Stocks to watch: August 31

South Canterbury Finance, the country's second-biggest finance company, has until the end of the day to announce a capital injection which would satisfy its trustee, and avoid calling on the government to bail-out distressed investors under the retail deposit guarantee.

US stocks fell overnight as fears about the global economic recovery weighed on investor sentiment.

The kiwi dropped to US70.68 cents from US70.98 cents yesterday, and was little changed at 66.30 on the trade-weighted index.

Allied Farmers (ALF): The finance group yesterday said it gained a two-week extension on filing its annual results after the firm's Allied Nationwide finance arm was put in receivership.

ANF "is a significant part of the ALF operations, with its gross assets comprising more than half of the group's total gross assets," the company said in a statement. The shares last traded at 2.5 cents.

Genesis Research and Development (GEN): The Auckland based biotechnology company reported a half-year net loss of $511,000, a decline of 58 percent on the previous period.

The company's Solirna Biosciences subsidiary was forced to close up shop as funding dried up on their ssRNAi gene silencing technology. Shares were unchanged yesterday at 4.5 cents.

Mercer Group (MGL): The manufacturing group posted a full-year loss of $3.3 million, reflecting one-time charges including the cost of closing its Mercer Middle East business.

The stock last traded at 25 cents on June 30.

Pumpkin Patch (PPL): The children's clothing chain is set to face increased competition as the Witchery chain's is set to launch a children's range into 18 of its existing stores in Australia and New Zealand, said Goldman Sachs JB Were analyst Buffy gill, quoted on the ShareChat website.

Shares were unchanged yesterday at $1.71.

Pyne Gould Corp (PGC): The finance company said last week that it is making progress in talks with partners Canterbury Building Society and Southern Cross Building Society, with a goal to merge the lenders next year and form the country's only locally-owned and listed bank.

Shares rose 2.5 percent yesterday to 41 cents.

Savoy Equities (SVY): The oil and resin extractor reported a 54 percent decline in half-year earnings to June 30, to $227,612.

The company was forced to realize a depreciation expense of $77,320 in the period as well as a one-off plant relocation cost, which impacted results, said the company in a statement today. Shares were unchanged at 1.2 cents a share yesterday.

Sky City Entertainment Group (SKC): The hotel and casino operator announced yesterday that it would spend up to $250 million developing its Adelaide Casino as part of a state river-enhancement project.

The shares fell 0.4 percent to $2.90 yesterday.

- BusinessDesk