come." 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 66.63 points at 15,384.38 and the Nasdaq contracted by by 6.96 points to 3,134.10 In London the FTSE 100 was down by 24.51 points to 6,587.43 and the FTSE 250 was down by 14.48 points at 15,086.34. The FTSE All-Share was down by 6.57 points at 3,508.50 while the FTSE AIM Index grew by 1.20 points to to 749.25.  Broker Notes Canaccord Genuity retained its "buy" recommendation on payments specialists Planet Payment (PPT) with a target price of 250p. The broker acknowledges that Q2 results were below its forecasts but insists that Planet Payment remains well positioned for growth. Canaccord goes on to point to the group's geographical diversion of revenues as further reason to be optimistic on its chances, with North American revenues accounting for a much more significant chunk of turnover these days. The shares were down by 11p to 175p. Beaufort Securities stuck with its "buy" recommendation on medical group GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) after the firm's Tivicay, HIV-combating drug was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration. The broker is impressed with this development and feels that new product approvals, combined with company's strengthened businesses in emerging markets, could provide stable growth for GSK in the medium term future. The shares edged up by 1.5p to 1,681.5p. Cantor Fitzgerald stuck with its "buy" recommendation on asset managers Jupiter Fund Management (JUP) with a target price of 431p. The broker is impressed with the firm's good cost control, performance track records across mutual funds, cash generation and prospects for the dividend. Moreover, Cantor is not fazed by the potential share impact of the 12.5 million pounds placing the company has embarked on and argues that it could in fact be positive for the share price. The shares were down by 3.7p at 359.3p. 
Blue-Chips Mining group Glencore Xstrata (GLEN) announced a 20% increase in the production of copper to 673,400 for the six months to June as fruitful African projects fed through to its overall results. The group - which was created as Glencore and Xstrata officially merged on the 2nd May - went on to concede that its zinc production levels were down on last year as its Brunswick and Perseverance projects reached the end of their mine lives. The update comes a day after broker BNP Paribas lowered its target price from 405p to 315p. Fellow mining firm Eurasian Natural Resources (ENRC) conceded that underlying core profit was down by 17% to $944 million (607.8 million pounds) in the first half of the year. The firm explained that its performance was negatively impacted by falling commodity prices across the board, higher finance costs and impairments at its Boss Mining subsidiary. These results could represent the final set of ENRC numbers as a FTSE-100 listed company as its founders look to buy-out the company and take it private. The shares fell by 7.2p to 229.3p. Mid Caps Pest control and laundry group Rentokil Initial (RTO) announced a 6.8% increase in revenues to 594.2 million pounds for the second quarter of the year, with adjusted pre-tax profits up by 10.9% to 54.8 million pounds. Management explained that the company performed well in areas of Asia including China, India and Vietnam. Looking ahead, the group did stress caution on its short-term prospects in Europe but expects the moderate improvement in the region over the period to continue throughout the remainder of the year. The shares were up by 5.95p at 103p. Support Services firm Interserve (IRV) revealed a 7.6% surge in pre-tax profits to 36.8 million pounds for the first 6 months of the year as revenues grew by 8.6% to 1.068.2 billion pounds. The firm attributed the majority of its success to its UK support services division and its Equipment Services division which capitalised on improving market conditions. Separately, the firm revealed that it has been awarded a 110 million pounds contract extension with the Ministry of Defence in an agreement which commits Interserve to providing a range of services including explosives safety operations and administration support. The results were enough for both Numis and Westhouse to retain their "add" recommendations on the group. The shares increased by 21p to 556p. Construction firm Balfour Beatty (BBY) booked a 70% fall in pre-tax profits for the first 6 months of the year as problems in both of its UK and Australian businesses refused to go away. Its Australian arm was hit by a drastic reduction in the number of natural resources projects on the go while its UK division struggled to gain traction in a market with a distinct lack of new infrastructure projects. However, these troubles have long been flagged by the company and Balfour Beatty still insists that it is in line to meet market expectations for the full year. The shares dived by 17p to 233.1p. Small Caps Woodchip supplier Active Energy Group (AEG) has announced a new supply contract with Biomasse Italia, an Italian biomass energy producer. Under the agreement, Active Energy Group will ship a minimum of 240,000 tonnes of biomass over a two year period commencing on 1st January 2014. Management argued that this agreement is another example of the company exploiting the opportunity which has been created by the tightening of supplies of wood chip and forestry products . The shares grew by 0.625p to 3.125p. Pilat Media Global (PGB), the supplier of business management software, revealed that it has entered into three new contracts which will contribute approximately 3 million pounds of license revenues and implementation fees. Two of the contracts have been signed with television networks in Latin America and Turkey while the third agreement is with a new partner company in South America which will be working with a "major telecommunications company" in the region. The shares increased by 2p to 52p. Iron exploration firm African Minerals (AMI) confirmed that the Board has accepted the resignation of Keith Calder, Chief Executive Officer, and Miguel Perry, Chief Financial Officer. The new positions will be taken up by company director Bernard Pryor and Kazakhmys CFO Matthew Hird respectively. The renewed focus of the management team will now be on "consistent production and lowering costs" with the emphasis on the firm's flagship Tonkolili project, in Sierra Leone. The shares were down by 25p to 219p. 
Ubisense Group (UBI) announced that "a large European telecoms network operator" has placed a 2 million euros (1.7 million pounds) order for a product which, according to Ubisense, should enable the operator to deliver high-speed broadband to their customers significantly faster and cheaper than existing methods. Ubisense is confident on the future selling prospects of such products as operators face a difficult challenge in minimising infrastructure costs while rolling out services as quickly as possible. The shares swelled by 4p to 224p. Outsourcing group Quindell Portfolio* (QPP) released a trading update which revealed that total gross sales were up by 33% over the first 6 months of the year. At an investor teach-in today, management explained to city professionals that this increase was driven by strong growth in the legal services business following a succession of contract wins. In a separate statement, the firm said, "Through a focused approach to billing and trade debtor management, cash collection across the business continued to be according to and in some cases, ahead of plan." The shares were up by 1.125p at 13p. Investment firm Origo Partners (OPP) confirmed that it will be making no further investments until further notice as it "concentrates on managing positions in existing portfolio companies". Under the terms of the company's new strategy, Origo also intends to significantly reduce operating costs including a reduction in property costs, a 50% cull of its staff and a "general decrease in travel and operating expenses." The firm also outlined its plans to move away from indirect investments in Mongolia in light of the continuing weakening of growth in the region. The shares grew by 0.25p to 8.75p. * Quindell Portfolio is a corporate client of a subsidiary of Rivington Street Holdings, the ultimate owner of UK-Analyst. | 
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