Shares digital

The shares of leisure group Sports Cafe (SCA:AIM) have been suspended after the company went into administration. It failed to secure an extension to its banking facilities following poor Christmas trading and a profit warning in November. Sports Cafe said its administrators intended to... READ MORE >>

The prospects of Northern Rock (NRK) being nationalised may have receded slightly. A crucial EGM, organised by activist investors led by the hedge funds RAB Capital (RAB:AIM) and SRM, saw shareholders vote on resolutions that would curb the power of the stricken bank’s board and... READ MORE >>

Rumours are circulating that we could be on the brink of a bidding war for investment bank Close Brothers (CBG). Having originally refused to entertain the 950p bid from broker Cenkos Securities (CNKS:AIM), it’s reported Close and Cenkos are now talking. It is thought that Cenkos... READ MORE >>

Amid the welter of trading updates from retail companies some trends shout out loud and clear, the main one being that those looking to make money from the sector should tap into the increasing popularity of home shopping and the internet. Both the home shopping specialists N Brown (BWNG)... READ MORE >>

Metals recycling group ZincOx (ZOX:AIM) has fought tough credit markets to secure a $120 million debt financing to develop a zinc mine in Yemen. The agreement with eight hedge funds and emerging market investors, one year later than planned, is the first of several financing milestones to... READ MORE >>

The green boiler battle heated up this week when, coincidentally or not, both Ceres Power (CWR:AIM) and Energetix Group (EGX:AIM) announced utility partnerships for their competing products. Ceres stole the show in terms of share price impact with a 30% jump to 290p compared with a 3% rise... READ MORE >>

Planning permission has been granted to Lok’nStore (LOK:AIM) for residential development on the freehold site of its existing Reading store, sending shares in the self-storage company up 2% to 201.5p. The application had originally been rejected by the local planning committee, but... READ MORE >>

A shock profit warning from US telecoms giant AT&T (T:NYSE) has shareholders in BT (BT.A) looking over their shoulders ahead of the third-quarter results from the UK’s leading telco, which are due on 7 February. The shares of BT have slumped from 325p to 277p since last... READ MORE >>

Investors in copper producer Nikanor (NKR:AIM) will not immediately be able to trade their stock on UK markets once it merges with fellow DR Congo miner Katanga. The merger, approved last week by Katanga shareholders, will see Nikanor investors get 0.613 new Katanga shares and $2.16 cash per... READ MORE >>

Old Orleans restaurant owner Regent Inns (REG) could be taken over after several approaches were made for the business. Shares in the group jumped 50% to 24.75p intraday Tuesday after the group confirmed the potential bid talks. The company has suffered from difficult trading conditions,... READ MORE >>

Last week we warned that ScS Upholstery (SUY) would have to ‘trim its payout’ (Shares 10 January). This week the group has confirmed it will in fact skip paying a dividend completely. It’s not surprising as trading is dire, with like-for-like orders over the first three ... READ MORE >>

Buy-to-let mortgage lender Paragon (PAG) has opted for a rights issue ahead of the refinancing deadline for its £280 million working capital facility. The money had to be paid back to its existing bank lenders by 27 February, which are currently charging the London Inter-Bank Offer Rate... READ MORE >>

Figures for 2007 from the UK’s largest construction company, Balfour Beatty (BBY), will be at the top of forecasts. The results, due 5 March, are set to show a series of one-off items hitting the headline numbers, including a write-off relating to the entry of Metronet into... READ MORE >>

A contract to supply utilities group Scottish & Southern Energy (SSE) with 24,000 smart meters helped push Bglobal (BGBL:AIM) shares up 8% to 38p. The deal, its largest to date, will see Bglobal collect information on electricity usage by the utility’s biggest business customers... READ MORE >>

The year end rout of software and IT services firms has left many stocks trading at attractive valuations and Chelford (CHR:AIM) and CODA (CODA:AIM) are the latest two companies to have received preliminary bid approaches as a result. Shares in supply chain management and commerce systems... READ MORE >>

UK oil and gas firm Premier Oil (PMO) announced an 8% hike in production for 2007 and has set a target of 50,000 bopd by 2010. To this end the company plans an active work programme in 2008 with around 18 development wells and up to 12 exploration and appraisal wells being spudded. Stock... READ MORE >>