The Globe and Mail reports in its Friday, June 27, edition that BMO Capital analyst Brian Quast has lowered his recommendation for Ascot Resources to "market perform" from "outperform." The Globe's David Leeder writes in the Eye On Equities column that Mr. Quast issued his downgrade in response to Ascot Resources' announcement it has placed its flagship Premier gold project in northwestern British Columbia on care and maintenance after not reaching a cost agreement with its mining contractor and the launch of a strategic review to explore options for advancing the asset. Mr. Quast says in a note: "As a result of the perilous state of the company's finances, and the decision to cease development, we are using an in-situ valuation for the stock, instead of the NPV approach used previously, which was in line with the mine plan. We are also removing the price target and downgrading [our recommendation] until a financing package is put in place." The Globe reported on Nov. 22 that Desjardins Securities analyst Allison Carson had reiterated her "buy" recommendation for Ascot Resources. The shares could then be had for 24 cents.