| From UK-Analyst.com: Tuesday 24th 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 Last month British banks gave the go-ahead to the largest number of UK mortgages since December 2009. According to figures from the British Bankers Association (BBA), its members approved 38,228 mortgages in August, up from 37,428 in July and over 25% above the level which was recorded for August last year. It is thought that the Government's Funding for Lending Scheme is having the most significant effect on demand as mortgages have subsequently become cheaper to first time buyers. The data is consistent with numbers released by Halifax which show that UK house prices are currently rising by an annualised rate of 5%, in a trend which has raised concerns about the possible formation of a housing price bubble. Howard Archer, Chief UK Economist for IHS Global Insight, commented, "Housing market activity is now really stepping up a gear, supported by markedly strengthening consumer confidence and elevated employment, and fuelled by the Funding for Lending Scheme (FLS) and the Help to Buy initiative." It has also emerged that household borrowing on unsecured credit rose by £76 million in August - the first monthly increase in four years. Data from the BBA also revealed that there was 8.4 billion pounds of new spending on credit cards in August, higher than the average for the previous 6 months of £38.7 billion. Higher levels of employment and a wider range of options for consumers are thought to be behind the increase. David Dooks, BBA statistics Director, explained, "Demand for unsecured credit is starting to increase due to improving consumer confidence and more competitive offers available." Across in Europe, business confidence in Germany increased by less than expected in September, dampening hopes that the moderate improvement in the Eurozone's economy could be gathering momentum. The Ifo Institute's business climate index, based on a survey of 7,000 executives, climbed to 107.7 from a revised 107.6 in August, below the average analyst estimate for an increase to 108. However, the data marks the fifth successive monthly increase in the measure as optimism on business continues to increase. Holger Schmieding, Chief Economist at Berenberg Bank, said, "The backdrop for German growth is favourable. The level of Ifo business confidence is well above its long-term average and compatible with our call for above-trend growth. The ECB's monetary policy is gaining traction." ADVERTISEMENT Market busting gains from t1ps.com 22.13 percentage point market outperformance after 1 year under new management CLICK HERE for more details At the London close the Dow Jones was up by 25.62 points at 15,427.00 and the Nasdaq was up by 12.30 points at 3,2. In London the FTSE 100 closed up by 14.09 points at 6,571.46 and the FTSE 250 grew by 142.33 points to 15,063.23. The FTSE All-Share was up by 11.69 points at 3,498.91 while the FTSE AIM Index fell by 1.77 points to 787.86.  Broker Notes Beaufort Securities stuck with its "speculative buy" stance on oil exploration group TXO (TXO) after it announced the acquisition of a 20% interest in the enlarged issued share capital of Athabasca Resources Limited. The broker is impressed with this acquisition as it could bring about a major addition to the current resource base of TXO. On this basis, combined with the "massive potential" of TXO's existing assets, Beaufort still feels the shares are worth a punt. TXO slipped by 0.005p to 0.18p. Canaccord Genuity maintained its "buy" stance on pharmaceutical company Sinclair Is Pharma (SPH) with a target price of 38p. Although the company is trading on a reasonably high profit multiple, the broker sees good value at the current share price. Canaccord expects earnings growth to come as the company leverages its aesthetics sales and marketing infrastructure and expects revenue growth to substantially outpace additional marketing spend. The shares were down by 0.25p at 29.25p. N+1 Singer maintained its "buy" recommendation on service exchange operator blur Group (BLUR) after the group released its half year results. The broker was impressed with the numbers, especially the 250% year-on-year growth which was above its own already upgraded expectations. Looking ahead, N+1 Singer still feels that 2015 will be the first profitable year as the company continues to invest heavily in future growth. The shares dropped by 14.5p to 449p. 
Blue Chips Home Retail Group (HOME) has announced that shoppers will now be able to pick up products from about 50 selected eBay merchants at around 150 Argos stores throughout the UK. The group said that the trial is likely to last for around 6 months and is not expected to materially impact the financial performance of Home Retail Group in the current financial year. Argos said that the deal will help the group to satisfy shoppers who now expect "faster, cheaper and more convenient fulfilment of their orders." The shares were up by 4p at 168p. Mining giant Randgold Resources (RRS) said that its Kibali project in the Democratic Republic of Congo has successfully started production ahead of its end of year target. Because of this early start up, Randgold is now on track to "comfortably exceed" its production target of 30,000 ounces for the rest of the year and should meet next year's forecasts of producing 550,000 ounces of the precious metal. Broker Liberum Capital retained its "buy" recommendation and 5,410p target price on Randgold after the update. The shares slid by 128p to 4,493p. Mid Caps Information and events group Euromoney Institutional Investor (ERM) claimed that trading since it last updated the market back in July has been in line with expectations. The company revealed that advertising revenues over the period had returned to growth in a trend which helped boost revenues up by 9% on the corresponding period last year. As a result of its success, the group expects an adjusted pre-tax profit of no less than £114 million for the year, up on the £106.8 million it recorded in the previous year. The shares grew by 98p to 1,149p. Financial services group Close Brothers (CBG) posted a 9% increase in assets under management for the year ended 31st July, in an increase which helped to return its asset management division to profitability over the period. The firm also praised its performance across its banking and securities divisions which performed well "despite difficult market conditions". In response to the update, broker Numis said that its "hold" recommendation was now under review. The shares swelled by 56p to 1,189p. Small Caps 3D specialist DDD Group (DDD) swung into the red over the 6 months ended 30th June after it generated an EBITDA loss of $132,000 (£83,000) after generating a profit of $1.6 million (£1 million) over the previous period. This swing comes as a result of a drop in revenues from $4 million (£2.5 million) to $2,356,000 (£1.5 million), driven by the continued decline in the PC market - a trend which particularly impacted sales of its TriDef 3d Software. The shares fell by 1.625p to 6.875p. Consultancy to the building industry WYG (WYG) has secured contracts in the Balkans region worth a combined £6.7 million pounds. The majority of the new contracts were secured in relation to work in Croatia including projects aimed at protecting Croatia's water resources through improved water supplies. Other work included providing advisory services to small and medium enterprises in the country. The shares gained 2p, finishing the day at 108p. Spatial big data company 1Spatial (SPA) saw an 18% increase in revenues to £7.6 million over the 6 month period ended 31st July, narrowing its loss after tax to £0.5 million from 1.1 million. The company said it has benefitted from the acquisition of a 90% stake in geo-spatial software company Star-Apic and stressed that it has a healthy pipeline of opportunities with National Mapping Agencies and blue-chip companies. The shares fell by 0.5p to 8.75p. 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 
Dating website operator Cupid (CUP) saw revenues increase by 12.4% over the 6 months ended 30th June but EBITDA more than halved to 2.6 million pounds. The firm - which has recently come under public scrutiny for the way it runs it sites - cited increased marketing and administrative spending for the fall in earnings. Looking ahead, the uniformdating.com operator said the recent streamlining of the group should start to generate benefits and could allow the group to "take more of the opportunities the sector has to offer." The shares slipped by 1p to 64p. The silicon wafer recycling company Pure Wafer (PUR) expects full year pre-tax profits for the period ended 30th June to come in "significantly ahead of expectations" as a result of the continued high demand for wafer recycling at its plants in both Wales and Arizona. Pure Wafer also hinted that it is now in a position to invest in further property, plant and equipment after the 4.5 million pound placing which was recently completed. The shares jumped by 2.03p to 8.88p. After the close of play yesterday, it emerged that mine developer Ferrum Crescent (FCR)has completed a deal to sell a 35% stake in its South African Moonlight iron-ore project for a total of $13.5 million (£8.5 million). The stake was bought by Anvwar Asian Investment, which will make an initial $1 million (£630,000) payment to Ferrum Crescent by the end of November, with the balance due in first quarter of 2014. Ferrum Crescent management argued that the move was in line with its strategy of moving the project towards construction. The shares soared by 1.2p to 3.15p. | 
No comments:
Post a Comment