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http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=201108310700212799N

Joep van Beurden, CEO of CSR commented, "The merger with Zoran is a further important step in CSR's strategic development. We are excited about the innovative new opportunities open to the combined company in the growing area of wireless connectivity, location-aware products, imaging and video, and audio technology."

CSR plc announces Completion of Merger with Zoran Corporation and Admission of New Ordinary Shares CSR plc (LSE: CSR.L) ("CSR" or the "Company") announces that it has completed the merger with Zoran Corporation ("Zoran"), with Zoran becoming a wholly-owned subsidiary of CSR (the "Merger"). In connection with the Merger, application has been approved for 29,774,144 new ordinary shares in the Company (the "New Ordinary Shares") to be admitted to listing on the premium segment of the Official List of the UK Listing Authority and to trading on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange. The New Ordinary Shares will commence trading on the London Stock Exchange at 8.00 a.m. (British Summer Time) today. It is expected that the CSR American Depositary Shares ("ADSs") to be issued to Zoran shareholders in connection with the Merger will be listed on the NASDAQ Stock Market from 9.30am (Eastern Daylight Time) today. The ADSs will initially trade on a "when-issued" basis under the provisional trading symbol of "CSREV". Once Nasdaq determines that "regular-way" trading can commence, the ADSs will trade under the trading symbol "CSRE".

http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=201108310820493009N

Brewin Dolphin raised its rating for Valiant Petroleum (VPP) from "hold" to "add" with a target price of 600p. While the primary Chamonix target in Norway proved disappointing the group discovered a gas column at the secondary Cortina target, which the broker notes could be part of a larger deposit. Additionally, the oil and gas company produced an average of 8,225 barrel of oil per day over the first half, ahead of Brewin's expectations, and cash flows are 205.8% higher than last year at 137 million dollars (84.1 million pounds). Shares in Valiant flew 37.25p to 522.5p

Numis initiates buy on Spirit Pub, target price 75p.

Morgan Stanley downgrades Land Securities Group from overweight to underweight, target price cut from 980p to 680p.

Morgan Stanley downgrades British Land from overweight to underweight, target price cut from 730p to 480p.

Morgan Stanley downgrades Hammerson from overweight to equal weight, target price cut from 560p to 420p.

Morgan Stanley downgrades Schroders from equal weight to underweight, target price cut from 1798p to 1570p.

Oriel Securities upgrades Bunzl from hold to add.

Exane BNP Paribas upgrades Wolseley from neutral to outperform, target price cut from 2,100p to 1,685p

Tullett Prebon (TLPR) I am amazed that the price action of Tullett remains so volatile, as if the shares are determined to stop loss out the last of the bottom fishers sub 340p. The likelihood from this point in the wake of the rodeo ride is that only a weekly close on Friday above the blue 50 day moving average at 355p suggests that a trip towards the black 200 day moving average at 383p will be on its way next month. So reckons Zak Mir

Punters betting on their mobile phones and the web helped bookmaker Paddy Power to score a big first-half profits win. It boosted online profit by a quarter to 45.3million euros (£39.8million) in the six months to June 30, almost as much as its total profits a year ago. Customers on Paddypower.com rose by nearly a half, according to the Daily Express.

The gambling industry tends to react to Paddy Power with a weary “not them again, give it a rest”, says the Investment Column at the Independent. Ladbrokes and William Hill’s noisy neighbour from across the Irish Sea is an expert in marketing and PR. While bookies are struggling to look good this year, partly because of the weak economic backdrop and partly because last year’s figures were flattered by a punters blowing millions on the World Cup, Paddy Power turned in underlying pre-tax profits of €56.8m (GBP50.3m), up 15 per cent, with the online and telephone operations standing out. This is no mean feat. In light of Paddy’s performance and the chance that it could exceed expectations yet again, we would certainly stick with our investment, says the Independent.

The recent trading update from US cash and carry operator Booker for the quarter to June demonstrated its resilience against a difficult economic backdrop, according to the Scotsman. Like-for-like sales increased by more than 7 per cent during the period versus the prior year, a level of growth significantly ahead of the UK supermarkets. While a number of one-off factors boosted sales, Booker continues to grow its market share within the sector. The company has sufficient firepower to make acquisitions, although we believe it is unlikely that anything significant will be announced this year. We believe the stock is undervalued, according to the Scotsman, which recommends a buy.

Bunzl is 10 times the size of its nearest competitor and uses that scale to pass on savings to its customers, says the Questor team at the Telegraph. The company keeps growing via more acquisitions, and had good news on that front at yesterday’s half-year results. In the six months to June, Bunzl spent GBP123m on seven companies. It was a busy six months for corporate activity. Bunzl also announced the sale of its UK drinks vending unit, Provend, yesterday. That looks like a good move for the group. Bunzl has been a Questor favourite for a long time, although our last recommendation was to hold. In terms of valuation, it is hard to compare the group with its peers as it has no close competitors. Instead it is worth looking at the company’s track record. Over the past 15 years, Bunzl shares have traded on an average of 15 times earnings. They are currently on around 11 times this year’s earnings, with a forecast yield of 3.7pc, making them a strong buy, says the Telegraph.

http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=201108300700151551N

Mike Norris, the chief executive of Computacenter, claims to be more pleased by the successful transition of the group’s British operations to a new IT programme, which went live yesterday morning, than he is with interim figures yesterday, says the Tempus team at the Times. But the upgrade, which follows a similar process in Germany and with France soon to follow, does remove a block on the group making further significant acquisitions, even if a small French deal was completed in April. The company has a little more than GBP100 million in the bank and available to spend. Across the group, profits before tax were 24.9 per cent higher at GBP26.6 million. The interim dividend is raised by 1p to 4½p, which will please the two founders who still own about half the shares and gives these, up 4.6p to 374.1p last night, the support of a decent 4 per cent yield. They sell on about ten times’ this year’s earnings and at least merit a strong hold, suggests the Times

Commenting on the 2011 interim results, Nigel Keen, Chairman of Bioquell PLC, said: "The Group performed well in the first half achieving improved levels of orders, revenues and profitability." "We see interesting opportunities for growth - across our core Life Sciences, Healthcare and Defence sectors - in Asia and other developing markets." "We continue to invest in the expansion of our international sales networks, the development of our product range and TRaC's facilities." "The Group continues to be conservatively financed with significant net cash resources and is well positioned to fund substantial levels of organic growth."