| From UK-Analyst.com: Tuesday 8th October 2013 The Markets The second phase of the government's controversial Help to Buy scheme came into effect today. The scheme allows home buyers to purchase property by only putting down a 5% deposit, with the government offering up to 15% of the property price as a loan. The aim of the initiative is to enable buyers, who would otherwise be unable to get on to the property ladder, a realistic chance to buy a home of their own. RBS, Natwest and Halifax will this week start to take mortgage applications under the new guidelines as the government attempts to give an extra boost to a UK property market which is already starting to show signs of improvement. Not everyone is convinced with the new scheme, with some warning that the new measures could help fuel a housing price bubble. However, Treasury Secretary Danny Alexander commented, "People who think that there's a housing bubble should get out more. They should get out of Kensington and Chelsea, and go to Manchester or Birmingham, and major towns across the country." According to a survey from the British Chamber of Commerce (BCC), British firms delivered their best growth in domestic trade in 6 years over the June-September quarter. The BCC's quarterly economic survey also suggested that UK GDP growth accelerated to around 1% over the third quarter of the year, building on more modest gains delivered over the second quarter. The broad survey also indicated further improvements in job prospects across the UK as a balance of 26% of service firms plan to increase headcount in the next three months - the highest reading since 2007. David Kerno, Chief Economist at the BCC, said, "Its clear that the UK upturn is gathering momentum, with most key balances in this quarter higher than their pre-recession levels in 2007." The International Monetary Fund has cut its forecasts for global economic growth this year, attributing the downgrade to a steeper than expected slump in the world's emerging economies. The IMF now expects global output to increase by 2.9% on last year, down on the estimate of a 3.1% expansion back in July - an estimate which implies the slowest growth rate since 2009. A slowdown in the Chinese economy is thought to be of particular concern to the IMF, with concerns centered on a potential slump in output as the world's second largest economy shifts from being export driven to one much more dependent on domestic demand. An extract from the IMF statement read, "Policymakers have shown their determination to keep the global economy away from the precipice. Aside from new cliff events, a growing worry is a prolonged period of sluggish global growth." ADVERTISEMENT Films can provide a unique and potentially lucrative investment opportunity. Earn Royalties for 25 years Opportunity to appear in a major film production as an extra or spend the day on set watching the filming A listed cast of Hollywood stars Request our free no obligation film investment brochure CLICK HERE At the London close the Dow Jones was down by 53.87 points at 14,882.37 and the Nasdaq fell by 36.27 points to 3,179.42. In London the FTSE 100 closed down by 71.45 points at 6365.83 and the FTSE 250 dropped by 103.35 points to 14,667.64. The FTSE All-Share was down by 35.34 points at 3,392.75 while the FTSE AIM Index slipped by 5.30 points to 775.84.  Broker Notes Jefferies downgraded its "buy" recommendation to a "hold" stance on vehicle hire group Northgate (NTG), leaving its target price unchanged at 385p. The investment bank believes that any increase in share price heavily depends on increasing rates across its Spanish business - a move that Jefferies feels could be difficult at the current time. Jefferies also notes that the share price has increased by 30% over the last three months and feels the current valuation is fair. The shares slipped by 0.5p to 434p. Investec upgraded its "hold" stance to a "buy" recommendation on Dairy Crest (DCG) on the back of the recent weakness in share price and feels that now could be the perfect entry point for any would be investors. The broker is particularly encouraged by the dairy specialist's 45 million pounds investment in whey production at its Davidstow cheese facility and feels this could be key in terms of the group attempts to tap into the lucrative infant formula market. The shares were up by 4.9p at 468p. N+1 Singer downgraded its "buy" recommendation to a "hold" stance on events group Wilmington (WIL), issuing a target price of 220p. The broker acknowledges that the shares could continue to rise if the company continues to deliver on its strategy. However, given that the shares have soared by 34% in the previous three months, N+1 believes that the shares could be fully priced at the current level. The shares grew by 0.625p to 217.375p. 
Blue Chips Banking group HSBC (HSBA) has sold a portfolio of "non-performing" personal unsecured and secured loans to the Paragon Group of Companies in a deal worth 13.5 million pounds. The portfolio is made up of loans from HFC Bank Limited, an indirectly wholly-owned subsidiary of HSBC that was put into run off in 2009. The news of the sale comes a week after Berenberg Bank re-iterated its "buy" recommendation and 790p target price on the bank. The shares dropped by 7.9p to 664.5p. Property investor British Land (BLND) has sold two jointly owned shopping centres in Aberdeen for 189 million pounds. British Land, which jointly own the properties with Land Securities, is due to receive 94.5 million pounds as a result of the sale. The properties in question include 75 retail units and 1,400 car park spaces and are positioned between a 200,000 sq ft John Lewis and a 110,000 sq ft M&S. The sale is the continuation of British Land's strategy of capitalising on improved sentiment in investment markets. The shares fell by 6p to 569p. Mid Caps Engineering and construction firm Kentz (KENZ) has been awarded a services contract for the Qatargas Laffan Refinery Phase 2 project in Qatar. The new agreement will see Kentz's TSS unit process an additional 146,000 barrels a day of condensate recovered from the one of the world's largest non-associated gas fields, the North Field. Management argued that the deal was testament to its efforts in growing the level of business activity it conducts in the region. The shares increased by 7.3p to 480.3p. Provider of utility services Telecom Plus (TEP) claimed that it has delivered a "significant acceleration in new customer wins" over the 6 months ended 30th September despite extensive advertising campaigns by the likes of BT over the period. The company attributed this period of success to the "simplicity" of the services it offers and the percentage of customers who use Telecom Plus to provide at least four services. The shares surged by 131p to 1,371p. Engineering group WS Atkins (ATK) has been awarded a 75 million pound contract to act as lead designer for three of the six lines of Saudi Arabia's new Riyadh Metro system. Under the terms of the agreement, WS Atkins will team up with Spanish consultancy Typsa to help design part of the system which will include 25 stations and 2 depots. The news comes after Panmure Gordon retained its "hold" recommendation on the firm last week. The shares inched up by 4p to 1,114p. Small Caps Motorbike manufacturer Vmoto (VMT) has praised its performance in August after it delivered a net profit after tax figure of A$121,000 (71,000 pounds) – the company's best trading month since June when it made its first profit. Vmoto argued that the improving results were down to the interest being generated for its products in China after it recently opened retail stores within the country. All being taken into account, the company still expects to generate between A$300,000 (176,000 pounds) and A$600,000 (353,000 pounds) in annual profit for 2013. The shares dropped by 0.025p to 1.475p. Mineral exploration group Herencia Resources (HER) announced that evaluation work at Chilean copper target Picachos has been very promising. The explorers were quick to stress that sampling of the 'Leoncito Zone' ore stockpile returned several high-grades including grades of 9.3%, 16.4% and 25.2% Copper. Other nearby zones of interest also exhibited positive results, in figures which prompted management to argue that the company could soon be a fully paid-up copper producer. The shares were up by 0.1p at 0.59p. Somero Enterprises (SOM), the machinery manufacturer, boasted "better than expected growth" in orders during September, with orders up across the whole range of its laser screed equipment. Consistent with a moderate uplift in economic conditions over in the United States, Somero said that the majority of the growth was delivered from the US as businesses begin to increase capital expenditure. As a result of this trend, group profitability for the second half of the year is likely to exceed first half profitability rather than come in below - an event which the company warned was likely to happen when it last updated the market. The shares swelled by 9p to 88p. 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 
Grafenia (GRA), formerly Printing.com, conceded that sales volumes in August were disappointing, although September numbers have improved slightly. As a result, the graphic design and printing specialist now expects full year results to come in below expectations and be skewed towards the second half's trading. Investors will now await the group's interim results which are due to be released on the 4th November. The shares slipped by 0.75p to 19.5p.
Corporate communications group Aeorema Communications (AEO) confirmed that it had returned to profitability over the year ended 30th June, having generated a pre-tax profit of 360,000 pounds, well up on the 36,000 pounds loss it recorded for the previous year. The firm attributed the improvement to an increased level of business conducted by its events business as well as cost savings generated by a move of office. Because of this period of success, Aeorema is now proposing an enhanced maiden dividend of 1.5p per share to be paid next month. The shares surged by 11p to 44.75p. Business communications specialists Daisy Group (DAY) re-assured investors, stressing that revenue and earnings generated over the 6 months ended 30th September will be in line with expectations ,while full year results are likely to be in line with original expectations. Management also said that it was starting to see the benefits of the acquisition of DDCSL, a data centre business, and also praised its contract with Vodafone which was finalised over the period. The shares increased by 8p to 147p. | 
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