| From UK-Analyst.com: Monday 2nd September 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 Output from the Chinese manufacturing sector increased to its highest level in 16 months in August, soothing fears of a prolonged slowdown in the world's second largest economy. The HSBC Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) rose to 51 from 50.3 in July, edging further away from the 50 threshold which separates contraction and expansion. The figures will fuel hopes that the economy - which has seen growth slow in 12 of the previous 14 quarters - may be starting to stabilise. A breakdown of the figures revealed that domestic demand more than made up for a falling level of exports. Stephen Green, an economist at Standard Chartered, was measured in his response to the figures and said, "We are definitely stabilising, but it's going to be a pretty weak to flat recovery." Here in the UK, a positive set of manufacturing figures has provided the economy with yet another boost, as output from the recovering sector increased at an unexpectedly high rate. The Markit/CIPS Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index increased to 57.2 last month from 54.8 in July, reflecting the fifth successive increase in UK manufacturing output. However, despite this significant increase, factory output - which makes up 10% of the UK's economy - is still around 10% below its pre-crisis peak level. The PMI reading will, however, fuel hope that growth will pick up further in the third quarter, after the economy expanded by an upwardly revised 0.7% in the second quarter. Rob Dobson, a Senior Economist at Markit, commented, "Manufacturing is clearly making a strong positive contribution to the economy, providing welcome evidence that the long-awaited rebalancing of the economy towards manufacturing and exports is at last starting to take place now that our export markets are recovering." According to the Bank of England (BoE), lending from UK banks which are taking part in the Funding for Lending Scheme increased over the April-June quarter. The increase in lending was driven by growth in mortgage lending rather than a pick-up in business lending. The scheme - which has not always been widely supported by economists - was introduced last year in order to get the economy moving again, with BoE figures revealing that lending by the 41 banks and building societies participating in the scheme was up by 1.6 billion pounds on the previous three month period. Paul Fisher, Executive Director for markets at the Bank of England, said, "The FLS is continuing to support lending to the UK economy with a range of indicators suggesting that credit conditions are steadily improving for households and firms, and FLS participants collectively expect net lending volumes to pick up over the remainder of this year." 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 30.64 points at 14,810.31 and the Nasdaq was down by 19.55 points at 3,073.81. In London the FTSE 100 closed up by 93.26 points at 6,506.19 and the FTSE 250 grew by 250.30 points to 14,875.48. The FTSE All-Share was up by 50.11 points at 3,460.54 while the FTSE AIM Index was up by 5.22 points at 757.83.  Broker Notes Canaccord Genuity maintained its "buy" recommendation on medical group Consort Medical (CSRT), with a target price of 895p. The broker notes that Consort has received a license for commercial drug handling for the Nicoventures program. Canaccord feels that adding drug handling to its portfolio of services allows Consort to move up the value chain, putting it firmly on the radar to potential new customers in the process. The shares increased by 8.25p to 833p. Westhouse Securities stuck with its "buy" recommendation on the interestingly named tunnel digger Shaft Sinkers (SHFT), with a target price of 52p. The broker is impressed with the recent set of interim results which revealed margin expansion and a PBT uplift to 2 million pounds vs. 1.1 million pounds in H1 2012. Westhouse also believes that certain management decisions made in the first half of this year lay solid foundations for increased profitability in the second half of the year. The shares edged up by 0.625p to 24.875p. Cantor Fitzgerald re-iterated its "sell" stance on oil and gas exploration group Chariot Oil and Gas (CHAR) with a target price of 17p. With all of Chariot's assets at early stages of the exploration life cycle, Cantor feels it is unlikely that the company will be able to negotiate a farm out without significantly diluting its working interest positions. On this basis, the broker struggles to see how Chariot will raise the required funds to fully explore its assets. The shares remained flat at 19.75p. 
Blue Chips Engineering firm Rolls Royce (TYMN), confirmed that it has sold its 50% shareholding and interest in the RTM322 helicopter engine programme to Turbomeca in return for a cash consideration of 293 million euros (249 million pounds). The programme in question involves full responsibility for managing the design, production and support of the RTM322 engine, which powers the Apache, EH101 Merlin and NH90 helicopters. The update comes after Bank of America stuck with its "buy" recommendation on the group last week. The shares increased by 16p to 1,128p. Mining giant Rio Tinto (RIO) confirmed that it has shipped its first load of iron ore from its operations in Pilbara in Western Australia after investing $3.4 billion (2.2 billion pounds) into surrounding infrastructure. Once fully up and running, the project is expected to yield 290 million tonnes of annual output and add jobs to Rio's global workforce which has recently been hit by substantial cuts in both Mongolia and Namibia. The shares swelled by 122p to 3,035p. Telecoms group Vodafone (VOD) has validated recent press speculation surrounding the disposal of its 45% interest in Verizon Communications Inc for $130 billion (83.5 billion pounds). Vodafone also revealed that the consideration would "substantially compromise a mixture of Verizon common stock and cash". If the transaction is completed, It would bring to an end a long-running saga, as both Vodafone and Verizon have tried to take full control of Verizon Wireless over the years, unable to agree a price. The shares were up by 6.95p at 213.2p. Mid Caps Property group Berkeley Group Holdings (BKG), claimed that trading over the last four months has been in line with management expectations. Berkeley said that its performance was boosted by an uplift in market conditions which has helped it deliver further growth in forward sales which now exceed 1.5 billion pounds. Analysts at Jefferies Group reiterated a "hold" rating on the shares in a research note to investors on Friday. Berkeley shares were up by 63p at 1,182p. Small Caps Visual technology group Seeing Machines (SEE) has received orders from BHP Billiton for its complete DSS (Driver State System). The technology will be used to detect episodes of drowsiness and lapses in concentration and will be used in Mining Area C and the Eastern Ridge at two of its Pilbara mines. The deal follows a successful trial period which saw the product deployed on 17 trucks and should generate around $1.5 million (967,000 pounds) in revenues for Seeing Machines. The shares grew by 0.375p to 4.375p. Avingtrans (AVG), the manufacturer of components to the aerospace industry, has been awarded its second contract from Porvair for the manufacture and supply of pulse jet filter pipe clusters, in a deal thought to be worth around 2 million pounds. The deal was secured by Avingtrans' recently acquired Maloney Metalcraft business and represents the second significant order that this division has secured since it was acquired by Avingtrans. The shares ticked upwards by 3.5p to 133.5p. Green technology outfit Ultima Networks (UTN), posted a first-half pre-tax loss of 140,000 pounds, wider than the comparative period's loss of 34,000 pounds, as revenues plunged from 1.4 million pounds to 0.69 million pounds. Ultima suffered from a severe fall in demand for its electronic bicycles but expects this trend to show recovery in the second half as new sales and logistic arrangements become effective. Separately, Ultima said its Green Technology Division has signed a five-year agreement to provide solar electricity to the visitor centre at the Pilansberg Game Reserve in South Africa. The shares increased by 0.075p to 0.98p. 
Software group IPPlus (IPP), saw revenues increase by 20% to 8.1 million pounds for the year ended 30th June, while pre-tax profits were up by 43% at 420,000 pounds. IPPlus partly attributed this success to the increase in demand for its CallScripter product, a customer service-focused piece of software which generated 26% more revenue than the previous year. As a result of this success, management has proposed a maiden dividend of 0.3p. The shares swelled by 2.5p to 22p. Construction firm Sweett Group (CSG), confirmed that it has secured a commission to provide cost management services for a 2km submerged rail tunnel in Hong Kong, in a project which is expected to run until 2020. On completion, the tunnel will also act as a direct link for passengers arriving in Hong Kong at Lo Wu Border from Shenzhen, China. Sweett Group did not release the financial details of the arrangement. The shares were down by 0.75p at 43.5p. Gold exploration firm SolGold (SOLG), confirmed that drilling has commenced at its 50% owned Alpala copper-gold prospect in Northern Ecuador. This drill-hole is planned to have a depth of 300 metres but will continue if mineralisation is encountered below this level. The hole is positioned to test the stock-work zone of mineralisation which has been sampled on surface by trenching, yielding 45.6 metres at 0.59% copper and 0.81 grams per tonne gold. The shares edged up by 1.5p to 10.12p. Find out why infamous trader Evil Kniveil is short of SolGold by CLICKING HERE | 
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