Member Info for mulledwine

http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=201204230730018344B

"This attractive Phase III programme is an excellent opportunity to leverage AstraZeneca's global specialty and primary care sales and marketing capabilities," said David Brennan, Chief Executive Officer of AstraZeneca. "The Ardea team has done a great job developing lesinurad along with a promising next-generation gout programme. These compounds have real potential to benefit patients." "We are delighted to be joining AstraZeneca," said Barry D. Quart, President and Chief Executive Officer of Ardea. "From our earliest interactions, we were impressed with the quality of AstraZeneca's people and we are confident their commercial strength and global reach will help realise the full potential of our programmes. The Ardea team and I are committed to helping complete development and working to secure registration for lesinurad." The Boards of Directors of AstraZeneca and Ardea have unanimously approved the terms of the agreement, and Ardea's Board has recommended that its shareholders approve the transaction. Subject to the approval of Ardea's shareholders as well as other conditions including customary regulatory approvals, the transaction will close in the second or third quarter of 2012. Ardea shareholders representing approximately 30% of the current total shares outstanding have entered into a voting agreement with AstraZeneca to vote in favour of the transaction.

ASTRAZENECA TO ACQUIRE ARDEA BIOSCIENCES FOR $1 BILLION (NET OF EXISTING CASH) INCLUDING LEAD PRODUCT LESINURAD IN PHASE III DEVELOPMENT FOR GOUT AstraZeneca and Ardea Biosciences, Inc. (Ardea) today announced that they have entered into a definitive merger agreement, pursuant to which AstraZeneca will acquire Ardea, a San Diego, California-based biotechnology company focused on the development of small-molecule therapeutics. Ardea's clinically most advanced product candidate, lesinurad (formerly known as RDEA594), is currently in Phase III development as a potential treatment for the chronic management of hyperuricaemia in patients with gout. Under the terms of the agreement, AstraZeneca will acquire Ardea for $32 per share which represents a total cash value of approximately $1.26 billion, including existing cash. This represents a premium on the value of Ardea's stock of 50% based on the one month volume-weighted average price (VWAP) and 54% based on the closing price on Friday, 20 April 2012. Lesinurad is a selective inhibitor of URAT1, a transporter in the proximal tubule cells of the kidney that regulates uric acid excretion from the body, which is being developed as an oral, once-daily treatment for the chronic management of hyperuricaemia in patients with gout. Lesinurad is being studied in an ongoing Phase III clinical development programme as an add-on treatment to allopurinol in patients not reaching target serum uric acid levels on allopurinol alone, as monotherapy for those patients who are intolerant to allopurinol or febuxostat and as an add-on treatment to febuxostat in patients with tophaceous gout. Filings for a New Drug Application (NDA) in the US and a Marketing Authorisation Application (MAA) in the EU are planned for the first half of 2014. AstraZeneca also plans to develop and commercialise lesinurad in China and Japan. AstraZeneca will supplement Ardea's existing capabilities to progress lesinurad Phase III development programme and regulatory submissions. The company will seek to absorb the further development costs of the Ardea compounds in its existing R&D programme. Through this acquisition, AstraZeneca would also add to its pipeline RDEA3170, a next-generation selective URAT1 inhibitor currently in Phase I development.

http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=201204230700188334B

nancial Review Quarterly Cashflow Net operating cash outflow for the March quarter was AUD 4.9m (GBP 3.2m) which was lower than last quarter principally due to higher receipts. Receipts from customers for the March quarter were AUD 2.7m (GBP 1.8m) which was up by AUD 1.2m (GBP 0.8m) from the December quarter. The Group also received a government grant of AUD 0.7m (GBP 0.5m) in relation to work to be undertaken for the E.ON UK led JTI project discussed above. The overall net cashflow for the March quarter after investing and financing activities was an outflow of AUD 5.7m (GBP 3.7m). This included AUD 0.6m (GBP 0.4m) for capital expenditure payments in relation to work on the large scale furnaces in Germany.

Cashflow Report and Trading Update for the March Quarter Ceramic Fuel Cells Limited (AIM / ASX: CFU) a leading developer of high efficiency and low emission power products for homes and other buildings, today released its quarterly cashflow report for the period ended 31 March 2012. The cashflow report is available at www.cfcl.com.au. Highlights · Total order book of 619 units at 23 April 2012 · 58 percent increase in units installed at customer sites - up to 193 units at 23 April · Receipts from customers of AUD 2.7m, an increase of 85 percent from the December quarter · Twenty six units delivered during the quarter · Active marketing and sales, with focus on Germany, Netherlands, UK · Strong and increasing policy support for fuel cell mCHP in Germany and UK

http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=201204230700188295B

Followers of Midas have reaped big rewards after a revamp at Berendsen, which supplies and cleans workwear ranging from overalls to nurses’ uniforms. The company, which operates under the Sunlight brand in Britain, is best known for renting out and cleaning workwear. As outsourcing becomes more popular and as health and safety constraints become more rigorous, Ventress expects more companies to rent instead. The group recently won a contract with the Berlin Fire Brigade and hopes similar deals will follow. But it also operates across the Continent and Ventress believes there is significant potential for growth. The market there is worth about £8bn, but most European businesses own their workwear rather than rent it. Berendsen has moved into related areas too, supplying towels and other washroom facilities to hotels, hospitals and offices and providing doormats for retailers. It has recently launched a clean room service, supplying uniforms to companies such as drug manufacturers that require workwear to be absolutely germ-free. Further growth is expected this year and next. Investors might want to hedge their bets and sell a quarter of their stock, but keep the rest as Ventress is determined to make this company bigger and better.

Jason - no problem - the more people post the better - good and bad news ! - it gives a picture - good luck

Investors in Royal Dutch Shell must have been very relieved that the recent oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico was nothing to do with them. The oil came from "natural seepage" from the sea floor. However, the news hit the shares hard. Indeed, the shares have been on the slide all year, despite the price of Brent crude being above $120 for much of the year on concerns over supply from the Middle East and North Africa. They hit a high of £24.89 on January 10. Questor expects that next week's first quarter numbers, released on Thursday, will put a stop to the share price slide. Indeed, Shell's results could be the strongest of all the integrated oil companies posting next week. However, it is clear that the oil price cannot go much higher than current levels without serious consequences. Any spike higher is likely to lead to "demand destruction" where high prices prompt less usage. This means that the momentum in earnings growth for all majors is likely to peak – unless production can be increased sharply. Yet Shell is investing to increase output. After the recent falls, investors can now buy into the shares and secure a yield of 5.1%. Last tipped at £22.94½ at the start of February, the shares remain a buy.

HB Markets downgrades International Power from hold to sell.

Societe Generale initiates hold on Polymetal International, target price 1040p.

Morgan Stanley upgrades John Wood Group from equal weight to overweight, target price raised from 875p to 950p.

JP Morgan Cazenove downgrades International Power from overweight to neutral, target price raised from 360p to 418p

HB Markets downgrades African Barrick Gold from buy to hold

Coverage Shares in IMI (IMI) jumped 18p to 992p after the engineering business reported year-on-year sales growth of 8% for the three months ended 31st March, with a particularly strong performance from its Severe Service business, where revenues rose by 30%. The growth was boosted by the acquisitions of valve manufacturers Remosa and InterAtiva in February for a total consideration of 107 million pounds. The engineering company also noted a 14% rise in sales from its Merchandising division, with increased demand in the US automotive sector.

Numis downgrades African Barrick Gold from buy to add, target price cut from 500p to 440p.

WH Ireland reiterated its "buy" recommendation for Renold (RNO) but with a reduced target price of 52p, from 58p. Despite more subdued trading during the last two months of the financial year ended 31st March, the gears and chains manufacturer is expected to meet the broker's revenue forecast of 209 million pounds. WH Ireland noted growth in North America, India and Asia, but raised concern over an uncertain European outlook. With the firm demonstrating good cash flow generation, the broker expects net debt to be reduced by around 7 million pounds from the half year, to 22 million pounds. The shares added 0.375p to close at 32.625p.

Investec Securities retained its "buy" stance on Meggitt (MGGT) with a 430p target price. The broker expects the aerospace and defence engineering company's strong trading momentum in 2011 to have carried over into the new year, forecasting full year earnings growth of 11.2% to 35.2p. Investec noted the strength of the firm's order book and its increased product offering and pointed to the company's confidence in its business, demonstrated by the 14% increase to the 2011 dividend. Meggitt shares slid 0.2p to 407.1p.

N+1 Brewin kept its "buy" rating for Allocate Software (ALL) with a 106p target price. The broker is impressed by the software developer's growing presence in the healthcare rostering software market, having supplied its HealthRoster product to 45% of all NHS Trusts. Brewin also noted the group's strong expansion abroad, with overseas sales accounting for 50% of 2011 revenues. Additionally, with a positive year end cash position expected for the year ending 31st May 2012, the broker expects acquisitive growth to be a key objective. The shares closed unchanged at 80p.