The acquisition of Automatismes Energie Electroniques Systemes SAS (AEES), a Lyon-based secure-power business focused on the Energy & Infrastructure market ought to lead to marginal improvement in Chloride's 2010 earnings per share, KBC Peel Hunt reckons, though the full benefit of synergies are not expected to feed through until 2011.The broker said that with the purchase price and terms of the acquisition not disclosed, it is difficult to determine the effect on 2010 earnings of the power solutions provider, but based on an assumed enterprise value equal to 2008 sales, KBC Peel Hunt conservatively estimates 'that the acquisition will be approximately 5% earnings enhancing in the year to March 2011, though this factors no synergy benefit and is based on the disclosed September 2008 performance.'The broker retains its 'hold' recommendation and 170p price target, noting that 180p 'has been a major resistance level in the last three months.'PR and marketing group Freshwater UK issued a warning on Wednesday, prompting Charles Stanley to downgrade its profit forecast for 2010 by £0.7m to £0.3m.'It appears that there has also been a slowdown in its Public Affairs in part, due to a pre-Election lull,' surmises Charles Stanley analyst Peter Ashworth. Freshwater is a corporate client of Charles Stanley.'Within Healthcare there has been a slowdown in activity which is anticipated to recover in Q2 due to some contract extensions and new projects. There has also been a management change in its Creative Department which temporarily impacted activity levels though these have recovered since,' Ashworth reports.Management regard these factors as exceptional events, though it concedes it has also been hit by the general recession.In line with its sharp reduction in its profit forecast Charles Stanley has trimmed its price target from 46p to 26p, and downgraded the stock from 'buy' to 'add'.Rumours that the government is planning to ban 'log book' loans should have little effect on pawnbroker H&T Group, which has been running a trial of loans secured against the value of a borrower's car.Broker Daniel Stewart said it believes that log book loans 'have been insignificant in terms of contribution' to H&T's trading. The broker has reiterated its 'buy' recommendation of the stock, for which it has a 360p price target.Daniel Stewart is forecasting 2009 profit before tax of £17.6m for H&T but expects 2010 profits to slide back to £14.9m, as the rush to trade gold dies down.