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Spirits giant Diageo confirmed this week that it is in talks with India’s United Spirits regarding the UK-listed company potentially buying a stake in the group. A deal probably wouldn’t be cheap – but it makes complete strategic sense for Diageo. Most Indians drink locally brewed products, because import tariffs on alcohol are spectacularly high, being in excess of 150%. However, hopes are mounting that an EU-India free trade agreement can be signed soon – although talks on this matter have dragged on for four years amid disagreements on certain tariffs and visa issues. It is in the interests of both parties to get a trade deal signed as soon as possible.

It is entirely appropriate that Kingfisher’s 1,000th store to open should be in Poland, because this is the only part of the retailer to be showing any growth, declares Tempus in The Times. A note from Numis Securities suggests that prospects for Kingfisher in the UK, where it also has the Screwfix chain, may be improving as it gains ground from rivals. It also has the advantage of the disappearance of Focus DIY in spring last year and the increasing concentration by another rival, Home Retail’s Homebase, on home furnishings. Market forecasts suggest a sharp rebound in Kingfisher's profits, weather willing, from an expected £740m in the year to end-January to perhaps £820m in 2013-2014. This would put them on about 10.5 times earnings for that year. The shares have lost about 15% of their value since April. Hardly a raging buy, Tempus concedes, but an interesting long-term punt.

Compass, the world’s largest catering company, has proved an impressive investment through the financial crisis, with the shares up almost 200 per cent from their 2008 lows, but even this most defensive of companies cannot escape the fallout from the Eurozone debt crisis. Compass has responding by saying it will shrink its European business to maintain profitability, but the unit is relatively small. The group’s trading update was very positive. Compass said that it expected organic revenue growth of 5.5 per cent for the full year ending September 30. This was a touch ahead of analysts’ expectations following growth of 8 per cent in North America and 12 per cent in emerging markets. There was, however, negative like-for-like growth in some parts of Europe. The caterer also said it had a strong pipeline of potential new contracts. The shares certainly aren’t cheap, trading on a 2013 earnings multiple of 14.9 times and yielding a prospective 3.5 per cent in 2013. However, they trade at a discount to French peer Sodexo, at 16.7 times. Compass’s increase in its dividend over the last few years has also outpaced the wider market. Management continues to deliver in tough times, the group’s geographical footprint is impressive and the outsourcing trend is supportive. However, given the market backdrop, the shares are now a hold, The Telegraph´s Questor team says.

Galliford Try Sell 26-Sep-12 £495,727.89 Ken Gillespie 67,630 @ 733.00p Galliford Try Sell 26-Sep-12 £467,705.31 Ian Baker 63,807 @ 733.00p

Galliford Try Sell 26-Sep-12 £759,556.58 Greg Fitzgerald 103,623 @ 733.00p Galliford Try Sell 26-Sep-12 £498,865.13 Frank Nelson 68,058 @ 733.00p

Outlook The Group's current discussions with major OEM partners have highlighted that there is now a realistic opportunity for the breakthrough of fuel cell technology into the commercial domain. The range extender project with SEV is, for example, an excellent opportunity to enter a volume market. Stationary applications will also develop. Given Proton Power's modular concept, each success story will help the development of other products because the main components used are similar and cost reductions will be achieved as the Group cooperates with our suppliers and contract manufacturers. On behalf of the Board we would like to take this opportunity to thank the Proton Power team and our advisors for their hard work and effort as well as our customers and suppliers for their confidence and support throughout the year.

John Wall, Chairman of Proton Power, commented: "I am pleased to report that the Group has made good progress in the past six months, particularly the launch of the Newton truck together with Smith Electric Vehicles in April this year. Initial testing has shown excellent results in terms of efficiency, and development of a new range extender with a performance of 20kW is underway. We also continue to see positive developments in the market for fuel cell technology for maritime applications, as demand for emission free operation is growing and the technology is shown to be reliable. "Our financial position has been strengthened by a significant increase in revenue with a corresponding reduction in operating loss. Financial support from the Government in Germany will help Proton Power to continue its product development and address the increasing commercial opportunity for fuel cell technology."

Interim Results Proton Power Systems plc (AIM:PPS), the designer, developer and producer of fuel cells and fuel cell electric hybrid systems, today announces its unaudited interim results for the six months ended 30 June 2012. Highlights: · Turnover increased 46% to £561,732 (2011: £384,814) · Loss for the period reduced to £1,921,621 (2011: £3,898,000) · Secured new funding with a total value of €2,200,000 via loans from Roundstone Properties Limited · Received €357,583 from the German Government for product development · Launched the Smiths Electric Vehicles Newton truck with a 7kW Range Extender at the Hannover Industrial Fair in April 2012 · First installation of a 5kW stationary system has been completed and testing is underway for a large German utility company

http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=201209280700063697N

Todays news will counter recent performance

Organisation structure During H1 we have made good progress implementing a new organisation structure which will enable the Group to accelerate the implementation of its strategic initiatives and drive efficiency. Further details of this are given in a separate news release published today "Electrocomponents implements new organisation structure to enable a more integrated approach to servicing its worldwide customer base". Ian Mason, Group Chief Executive, commented: "Group sales growth in H1 is expected to be flat despite strong comparators and a challenging economic environment. Although we faced a number of headwinds we have made good progress implementing a new organisation structure which will enable us to accelerate the implementation of our strategic initiatives and drive efficiency. With a strong balance sheet and leading global market positions, we believe the Group is well placed to continue to take market share in international markets."

Outlook We expect results in H2 to benefit from a return to sales growth and actions to improve operating margins. Sales growth should benefit from easier comparators and continued implementation of our strategic initiatives. Gross margins should benefit from targeted selling price increases and actions to improve discount effectiveness. Efficiencies from the implementation of our new global organisation structure are expected to deliver cost savings of £3 million to £4 million in H2. Combined with other cost actions, operating costs as a % of sales should be lower in H2 than H1. Assuming no change in market conditions we expect full year headline profit before tax(1) to be slightly below the lower end of consensus(2).

H1 financial performance We expect that headline profit before tax(1) in H1 will be around £40 million (£59.4m in H1 last year). Group gross margin is likely to be around 1.2% points below the prior year, impacted by the increased use of customer discounts, stronger performance from lower-margin technologies, including Raspberry Pi(4), and adverse foreign exchange movements. Operating costs (at constant foreign exchange) are expected to be around 4% higher than the prior year, of which around £3.5 million, or 2% points, is due to previously disclosed additional costs(5) which are skewed to H1. Investments to drive future sales growth and inflation are expected to impact operating costs by a further 2% points. In H1 there have been fewer trading days and adverse foreign exchange movements compared to the prior year, the combined impact on operating profit of which is expected to be around £5 million.

Electrocomponents plc, the world's leading distributor of electronics and maintenance products, has today issued a pre-close trading update for the six months ending 30 September 2012 ("H1"). Overview Full year profits are usually weighted to H2 and as previously indicated this trend will be more pronounced this year. H1 performance is now expected to be lower than anticipated, although we expect profits in H2 to benefit from a combination of a return to sales growth and actions to improve operating margins. Given the lower than expected H1 performance, and assuming no change in market conditions, we expect full year headline profit before tax(1) to be slightly below the lower end of consensus(2). H1 sales performance Group sales growth in H1 is expected to be flat on the prior year, with maintenance sales growing slightly and electronics sales declining slightly. Within the period sales trends were similar between Q1 and Q2, with continuing strong comparators and a challenging economic environment. During Q2 the rate of sales decline in North America reduced as the quarter progressed. Group eCommerce growth in H1 will be around 3% and in the UK and Continental Europe eCommerce growth is expected to be over 10%. Group eCommerce share in H1 will be around 54%.

http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=201209280700073737N

CEO's letter Dear shareholders, It is my pleasure to report to you our financials and the results of our work for the first half of 2012. This year we identified a number of tasks which we sought to advance, building upon progress achieved in 2011. On Stakhanovskiy we planned to commence operations with our pilot bulk sampling plant which was built in 2011 and to complete a bulk sampling and drilling program which would allow us to calculate updated JORC resources for this project. On Rassoshinskaya we planned to continue further exploration works on last year's sites, Podgorniy and Zet, and also commenced drilling on a new target, Bazaar. On the corporate level we received a full exploitation license for the Olcha deposit.

Post period: · Continuation of bulk sample gravity processing at Stakhanovskiy with increased average daily throughput · Processing of 16,586 tonnes (for the 2012 calendar year to end of August) of primary rock from the Berezitoviy and Zabolocheniy ore bodies by gravity concentration, averaging 204 tonnes per day · Diamond core drilling started at Berezitoviy with 288 metres drilled in August from a planned 4,020 metres · Appointment of Wardell Armstrong International to estimate resources at the Stakhanovskiy Project · Thin high-grade gold drill intersections discovered at Podgorniy. High grade gold drill intercepts were found to persist at considerable depth to 356 metres vertical below surface · The three best HQ diamond core drill holes intercepted at Podgorniy were: v 1.2 metres at 10.40 g/t gold and 101.00g/t silver from 26.0 metres depth v 2.9 metres at 7.94 g/t gold and 18.70 g/t silver from 34.4 metres depth v 0.9 metres at 10.00 g/t gold and 11.50 g/t silver from 356.0 metres depth · Bazaar Prospect: New high sulphidation type pyrite mineralization discovered within a 600 metre trench and from 1,050 metres of core drilling. If gold is associated with this pyrite a new target type has potentially been identified · Agromniy Prospect: 1,000 metres of surface trenching exposed a visible lead-silver (and potential gold) quartz vein at least 250 metres in length. Trenching is being undertaken perpendicular to the vein

2012 Interim Results Ovoca Gold is pleased to announce its interim financial statements and report covering the six month period from 1 January 2012 to 30 June 2012. Highlights: · Cash and cash equivalents and available for sale financial assets of US$36.6 million as at 30 June 2012 · Exploitation license for the Olcha deposit received from the Russian State regulatory bodies · Successful mobilization during the 2012 summer field season for exploration and development at the two core projects at Stakhanovskiy and Rassoshinskaya · Appointment of Kirill Golovanov as CEO · Stakhanovskiy Project surface trench assay results from Berezitoviy and Burovaya ore bodies of: v 2.5 metres at 281.40 g/t gold v 4.0 metres at 41.28g/t gold v 1.5 metres at 45.76 g/t gold · Processing of approximately 5,000 tonnes of primary rock by gravity concentration plant from Berezitoviy and Zabolocheniy ore bodies · Rassoshinskaya Project HQ-sized core drilling at the Zet Prospect produced two significant intersections: v 0.4 metres at 74.40 g/t gold and 342.0 g/t silver v 2.0 metres at 4.53 g/t gold and 38.9 g/t silver

http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=201209280700083754N

Post period highlights · Company vigorously defends the challenge posed by the unfounded PMO claim on Basay and if required will review all available legal options. Mitch Alland, Executive Chairman of CDC, commented: "Given the climate of the financial markets and the extent to which drilling has already been completed, we believe the prudent course is to preserve our significant cash balance and focus on continuing trade sale and joint venture discussions on both of our projects on Negros Island in the Philippines."