Johnston Press PLC Share News (JPR)

Legal & General's new finance head Nigel Wilson spent his first day in the job on Tuesday. He now faces an interesting first few months at the embattled insurer.When his predecessor Andrew Palmer stood down in April, the company - once the darling of the stock market - had seen its relationship with shareholders and analysts sour over a range of issues, including the decision to cut its dividend for the first time in March. Since then, the insurer's outlook has not improved a great deal and other opportunities in the insurance industry would provide better short and long-term returns. Avoid says the Telegraph.Vet products supplier Dechra trades on 16.7 times this year's forecast earnings and the shares are not hugely cheap. Even with the latest dividend hike, the prospective yield is only 2.1%. However, there is still enough good news in the numbers to suggest that Dechra will continue to be a strong - and indeed defensive - performer over the coming months. Buy says the Independent.Outsourcer Serco is a company on the up in a sector on the up. Last week, it delivered a 30.8% rise in revenue to £1.95bn, boosted by the weakening of the pound and the acquisition of SI International, an American IT-focused business, and increased the dividend 25% to 1.85p. With the yield, P/E ratio and dividend all heading in the right direction Serco offers a solid long-term investment and is one of the few likely to benefit from the economic woes facing the UK and could be a valuable defensive play. Buy says the Telegraph.The decision by Majestic Wine to reduce its minimum purchase requirement from 12 bottles to six may not sound like a big deal, but changing a hugely successful business model after 28 years is pretty seismic stuff. The firm insists the decision had not been taken to shore up sales in the recession, the move is bound to insulate the group, allowing it to hang on to existing clients while attracting new ones. It may be a while before the result can be assessed, but the shares are worth holding says the Times.With rather unfortunate timing, Kenmare Resources, an Irish mining company listed on the Alternative Investment Market, has been ramping up production at its Moma titanium minerals mine in northern Mozambique just as the global downturn sent commodities prices into a nose dive. But timing could yet play to Kenmare's favour. The destocking that caused such problems earlier this year is showing signs of coming to an end, with demand expected to pick up from early 2010. On a forward price-earnings ratio at a relatively undemanding 17.3, Kenmare is a buy says the Independent.Johnston Press, the publisher of The Scotsman and Yorkshire Post, pulled off a badly needed debt refinancing last week, ensuring that the newspaper group would be able to sustain its £485 million of debt, at the price of seeing the cost of some of its borrowings leap to 9.45%. Avoid until there is a sign of broad-based economic recovery says the Times.Contractor Scott Wilson is not in a high growth sector - it has been hit by problems in the commercial sector, and the fact that 55% of its earnings come from a public sector that has to shrink is worrying. But compared to its international peer group, the valuation is very undemanding, and there is enough here to suggest tucking a few of the shares away says the Independent. Buy.Please note: Digital Look provides a round-up of news, tips and information that is impacting share prices and the market. Digital Look cannot take any responsibility for information provided by third parties. This is for your general information only as not intended to be relied upon by users in making an investment decision or any other decision. Please obtain a copy of the relevant publication and carry out your own research before considering acting on any of this information.