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Housing market looks ‘healthier’ in 2015 says leading builder: A slowdown in the growth of house prices is more ‘healthy’ for the market, one of the country’s leading builders has said

Stardard Chartered set for £3 billion hit on bad loans as it’s forced to go cap in hand shareholders: Standard Chartered faces a £3 billion hit from commodities loans which could turn sour, forcing it to go cap in hand to shareholders to shore up its finances.

Shire: details matter: Announcing its $5.2 billion purchase of NPS Pharma, Shire said it “expects that the transaction will deliver return on invested capital in excess of its weighted average cost of capital”. One might hope this would go without saying. Those with the bad luck to have studied finance know that when ROIC is below WACC, the buyer becomes worse off. Even after Shire has told investors that it is not trying to make them poorer, then, detail is welcome. So — an analyst asks on the conference call — what is your cost of capital? Shire declined to be specific. The number moves around. Typically high single-digits, it offered, and no, we will not estimate when ROIC will pass WACC. The details are going to matter because Shire has paid up. The 51% premium to NPS’s undisturbed price amounts to $1.8 billion. How to get that back? Cost savings of $90 million-$125 million are not worth nearly that. (Those may not be exact figures. Shire expressed its savings target as follows: “Synergies of approximately 25-35% of the Street’s consensus forecast of NPS Pharma’s standalone future operating cost base from 2017 onwards.” Got that?) And in drugs for rare diseases, where NPS operates, synergies are harder than usual to capture because marketing operations tend to be small. So the deal is in part a bet that growth of NPS’s drugs will be greater than the market anticipated, either because Shire sees potential that the market did not, or because Shire will be better at selling NPS drugs than NPS would have been on its own, or both. As the former reduces Shire’s deal strategy to stock picking, one hopes for the latter. Shire has a global marketing operation and already sells to gastroenterologists. This should help.

U.K. oil groups under scrutiny as crude prices fall: Three London-listed oil companies are set to come under intense scrutiny from investors this week as they set out plans to cope with a collapse in prices that — if sustained — could halve the value of current and future production.

Oil price hits six-year low as Goldman forecasts $42 barrel: Oil sank by more than 5% with the price of benchmark Brent crude closing below $50 for the first time in nearly six years as it settled at $47.43 a barrel

Soros gambles €500 million on the strength of Santander: George Soros has taken a gamble on the Eurozone’s biggest bank by buying a €500 million stake in Santander

At 0430GMT today, Brent crude oil one month futures contract is trading 1.71% or $0.81 lower at $46.62 per barrel ahead of the American Petroleum Institute weekly oil inventory data to be released later today. Yesterday, the contract declined 5.35% or $2.68, to settle at $47.43 per barrel, after an influential Wall Street bank slashed its oil price outlook, while another bank lowered its 2015 oil price forecast, stating that declining oil prices might led to the closure of costly crude operations in US and Canada

Sell shares of Amec, Danny Fortson advised in the Sunday Times. A year ago the oil services company paid £2bn in cash and shares for Swiss-listed rival Foster Wheeler. Its other option was to hand cash back to shareholders. Since then the oil price has halved, shale producers have cut spending and Russia is in dire financial straits. The Foster Wheeler deal was meant to increase business from both shale operators and Russia.

We welcome the Government's Autumn Statement announcement of a reform of Stamp Duty Land Tax payments to a more progressive system, which we believe will help more homebuyers to get onto and move up the property ladder. With the upcoming General Election in May, housing continues to remain high on the political agenda with recognition of the importance of housebuilding to the economy and the need for more quality homes in the UK. Whilst the macro economic outlook is uncertain, with a reduced risk of UK interest rate increases in the near term and sensible mortgage regulation, we believe that the market and political risk for our sector is balanced as we enter 2015, and the outlook remains positive.

Standard Life aims for pole position as China builds a pensions market: China will take its first steps early in 2015 towards opening up a pensions market, as its regulators consult western insurers on tax incentives for long-term saving

At least one major oil company will turn its back on fossil fuels, says scientist: The oil price crash coupled with growing concerns about global warming will encourage at least one of the major oil companies to turn its back on fossil fuels in the near future, predicts an award-winning scientist and former industry adviser.

Hold Ted Baker after Christmas cracker: While some clothing retailers have complained about unseasonably warm weather hitting sales in the run-up to Christmas, Ted Baker had no such problems. The FTSE 250 fashion brand unveiled strong results for the festive period, sending its shares more than 3% higher. The company added that gross profit margins were in line with expectations, and that there was no significant promotional activity before Christmas. This suggests the retailer didn’t have to slash prices to sell stock, meaning profits won’t take a hit. Ted Baker is still predominantly a U.K. and Europe-based operation, with about three quarters of the group’s total sales coming from these regions. However, the group has been expanding elsewhere, with two new licensed stores in Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi. In the U.K., new outlets at Heathrow Terminal 4 and the Bullring shopping centre in Birmingham resulted in the company’s total floor space increasing by 9.2% during the period to 331,208 sq ft. Overseas operations are becoming more important to the group, with sales in North America and Canada increasing to £38.4 million, or about a fifth of the group total, in the most recent detailed results to the end of August 9. Sales of £5.8 million in the Middle East and Asia make up just 3.2% of the total. The dividends have also tracked this rapid growth. The annual payout is expected to rise more than 20% to 40.6p this year, providing a prospective yield of 1.8%. This annual dividend is expected to increase 18% each year for the next two years. There is not much room for error in those forecasts, so we retain our recommendation. Ted Baker at £23.84+124p Questor Says ‘Hold’.

Shire swallows U.S. drug firm for $5 billion: Shire has pledged itself to an independent future by striking a $5.2 billion deal to buy NPS Pharmaceuticals, a specialist developer of medicines for rare diseases.

UK construction output rose less than expected in November On an annual basis, the seasonally adjusted construction output recorded a rise of 3.60% in the UK, in November, compared to a revised rise of 1.10% in the previous month. Markets were expecting construction output to advance 6.70%.

At 0430GMT today, Brent crude oil one month futures contract is trading 1.54% or $0.77 lower at $49.34 per barrel, after a leading investment bank slashed its 2015 oil price forecasts. On Friday, the contract declined 1.67% or $0.85, to settle at $50.11 per barrel, after OPEC reiterated yet again, its stance of not reducing output to reduce the rising global oil supply glut. UAE’s ambassador to the U.S, Yousef Al Otaiba, stated that the nation had no plans of cutting production no matter how low prices fell.

I have merely posted my research here for information. You should make your own enquiries about the company from them directly and/or their NOMAD or Broker. My research was conducted via reading various publicly available information and the admission document issued at the time of IPO to Aim. ATB

Directors Clifford Gross 38.47% Malcolm Groat 2.22% Bill Payne 1.78% Jeff Lewis 0.44% Clifford's shares all remain from seed funding Bill Payne and Malcolm Gross purchased at IPO price of 25p Bill is also on the board of the Octopus Fund which bought in at IPO 400,000 shares for 1.71% Over 3% Prium Incorporated 6.43% Keon Research Ltd 3.76% Approximately another 11% of shares held by US citizens in paper form Thus over 60% not in public hands. With former IP group director taking 500,000 in this deal. Novum also hold a percentage for their Private Wealth Clients in a number of different nominee accounts and have indicated that they are supportive of the story long term.

I understand from the Company that they have adequate cash resources at the present time and are focused on getting their client numbers to the magic 36 which is the point at which the company will reach break even point sometime in Q4 2015. I also understand any future fundraising exercise will only take place to implement an earning enhancing acquisition.

The only comparable company quoted on UK stock market is IP Group. Here is my take on IP Group V TEK Capital: It is important to highlight that IP Group are focused only in the UK with limited research and university partnerships, whereas Tekcapital have a IDN service which allows them to cover a wide range of acquisition opportunities. More so, Tekcapital have a diversified and an in-depth advisory board which allows them to consult on niche market segments. IP Group provides funding to their portfolio companies and takes an equity stake for future upside, whereas Tekcapital focuses on near term revenue and aims to only take some of its revenue as an equity stake from its smaller retained clients. I believe Tekcapital’s strategy to generate fees will help with the day to day running of the operation as well as provide clear transparency in the valuation of the Company, unlike a model that focuses on building equity stakes in various entities, which may provide volatile valuations in the portfolio and may lead to distorted financial statements and to over inflated valuation multiples.

With respect to Tekcapital’s smaller and unquoted clients, it may take a proportion or all of its fees in equity, whether that is in shares or convertible instruments. The directors believe this proposal will provide significant advantages for both parties. For example,  It will allow clients to allocate cash resources to further develop and incorporate the IP into their products.  Enhance and improve relationship with clients, which is likely to have a positive impact on the revenue generated from the retainer fee.  Tekcapital may benefit from possible equity-linked upside without the traditional venture capital risk. In contrast to some of its competitors, as a result of holding no inventory, the Company’s business model benefits from low fixed costs and it has the potential to achieve high margins. This implies Tekcapital’s business model is flexible, and if sales remain tough for a prolonged period the Company can adjust its operating cost to ensure its cash flows are going to be sustainable.