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Evolution Securities reiterated is "sell" recommendation for Cable and Wireless Communications (CWC) with a reduced target price of 30p, from 31p. With negligible cash flows and an uncovered dividend the broker views the shares as highly vulnerable. Evolution has particular concern over the state of affairs in Jamaica, where it continues to lose market share to Digicel and is generating virtually no EBITDA. Regulatory relief is uncertain and even if it was received it would take 12 to 18 months before the effects were felt, adds Evolution. Share in Cable and Wireless fell 0.9p to 38.64p.

DDD (DDD) retained its "buy" rating from Brewin Dolphin, with a target price of 37p. The broker reported that the 3D technology group achieved a 140% increase in revenue, year-on-year, to 2.3 million dollars (1.5 million pounds), due to an increase in demand for its TriDef licenses, with 4.6 million units shipped, compared to 2.5 million in the 2010 financial year. With nine new license agreements signed with PC and mobile phone manufactures, Brewin believes the company is well positioned to grow. The shares dropped 1p to 26.75p.

http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=201109260700158654O

The start of the second half of the year has been a tough one for Aberdeen Asset Management, which has seen assets under management (AUM), as at the end of August, slide 4.8% to £176.9bn from £185.7bn at the end of June. Most of the fall was accounted for by market movements and foreign exchange fluctuations, which reduced AUM by £8.1bn, but the business also saw net outflows of £0.8bn. "Given the economic backdrop in Europe and the US and heightened market volatility during the last two months, Aberdeen's new business flows have been resilient," said Martin Gilbert, Chief Executive of Aberdeen.

braveheart - aye ye be right ! apologies

Elsewhere in the sector, RBS is concerned about Jupiter Fund Managements’ exposure to equities and has lowered its rating on the stock to “sell” from “hold”, with the target price reduced to 171p from 205p

RBS has upgraded its rating on Ashmore to “buy” from “hold” following heavy falls in the fund manager’s share price lately. “We see the recent share price pullback as an excellent opportunity to gain exposure to this high quality business,” RBS says. It points to Ashmore’s “strong funds flow outlook” and its “excellent capital position.” It also notes that, at 18% of funds under management, it has only minimal exposure to equities. RBS lowers its target price on Ashmore to 404p from 415p.

Ian Dyson is expected to stand down as chief executive of pubs group Spirit by the end of this year. His departure will come just over a year since he was appointed to run Punch Taverns and decided to split the firm into two – a managed pub arm Spirit, which owns the Chef & Brewer chain, and a tenanted group, Punch. Dyson stayed as boss with Spirit, the Daily Express reports.

RBS upgrades Ashmore Group from hold to buy, target price cut from 415p to 404p

Gerry Murray, Chief Executive of Dods (Group) PLC, commented: "Dods has traded well in the light of some very challenging market conditions. The completion of the acquisition of Politics Home on the 1st July 2011 added further to our portfolio and the operations have already been integrated into the rest of the business. The first half of the year has seen steady progress across the portfolio, the highlight again being the strong growth in our Digital products. These market-leading products continue to show both strong retention rates and good new business growth. In addition, the forward bookings for the Party Conference fringe events are at record levels. Events and Digital contributed 69% of Group revenue (2010: 63%) and 84% of Group contribution (2010: 71%). The Board is conscious of the macro global economic uncertainties and the specific issues within the Company's markets over the remainder of 2011. There are a number of key events in the last quarter of the year which materially underpin the full year results, and, while there remain significant challenges, the Board does not believe that this will materially affect the results of the Group for the full year in 2011."

Interim Results for the six months ended 30 June 2011 Our recent acquisition builds on the impressive growth generated within our Digital operations. Both the Parliamentary Engagement and the Information & Intelligence portfolios contain established, market leading products that are integral to the workflows of our clients. Operational Highlights · Continued strong growth of digital information and intelligence products · Acquisition of www.politicshome.com · Strong performance of events - with record forward booking for Party Conference fringe events.

http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=201109260700148525O

BAE systems may slash 3,000 jobs Date: Monday 26 Sep 2011 LONDON (ShareCast) - The UK's main defence contractor, BAE Systems, appears set to shed 3,000 jobs as it sees a slump in orders for its Typhoon aircraft. Reports from Sky News and the Telegraph indicate the plants most likely to be affected are in Warton, Lancashire, and Brough in East Yorkshire. The firm has refused to confirm the reports, suggesting any employment issues must be communicated to the workforce first. However, despite having 550 orders for the so called Eurofighter from the UK, Germany, Italy and Spain BAE would like to boost sales to non-European markets. Other customers, however, may demand different specifications for the aircraft, in particular the most advanced possible RADAR system. BAE needs to see whether its main customers will also order top-notch RADAR, so making manufacture more economic. Currently however European defence budgets are under increasing pressure so BAE needs to play for time. By slowing down production of the Typhoon it may be able to buy the time it needs to generate more orders. BAE employs over 100,000 people worldwide and approximately 40,000 in the UK. Unions have already said they will try to prevent any compulsory redundancies.

Scottish and Southern presses nuclear button Date: Monday 26 Sep 2011 LONDON (ShareCast) - Scottish and Southern Energy, one of the UK's biggest power companies has withdrawn from its nuclear joint venture NuGen. The announcement comes after signals the company's interest in nuclear was waning at the end of last year when it said in its six month statement: 'The cost, development issues, timetable and operational efficacy of nuclear power stations all require the greatest possible scrutiny before a commitment to invest can be made'. SSE, as it makes clear, saw the joint venture with GDF Suez and Iberdrola – as a “toe in the water” exercise and its partners have now bought out its 25% stake. The plan had been to develop a new nuclear power station near Sellafield in West Cumbria but the final decision on whether to go ahead with the project must be made by 2015. As SSE's statement makes clear however: “even getting to the point of that decision will absorb, from now on, significant financial and management resources from everyone in the joint venture.” SSE now says it is to focus investment on “renewable energy, gas-fired generation, including carbon capture and storage options, and alternative energy developments." SSE says that in these areas it has “knowledge and experience” but no experience of ownership in the nuclear sector. Shares in SSE were up 0.7% in early trading.

1550ish has been a good support level here but it now seems broken - (1509) as I type - will watch this with interest for a turnaround when the market mood changes

Nice figures here!

Commenting on the results, Dave Shemmans, Chief Executive Officer said: "The strong performance we achieved in the first half of the financial year continued through the remainder of the year, resulting in a very good full year performance. Revenue was up 21%, profit before tax was up 43%, together with a positive cash balance and a solid order book. In the year we welcomed back some of our long term clients from the automotive sector, collaborated with Force Protection Europe on the Foxhound Light Protected Patrol Vehicle to win a competitive tender from the UK MoD, launched the McLaren supercar engine into production and established a long term engineering relationship with Jaguar Land Rover. Overall the market for Ricardo remains positive and active, in spite of a continuing uncertain global economy. We continue to focus on developing new advanced technologies, innovations and product solutions that are both energy efficient and clean. We are marketing these solutions to a diverse sector and global client base who require them for competitive and legislative reasons and they are being well received. Operationally our focus on cost, delivery and cash management has underpinned the strong overall performance. We have a market and operational platform which has delivered a good set of results this year. We intend to build upon this performance and thus we remain confident for the future."

Preliminary results for the full year ended 30 June 2011 Ricardo plc is a global world-class, multi-industry consultancy for engineering, technology, product innovation and strategy. With a century of delivering value, we employ over 1500 professional consultants, engineers and staff world-wide. Our client list includes the world's major transportation Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM'S), supply chain organisations, energy companies, financial institutions and governments. Highlights Ricardo has achieved strong revenue, profit and EPS growth. These were delivered from a diverse mix of customers and through a focus on cost control, cash generation and sound project delivery. Continuing operations: l Revenue up 21% to £196.5m (June 2010: £162.8m) l Profit before tax up 43% to £15.4m (June 2010: £10.8m) l Basic earnings per share up 49% to 30.0p (June 2010: 20.1p) l Net cash inflow of £9.3m l Year end net funds of £1.5m (June 2010: net debt £7.8m) l Full year dividend up 7% to 11.5p per share (June 2010: 10.7p) l Order book increased to £107m (June 2010: £101m) l Strategic partnerships yielding multi-year visibility l Outlook remains positive, strong platform for business growth

http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=201109260700188766O

CONT The Group continues to identify relevant and growth enhancing acquisitions; this being a salient aspect of the Group's expansion strategy. The Directors are currently in early stage discussions which may lead to new business avenues in media platforms such as out-of-home advertising (such as billboards) and interactive advertising areas in the social media sector. Further announcements will be made should these discussions progress. Operational Review The Group has acquired a number of key new blue chip accounts during the six month period, and has been granted increased advertising budgets from a number of existing clients. We are now working with customers from both the domestic and international markets and a number of companies within the financial services, white goods, beauty and educational sectors. Outlook One of the key developments the Group hopes to realise in the next 12 months is to evolve from being a media broker to a media owner which, by removing the middle man, the Board believe, will provide higher margins and therefore enhance profitability. The Board believe that in the next financial year RedHot will begin to see the benefits of the ongoing investment and subsequent additional costs incurred by the Group to achieve this goal. Conclusion Given the seasonal nature of the media and advertising industry, we believe the Group is positioned to realise more opportunities in the second half of 2011 allowing us to surpass our 2010 performance and remain in line with market expectations. The Group is reliant on continued growth in advertising spend in Malaysia and China which RedHot is naturally exposed to in any economic downturn. This is mitigated partly by the Group's activities in production of its own media content and its sales advisory business.