Shares in specialty chemicals maker Elementis (ELM) surged 12% to 139p at the end of January following a press report it had received a bid from a US private equity fund.The shares eventually hit a new 12-month high of 142.4p after it was revealed New York based firm KPS Capital Partners had submitted an offer of 160p per share in December.However, the Elementis board rejected the offer as it was

Earnings seen slightly above consensusCompany sticking to its business planUnhappy shareholders demanding a saleIn a brief trading update covering the final three months of 2023 and its full financial year, specialty chemicals firm Elementis (ELM) said results were ?slightly? ahead of expectations and it was sticking to the plan it outlined at its Capital Markets Day last November.The shares, whic

Franklin Mutual Advisers' clients hold 9.8% stakeOdyssean Capital holds 3.5% stakeElementis board says sale not in shareholder interestShares in Elementis (ELM) were down nearly 2% to 121p in morning trading as another unhappy shareholder Odyssean Capital called for the specialist chemicals company to be put up for sale.Today's share price fall is in stark contrast to yesterday (20 September) when

Stocks in London closed higher on Wednesday, as UK consumer price index inflation cooled by more than expected in August.The mood was also optimistic ahead of interest rate decisions from the US Federal Reserve and the Bank of England.The FTSE 100 index closed up 71.45 points, 0.9%, at 7,731.65. The FTSE 250 ended up 285.67 points, 1.6%, at 18,712.37, and AIM All-Share closed up 4.29 points, 0.6%,

NAV (net asset value) up by 18.5%Outperforms company's benchmark return of 15%Increases interim dividend of 5.5p by 10%Schroder UK Mid Cap's (SCP) net asset value for the six months ending 31 March rose by 18.5%, 'comfortably' outperforming the company's benchmark, the FTSE 250 ex Investment Trusts Index, which returned 15% over the same period.The company attributed the rise to successful stock

- Chromium sale has helped to reposition the company- Plans to reinstate the dividend- Personal Care division profits beat analyst expectationsThe market was unmoved despite newly-streamlined Elementis (ELM) announcing plans to reintroduce dividends later this year.The dividend news came as the FTSE 250 specialty chemicals company reported its first set of full-year results after the sale of its C

Shares in chemicals company Elementis (ELM), edged 0.8% higher to 118p, following press reports that the group is exploring the sale of its chromium activities.It has also been reported that management is in active discussions with potential acquirers of the business.Elementis supplies a range of chromium chemicals that are used across a broad range of industrial applications to make products more

After Monday's Martin Luther King day market holiday, US stocks resumed their downward trajectory on Tuesday extending last week's losses. By mid-afternoon the S&P 500 index was 1.8% lower and the technology-heavy Nasdaq 100 index was 2.1% lower.The negative sentiment was exacerbated by a further rise in the yield on the benchmark 10 year Treasury note, which reached 1.843%, its highest level sinc

The major UK equity indices continued to encounter selling pressure at lunchtime on Tuesday, with investors taking the opportunity to lock-in recent gains as bond yields rose, with 10-year Gilts hitting a three-month high.The benchmark FTSE 100 closed Monday at its highest since January 2020, and the index has risen 5.2% in the past month.At midday, the FTSE 100 was trading 0.5% lower at 7569.55 a

Major UK shares are under heavy selling pressure in early trading on Tuesday as traders dial down recent optimism, with shares of consumer firms and precious metals' miners leading the decline, while improving employment conditions in the UK and rising US Treasury yields signalled growing bets of tighter monetary policies.At 9.20am, the benchmark FTSE 100 is down 0.8% at 7,549.57 after the release

The old adage is that you should never let a good crisis go to waste and this mantra seems to be being taken seriously by activist investors as we emerge from the worst of the pandemic.Several big UK companies have activists either circling them or they are already on the shareholder register making demands of management. In this article we look at eight different activist situations and give our

Amid several instances of directors selling big chunks of shares in the last week there were also some notable purchases.The wife of the chief executive of life insurance firm Phoenix (PHNX) snapped up nearly £400,000 worth of shares on 6 September. Suzanne Briggs, married to Andrew Briggs who took the helm in February 2020, bought 63,398 shares at 631p.BUYING ON STRONG RESULTSThe purchase follow

ELEMENTIS (ELM) 157.3pGain to date: 24.9%Original entry point: Buy at 125.9p, 18 February 2021Our positive call on Elementis (ELM) is 25% in the money and we are encouraged by newly appointed non-executive chairman John O'Higgins' purchase (2 Sep) of £100,996 worth of shares in the FTSE 250 chemicals firm at around 154p each.As outlined in our original buy thesis in February, Elementis has the ri

Constituents of the UK chemicals sector span both a wide range of market capitalisations and end markets.These include aerospace, automotive, coatings, semiconductors, sports and leisure and the global flavour and fragrance industries. The largest company in the UK chemicals sector, Croda (CRDA) has a market capitalization of £12.6 billion, this contrasts with AIM-quoted Biome Technologies (BIOM:

UK stocks represent a 'once in a generation' opportunity for investors, say fund managers. After years dogged by political and economic uncertainty, and soggy stock market performance, this is a welcome change of mood music.'UK equities are on a 30 year low versus peers, and we see this as a once in a generation opportunity to get involved in some fantastic businesses,' said Rory Bateman, manager

ODYSSEAN INVESTMENT TRUST (OIT) 162.6pGain to date: 66.7%Original entry point: Buy at 97.5p, 10 September 2020Our 'buy' call on Odyssean Investment Trust (OIT) is now 66.7% in the money, with the shares responding positively to the fund's strong performance and a string of takeover bids.For the uninitiated, Odyssean is a concentrated portfolio of smaller companies whose managers Stuart Widdowson a

The benchmark FTSE 100 closed in the red but bounced off earlier lows as US stocks regained some lost ground in early trading on Wall Street. Having dropped over 2% to a low of 6,823, the index staged a recovery throughout the afternoon to close only 0.6% lower at 6,963.80.Major US markets staged a modest rally after yesterday's big sell-off with the Dow Jones and S&P 500 up more than 1%, while th

Major UK shares continued to feel the pressure as investors get increasingly jittery over soaring inflation and the potential that interest rate hikes could be on their way.At lunchtime, the benchmark FTSE 100 was 1.8% down at 6,879.50, swiping more than £33 billion off blue chip valuations, and following major European markets, which were also sharply down. The Euro Stoxx 50 fell 1.4%.Mid-caps w

London's FTSE 100 fell 2.1% to 6,855.4 points on Thursday following a sell-off in the US overnight as well as a tough session in Asia.Across the pond, the Dow Jones index closed nearly 2% lower to post its worst performance since January after a surge in inflation in April spooked markets.UK investors offloaded shares in oil producers and miners, perhaps taking profit in areas that have done well

Elementis (ELM) 137pGain to date: 8.8%Original entry point: Buy at 125.9p, 18 February 2021Reports that chemicals group Elementis (ELM) had been the subject of a takeover deal that could value it at over 200p per share proved unfounded.Late on 20 April its US-listed rival Innospec revealed it had made a cash and shares bid of 160p but that this offer had been rebuffed and a deal was no longer unde