| From UK-Analyst.com: Thursday 5th 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 According to figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), the new car market in the UK grew in August for the 18th consecutive month. Sales of new cars were up by 10.9% at 65,937 units compared to August 2012, in an increase boosted by both private demand and demand from small businesses. Analysts expect this level of car sales to continue to increase after the introduction of the new "63" number plate in September, coupled with increasing consumer confidence in the UK economy. Mike Hawes, SMMT Chief Executive, commented, "UK new car registrations have now risen consecutively for a year and a half. Private and fleet buyers are clearly capitalising on attractive deals and new technologies against a backdrop of increasing economic confidence." Over in Asia, the markets in India looked brighter after the new head of the Bank of India, Raghuram Rajan, announced plans to improve the economy and shore up the struggling rupee. The Indian rupee rose by 2.3% against the US dollar while the Sensex swelled by 2.3% on the back of the news. India has recently lost some of its appeal to investors as economic growth has slowed while a lack of industry reforms has also prompted investors look elsewhere for growth. Radhika Rao, an economist with DBS Bank, said, "To a certain extent, the recent rupee tumble and instability in the financial markets has been a crisis of confidence. To that end, the path of action provided by the new governor and the stress on keeping communications predictable and consistent will be a welcome move." 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 10.23 points at 14,941.10 and the Nasdaq grew by 5.95 points to 3,130.49. In London the FTSE 100 was up by 57.70 points at 6,532.44 and the FTSE 250 increased by 125.81 points to 14,977.34 The FTSE All-Share was up by 29.98 points at 3,475.78 while the FTSE AIM Index grew by 2.33 points to 762.95.  Broker Notes Cantor Fitzgerald maintained its "buy" recommendation on electronics retailer Dixons (DXNS) with a target price of 50p. The broker is encouraged by Dixon's disposal of PIXmania, its pure on-line European business, which lost 31.3 million pounds in FY13. Other than this, Cantor continues to believe that Dixons is in prime position to benefit from a market consolidation and feels that a reduction in financing costs is a distinct possibility in the short-medium term. The shares were up by 2.62p at 46.88p. N+1 Singer stuck with its "buy" recommendation on pawnbroking business H&T Group (HAT) with a target price of 164p. The broker acknowledges that the market remains understandably nervous on the short term prospects for pawnbrokers given the fall in the gold price. However, N+1 is impressed with how management has reacted to this downturn by reining in expansion and cutting the dividend. The broker is also impressed with how the company has become market leader in the growing alternative credit market in the UK. The shares were down by 1.375p to 143.375p. Canaccord Genuity maintained its "buy" stance on communications firm Telit Communications (TCM) with a target price of 117p. The broker notes yesterday's announcement which revealed that Telit has acquired ILS Technology, a leading SaaS provider of deployment platforms. The acquisition increases Canaccord's confidence in Telit's competitive position and long-term growth as ILST is well regarded within the industry and has leading-edge technology supported by years of investment. The shares edged up by 1p to 85.5p. 
Blue Chips Drug developer GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) conceded that its experimental cancer vaccine did not meet the first of two joint targets in a phase III clinical trial. Despite this setback, GSK stressed that it would continue with the phase III trial of its MAGE-A3 therapeutic vaccine until the second of the targets is assessed. The medicine in question is aimed at boosting cancer sufferers' immune systems to combat the disease and had been pencilled in by analysts as a potential multi-billion dollar seller. The shares slid by 13.5p to 1,652.5p. Gas producer BG Group (GSK) announced that it has sold its final 20% stake in the Quintero LNG regasification terminal in Chile to Terminal de Valparaiso, a company majority owned by Enagás S.A. of Spain, for $176 million (112.9 million pounds). This means that, all in all, BG has sold a total of a 40% stake in the 2.5-million-tonnes-per-annum capacity regasification terminal in Quintero in Chile for a combined total of $352 million (225.76 million pounds). The shares crept upwards by 9p to 1,280p. Mid Caps Fashion retailer SuperGroup (SGP) revealed that sales over the 13 weeks ended 28th July grew by 25.7% to 75 million pounds in a performance which was in line with management expectations. The period was dominated by its international expansion programme which saw the firm buy its Spanish distributor, sign a partnership deal in Turkey and finalise distribution agreements in Malaysia and Singapore. Last week, Bank of America downgraded its positive stance on the company to a "neutral" recommendation and lowered its target price from 1,300p to 1,175p. The shares surged by 68p to 1,227p. Betting exchange operator Betfair Group (BET) admitted that revenues over the three month period ended 31st July were down by 13% as the impact of regulation issues in some of its markets and a lack of a major summer football competition took their toll. Despite this fall in turnover, underlying EBITDA was up by 16%, an increase driven by cost savings. The firm - which was the subject of takeover interest earlier in the year - went on to say that it expects to achieve its full year targets. The shares were up by 4p at 996p. Bus and train operator Go-Ahead Group (GOG) posted a 148 million pound increase in revenues to 2.571 billion pounds for the 12 months ended 28th June, with operating profits coming in above management expectations at 102.5 million pounds. The bus division was the driver behind the group's performance as it benefitted from record passenger levels. The update comes after Morgan Stanley last week re-iterated its "equal weight" stance and 1,545p target price on the company. The shares went ahead by 34p, finishing at 1,509p. Small Caps blur Group (BLUR) revealed that an unnamed US based international property development firm has used blur Group's Exchange to develop a marketing strategy. The project is valued at around $900,000 (577,000 pounds). This new contract comes after blur increased the size of projects that can be entered on the Exchange to $5 million (3.2 million pounds). Earlier this week the company confirmed that a US mobile operator adopted its Exchange to purchase and manage a number of design and marketing projects valued at $480,000 (308,000 pounds) . The shares jumped by 24p to 320p. Belvior Lettings (BLV) posted a 35% increase in revenues to 1.8 million pounds for the first six months of 2013, while after-tax profits were up by 26.6% at 0.56 million pounds. The group praised its acquisition strategy as it expanded its franchisee owned outlets in a bid to increase its market presence across the UK. It also emerged that Belvoir, which traditionally only deals with property rentals, has decided to enter the sales market via a 12 month trial across some of its offices. The shares swelled by 10p to 188.5p. Mobile banking group Monitise (MONI) announced that its pre-tax loss grew from 17,000 pounds to 51,000 pounds for the year ended 30th June despite a doubling in revenues to 72,800 pounds. These losses increased as the company embarked on investment in its technology and made an acquisition. Separately, the company said Peter Ayliffe, Visa Europe's retiring CEO, would take over as non-executive chairman from October 1. The shares were down by 2.25p at 51.5p. 
The management of Forum Energy (FEP) stressed that it knows of no reason for the recent spike in the share price. In recent days shares in the oil and gas producer have surged by around 60% to 80.75p but fell by 4.5p to 73p after the announcement. Pinnacle Technology (PINN) confirmed that it has received an offer from Coms plc for the its entire issued and to be issued ordinary share capital. However, the video editing specialist has declined the offer, arguing that the offer is opportunistic and significantly undervalues the growth prospects of the company. Shares in Pinnacle have struggled so far this year as a result of a lower level of high-profile event related activity, and a reduction in the number of IT security projects. The shares lost 1p, finishing the day at 20.5p after Coms announced late in the afternoon that it would in fact not be making a bid. African mining group Mwana Africa (MWA) has raised around 2.1 million pounds through a subscription of new shares at a price of 1.57p - a 6.% discount to yesterday's closing mid-market price of 1.67p. Against a backdrop of falling commodity prices and Mwana's subsequent need for further funding, this fundraise should cover Mwana's working capital requirements for the foreseeable future. The shares dropped by 0.02p to 1.65p. | 
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