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Assura Group Ltd. Buy 20-Feb-12 £24,999.97 Simon T Laffin 79,365 @ 31.50p

Genus Sell 21-Feb-12 £213,344.09 Karim Bitar 19,134 @ 1,115.00p

Islington-based publisher Quarto posted a 5% increase in full year adjusted pre-tax profit and upped its final dividend by nearly 10% as it battles against the decline of bookstore shelf space. Adjusted pre-tax profit rose to $12.1m for the year ended 31 December 2011 from $11.5m the year before. Revenue increased to $186.1m from $176.4m previously. Net debt increased 14% to $81.4m, which includes the cost of two acquisitions. Revenue at its publishing division was up 6% at $123.6m while digital revenues totalled $2.1m in the year compared to $0.42m before. “Book publishing is a mature business facing significant change, and the trading background is generally subdued. Quarto has done a good job: wrestling with the challenges, adapting to changing circumstances, and executing measured responses," said chairman and chief executive officer Laurence Orbach. He added, “It is difficult to ignore the apocalyptic tone of many reports about the industry, and the evidence that it is facing profound challenges that must be addressed… We continue to redouble our efforts to make and sell good books.”

Credit Suisse has upgraded its rating on Admiral from neutral to outperform ahead of the insurer's full-year figures on March 7th. The broker expects the results "to represent the first step for Admiral towards regaining market confidence that bodily injury (BI) challenges are being resolved, with improved clarity expected to provide upside risk to earnings expectations." The target price has been lifted from 1,100p to 1,300p.

Odyssey FaceToFace contract with Hounslow Clinical Commissioning Group ("Hounslow CCG") Avia (AIM: AVIA), the developer and provider of clinical decision support and communication facilitation to manage referrals systems, is pleased to announce that its wholly owned subsidiary Plain Healthcare Ltd ("Plain") has signed a two-year contract for the sale of Odyssey FaceToFace and Odyssey Reception with Hounslow CCG. The Odyssey software will embedded in TPP's SystmOne enabling Hounslow CCG to support its new Urgent Care Centre. Patients attending the centre will be initially prioritised by a receptionist using Odyssey Reception software, and then passed to a nurse using Odyssey FaceToFace decision support to complete the clinical assessment and treatment. Hounslow CCG's Urgent Care Centre is being built at West Middlesex University Hospital and will be open 24 hours a day, every day of the year to treat a range of minor illnesses and minor injuries that require urgent attention. Odyssey FaceToFace is a comprehensive clinical decision support system for face-to-face consultation in emergency or primary care settings. Odyssey FaceToFace offers varying levels of support covering the full range of acute presentations, and includes sophisticated guidance for history taking, examination, diagnosis and treatment. With the existing Odyssey clinical decision support systems and now PathFinderRF, Avia now offers healthcare organisations various clinical 'end-to-end' solutions to help improve the efficiency of their services. The product range for primary care spans initial self-assessment using Odyssey SelfAssess; receptionist prioritisation and assessment by the clinician using Odyssey PatientAssess; and the referral by the clinician to community or specialist care using PathFinderRF.

Barry Giddings, Chairman of Avia Health Informatics Plc, commented: "We are very pleased to be working with Greenbrook Healthcare taking on Odyssey Reception and FaceToFace and look forward working with them to take full advantage of Odyssey in an ED and Urgent Care environment supporting cost savings through effective and efficient clinical assessments."

Odyssey FaceToFace contract with Greenbrook Healthcare Avia (AIM: AVIA), the developer and provider of clinical decision support and communication facilitation to manage referrals systems, is pleased to announce that its wholly owned subsidiary Plain Healthcare Ltd ("Plain") has signed a new contract for the sale of Odyssey FaceToFace and Odyssey Reception to Greenbrook Healthcare. The Odyssey software will be embedded in EMIS LV enabling Greenbrook Healthcare to support its new Urgent Care Centre in Northwick Park Hospital. Patients attending Greenbrook Healthcare will be initially prioritised by a receptionist using Odyssey Reception from where the clinical assessment information is passed on to Odyssey FaceToFace used by a clinician during the consultation. The clinical information is updated in the host system and forms part of the patient record. Greenbrook Healthcare is running a new Urgent Care Centre that is co-located with Northwick Park Hospital A&E Department. The centre will be open 24 hours a day, every day of the year and will treat a range of minor illnesses and minor injuries that require urgent and immediate attention. Odyssey FaceToFace is a comprehensive clinical decision support system for face-to-face consultation in emergency or primary care settings. Odyssey FaceToFace offers varying levels of support covering the full range of acute presentations, and includes sophisticated guidance for history taking, examination, diagnosis and treatment. With the existing Odyssey clinical decision support systems and now PathFinderRF, Avia now offers healthcare organisations various clinical 'end-to-end' solutions to help improve the efficiency of their services. The product range for primary care spans initial self-assessment using Odyssey SelfAssess; receptionist prioritisation and assessment by the clinician using Odyssey PatientAssess; and the referral by the clinician to community or specialist care using PathFinderRF.

http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=201202211225038226X

Commenting on today's announcement, Jarod Hillman, Head of Real-Time Data at LSEG said: "This partnership between LSEG and Google is great news for retail investors across the globe. For the first time Google users will have access to free, real-time last-trade prices, allowing them to make more informed investment decisions. "LSEG is committed to making the Group's markets as accessible as possible to the retail investor. Previously, this data has only been available with a 15-minute delay so we are delighted that Google has chosen to licence our real-time offering". Maxim Edelman, Strategic Partnerships at Google said: "Since the launch of Google Finance in 2006, we have worked hard to provide Google users with the best financial information. The addition of real-time quotes from the London Stock Exchange and Borsa Italiana will enable our users to better monitor market changes, manage their portfolios and track economic and financial developments in Europe."

LONDON STOCK EXCHANGE GROUP AND GOOGLE SIGN DATA AGREEMENT - Agreement gives global Google users access to real-time 'last trade price' data for trades on LSE and Borsa Italiana - Previously only available as 15-minute delayed data - Highlights London Stock Exchange Group's commitment to making core real-time data services as accessible as possible for retail investors London Stock Exchange Group plc ("LSEG" or "the Group") has signed a data licence agreement with Google to allow it to distribute real-time 'last trade price' data free of charge. Users of Google will, for the first time, be able to access London Stock Exchange and Borsa Italiana real-time trading data that was previously only available with a 15-minute delay. The agreement is part of LSEG's on-going commitment to making core real-time data services as accessible as possible to retail investors around the world. Universally available, this free service on Google will give users who do not currently have access to real-time Group data, for the first time a selection of Level 1 trading data.

http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=201202211007037998X

Nice steady progress here

Interesting - need to read more here

Artem Molchanov, Managing Director (CEO) of HMS Group, commented: “The acquisition of DGHM is perfectly consistent with our growth strategy in the most appealing markets with positive fundamentals. Through this acquisition we gained adjacent products that would enhance our existing product offering. This will allow us to provide complex solutions for strategically important projects implemented by our customers. Moreover, having acquired the healthy company with strong financials, we retained a sound balance sheet that would support our further growth initiatives.”

February 21, 2011 HMS Hydraulic Machines & Systems Group plc (the “Company”, and together with its subsidiaries, the “HMS Group”) HMS GROUP TO OBTAIN CONTROL OVER RUSSIAN OIL AND GAS EQUIPMENT MANUFACTURER - DGHM Moscow, Russia – HMS Group (LSE: HMSG) today announces that it has agreed to acquire additional 11% in a share capital of DIMITROVGRADKHIMMASH (DGHM), Russian manufacturer of equipment for oil refineries, chemical, petrochemical and gas processing plants for Rub 206 million ($6.9 million). The deal is a subject to approval of the Federal Antimonopoly Service. After approval the Group will increase its stake in the DGHM’s share capital to 51%. Founded in 1931, DGHM supplies major oil & gas and chemical companies with a wide range of products – from pumps for oil and oil products to tanks and vessels and other special technological equipment for different applications. For the FY2011, in accordance with RAS DGHM had revenues of Rub cca 1.6 billion ($53 million) and EBITDA1 of Rub 387 million ($13.0 million) with a strong 24.5% margin. The company had no outstanding debt as of the end of 2011. HMS will consolidate DGHM’s financials into HMS Group’s IFRS reporting starting from January 1, 2012.

http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=20120221101100Z4035

"Advanced Medullary Thyroid Cancer is a rare disease with a poor prognosis and clinical outcomes for patients with advanced MTC have not changed substantially in the past 20 years." said AstraZeneca's Dr. James Vasselli, CAPRELSA Medical Science Director. "CAPRELSA offers a new treatment option for these patients. It is the first advance of its kind for this devastating disease and we are delighted CAPRELSA has been approved for use in Europe." CAPRELSA was granted orphan drug status and approved by the US Food and Drug Administration in April 2011. CAPRELSA is also approved in Canada and is under review in Russia, Switzerland, Brazil, Mexico, Argentina and Australia. The marketing authorisation of CAPRELSA is based on data from the Phase III CAPRELSA clinical trial programme, including the ZETA study, a double-blind trial of 331 patients with advanced MTC that has progressed and spread to other parts of the body, which showed a 54 per cent reduction in risk of disease progression compared to placebo (hazard ratio 0.46; 95% CI, 0.31-0.69; P<0.001). Common side effects observed were diarrhoea, rash, headache, fatigue and hypertension. The incidence of protocol-defined QTc prolongation was 14%.

EUROPEAN COMMISSION APPROVES CAPRELSA® (vandetanib) FOR PATIENTS WITH ADVANCED MEDULLARY THYROID CANCER AstraZeneca today announced that the European Commission has granted marketing authorisationfor CAPRELSA® (vandetanib) for the treatment of aggressive and symptomatic medullary thyroid cancer (MTC) in patients with unresectable locally advanced or metastatic disease. CAPRELSA is the first approved treatment for advanced MTC in Europe. This European Commission decision follows a positive opinion from the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) on 17 November 2011 and is applicable to all 27 Member States of the European Union.

http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=201202210800007920X

In the Independent, the Sharewatch column ponders the spread betting firm IG. The paper makes the point that outside the UK, IG is a major player in the contracts for difference market and has benefited from specialising in finance-related products instead of going down the sports betting route. The stock is near a five-year high and trades at 12 times this year’s earnings. The yield is 4.6%, which good, but not good enough for a buy. Hold says Sharewatch