| From UK-Analyst.com: Monday 14th October 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 As the US Government shutdown saga rumbles on the head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Christine Lagarde, warned that a failure to act could result in a global recession. Although Democratic and Republican leaders held talks over the weekend on whether the debt ceiling should be raised, it seems as if little progress was made and, with the October 17th deadline fast approaching, there are few signs of any breakthrough. Christine Lagarde, like her counterparts at the World Bank, warned, "If there is that degree of disruption, that lack of certainty, that lack of trust in the US signature, it would mean massive disruption the world over and we would be at risk of tipping yet again into recession." According to a poll by EEF, the UK'S largest manufacturing trade body, 80% of UK manufacturers would prefer to stay in the European Union if a referendum was to be held today. The findings come amid the continued debate on whether the UK is better off in or out of the EU with David Cameron promising to re-think Britain's EU ties and hold an "in/out" referendum by the end of 2017. Terry Scuoler, Chief Executive of EEF, commented, "Britain must not gamble on its future in Europe. The stakes are enormous. It is naive to think we can pull up the drawbridge and carry on as normal. Billions of pounds of trading opportunities are at stake." Industrial output in the Eurozone increased at the quickest pace in over two years during August, fuelling hope that the 17-nation bloc is truly gathering some economic momentum. The highest level of growth was recorded in Portugal which saw its output grow by 8.2% over the month, while powerhouse Germany recorded growth of 1.8% over the period. Chris Williamson, Chief Economist at researcher provider Markit commented, "Policymakers will be encouraged by the ongoing recovery trend, but will be reminded of the huge surplus of capacity that persists compared to before the crisis struck." 
At the London close the Dow Jones was down by 64.93 points at 15,172.18 and the Nasdaq fell by 8.44 points to 3,219.17. In London the FTSE 100 closed up by 20.46 points at 6,507.65 and the FTSE 250 swelled by by 87.60 points to 15,057.43. The FTSE All-Share increased by 11.94 points to 3,469.83 while the FTSE AIM Index crept up by 0.6 points to 786.85.  Broker Notes N+1 Singer re-iterated its "buy" recommendation on manufacturer of water distribution equipment Waterlogic (WTL) with a target price of 235p. The broker notes that Waterlogic has announced the distribution of its consumer product range in Japan through its Japanese partner ALCONIX. N+1 Singer Feels this is indicative of how the company's consumer products division has begun to gain traction with the various partners it has globally and feels this consumer unit can truly be a success for the company. The shares slipped by 0.25p to 102.25p. Beaufort Securities stuck with its "buy" recommendation on oil producer Europa Oil & Gas (EOG) after it released its final results for the period ended 31st July last Friday. The broker was impressed with the numbers which showed increased profitability on the back of a reduction in the cost of sales. Given this positive momentum and its strong portfolio of assets with "attractive" exploration projects in Ireland, France and the UK, Beaufort remains confident about the future growth potential of the company. The shares inched up by 0.25p to 9p. Goldman Sachs upgraded its "hold" stance to a "buy" on private investors' favourite Gulf Keystone (GKP), leaving its target price unchanged at 283p. The Investment bank feels that the current weakness in share price could be a perfect time to pounce for would-be investors, highlighting the fact that the shares have fallen by 18% over the last month since the Excalibur Ventures court case. Goldman argues that it is now cheaper for integrated oil companies to buy discovered resources rather than undertaking exploration themselves and, in turn, sees Gulf Keystone as an appealing acquisition target given its material assets. The shares grew by 4p to 182.75p. Equity research body GECR initiated coverage on drug developer ImmuPharma* (IMM) with a "buy" recommendation and 200p target price. The research house feels that the firm's Lupuzor product has the potential to be a "blockbuster treatment" for Lupus, a medical condition stemming from problems with the immune system. Analyst Andrew Noone argues that this product in particular offers significant potential upside and also de-risks the investment opportunity. The shares were up by 2.5p at 64.5p.
ADVERTISEMENT Interested in trading forex? Join us at our free educational seminar on Friday 1st November For more information CLICK HERE Blue Chips Telecommunication giant Vodafone (VOD) has completed the long-awaited takeover of German cable company Kabel Deutschland Holdings. As a result of the transaction, Vodafone now owns 76.57% of the share capital of Kabel. The move comes after Vodafone sold its share in Verizon Wireless last month for $130 billion and will see the company add cable television subscribers to its customer base. The update comes after CitiGroup re-iterated its "neutral" recommendation and 215p target price at the back end of last month. The shares increased by 1.75p to 221.55p. Mid Caps Recruiter Michael Page (MPI) reported a 0.4% increase in gross profits to 127 million pounds over the third quarter of 2013, boosted by "gradually improving" job markets within the territories in which it operates. The company was quick to praise its efforts in the US which benefitted from increased employment as the company looked to capitalise on increasingly favourable conditions. Separately, the group confirmed that it is on the lookout for a new CFO following the resignation of Andrew Bracey, who had been in the role for 18 months. The shares dropped by 24.5p to 470p. Plastic supplier Essentra (ESNT), previously known as Filtrona, claimed that the company's performance over the June-September quarter was in line with expectations, with revenues up by 23% on the corresponding period last year. Essentra explained that the performance was boosted by a good showing from its Component & Protection unit as market conditions in Europe improved. The update comes after Deutsche Bank last week re-iterated its "buy" recommendation, cutting its target price from 866p to 845p. The shares jumped by 9.5p to 735p. Construction group Balfour Beatty (BBY) announced that its Infrastructure business has been awarded work on the Wilmington Bypass project in a deal worth around 77 million pounds. The project includes a 7,185-foot-long bridge over the Cape Fear River in North Carolina and 1.5 miles of a four-lane road in the southeast counties of Brunswick and New Hanover. Management argued that the project perfectly fits its skill set and is testament to the improving outlook for its US business. The shares swelled by 4.8p to 273.3p. Small Caps Oil exploration group Oilex (OEX) has been awarded two new oil exploration permits for areas in the Canning Basin, Australia. The company hinted that it may now buy a single large survey for the larger area to save money and get a better picture of the area's potential. Oilex went on to say that it has had numerous approaches from private equity firms to buy into the project. The shares were up by 0.33p at 3.3p. Marine radio communications group Software Radio Technology (SRT) expects to report a performance in line with expectations for the 6 months ended 30th September after making revenues of 3.2 million pounds and a loss before tax of 0.4 million pounds over the period. Looking ahead to the second half of the year, the company expects a significant increase in revenues primarily driven by demand arising from existing mandates. The update prompted Westhouse Securities to increase its target price from 26p to 30p. The shares fell by 1.625p to 29.375p. Infection control technology group Tristel (TSTL) confirmed that it swung into profit for the half year ended 30th June, making a pre-tax profit of 1.1 million pounds, well up on the 0.6 million pounds loss it made in the previous six months. The firm attributed the improvement - which it says is still continuing - to the establishment of its brand and the development of a diverse customer base. The shares increased by 1.75p to 25.75p. 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 
Self storage firm Lok'n Store (LOK) posted a 32.4% increase in operating profits to 2.57 million pounds for the year ended 31st July, in a trend which has prompted the group to raise its full-year dividend by 20% to 6p. The improvement was boosted by a 10.4% increase in occupancy across its storage portfolio rather than any increase in pricing. Looking ahead, the group is confident in the future demand for its services, a projection which has prompted recent investments in new sites in Crawley, Maidenhead and Aldershot. The shares swelled by 7.5p to 180.5p. African budget airline Fastjet (FJET) is to commence international flight operations this week, with the group's flight from Dar es Salaam's in Tanzania to Johannesburg's O.R. Tambo International Airport in South Africa scheduled to depart on Friday morning. The service will initially run three times a week but Fastjet insisted that this frequency will increase if the demand is there. The shares slumped by 0.11p to 4.28p. Medical device manufacturer Tissue Regenix (TRX) announced that its US processing partner, Community Tissue Services, has successfully undertaken its first production of DermaPure, a device manufactured for skin treatment. Tissue Regenix stressed that the news leaves it on track to tap into the "highly lucrative" US wound healing market in the first half of next year. The update follows news that emerged last week suggesting that the company is nearing completion of the appointment of distributors across the US to cover the vast majority of the country. The shares ticked upwards by 0.375p to 10.62p. * ImmuPharma is a corporate client of GECR, a subsidiary of Rivington Street Holdings, the ultimate owner of UK-Analyst. | 
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