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last post continued! Altium Securities thinks there is a possibility that the shares could get a boost if the outlook statement follows the lead set by Caterpillar and Fenner in recent weeks. “US construction exposure is a potential concern, although recent news flow from Caterpillar and Fenner has been positive. In addition, only 23% of group sales come from America, of which approximately 50% is related to construction. In other words, only c.11.5% of group sales are exposed to the US construction market. Management has stated that this is an area where costs and working capital exposure can be swiftly cut if market conditions worsen,” the broker notes.

Monday kicks off with Diploma, the seals, fasteners and instrumentation provider, announcing its full-year figures. Market consensus is for a sharp increase in pre-tax profit to £44.1m, up from £26.7m a year ago, on turnover of £230m, up from £183.5m last year.

Compass, the world’s largest contract caterer, will reveal plans this week to return £500m to shareholders by buying back shares. Analysts expect the company to announce the move alongside its annual results, when profits are forecast to exceed £1 bn. (…) Buybacks are becoming increasingly common among large groups with plenty of cash on their balance sheets, Glaxo Smith Kline and Virgin Media among them. (…) This week it will announce it has won new business, such as providing security services to Thomson Reuters, the media group, and catering for Vodafone in Turkey and Dell in India, The Sunday Times reports.

Resolution, the insurance conglomerate run by City tycoon Clive Cowdery, has made a £1.2bn takeover bid for rival Phoenix Group. He is in advanced talks over an offer that would value Phoenix at close to 700p a share — a 40% premium to the current price. A deal would rank as one of the biggest in Britain’s financial services industry since the global credit crunch swept through the City in 2007. Cowdery faces opposition from Swiss Re, one of the world’s biggest insurers and CVC, the big private equity firm, which is believed to be preparing a cash bid. He is thought to be close to securing an all-share deal, however. He presented his plans last week to the syndicate of 17 banks that fund Phoenix, according to The Sunday Times.

The share price of digital and communication services group Hasgrove collapsed on Friday, after the firm revealed that full-year profits would be half of what is currently expected. The group now expects a pre-exceptional operating profit of £1.5m in the year ending 31 December, well below current market expectations of £3.3m. This figure would fall to £0.8m after excluding contributions from Interel, its European corporate affairs consultancy business which it offloaded in July. Hasgrove said that The Chase and Landmarks design businesses “have found trading difficult” while overruns on two business solutions projects have also hit profits. Delays in client-spending decisions have also been seen. "We are clearly very disappointed to be reporting a profits warning and will continue to take the required action. We continue to control costs where appropriate and are focused on servicing our clients,” said chief executive Paul Sanders.

A non-executive director at data capture firm Kofax has purchased £61,290 worth of shares. Joe Rose, a member of Kofax’s Remuneration and Nomination Committees, bought 20,000 at 249.10p each for a total of £49,820 and 5,000 at 229.40p each for a sum of £11,470. The purchase takes his total to 70,000 shares.

John Whittaker, deputy chairman of Capital Shopping Centres Group, owner of the Trafford Centre, has done a spot of shopping himself. Whittaker, who is also a non-executive of the firm, purchased 50,000 shares at 310.60p per share for a total of £155,300. He joined the firm in January, as part of the deal in which CSC made the £1.65bn purchase of the Trafford Centre from Peel Group, of which Whittaker is chairman.

Investec leaves sell rating and 100p target unchanged.

Nomura maintains buy and 265p target.

Apologies - this is the rest of the broker note per last post The broker notes that while the stock has fallen 12% over the last year, a sharper operational focus meant that the company outperformed its closest peer Premier Farnell, which fell 38%.

Singer Capital Markets has reiterated its fair value rating and 284p target for Electrocomponents but has highlighted some positives at the electronic components distributor, such as its cheap valuation.

Evolution Securities keeps buy recommendation and 1,800p target.

The spread is killing trading here 43 - 50

Steve - apologies for delay as I havnt been in here for a while - I sold out at a small profit but looks like it was a bit quick! Personally I think PURE will turnaround when the Market does likewise - that may take some time but performance since mid october cannot be faulted.

Magomet Malsagov, CEO of PureCircle Limited stated, "The approval of stevia in the European Union marks a major milestone for PureCircle and the industry. The EU is the largest single market for sweeteners in the world. EU approval effectively increases the current addressable market for high purity stevia by more than 50%. We have been actively preparing with our customers and partners for the opening of the market with our broad portfolio of solutions. In partnership with sugar industry leaders, Nordzucker and Tereos, we have established a strong foundation of EU coverage. Consumers in Europe, as in the rest of the world, will soon be able to enjoy great tasting foods and beverages made with our no-calorie, natural ingredients."

Regulatory Approval for Stevia in the European Union PureCircle (LSE: PURE), the world's leading supplier and marketer of high purity stevia products announces the EU Commission's regulatory approval for the use of steviol glycosides in foods and beverages in the European Union. The regulation permitting the sale and use of steviol glycosides has now been published in the Official Journal of the European Union as of November 12th. Twenty calendar days following this publication date, the regulation will enter into force and will be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in the EU Member States, allowing for sale of products formulated with steviol glycosides as early as December 2nd. The number of food and beverage products sweetened with stevia continues to grow rapidly across markets and categories. Globally over 1,000 stevia sweetened products have launched and are now available across five continents and all major food and beverage categories. Products are now beginning to launch in larger brands and becoming more established through line extensions and increasing marketing support. In the US, the annual retail sales of stevia sweetened products have grown to more than $1.2B. In the EU, France allowed for an interim approval of high purity stevia extract, Reb A, in 2009. Since then, stevia has enjoyed similar success with consumers. In July 2011, awareness of the sweetener among the general population had already reached 47%, up from 23% just a year earlier.

http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=201111140700460000S

Commenting, Alistair Rae, CEO of Imagelinx said "We believe there is a clear need for an independent, problem solving and advice led business to improve clients' packaging processes across the whole supply chain which will lead to greater efficiency and reductions in cost. The Pack Republic is a natural extension of our core artwork and graphics business with the ability to see a whole project through from concept to press."

Paclogic and The Pack Republic launched by Imagelinx plc Imagelinx PLC, (AIM:ILI) the AIM listed provider of graphic brand management services has today announced the formation of two new companies - Paclogic, a consultancy to advise FMCG companies and manufacturers on packaging management solutions and The Pack Republic, a specialist design consultancy. The move follows a review by the Board of the Group's operations and the identification of two areas where it believes it can achieve significant growth that are a natural fit with the Imagelinx core business. Paclogic is a consultancy designed to provide companies with a complete solution for branded packaging management by optimizing the efficiency of the various processes required through workflow analysis, benchmarking and improving quality and reliability. The initial 12 strong team, which collectively has over 200 years of experience in this field, has already worked with many leading brand owners in the world. The Pack Republic is a full graphic design agency, focused on the creation of concepts, line extensions, promotional packaging and point of sale materials which will flow seamlessly through the packaging process. Their success to date, working under the Imagelinx creative banner, provides the spring board for The Pack Republic to promote themselves as an independent entity.

http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=201111140830010201S