Dubbed ‘micro caps’ by investors, the London stock market’s smallest quoted company fry can be binary bets, as likely to ‘turn turtle’ as morph into a ‘ten-bagger’, the latter the holy grail of growth company investing. Yet despite their inherent risks, micro caps should form at least a portion of a well-diversified portfolio, since they offer potential for rapid-paced growth and ...

London markets dip modestly in early trade on Monday nudging back from record closing highs hit late last week, with a swathe of mining and retail-related stocks providing direction. Wall St closed higher overnight Friday, while Asian markets are up this morning. The FTSE 100 index FTSE 100 slips around 19 points, or 0.3%, to 7,071, while midcaps fade similarly, the FTSE 250 index off around 45 ...

Investors were confronted by renewed volatility this autumn reflected in the performance of the UK’s headline index. Nudging year highs above 6,900 in early September the FTSE 100 collapsed to less than 6,200 in mid-October as worries about global economic growth dominated the agenda before recovering to the 6,600 mark as sentiment improved. The good news is there are two main ways of profiting ...

A lack of oil exploration drilling in the Falklands until late next year could keep investors away from the listed contingent with exposure to the region, according to research house Edison. This includes: Argos Resources (ARG:AIM); Borders & Southern Petroleum (BOR:AIM); Desire Petroleum (DES:AIM); Falkland Oil & Gas (FOGL:AIM); and Rockhopper Exploration (RKH:AIM). The fortunes of ...

Wildcat exploration – prospecting for oil in far-flung parts of the world – is inherently risky but the rewards can be enormous. Ophir Energy (OPHR) has more than doubled in the last 12 months after a number of significant discoveries off the coast of East Africa. On the flip-side the failures can be equally spectacular. Ophir’s African drilling peer Chariot Oil & Gas (CHAR:AIM) has ...