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http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=201207200700051041I

Investec has raised its target price for engineering group GKN from 225p to 245p and maintained its 'buy' rating for the stock, saying that the shares are 'flying into a re-rating'. "With almost 40% of profits now derived from higher-quality aerospace markets, the £633m acquisition of Volvo Aero (VA) materially enhances the GKN investment proposition, in our view," the broker said in a research note on Friday.

Valuation: Franchise value As noted above we believe the franchise value is the best measure of valuation and as at end June this was 52.9p, around 10% above the NAV and current share price. The near 9% yield is also a major attraction for the stock

http://www.edisoninvestmentresearch.co.uk/researchreports/GLIF200712Update.pdf

Panmure Gordon reiterated its "buy" recommendation for Filtronic (FTC) with a 39p target price. The broker expects the electrical components manufacturer to report revenues of 26 million pounds for the year ended 31st May 2012, up from 15.5 million pounds in 2011, boosted by a strong contribution from its Qualcomm business. Panmure noted increasing demand for both the broadband and wireless services and improved revenue visibility

N+1 Brewin maintained its "buy" recommendation for Fenner (FENR) with a 450p target price. The reinforced polymer manufacturer is looking to increase its product offering from just supply to full life cycle management, and the broker noted good success already in Australia and South America. Brewin added that the firm is also aggressively targeting new markets such as Russia, the Middle East and Africa. However, the broker raised some concern over uncertainties in the US coal market, which it said could hold the share price back in the short-term

Outlook The Banking division continues to experience good growth. However in Securities, difficult market conditions continue to affect Winterflood and its second half performance is expected to be broadly in line with the first half. Overall the group continues to expect a solid performance for the year.

Close Brothers Group plc Trading update Close Brothers Group plc ("the group" or "Close Brothers") today issues its scheduled pre-close trading update ahead of its 2012 financial year end. All statements in this release relate to the group's performance over the five months to 30 June 2012 unless otherwise stated. Close Brothers will be releasing its full year results for the twelve months ending 31 July 2012 on 25 September 2012. Group and divisional performance Trading performance remains consistent with the group's interim management statement on 17 May. Whilst the Banking division has continued to deliver strong growth, difficult trading conditions for Winterflood have continued to impact the group's overall performance. The Banking division delivered another strong performance in the period. The loan book increased a further 10% to £4.1 billion (31 January 2012: £3.8 billion) at 30 June 2012, and is up 20% financial year to date. Growth was particularly strong in motor finance, asset finance and property. The credit quality of the loan book continued to improve and as a result the bad debt ratio for the period was lower than the first half of the financial year. The net interest margin remains strong, but lower than the first half reflecting changes in lending mix across the portfolio. The Securities division continues to experience difficult market conditions and Winterflood has been affected by low retail investor risk appetite throughout the period. Overall Winterflood's average bargains per day and income per bargain were in line with the first half. Seydler's performance has improved modestly since the first half although market conditions remain challenging. The Asset Management division is nearing completion of its restructuring and made a small loss as expected. Private Clients Assets under Management ("AuM") remained unchanged at £6.9 billion (31 January 2012: £6.9 billion) at 30 June 2012 as positive net new funds were offset by negative market movements. Total AuM reduced to £8.2 billion (31 January 2012: £8.6 billion) reflecting the previously announced sale of OLIM's property fund management business with £0.4 billion AuM.

http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=201207200700041013I

Outlook While the business mix means that sensitivity to equity markets has reduced markedly (and will reduce further with the LCH Clearnet deal), management statement that “market conditions have remained weak and the summer period is expected to be quiet” confirms our near-term challenging outlook. Valuation: Minimal changes With a small reduction in estimates to allow for more current exchange rates, our range of valuation approaches indicates £11.22 compared with £11.35 previously

http://www.edisoninvestmentresearch.co.uk/researchreports/LSE190712update.pdf

Statement re. Goals Soccer Centres Plc ("GSC") 20 July 2012 The Board of Patron Sports Holding Sarl ("Patron") which is the controlling shareholder of Powerleague Group Ltd ("Powerleague") notes the announcement by Goliath Bidco Limited, a company controlled by Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan Board, of a recommended cash offer for GSC. Patron confirms that it is still considering its options in respect of GSC and urges GSC shareholders to take no action. There can be no certainty any offer will be made by Patron, or as to the terms of any offer.

20 July 2012 Anglo American plc notification: De Beers Société Anonyme interim results 2012 Anglo American plc wishes to draw attention to the De Beers Société Anonyme ("De Beers") announcement of its results for the six months ended 30 June 2012. De Beers reported underlying earnings of $385 million. Anglo American plc arrives at its underlying earnings in respect of De Beers by accounting for the interests arising from the ordinary shares it holds. Anglo American plc will therefore report underlying earnings of $176 million from its investment in De Beers

http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=201207200700071252I

The London Stock Exchange Group is in talks with the owner of the Singapore exchange about a potential 7.2bn pound merger. The British bourse, which pulled out of a 4.2bn pound merger with the owner of the Toronto stock exchange last year, is understood to have held a series of informal conversations with Singapore Exchange, its Asian rival, about a formal tie-up. Although still in their preliminary stages, the talks are believed to have focused on the benefits of merging the two exchanges amid continued consolidation attempts in the sector. If the London-Singapore deal were to come to fruition, it is expected the combined exchange group would rank third in the world in terms of trades, behind NYSE Euronext and Nasdaq OMX, The Telegraph reports.

Tasty Sell 18-Jul-12 £299,999.73 Daniel Jonathan Plant 470,514 @ 63.76p Tasty Buy 18-Jul-12 £60,739.05 Adam Kaye 95,262 @ 63.76p Tasty Buy 18-Jul-12 £60,739.05 Samuel Kaye 95,262 @ 63.76p

IG Group Holdings Sell 19-Jul-12 £915,999.98 Jonathan R Davie 200,000 @ 458.00p

Stacey Cartwright, the Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of high-end fashion label Burberry, has sold 122,500 of the 132,500 shares she received shares which vested on Thursday. Cartwright, who joined the firm as CFO in 2004, sold the shares at 1,211.99p each, earning her a total of £1.36m. Under the firm's Co-Investment plan, Cartwright and Chief Executive Officer Angela Ahrendts have both deferred their bonus for the year ended March 31st and have instead invested in shares at 1,211.99p a pop.

Our second company today to be battling headwinds from the weaker euro is Hilton Food Group. They will not be the last in pointing out, as the summer progresses, the damage being done on relocated profits as the European currency heads seemingly inexorably towards €1.30 to the pound. Hilton gets 75% of its earnings from outside the UK, and has good prospects of expanding elsewhere its services, packing and distributing meat to supermarkets, notably Tesco in the UK. But there are other headwinds acting as a drag on the business. Low consumer confidence in all markets does not encourage the purchase of expensive meat cuts — indeed, there is evidence of downtrading to cheaper products, such as meatballs and burgers. The grim weather has not been kind to the sale of meat for the barbecue, which would normally be selling well now. Meanwhile, the cost of meat has remained high, though there is the opportunity to pass this on to retailers. Hilton reckons it is still growing sales across the group. Most of the growth in the first half was in Denmark, where the company started production in spring 2011. There is the prospect of expanding outside Europe, into markets where the retail sector is becoming more developed. But those headwinds will persist. The shares sell on 10 times earnings, but, even with the support of a 4.5% yield, immediate progress looks limited, says The Times´s Tempus column.

National Grid's regulated business in the UK generates about 60 per cent of group profits. That's why Ofgem's rules on the rate of return it is allowed and level of investment are crucial. On Monday, Ofgem released its draft determination for the new, extended regulatory period from 2013 to 2021. The proposals are much tougher than those sought by National Grid – and this has prompted speculation of a potential dividend cut or a capital raising. The sustainability of National Grid's dividend is central to the investment case and, following the last regulatory review in the water sector, both Severn Trent and United Utilities ended up cutting their payouts. Questor said "buy" on Feb 1 when the shares were at 632p, but downgraded the shares to hold in May when they were at 675p. Questor feels that the two next catalysts – Ofgem's detailed proposals and National Grid's response – will be negative catalysts for the shares which have performed extremely well of late. Therefore, despite the dividend attractions, Questor is inclined to sell the shares now and wait to buy in again at a cheaper level. National Grid is an attractive share for income seekers to hold – especially for investors who bought in cheaply. However, the valuation is rich and uncertainty is high. The shares are more likely to fall than rise in the short term. On balance, Questor says sell and wait for an attractive re-entry point later in the year.