An insight into the extent to which environmental issues have faced push-back in 2023 is the performance of lithium.The raw element, a key component in batteries for EVs (electric vehicles), has plunged in value in 2023. It's an opaque market but most sources suggest prices have dropped by at least three quarters and are down nearly 80% from their peak in November 2022.Understandably this has...

In 2022 there was a 'white gold' rush as lithium prices soared thanks to huge Chinese demand. The chemical element is a key component in the manufacture of batteries for electric vehicles and the storage of energy generated by renewable sources. China is at the forefront of battery production.Many analysts are forecasting a decline in lithium prices, but several executives have told Shares...

Shares in life sciences company Syncona (SYNC) fell 2% to 263.5p on Wednesday after the company took action to refocus the drug development programme at Autolus, one of its quoted portfolio holdings.Chief executive Martin Murphy will work more closely with the senior management team at Autolus as it progresses its development of the AUTO1 programme for Adult Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia...

Gene therapy company Oxford BioMedica (OXB) could be on the cusp of receiving a lucrative flow of money over many years, potentially worth up to $65m to $75m annually in the medium term.Novartis is expected to submit its CTL019 therapy for regulatory approval by the US Food & Drug Administration (FDA) very soon; a decision could be made later this year.Oxford BioMedica has been the sole...

The increasing adoption of specialist IT systems by the NHS is expected to accelerate mergers and acquisitions (M&A) across this niche sector in 2015. This could draw buyout interest for several UK-based companies, including Craneware (CRW:AIM), Ideagen (IDEA:AIM), Servelec (SERV) and Shares' favoured takeout target, EMIS (EMIS:AIM).The UK healthcare IT sub-sector performed robustly through...

UK markets continue to slide on Tuesday as gains across the mining sector are offset by gloomy corporate newsflow, led by upmarket fashion brands Burberry (BRBY) and Mulberry (MUL:AIM), and from recruiter Michael Page (MPI). The benchmark FTSE 100 index loses 30 points in early trading, down to 6,337, testing 2014 lows.Fashion brand Burberry slides 5% to £14.05 as chief executive Christopher...

An ageing population and significant public funding pressures means that the private sector is becoming more involved in delivering healthcare services that at any time previously in the 66-year history of the UK National Health Service (NHS). Regional NHS trusts now have a wider choice in the systems they choose to implement thanks to the GP System of Choice (GPSoC) Framework agreement that...

'We are one of the best ways to invest in genuine UK small cap companies,' says Stuart Widdowson, manager of Strategic Equity Capital (SEC), an investment trust offering exposure to the emerging asset class that is private-public hybrid investing. The trust aims to achieve absolute returns over the medium term by employing the proven strategies of GVO Investment Management (GVOIM), its...

Mr Kipling-to-Hovis bread and cake maker Premier Foods (PFD) says its 2013 trading profit will be at the top end of market expectations. The news excites the market, sending the shares up 6.5% to 90.5p as full-year upgrades look inevitable. While the restructured food producer is trumpeting a 50% rise in closely-watched 'trading' profits to £47.4 million, Premier actually made a £23.5...

The FTSE 100 struggled to get the new week off to a good start, dipping 0.6% to 6,082. The results calendar looks bare for the large cap stocks this week, meaning that the index is likely to be purely driven by investor sentiment towards macro events.A widely-expected poor takeover offer has emerged for Eurasian Natural Resources (ENRC), leaving the stock flat at 217.4p. The real loser in the...