UK shares continued to climb on Wednesday with the FTSE 100 rising 0.5% back above the 7,300 level thanks to buying of oil majors and mining stocks. Meanwhile, investors were awaiting the release of minutes from the US Federal Reserve’s latest Open Market Committee meeting, due after the market close, for clues as to the pace of interest rate hikes after recent strong inflation and jobs ...

Technology investor Allied Minds (ALM) fell 3.3% to 22.1p despite narrowing first half losses on an increase in revenue and falling costs. The group, which specialises in the commercialisation of intellectual property, has had a real fall from grace since reaching record highs above 700p in 2015, however one analyst thinks there are catalysts which could help the shares recover. For the six ...

It’s not often you see an activist investor target another activist for poor performance but that’s what happening at Crystal Amber Fund (CRS:AIM). On 25 June Crystal Amber revealed that Saba Capital Management, its largest shareholder holding over 25% of its shares, intended to vote against the company at November’s continuation vote. A resolution passed in 2013 requires 75% of ...

Investors in LF Woodford Equity Income Fund (BLRZQ62) will have to wait until at least December before they can access their money. Buying and selling in the fund has been suspended since 3 June and will stay that way until later this year while fund manager Neil Woodford restructures the portfolio to focus mainly on large and mid-cap stocks in the FTSE 100 and FTSE 250 indices. Analysis of ...

Markets are steady at the start of the new week with sterling rising against the euro and US dollar. The FTSE 100 advances 19 points higher to 7,039.2 led by Royal Dutch Shell (RDSB) and BP (BP.), which are lifted by a stronger oil price. Belfast-based IT business Kainos (KNOS) sparks up 7.8% to 458p on the very welcome news results for the year to March will be ahead of market ...

London’s FTSE 100 is off 13 points at 7,050 and the FTSE 250 is down 33.5 points at 18,530 as markets in Europe take a step back on Tuesday following a strong start to the week. Convenience foods giant Greencore (GNC) fattens up 1.9p to 185.7p on full year results that come in a little ahead of expectations, driven by solid growth in the UK Food to Go operations. Last month, Greencore ...

Start-up technology investor Allied Minds (ALM) is expected to see its portfolio’s valuation jump by around 5% thanks to fresh funding for its HawkEye 360 business. HawkEye has raised $10m in its latest financing round, with new investment coming from Shield Capital (defence industry focused financial investor) and existing investors Razer's Edge Ventures and an undisclosed US ...

Investors are having to be very patient with star fund manager Neil Woodford’s Woodford Patient Capital (WPCT) investment trust. A patchy track record since its launch in April 2015 sees the trust languishing at a 7.5% discount to net asset value (NAV). The particularly poor performance over the last year, which we will explore in-depth later, means Woodford will not receive any fees as the ...

The FTSE 100 is down slightly after interest rates were hiked in the US as expected. Markets in the US closed down last night and now all eyes will be on the Bank of England’s policy makers who will make their decision on interests at midday. It is widely expected that no change to the UK’s base rate will be made today. In corporate news, Cilit Bang-maker Reckitt Benckiser (RB.) ticks up ...

London’s blue-chips begin the session trading 2.2 points lower at 7,311.3, the markets having little to process besides last night’s tax announcement from President Donald Trump. Budget airline Ryanair (RYA) weakens 1.4% to €16.88, the share price holding up surprisingly well given the raft of flight cancellations and schedule changes that have enraged customers and caused the Michael ...

London’s blue-chip benchmark trades 10.8 points lower at 7,369 early on ahead of the monetary policy statement from the Bank of England, with interest rates widely expected to be kept on hold following the latest inflation figures. On a busy day for corporate reporting, clothing retailer Next (NXT) rebounds 8.6% to £47.95 on relief that first half results are in-line with forecasts, albeit ...

One of Neil Woodford's biggest investments is providing some reassurance to investors with a half year update. Allied Minds (ALM) shares edged up in early trading after reporting good progress in the first six months of the year, but have since fallen back to where they started at 161p. The star fund manager has a 20.7% stake in the technology commercialisation company - the second largest ...

Despite strong trading in the US overnight the FTSE 100 opens broadly flat on Thursday morning as traders await July's retail sales figures. The index is down 2.16 points at 7,430.37. DIY retailer Kingfisher (KGF) falls 3.6% to 298p as sales fall 1.9% in the second quarter and the owner of B&Q and Screwfix remained cautious on the outlook in its key markets - the UK and France - for the ...

I t can sometimes only take a single company to cause ripples across an entire sector. That’s evident in the IP (intellectual property) commercialisation sector which has gone from regularly trading at a premium to now languishing at a discount to net asset value or par. While that will be disappointing for investors already holding shares of sector constituents, it does also present an ...

London’s FTSE 100 sheds 3.57 points to 7,475 in a cautious start to election-day trading. Regional airline Flybe (FLYB) gains 5.3% at 34.75p despite lurching into the red in the year to March. Flybe was hit by IT write-downs of £4.8m, which was at the lower end of expectations, and investors also focus on a 13.4% increase in sales to £707.4m. Another notable mover is online fashion star ...

If an investment loses half of its value you need it to go back up by 100% just to get hit break-even. This bit of logic might seem simple but it is one of the most important ideas to keep in your head when you are investing. Avoidance of loss is a critical element to making money out of shares. You can pick all the winners you like and still be tripped up by just a handful of losers. Over ...

Neil Woodford-backed tech innovation firm Allied Minds (ALM) continues to struggle on the stock market after it announces it will stop funding seven of its subsidiaries. Nearly half the value of Allied Minds has been wiped off since January 2017, the shares falling 464p to 260p at the close of play on 4 April, which was largely due co-founder Chris Silva’s shocking departure in March. Last ...

Ongoing strength in the mining sector helps the FTSE 100 extend yesterday's gains. In early trading the index is up 0.36% at 7,347.92 Retirement housebuilder McCarthy & Stone (MCS) is down 5.1% to 175.5p as it blames Brexit vote linked uncertainty for a 42% drop in underlying first half profit. Its non-prime London peer Telford Homes (TEF:AIM) is much more positive in a pre-close trading ...

Miners have fallen out of the top five performing stocks on the FTSE 350 after initially dominating the index when we updated the market last month. One of the last stocks standing in the sector is Kazakhstan-focused KAZ Minerals (KAZ), up 30% so far this year. It has benefited from a stronger copper price, driven by decent demand and industry supply disruptions. WHO IS THE TOP FTSE ...

Allied Minds (ALM) 372.1p Gain to date: 13.4%  Original entry point: Buy at 328p, 8 September 2016 Take profit in Allied Minds (ALM) after the sudden departure of its chief executive and co-founder Chris Silva. The company failed to explain why Silva has gone; merely saying it was by mutual agreement. Allied Minds helps people with bright ideas to commercialise technology; we are ...