| From UK-Analyst.com: Monday 11th November 2013 The Markets Despite the continuing UK economic recovery it appears that businesses remain reluctant to go on a hiring spree, according to new data from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD). The findings come against a backdrop of an eight-year high in employer confidence. The data release also comes ahead of a Bank of England announcement on Wednesday which is expected to bring forward the time-frame of its estimate for unemployment to fall to 7% - a threshold which would trigger the bank into considering an interest rate increase. Gerwyn Davies, Labour Market Adviser at CIPD, said "Our data on medium-term recruitment intentions suggest that stronger economic growth in the next few years will not be accompanied by big rises in employment." Data to be released later this week is expected to show that economic growth across the Eurozone over the third quarter of the year more or less came to a standstill. The average analyst estimate for third-quarter growth is 0.1%, down on the 0.3% expansion which was recorded for the second quarter of the year. The news, if confirmed, would come a week after the ECB surprisingly cut interest rates from 0.5% to 0.25% in attempt to accelerate lending and promote growth. Nick Matthews of Nomura commented, "There are a few minor bright spots, for example Spain but Italy will continue to remain in contraction and growth in France will likely be flat at best. That plays into the scenario the ECB is seeing, which is a very weak and fragile recovery." At the London close the Dow Jones was up by 18.18 points at 15,779.96 and the Nasdaq was down by 12.47 points at 3,354.37. In London the FTSE 100 closed up by 19.95 points at 6,728.37 and the FTSE 250 was up by 78.33 points at 15,420.36. The FTSE All-Share was up by 13.22 points at 3.583.55 while the FTSE AIM Index grew by 0.45 points to 810.94.. ADVERTISEMENT 
Broker Notes Following the news that BT has acquired exclusive Champions League and Europa League rights, Nomura has downgraded its "buy"recommendation to a "reduce"stance on rival BSkyB (BSY), cutting its 1,040p target price to 850p. The broker believes that the deal shows BT is willing to overpay for content, a fact which Nomura believes is a "bad sign"for Sky in relation to the next auction on Premier League rights. The shares plummeted by 101p to 829p. Investec has upgraded its "add"recommendation to a "buy"stance on funeral services provider Dignity (DTY) after the company's third quarter results came in above market expectations. The broker is impressed with the fact that profits for the first 9 months of 2013 came in 4% higher than forecast, despite a slowdown near the end of the period. To this end, Investec feels that the relative underperformance of the shares in recent times creates an ideal opportunity for investors to exploit. The shares were up by 31p at 1,440p. A week after a profit warning from RSA Insurance (RSA) Citigroup has downgraded its "buy"recommendation on the shares to a "neutral"stance, slashing its target price from 146p to 126p. Although Citi feels that the St. Jude Storm-induced profit warning was a one-off, the investment bank has concerns on the potential breach of controls in Ireland and believes this will weigh heavy on the shares for some time. The shares were down by 12.7p to 108.1p. Blue Chips Hammerson (HMSO) said it is seeing a good recovery in its markets, especially in the UK as increased retail confidence is feeding through to a hike in demand for retail space. The retail property investor went on to say that it is positioning itself to capitalise on this trend via modernisation and extension of some of its shopping centres including Brent Cross in north London. In response to the update, Liberum Capital retained its "buy"recommendation and 605p target price on the company. The shares inched up by 4p to 522p. Over the weekend it emerged that BT Group (BT.A) has secured a deal to exclusively broadcast 350 football matches across three seasons in the Champions League and the Europa League tournaments. The 299 million pounds per season deal marks the latest challenge to Sky's dominance and looks a more significant threat to Sky compared with other attempts to barge in on the market by the likes of ESPN, Setanta Sports and ITV Sport. Although the finer details of the arrangements have yet to be revealed, management argued that BT Sport will soon become the natural home for sports fans as a result of the deal. The shares grew by 2p to 374.1p. Motor insurer Admiral Group (ADM) revealed that the number of vehicles it insures was up by 3% to 3.64 million over the third quarter of 2013, boosted by a good international performance. Despite this increase, group revenues actually fell by 7% to 528 million pounds over the period as a result of a reduction in market premiums. The update comes after, at the end of October, broker Numis upgraded its neutral stance to an "add"recommendation on the shares, upping its target price from 1,170p to 1,425p. The shares were down by 4p at 1,273p. ADVERTISEMENT
Mid Caps Platinum producer Lonmin (LMI) posted pre-tax profits of $158 million (98.9 million pounds) for the year ended 30th September, well up on the $57 million (35.7 million pounds) which was recorded for the previous year. The financial results were boosted by relatively high levels of platinum production as the company produced 751,000 ounces of the precious metal - the highest level of production in 6 years. The world's third largest platinum producer by volume went on to argue that the improving trend of profitability should continue over the medium-term as the group keeps a tight handle on costs. The shares increased by 12.8p to 340.9p. Defence and aerospace supplier Cobham (COB) conceded that it now expects 2014 revenues to decline by "low-to-mid single digits"as a result of a squeeze in defence spending by the US government. This trend is of particular significance to Cobham because US-derived revenues account for around a third of total group turnover. The warning comes after an August announcement said 2014 had the "potential to deliver organic growth". The shares were down by 14.3p at 270.1p. Housebuilder Redrow (RDW), like many of its peers, praised the impact of the increased availability of first time buyer mortgages and the subsequent increase in demand for new homes. For the year to date, Redrow reported a 52% increase in private reservations at 1,400 homes while cancellation rates have fallen from 17% to 12% compared with the corresponding period last year. The improved market conditions have also helped Redrow to achieve an 11% increase in the average selling price, with its average property now selling for 271,000 pounds. The shares were down by 3.4p to 272p. Small Caps Clean energy company Flowgroup (FLOW) has been awarded a three year framework agreement by National Grid UK to replace conventional lead-acid backup power units as they reach the end of their service life. The three year agreement comes with an option to extend for a further 2 years. The financial details of the deal, which will see the company work on a pool of 3,200 power battery systems across 303 National Grid substations, were not released to the market. The shares flew up by 2.875p to 18.25p.
Marketing group Tangent Communications (TNG) saw revenues increase by 12% to 13.51 million pounds over the 6 months ended 31st August, while operating profits grew by 50% to 1.47 million pounds. The majority of the growth was delivered by the group's Printed.com business which was able to attract more customers because of its increased range of products. Broker Canaccord Genuity currently has a "buy"recommendation and 13p target price on Tangent. The shares jumped by 1.25p to 8.75p. SpaceandPeople (SAL), a company which describes itself as a brand experience specialist, has secured two new contracts in London. Firstly, the company has been selected to manage promotional activity in St. Pancras International station, a site with an average weekly footfall of around 1 million people. Secondly, SpaceandPeople has secured a similar agreement to manage the advertising at One New Change, a shopping centre near St.Pauls in London. The financial details of the agreements were not disclosed. The shares crept upwards by 2.5p to 119.5p. Energy meter specialist Bglobal (BGBL) has reached some conclusions after conducting a strategic review with KPMG. The company said it has decided to put its metering business up for sale as it looks to strip away significant costs. However, Bglobal was keen to stress that it intends to keep its Software Services division and will not entertain an offer for the company as a whole. The shares moved upwards by 0.875p to 7p. Online gaming company 32Red (TTR) has agreed to sponsor ITV's new series of the Paul O'Grady show, which began today. The show, which will be aired for an hour daily from 5pm, will be sponsored by 32Red's bingo brand. The deal follows a separate agreement with ITV to develop a "I'm A Celebrity..Get Me Out Of here"online slot machine. Management argued that the deal is a fantastic fit for its bingo business with the demographic of viewers very similar to online bingo players. The shares were up by 5.25p to 72p. Telecoms and IT player Coms (COMS) has been awarded the International Organisation for Standardisation's ISO 9001:2008 certification. The certification is attributed to companies that meet certain quality standards set by the ISO, with this award specifically assessing quality management systems. Management said that the award represents another step in building a bigger, more effective business. The shares increased by 0.15p to 4.1p. ADVERTISEMENT
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Congratulations to Ian Cooper whose caption (below) has been voted the funniest and has won the UK-Analyst Friday competition. Watch out for another contest at the end of the week. 
"...and remember, it takes three windmills working for three hours, just to brew one pot of tea!" | 
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