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I bought 200,000 European Nickel (ENK) at 21p since I am told that its Turkish problems may be resolved. Readers will already know that I have traded this stock successfully before and been lucky escaping the vicissitudes. Perhaps I am trying my luck. We'll see. An extract from the diaries of infamous bear raider Evil Knievil

1st June 2011 An extract from the diaries of infamous bear raider Evil Knievil There is a very interesting technical position emerging at MWB Business Exchange (MBE), which is owned as to 72% by MWB (MWB). MWB wishes to own all of the shares in MBE and has offered 0.91 shares in MWB plus 12.7p cash per MBE share or, currently, perhaps 55p per share for MBE (check these figures carefully before dealing), whilst acknowledging that there is perhaps a cash bid of 92.36p per MBE share from Regus (RGU). MBE's price stands at 65p to 69p and awaits a solid offer from Regus. MWB claims that, in the long term, MBE shareholders will do better backing into MWB. That seems an extraordinary proposition to me if one could take the cash offer now and reinvest in MWB, albeit an MWB without MBE. If of course MBE is essential to the upside of MWB's share price, one would think that MWB could offer more right now. On balance, I reckon MBE is a buy at up to 75p. It seems very probable that one need merely await Regus's bid.

Bidtimes (BDT) is set to complete its reverse takeover onto AIM after finally settling an unexpected dispute over PowerHouse's rights in Australia to a patented technology. The group said that it has entered into a settlement agreement pursuant to which PowerHouse will continue to hold the exclusive rights to Pyromex UHTG systems in Australia and in addition has gained the exclusive rights to New Zealand. Shares in Bidtimes advanced 0.25p to 1.5p

East African Breweries, a subsidiary of Diageo (DGE), is to purchase a 20% stake in Kenya Breweries from SABMiller Africa BV, a subsidiary of SABMiller (SAB), for 20 billion Kenyan Shillings (137 million pounds). As part of the deal, Kenya Breweries has agreed to terminate a brewing and distribution agreement with SABMiller International and will cease to distribute SABMiller's brands in Kenya after a short transitional period. Shares in Diageo were unchanged at 1,291p, while SABMiller shares gained 23p to 2,236p.

In line with its growth strategy, AMEC (AMEC) has completed the acquisition of MACTEC, the US engineering and environmental services company, for a cash consideration of 280 million dollars (170 million pounds). The international engineering and project management company added that a small MACTEC subsidiary, MACTEC Development Corporation, will be run as a standalone entity until final regulatory approval is obtained from the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission

Arbuthnot initiated coverage of Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation (ENRC) with a "strong buy" rating and 1,050p target price. The broker notes that unlike many of the major global mining companies, following the 2008 correction, the group did not come back to the markets to raise money and continued to pay dividends during 2009. With that said, Arbuthnot believes that ENRC is a "relatively defensive investment" with "significant organic growth opportunities

Brewin Dolphin maintained its "buy" recommendation and 44p target price on Printing.com (PDC). Following final results, the broker said the group has performed robustly and remains profitable and strongly cash generative in a "very difficult trading environment". With that said, Brewin added that whilst these challenging conditions are set to continue, the business can look ahead with optimism given a number of new product initiatives coupled with the new geographies and routes to market offered by acquired business MFG

Haike raises stake in subsidiary to over 90% By Benjamin Chiou Date: Monday 06 Jun 2011 LONDON (ShareCast) - China-based petrochemical and biochemical group HaiKe Chemical has bought a furth 29% stake in its subsidiary Shandong Hi-Tech Shengli Electrochemical for RMB22.7m (around $3.5m). The acquisition is in line with the group’s strategy to diversify the group business from low margin refining to the downstream chemical area, HaiKe said. The group now owns 91.45% in Shengli. “Shengli has been a source of stable income to the Group, and this strategic move enlarges our exposure in the production of caustic soda and chlorine based chemical product,” said Xiaohong Yang, executive chairman of HaiKe.

Italian regs knock Mediterranean Oil & Gas Date: Monday 06 Jun 2011 LONDON (ShareCast) - Mediterranean Oil & Gas announced a pre-tax loss of €7.78m for 2010 after being hit by poor economic conditions and new regulation in Italy. The group pinned much of the blame for the loss on the Italian government's decision to prohibit offshore exploration and production activities for liquid hydrocarbons within five miles from the Italian coast and twelve miles from nature reserves. “The company continues to seek clarification from the authorities as to whether fields, upon which previous exploration has confirmed the existence of commercial hydrocarbon quantities, are exempted from the [Italian government’s] decree,” said non-executive chairman, Andrew Cochran. “The uncertainty created by the decree resulted in a decline in support for the company in the public markets and undermined the company's capital raising efforts during the course of 2010,” he added. In 2010, gas production declined 12% relative to the prior 12 month period, largely due to the natural decline of existing fields, which was only partially offset by new gas production brought on stream in 2010, the firm said. However, due to an increased average oil price and more favourable US$ exchange rate, the average gas sales price increased progressively throughout 2010, resulting in net revenues of €3.49m for the company.

http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=201106060700068687H

Operating profits leap at Jelf Date: Monday 06 Jun 2011 LONDON (ShareCast) - Independent financial consultancy, Jelf Group, has revealed a 49% jump in operating profits for the six months to 31 March 2011. The firm posted a profit of £1.5m due, it said, to “a continuing focus on cost control and operating efficiencies”. Group revenues were in line with forecasts at £35m, while before interest, tax, depreciation, amortisation and exceptionals increased by 2.0% on the previous year to £4.2m. Jelf also said profit before tax improved from a £1.2m loss in 2010 to a £0.8m profit in the first half of the current financial year. Non-executive chairman, Les Owen, said the firm was on track to deliver another good set of results in 2011 and was “well positioned to benefit from the economic recovery as it unfolds”. However, the company said its plans to go hunting for acquisitions had been slowed due to the lack of reasonably priced targets. Jelf said the market for advice on employee benefits continued to grow but its insurance and financial planning divisions were having a tougher time in the current economic environment. The revenues for its insurance business improved marginally, while revenues in financial planning fell 11% year-on-year.

http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=201106060700058464H

Melrose set to sell Dynacast for $590m By Benjamin Chiou Date: Monday 06 Jun 2011 LONDON (ShareCast) - Engineering conglomerate Melrose is set to dispose of its precision die cast components division, Dynacast, to KDI Holdings for a consideration of $590m. KDI, which is managed by investment firm Kenner & Company, will be $590m in cash on completion. In addition Dynacast takes with it $17.1m of net pension liabilities. This equates to an enterprise value of £370m, almost double the value of £197m when Melrose first owned the group in May 2005, the firm said. “Nearly £1bn in cash will have been generated from the original £429m McKechnie and Dynacast acquisition,” Melrose said. “The sale of Dynacast marks another successful milestone for Melrose. As a result of the improvement in its performance we have quadrupled the shareholders' investment in Dynacast within six years,” said chairman Christopher Miller.

http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=201106061235279264H

http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=201106060700058984H

Positive outlook for EPO despite year loss Date: Monday 06 Jun 2011 LONDON (ShareCast) - Equatorial Palm Oil (EPO) has announced a US$4.4m loss before tax for the year to the end of 31 December 2010, which it said was in line with expectations. The palm oil development company, which has operations in Liberia, said $1.3m of that loss was attributable to non-recurring costs associated with listing on the AIM market in February last year. The listing raised £6.5m and came on top of a $60m joint venture with BioPalm, which is designed to provide long term equity funding, effective from February this year. EPO said the outlook for the global palm oil market was positive, with strong growth in demand driving a significant increase in crude palm oil prices recently. Crude palm oil rose from $805 a tonne at the start of January 2010 to $1,200 a tonne in May 2011, the firm said. EPO added that it had a strong net cash position at the end of the year with $6.8m in the bank, having repaid all its outstanding loans. Michael Frayne, executive chairman of EPO, said the company was sticking to its ‘ambitious goal’ of achieving 50,000 hectares of plantations within 10 years.

http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=201106060700068790H

http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=201106060700128858H

Printing.com profits fall amid tough economy Date: Monday 06 Jun 2011 LONDON (ShareCast) - Printing.com, the operator of a chain of high street printing services outlets, posted lower profits in the year to 31 March as budgets were squeezed at the small and medium companies the firm serves. Turnover climbed to £17.02m from £14.46m, mainly due to the acquisition of Dutch print marketing business Media Facility Group, but pre-tax profits fell to £1.31m from £1.7m. “The financial year ended 31 March 2011 has been a challenging period for the company reflecting low commercial confidence across the company's predominantly SME marketplace,” printing.com said. The company is pinning its hopes on new online initiatives to help it weather tough trading. “These initiatives embrace new software developments that allow online transactions, including the graphic design element, to take place,” the company said. “This platform opens up a number of new market segments and revenue opportunities which, we believe, will drive volume through the company's hub.”

Credit Suisse recommends moneysupermarket.com to outperform, target price raised to 115p from 100p.