Dow Jones smallcap news is now on Twitter, allowing you to catch up on the news away from your desk. Go to http://twitter.com/DJ_UK_Smallcaps ARGOS RESOURCES LTD., an oil and gas explorer focused on the Falkland Islands, Tuesday said it agreed to raise GBP22 million in an admission to London's junior Alternative Investment Market. Argos said the money raised will be used to fund seismic surveys of its license in the North Falkland Basin, which lie near the Sea Lion discovery made by peer Rockhopper Exploration PLC (RKH.LN) earlier this year. The Financial Services Authority has launched a wide-ranging probe into U.K. support services firm CONNAUGHT PLC (CNT.LN), the Financial Times reported. Connaught warned Monday it will breach its banking covenants because its year-end net debt will be "significantly in excess" of the GBP120 million it forecast less than a month ago. Citing people familiar with the matter, the newspaper says the FSA's investigation will include determining whether Connaught disclosed potentially price-sensitive information to the public in time. At 1100 GMT, Connaught shares were up 3.44 pence or 11% at 34.9 pence. HORIZONTE MINERALS PLC (HZM.LN), a gold and base metals explorer, said it agreed to buy a nickel project in Brazil from Teck Resources Ltd. (TCK.A.T), in a deal that gives the Canadian mining giant a 50% stake in the company. Horizonte also agreed to take full control of a second nickel project nearby and Chief Executive Officer Jeremy Martin told Dow Jones Newswires the combined projects could contain as much as 100 million metric tons of nickel laterite ore with high grades of nickel. The company has three rigs poised to start drilling next month as part of a program to work out the projects' formal mineral resource, he said. At 1059 GMT, shares +2 pence or 23% at 10.75 pence. PZ CUSSONS PLC (PZC.LN), the maker of Imperial Leather soap, topped market forecasts with a 20% jump in pretax profit in the 2010 fiscal year, but the consumer outlook in a number of its markets remains uncertain, it said. At 1059 GMT, shares -14.4 pence or 4% at 345.6 pence. COSALT PLC (CSLT.LN), a maker of safety equipment for ships and oil rigs, said it bought a major stake in a unit of Danish engineering company APRO and formed a joint venture focused on the wind energy market. Cosalt said the joint venture firm has already received a contract with Siemens AG (SI) to supply specialist engineers for its offshore wind turbine activities around the U.K. At 1059 GMT, shares +0.38 pence or 8% at 5.13 pence. PATSYSTEMS PLC (PTS.LN), a maker of trading systems, announced plans to launch its trading products and services in three new markets by the end of 2010. The company said it hopes to enter Argentina, Vietnam and South Korea before the end of the year. At 1058 GMT, shares +0.25 pence or 1% at 24.5 pence. PURECIRCLE LTD. (PURE.LN), a sweeteners company, said spending on sales and marketing and investment in production facilities means profit for its 2010 fiscal year will be lower than a year earlier. It also said it agreed to form a joint venture with Associated British Foods PLC's (ABF.LN) British Sugar Group unit to market a range of low calorie sweeteners worldwide. At 1058 GMT, shares -46.5 pence or 17% at 227.5 pence. PROMETHEAN WORLD PLC (PRW.LN), a maker of interactive white boards for schools, reported a 35% rise in first-half revenue as sales of its interactive learning products rose across its markets. At 1058 GMT, shares -3.5 pence or 2.2% at 154 pence. HALFORDS GROUP PLC (HFD.LN), a retailer of car and leisure products, said trading is likely to be tougher next year, when consumers feel the full effects of measures designed to tackle the U.K.'s hefty budget deficit. At 1057 GMT, shares -12.5 pence or 2.4% at 504 pence. ISLAMIC BANK OF BRITAIN PLC (IBB.LN), an Islamic retail bank, said it agreed to raise GBP20 million in a share sale to boost its capital position. The bank said new capital is required to support the growth in customer assets and ensure the bank meets mandatory capital requirements. At 1057 GMT, shares flat at 3.25 pence. DJ UK Smaller Cos +0.2% AIM -0.2% -By Jason Douglas, Hannah Benjamin and Rachael Gormley, Dow Jones Newswires; +44 (0) 20 7842 9272; uksmallcaps@dowjones.com (END) Dow Jones Newswires July 27, 2010 07:30 ET (11:30 GMT)