Hedge fund Odey Asset Management has hit out at the £405m takeover offer from Anglo American (AAL) for potash miner Sirius Minerals (SXX). It will refuse to vote in favour of the buyout. In a letter to Sirius Minerals’ management, Odey fund manager Henry Steel said he believes the current 5.5p per share offer ‘does not represent fair value for shareholders in Sirius’ and called on Anglo ...

Lasers to life sciences technology business Gooch & Housego (GHH:AIM) is among the latest batch of UK-listed companies to warn investors that it could face a short-term queasy spell from the coronavirus. The £333m AIM 100 constituent designs and manufactures various optical components used in microelectronics, semiconductor, telecoms networks and life science markets. Today the ...

THIS IS AN ADVERTISING FEATURE Investors may be cautious about investing in Europe. Economic growth is uninspiring, its politicians even more so. Europe lacks a technology giant and its lacklustre stock market is dominated by large, bureaucratic multinational companies in sectors such as financials, consumer staples and even healthcare. Baillie Gifford is not buying these companies, however. We ...

Marketing and media consultancy Ebiquity (EBQ:AIM) surged 24% to 32.2p as it confirmed full year guidance and revealed a drastic improvement in its balance sheet. In reality today’s move represented a recovery from a very low base, with negative sentiment towards the company recently driving the share price to its lowest level in more than a decade. The company said annual performance ...

Shares in Foresight Solar Fund (FSFL) fell 3.4% to 112.5p after the renewable energy investment trust reported a fourth quarter fall in net asset value (NAV) following a ‘significant downward revision’ of UK power price forecasts. With a spread of solar farm assets in the UK and Australia, Foresight Solar is a fund with environmentally-friendly credentials, although its high exposure to ...

Shares in Isle of Man-based kettle safety controls company Strix (KETL:AIM) let off some steam, rising 8% to 185.6p after saying it sees no immediate concerns over its Chinese supply chains. ONE WEEK DELAY The manufacturing operations are based in Guangzhou, northwest of Hong Kong and some 976 kilometers from Wuhan, the centre of the coronavirus outbreak which is under lock-down. There ...

UK stocks moved the same way as their Asian counterparts this morning, opening higher after the spread of coronavirus in China appeared to have slowed. Following a small fall in the number of new cases and amid hopes of fresh Chinese stimulus measures, Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.9% while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong gained by 0.4%, although China’s Shanghai Composite dipped ...

AIM-listed data erasure and mobile diagnostics software provider Blancco Technology (BLTG:AIM) is becoming a genuine ESG-style investment option as it continues to transform itself. Half year results to 31 December show good momentum under a refreshed go-to-market strategy, as revenue advanced 19% to £17.4m and adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation jumped 29% to ...

Shares in global banking giant HSBC (HSBA) were the worst performer on the FTSE 100 on Tuesday, losing 6% to 555p after it reported a 53% fall in full year profits and revealed it would lay off 35,000 staff. Although group revenues were up 4% to $56bn last year, a combination of higher operating costs – up 22% to $42.3bn due to a goodwill write-off of $7.3bn – and higher provisions for ...

Shares in fishing tackle and equipment specialist Angling Direct (ANG:AIM) slumped 9.5% to 62p on Tuesday after the retailer warned on profits as winter flooding hurt fishing activity. Nevertheless, the Norwich-headquartered company continues to reel-in the sales, both at home and abroad, while a robust balance sheet should help it cope with near-term earnings pressures. PROFITS WASHED ...