| From UK-Analyst.com: Wednesday 25th 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 Following on from data released yesterday, which showed that mortgage approvals were on the up, the Bank of England's Financial Policy Committee said that it was keeping tabs on the UK housing market, mindful of the risks of a new property price bubble. However, the committee was keen to stress that the present situation does not require any action and that it made no new recommendations to the BoE at its most recent meeting last week. The committee went on to highlight hedge funds as a further asset class which could be at risk, especially given any rise in interest rates. An extract from the committee's report read, "The Committee judged that it should closely monitor developments in the housing market and banks' underwriting standards." On the London markets, shares in Centrica and SSE dropped by 5.1% and 4.6% respectively after Ed Miliband's pledged to freeze energy bills until 2017 if the Labour party wins the next election. Ed Miliband's promise has attracted widespread ridicule from the energy market - as well as anybody who knows a thing or two about economics - as divorcing prices from the forces of supply and demand could potentially have widespread implications on the market as a whole. A statement from Centrica said, "If prices were to be controlled against a background of rising costs it would simply not be economically viable for Centrica, or indeed any other energy supplier, to continue to operate and far less to meet the sizeable investment challenge that the industry is facing." After it emerged yesterday that German business confidence is not as strong as hoped for, it was today revealed that Italian consumer confidence increased by more than economists expected in September. According to the Italian Statistics Office, the national confidence index rose to 101.1 this month from a revised 98.4 in August. The data comes after the Italian unemployment rate dropped for a second successive month in July as companies began to get their hiring boots on. Annalisa Piazza, a fixed-income analyst at Newedge Group, commented, "The survey shows some improvement in the current climate and economic situation, probably supported by less restrictive fiscal conditions." 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 15.58 points at 15,350.17 and the Nasdaq was up by 0.88 points to 3,219.54. In London the FTSE 100 closed down by 18.07 points at 6,553.39 and the FTSE 250 dropped by 17.69 points to 15,045.54. The FTSE All-Share was down by 8.73 points at 3,490.18 while the FTSE AIM Index grew by 1.44 points to 789.30.  Broker Notes Beaufort Securities stuck with its "speculative buy" recommendation on clean energy company Acta (ACTA) after the company yesterday announced that it received a repeat order for an Acta Power back-up power system. The broker feels that the repeat order from a major customer within just four months of its first sale speaks volumes about the acceptance level and attractiveness of Acta power systems. Beaufort goes on to cite a strong order book and significant growth prospects in the Chinese markets as further reasons to be positive on the share price. The shares were down by 0.375p at 9.875p. Shore Capital upgraded its "neutral" stance to a "buy" recommendation on transport group Go-Ahead (GOG), impressed with the group's future profit targets. The broker notes that the company is targeting the generation of 100 million pounds in operating profits from the bus business by 2016 and feels this is a realistic and achievable target. Moreover, Shore Capital believes that the shares represent a unique opportunity to gain a close to free option on profitable rail franchise extensions and successful future franchise wins. The shares slipped by 18p to 1,652p. Canaccord Genuity stuck with its "buy" recommendation on outdoor location services provider Ubisense (UBI) with a target price of 269p. The broker notes that the group has been awarded a $1 million (622,000 pounds) contract by ISR Transit as part of a larger $11.5m (7.2 million pounds) deal. Canaccord acknowledges that the financial implications of the contract are not ground-breaking but argued that the contract was indicative of the relevance of the company's technology for outdoor location services across multiple sectors and industries. The shares remained flat at 212.5p. 
Blue Chips Business support group Reed Elsevier (REL) announced that its CFO Duncan Palmer has decided to resign due to family reasons. The resignation will become effective on the 25th September next year and the company will identify his successor in the meantime. Duncan himself maintains that he will be fully committed to the company - which specialises in publishing and providing information across the medical and legal sectors - until he leaves his post next year. The update comes a week after Barclays Capital re-iterated its "overweight" recommendation and 935p target price on the company. The shares slid by 4p to 846p. Mining group Anglo American (AAL) has agreed to sell 100% of its iron ore operation in Brazil to Zamin for an initial consideration of around $136 million (84.6 million pounds). Additionally, Anglo American will receive a further amount of up to $130 million (80.88 million pounds) payable over a five year period and based on the market price for iron ore. Anglo will use the proceeds of the sale - expected to be complete by the year end - to pay down debt. The shares swelled by 32p to 1,577.5p. Mid Caps Consumer product group PZ Cussons (PZC) claimed that the company has performed in line with expectations since the beginning of June. The Imperial Leather brand owner was quick to praise the trading within its washing and bathing division while its St. Tropez beauty products have benefitted from the appointment of Kate Moss as brand ambassador. Internationally, the firm went on to say that it has performed well in Indonesia and Australia but conceded that the weakening of the respective currencies has taken the gloss of those numbers. The shares slumped by 3.1p to 417.8p. Engineering group Kentz Corporation (KENZ) announced that it has been awarded two contracts in the Middle East region for its Engineering, Procurement and Construction Unit. The contracts have a combined value of $18 million (11.2 million pounds). The first contract was awarded by Abu Dhabi Gas Industries Limited and is for the provision of a replacement control system in the onshore oil fields of Habshan. The second contract is for the provision of multi-discipline engineering and construction services for an unnamed new client in Abu Dhabi. The shares lost 0.7p, finishing the day at 493.8p. Construction firm Balfour Beatty (BBY) has been awarded a 125 million pounds contract to build a student accommodation complex for the Texas A&M University. The proposed development will incorporate approximately 4,000 beds featuring both apartment and traditional residence hall designs. The project in question will be Balfour's sixth student accommodation project in the USA after it was recently awarded a 312 million pounds contract with the University of Florida. The shares were down by 0.1p at 283.9p. Small Caps Nationwide Accident Repair Services (NARS), the vehicle accident repair services provider, saw its underlying pre-tax profits more than half to 1.4 million pounds for the half year ended June 30th. The group blamed the "ongoing difficult trading environment" for the downfall which prompted margin pressures and an adverse workflow mix. The news should not come as a surprise to the market as a trading update in August warned that profits were diminishing. Separately, the company acknowledged that fellow AIM listed firm Quindell Portfolio* has taken up a 22.5% stake in the company but stressed that there was no reason to think that Quindell intend to make an offer for the company. The shares surged by 12.5p to 62p. Iodine producer Iofina (IOF) posted a 51% increase in revenues to $11.6 million (7.2 million pounds) for the first half of 2013, squeezing its losses down from $970,000 (603,000 pounds) to $124,400 (77,200 pounds). Iofina said its new production process made its first significant contribution to results and also outlined plans to increase its production facilities to 6 plants, up from the 2 plants which are currently operational. The increase in capacity would allow Iofina to produce between 700-1000 metric tonnes of Iodine, making it one of the largest iodine producers in North America. The shares soared by 37p to 185p. Management software provider Intercede Group (IGP) claimed that it has achieved strong revenue growth over the first half of its financial year as a result of a multitude of new contracts. Intercede went on to announce that it had recently secured two further contracts with a European aerospace company and a urban police force in Europe. These new contracts have apparently already contributed to revenues over the last 6 month period and should continue to do so until the end of the financial year in March and beyond. The shares grew by 8p to 96.5p. 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 
Retail interior specialist Havelock Europa (HVE) saw losses over the first half of 2013 grow from 1.2 million pounds to 2 million pounds as revenues slipped by 9% to 34.2 million pounds. Despite the poor performance, the shop-fitter said it was excited about the second half of the year as it has recently won a new contract with the Post Office and had been appointed lead supplier to Marks and Spencer in Far East Asia. It also emerged that group debt had more than doubled to 4.8 million pounds as the company invested in materials needed for this anticipated busy second half of the year. The shares were down by 3.625p at 18.75p. Pharmaceutical firm Clinigen Group (CLIN) announced a 49% increase in revenues over the year ended 30th June as a result of organic growth across all three of its businesses. As a result, underlying pre-tax profits were up by 29% to 20.4 million pounds with the firm's Global Access Programs business delivering the most explosive growth, albeit from the smallest base. Looking ahead, the group said it was to maintain its focus in the US, Latin America and Asia while it hinted at the possibility of acquiring further products for its Specialty Pharmaceuticals operations. The shares increased by 27p to 430p. Small cap specialist website t1ps.com recommended that subscribers buy Clinigen shares in May this year at 263.5p. They currently trade 63% ahead. Surveillance technology group Digital Barriers (DGB) announced that it has been awarded two new contracts for the provision of its unattended ground sensor product. The first of these is an initial contract from a major Asia-Pacific government for the supply of its production for border protection purposes. The second deal is for another "high profile border" and is worth around 1 million pounds. The product in question is a system for monitoring and securing wide-areas, remote assets and extended perimeters. The shares were up by 9p to 149p. * Quindell Portfolio is a corporate client of Rivington Street Holdings, the ultimate owner of UK-Analyst. | 
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