It?s been a busy month in small-cap land with good news, bad news and downright weird news for investors to digest.First the good news, as the persistent undervaluation of UK companies ? and small caps in particular ? draws increasing numbers of corporate buyers.Financial services software provider Gresham Technologies (GHT) agreed a 163p per share cash offer from funds managed or advised by STG P

Stocks across Europe generally lacked direction in the absence of American equity market participation due to the Thanksgiving holiday, but strong UK retail sales data lent support to the equity market.The CBI (Confederation of British Industry) monthly retail sales balance increased to a three month high of +39 from +30 and is expected to rise again in December, driven in part by consumers starti

Both the FTSE 100 and FTSE 250 continued to trade in positive territory by midday during a relatively quiet day, with the US markets are closed for the Thanksgiving holiday.The CBI (Confederation of British Industry) monthly retail sales balance increased to a three month high of +39 from +30 and is anticipated to rise again in December. This has in part been due to consumers starting their Christ

Leading UK shares edged higher on what is expected to be a relatively quiet day, given that US markets are closed for the Thanksgiving holiday, with ex-dividend stocks acting as a brake on larger gains.At 9.00am, the benchmark FTSE 100 was 7.5 points or 0.1% at 7,294.13 despite worries about further lockdowns in Europe, particularly Germany, and the continuing pricing pressures which are likely to

FTSE closed lower on Friday as worries over spiking energy costs added to concerns about the slowing pace of recovery. However, the index of leading shares managed its first weekly gain since mid-August.COMPANY ROUND-UPDrug maker AstraZeneca (AZN) said its prostate cancer drug in combination with abiraterone developed with MSD, had met the primary goal of a phase 3 trial. Its shares advanced 2% to

A combination of weak UK consumer confidence, renewed fears about the Evergrande crisis and fretting about the outlook for interest rates put the FTSE 100 on the back foot on Friday.By midday the index was down 0.15% to 7,067.88.Drug maker AstraZeneca (AZN) said its prostate cancer drug in combination with abiraterone developed with MSD, had met the primary goal of a phase 3 trial trial. It shares

London's FTSE 100 opens 88.3 points down at 7,313.2 as the latest round of Brexit negotiations highlight the widening division between Brussels and London and amid rising geopolitical tensions after North Korea launched a ballistic missile over Japan.In corporate news, struggling outsourcer Mitie (MTO) is marked down 1.8p to 264p on news the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is investigating the t

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UK stocks stride higher in early trading on Thursday as dovish Federal Reserve meeting minutes send a wave of encouragement through financial markets. The UK's FTSE 100 index jumps 51.5 points to 6,534, a rough 0.8% rise.Precious metal miners Randgold Resources (RRS) and Fresnillo (FRES) lead the blue-chips leaderboard, up 7.3% to £43.48 and 5.9% at 766.5p respectively. A weakening dollar prompts