| From UK-Analyst.com: Tuesday 15th 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 UK inflation remained unchanged at 2.7% in September, remaining above the 2.6% consensus mark which was estimated by economists. The unchanged rate represents a continuation of inflation growth continuing to outstrip wage growth, with an increase in air prices cancelling out fuel inflation over the period. The news has increased speculation on when the Bank of England will increase interest rates, a move which the government stresses it will not consider unit the unemployment rate hits 7%. ING economist James Knightley commented, "With house prices continuing to rise ... and tomorrow's labour report set to show ongoing job gains, we continue to look for an early 2015 rate hike." A separate release from the Office for National Statistics revealed that UK house prices continued to rise in August. According to the figures, house prices increased by 3.8% in the year ended August, the quickest rate of increase since October 2010. The growth continues to be driven by London and the South East, with the average price in Scotland actually falling compared to a year earlier. The news comes a week after the government began the second phase of its Help to Buy Scheme, which allows people to buy homes by putting down a deposit of just 5%. Howard Archer, Chief UK Economist of IHS Global Insight said, "There is a significant risk that house prices could really take off over the coming months, especially if already appreciably improving housing market activity and rising buyer interest is lifted markedly further by Help to Buy." 
At the London close the Dow Jones was down by 5.63 points at 15,295.63 and the Nasdaq Increased by 13.02 points to 3,219.17. In London the FTSE 100 closed up by 41.46 points at 6,549.17 and the FTSE 250 swelled by 71.01 points to 15,128.44. The FTSE All-Share increased by 21.71 points to 3,491.54 while the FTSE AIM Index crept up by 4.03 points to 790.53.  Broker Notes N+1 Singer stuck with its "buy" recommendation on trade exhibition organiser ITE Group (ITE) with a target price of 335p. The broker notes that the company has acquired Platform Exhibitions, in a deal which is expected to be earnings enhancing in the first full year of ownership. N+1 Singer feels this is another logical extension of ITE's position in an existing business segment and believes that it will help to increase exposure to the "attractive" market of Turkey. The shares inched up by 3.8p to 285.3p. Beaufort Securities stuck with its "hold" recommendation on construction group Balfour Beatty (BBY) with a target price of 273.3p. The broker notes that Balfour has won a 77 million pounds contract in the US as part of the Wilmington Bypass project. Beaufort is impressed with the contract win but warns that the challenging market conditions in Australia dampen the prospects for further upside in the company's stock price in the short-medium term. The shares crept up by 1.7p to 275p. Shore Capital stuck with its "buy" recommendation on recruiters Matchtech (MTEC) after the company yesterday issued preliminary results for the year ended July. The numbers showed net fee income up by 6% to 38.4 million pounds and that the full year dividend has been increased slightly. The broker notes that candidate confidence is in the early stages of picking up, which in turn has positive implications for levels of permanent activity. The shares jumped by 10p to 507.5p. ADVERTISEMENT Interested in trading forex? Join us at our free educational seminar on Friday 1st November For more information CLICK HERE Blue Chips Fashion retailer Burberry (BRBY) announced that CEO Angela Ahrendt will step down over the course of next year to take up a new position with Apple. Angela's designer shoes will be filled by Christopher Bailey, a man who has been in the position of Chief Creative Officer for the past six years. The company also updated investors on trading and revealed that total revenues were up by 14% on an underlying basis over the 6 months ended 30th September, in an increase driven by accelerating growth and demand for its products in the Asia-Pacific region. The shares plunged by 121p to 1,464p. Investment group Hargreaves Lansdown (HL.) saw its assets under management grow by an annual rate of 8% to 39.3 billion pounds over the three months ended 14th October. The growing trend - which helped revenues increase by 9.2% - was attributed to improved investor confidence, the success of "strategic initiatives" and improving stock markets. Although the company said it was happy with the group's overall performance, it did warn that the reduction of interest deposit rates continues to impact interest margin revenue. The shares grew by 31p to 1,040p. Mining group Rio Tinto (RIO) increased its forecast for copper output for the full year, attributing the upgrade to a better than expected recovery rate from its Kenecott mine in the US. Rio Tinto's trading update also revealed that production levels at its Oyu Tolgoi mine in Mongolia had boosted output. The update comes a week after Deutsche Bank re-iterated its "buy" recommendation on the group with a 3,980p target price. The shares swelled by 131p to 3,215p. Mid Caps Russian miner Evraz (EVR) confirmed that it has agreed to sell the Gramoteinskaya thermal coal mine to Lehram Capital Investments in a deal worth a token 10,000 roubles (194 pounds), calculated on a debt-free basis. Management explained that the disposal was in line with the group's strategy of divesting "non-performing assets" as it looks to use its resources to develop coking coal mines important for securing the access to raw materials. The shares increased by 2.2p to 131.9p. Housebuilder Bellway (BWY) posted a 34% increase in pre-tax profits to 140.9 million pounds for the year ended 31st July, driven by increased demand for homes on the back of government housing initiatives and improved consumer confidence. As a result of its success, Bellway upped its final dividend by 50% to 21p per share. Broker Liberum Capital argues that it is a safe bet to keep hold of shares in Bellway at the moment, re-iterating its "hold" recommendation and 1,432 target price yesterday. The shares gained 67p, finishing the day at 1,453p. Estate agency Countrywide (CWD) has completed the acquisition of commercial property consultancy Lambert Smith Hampton for a total consideration of 34.1 million pounds. The company explained that the acquisition is part of the group's strategy of growing Land and Residential Development & Investment businesses as, by its own admission, it currently has "limited" commercial property activities. The shares ticked upwards by 11p to 591p. Small Caps Energy consultancy Utilitywise (UTW) posted a 73% increase in revenues to 24.8 million pounds over the year ended 31st July, propelling pre-tax profits upwards by 81% to 6.98 million pounds. The meter-managers attributed its success to the successful integration of recent acquisitions and an improved range of products and services. Looking ahead, management remains adamant that the market fragmentation in the UK gives the company a good opportunity to increase its market share over the medium term. The shares soared by 18.5p to 172.5p. Engineering group Chamberlin (CMH) conceded that it now expects to report a loss before tax for the year ended 31st March, with trading being "especially tough" for the group's medium and heavy castings foundries at Leicester and Scunthorpe. The company stressed that it is working hard to drag the two sites back to profitability and promised to update the market on this when it reports its half year results at the end of next month. The shares slid by 16p to 89p. Digital services company dotDigital (DOTD) posted an 18% increase in pre-tax profits to 3.3 million pounds for the year ended 30th June, fuelled by a 16% increase in revenues to 13.8 million pounds. The email marketing specialist cited increasing consumer confidence as one of the reasons for the upturn in results, with the company agreeing to do work with the likes of the BBC , Odeon Cinemas and EDF Energy over the period. As a result of the improvements, the company is proposing a maiden dividend of 0.1p per share. The shares were up by 1.625p at 19.875p. 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 
Pawnbroker and financial services group H&T Group (HAT) claimed that trading continues to be in line with previously downgraded expectations. As a result of an increasingly competitive environment and reduced gold price, the company had warned investors that results were not going to be good as originally expected. However, H&T stressed that its new focus on "retail optimisation" has led to an increase in retail sales, a reduction in net debt and the successful launch of ancillary products. The shares crept upwards by 2.375p to 143p. Gift packager International Greetings (IGR) also said that trading is in line with management expectations for the current financial year and was quick to praise efficiency gains in its Dutch-based gift-wrap manufacturing operation. The company also explained that sales through internet based retailers continue to increase with the introduction of products for sale through Ocado and an extension of the Tom Smith Christmas range through Amazon both being particularly successful. The shares edged upwards by 2.875p to 55p. Financial services group Lombard Risk Management (LRM) swung into a pre-tax loss of 934,000 pounds over the six months ended September 30th, well down on the 1.3 million pounds pre-tax profit it made in the prior year period. The deterioration in profitability was driven by a rise in administrative expenses and losses as a result of depreciation and amortisation. The firm also had to contend with a slight fall in revenues which was brought about by delays to new regulatory products. The shares slipped by 1.25p to 12.25p. | 
No comments:
Post a Comment