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Valuation: Heavily discounted Empresaria’s rating reflects a combination of discount factors. Firstly, that stocks with smaller market capitalisations are priced at roughly half the levels of the larger quoted stocks in the sector. Secondly, that the group suffered from considerable uncertainty last year due to the inability to quantify one-off and ongoing costs relating to the German situation. With a new CEO, the market has also been waiting to see if there were substantive changes to the corporate strategy. As these uncertainties are resolved, we would expect the second and third elements of the discount to be closed, provided results continue to be delivered in line with market expectations.

http://www.edisoninvestmentresearch.co.uk/researchreports/Empresaria180712outlook.pdf

SacOil Holdings Update 18th July 2012 High impact exploration in the DRC plus the promise of early oil production in Nigeria Block III DRC is a high impact exploration project where SacOil will be fully funded by Total until after a commercial reserve has been found. In Nigeria, it is expected that before the end of 2013, OPL 233 could see the start of an extended well test, the booking of reserves and the generation of cashflow. Our sum of the parts valuation risked gives a target price of 11p.

Shore Capital maintained its "buy" rating for Stagecoach Group (SGC), noting the company's strong share price momentum, which has outperformed the FTSE All Share by 11% since the end of May 2012. The broker believes that the public transport provider is capable of increasing earnings by 40% over the next three years, based on the prospect of rail franchise wins. Shore also pointed to the stock's defensive characteristics and the firm's strong cash generation.

Panmure Gordon reiterated its "buy" recommendation for Nichols (NICL) with a 760p target price. The soft drinks manufacturer will release its interim results on 26th July and the broker expects to see revenue growth of 6% to 53.5 million pounds, boosted by sales in the Middle East. However, challenging conditions in the UK market led the broker to anticipate a 110 basis point decline in gross margins to 47%. On the broker's earnings forecasts, the shares trade on a prospective multiple of 17.7 times, roughly in-line with peer AG Barr (BAG), but Panmure believes Nichols should trade on a premium due to its higher international exposure

UBS has raised its target price for High Street fashion and homeware retailer Next from 3,250p to 3,500p and reiterated its 'buy' rating on the stock ahead of its second-quarter results. "We believe Next may have escaped the worst impact of the weather in Q2. Budgets and stock levels are traditionally kept tight, Directory may have benefitted from the weather and (although unquantifiable) stock shortages at the market leader may also have helped," UBS said in a research note on Thursday.

Credit Suisse has downgraded its rating for natural gas giant BG Group from 'outperform' to 'neutral', saying that the market has yet to full appreciate the transitional challenges that the group faces in the upstream cycle. "We are particularly concerned about the key area of growth - Brazil - given its importance to value and the well-known supply chain issues in the local market." Credit Suisse says that near-term cash flow in Brazil is burdened and the balance sheet is being stretched. The broker's target price is cut from 1,660p to 1,500p.

Peter Dilnot, Group Chief Executive of Shanks, said: "While market conditions continue to be challenging, particularly in our Solid Waste businesses, our Organics, UK Municipal and Hazardous Waste businesses are performing well. "We remain focused on taking the necessary actions to offset these headwinds through delivering returns from our strategic investment programme and driving operational improvements across the Group. We have reorganised the business to align with our core activities and deliver synergies. In parallel, we are accelerating actions on improving productivity and minimising back office costs. "Assuming market conditions do not deteriorate further, we expect to deliver a robust performance this year and strong growth once market conditions improve. Before currency translation we anticipate underlying trading for 2012/13 to be broadly in line with our expectations with the benefits of the cost saving programmes significantly weighted to the second half."

Interim Management Statement Shanks Group plc today issues its Interim Management Statement for the period 1 April 2012 to the current date, ahead of its AGM to be held later today. · The benefits of our strategic focus and action plans continue to produce good results in the Organics, UK Municipal and Hazardous Waste businesses. · Challenging market conditions continue to impact the Solid Waste business. · Action taken to deliver significant cost reductions with additional initiatives being developed. · Netherlands and Belgium reorganised to align with Shanks core activities and deliver synergies. Combined 'Benelux' Solid Waste business formed and a new Hazardous Waste business unit established. Benelux shared service model to be introduced. · Investment programme remains on track to achieve targeted returns and UK Municipal margins in excess of 10%. · Before currency translation, we anticipate underlying trading for 2012/13 to be broadly in line with our expectations with the benefits of the cost saving programmes significantly weighted to the second half. · New Group Finance Director, Toby Woolrych, appointed and will join on 27 August 2012.

http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=201207190700059928H

Corporate Update Following the announcement of 26 June 2012, Sweett Group, the international property and infrastructure consultancy, provides a further update. Negotiation on the sale of the Group's interest in the Inverclyde Schools PFI Project continues to move towards completion. As previously reported, the associated profits will be attributed to the results for year ending 31 March 2013. In respect of the Dumfries and Galloway transaction, the Board has decided that it is now in shareholders' interests to pursue the completion of this sale via an alternative disposal structure. The Board is confident that it will be able to dispose of the asset on satisfactory terms in the current financial year.

David Jackson, Chairman and Chief Executive of Redhall Group, commented: "These awards in our core contracting businesses demonstrate the strength of our offering and the specialist expertise of our business units."

Contract Awards Redhall Group plc (AIM: RHL), the specialist engineering support services group, is pleased to announce the award of term contracts for Redhall Engineering and Redhall Nuclear. Redhall Engineering has been awarded a contract to provide integrated multi-discipline engineering services to Polimeri Europa UK Limited, a petrochemical company wholly owned and controlled by Eni SpA, based at Hythe in Hampshire. The contract is estimated to have a value of £8 million over a three year period. National Nuclear Laboratory ("NNL") has awarded Redhall Nuclear a three year multi-discipline framework agreement to provide support services across NNL nationally.

http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=201207190700059956H

Pre Close Trading Update BrainJuicer, the innovative, international online market research agency has today released the following half year ("H1") update on trading. The Company will announce interim results for the six months to 30 June 2012 on 20 September 2012, and enters its closed period on 20 July 2012. BrainJuicer has delivered continued sales growth during the first half, with overall revenue some 13% ahead of the comparable 2011 period. Our growth has once again been encouraging in the US, Switzerland, China and Brazil. Overall, our percentage of revenue from our more innovative 'Juicy' products increased from 53% in H1 2011 to 66% in H1 2012. Revenue declined in Germany (after particularly strong results in the first half of 2011) and the Netherlands, and was broadly flat in the UK. BrainJuicer has continued to invest in its people, products and services to support its medium and longer term growth plans. The Board considers that the Company is on track to meet market profit expectations for 2012 as a whole. The Company can be found at www.brainjuicer.com.

http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=201207190700069982H

Land Securities´s chief executive Robert Noel yesterday argued that developers will not be building enough space to cope with demand over the next three years. Choice is evaporating, and potential tenants are expressing an interest earlier. This is even true in the West End market, which traditionally does not see many pre-lets. The argument is a compelling one. For now, Land Securities’s portfolio is showing good resilience. The proportion of void space within its London office portfolio rose from 2.5 per cent to 2.9 per cent in the first financial quarter to end-June, but this was a one-off blip, reflecting the floor of one building in Victoria that was relinquished by an existing tenant for redevelopment. Though various retail collapses are still working their way through, the level of voids at the retail portfolio was unchanged at 3.6 per cent. The company is working on the only significant new retail development under construction, Trinity Leeds, to open by March next year, which is 80 per cent full or under contract. The market shares some of this optimism. The shares have appreciated by 17 per cent since the start of the year and the discount to net asset value has halved to 9 per cent. This takes a lot on trust; high enough for now, The Times´s Tempus column writes.

BHP Billiton, the world’s largest miner, has posted its 12th-consecutive year of iron ore production increases. But, with investors fretting about growth in China, is the mining sector’s lowly rating deserved? Next year the company will have to stump up about $20bn to fund its expansion plans. Marius Kloppers, its chief executive, has consistently said that the dividend will be raised in a progressive manner – one which will be sustainable throughout the cycle. Indeed, some calculations performed yesterday by analysts at Deutsche Bank show just how tight the chances of a larger-than-expected dividend increase are. The broker increased its capital expenditure forecast for this year to $22bn from $19bn. Adding in a $6.3bn dividend, Deutsche sees total cash outflows of $28.3bn, compared with its operating cashflow forecast of $23.8bn. This means BHP is likely to have to borrow about $5bn to fund its growth plans. Questor last said buy in mid-June when the shares were at £18. They are now at the same level and the view remains the same. BHP has a balanced set of commodities and the industrialisation theme in emerging markets will continue for many years to come. Once the current crop of expansion plans come on stream, profits are likely to grow significantly. Trading on a 2013 earnings multiple of 8.1 times falling to just 7.5, the shares remain a buy.

It is arguable how reliable is the earnings stream the London Stock Exchange gets from having money left on deposit there. This is a one-off boost from the sovereign debt crisis and the high interest rates in Italy. Then again, there is little sign of the crisis being resolved, so perhaps the earnings are safe enough for now. It certainly gave a useful enough boost to first-quarter revenues, up 10% despite the weaker euro, and offset the quiet conditions in equities trading and post-trade functions such as clearing and settlement. Revenues from these are all tied to the level of activity in the market, and that level is pitifully low. Ten years ago the LSE was pretty much just about trading equities in London; research from Numis Securities suggests this was about half the group in 2010, but will be a quarter by 2015. Meanwhile, post-trade services will have grown over the same period from 19 per cent to 37%, allowing for the purchase of a majority stake in LCH. Clearnet still rumbling through the competition authorities. LSE shares, off 11p at £10.02, sell on 9.5 times earnings but are 200p up since the start of the year, which does not suggest much further to go in these markets, Tempus says.

Simon Ong, Chief Executive Officer of REG, commented: "The acquisition of the remaining 39% of the plant at Sanxie is an important first step in the continued development and expansion of the production capacity of REG. We are pleased to be able to deliver on one of our stated objectives as set out at the time of our Admission to AIM and the Board will continue to pursue its strategy with news to follow on the facility arrangements with Credit Suisse in due course."