Special situation funds should, in theory, be busy making new investments in the current market environment. Their strategy includes finding unloved stocks which could either bounce back thanks to corporate self-help measures or the market eventually spots hidden value within a business which then attracts more buyers for the shares. Given how so many stocks have slumped in value this year ...

The world’s richest man, Elon Musk seems to have prevailed in his $43 billion takeover of Twitter (TWTR:NASDAQ). Initially though the Twitter board looked to prevent him from gaining ‘creeping’ control of the company by adopting a poison pill strategy which was popularised in the 1980s. The aim was to stop Musk from increasing his stake by purchasing more shares in the open market. By ...

One of the biggest takeaways from the UK’s new ‘Energy Security Strategy’ announced on 7 April was that nuclear power would be a crucial part of the Government’s plan for secure and sustainable energy. The issue has become particularly pressing amid surging energy costs and the impact of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. In this article we will look at how the UK’s plans sit in a global ...

The FTSE 100 index of leading UK equities marked the last trading session ahead of the Christmas festivities by hitting a new high for the year of 7,389 points, up 0.25% or 16 points, before reversing at the last moment to finish flat. The move up followed a broadly positive showing from US markets, with the Dow Jones Industrial Index, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq  Composite all finishing in ...

The UK equity market started the final trading session ahead of the Christmas festivities on a positive note, with both the blue chip FTSE 100 index and the mid-cap FTSE 250 index moving higher. This followed on from a broadly positive showing from US markets, with the Dow Jones Industrial Index, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq  Composite all finishing in positive territory. However  China ...

UK stocks opened higher on Tuesday as concerns about the omicron variant abated, China eased monetary policy and several blue chip companies announced earnings upgrades, with the benchmark FTSE 100 index bid up 1.1% to 7,312.73 points early on. Indications that the new Covid strain may only trigger mild symptoms prompted relief among investors and helped travel stocks take off. Risk appetite ...

Leading UK stocks were pulled down by mining and bank stocks in early trade on Thursday, while Unilever (ULVR), which supplies all sorts of everyday goods we all use, like butter and tea, warned that inflation pressure could last far longer than many anticipate. The consumer brands firm saw its share price rise nearly 2% to £38.905 early on as its third quarter numbers proved to be ...

The latest service sector data, covering everything from pubs and restaurants to industrial and business companies, has shown healthy readings in the UK and US, but problems associated with inflation are brewing. 5 October saw the latest survey results from research firm IHS Markit for purchasing managers in the service sector around the world. Typically, a reading over 50 suggests rising ...

London’s FTSE 100 finished Monday’s session 0.56% higher at 7,068.43 points as a risk appetite rebound took oil prices higher and drove demand for index heavyweights Royal Dutch Shell (RDSB) and BP (BP.), shares in both improving by more than 2% to £14.57 and 302.3p respectively. Amid the FTSE 250 ranks, low-cost airline EasyJet (EZJ) fell 14% to 586.4p on a UBS downgrade, having announced ...

Reports that the Post Office has inked a deal to deliver for Amazon helped push Royal Mail (RMG) to the top of the FTSE 100 leaderboard on Monday. By midday, the blue chip benchmark was up 0.8% at 7,086.07 points. Amid the FTSE 250 ranks, low-cost airline EasyJet (EZJ) fell 14% to 587p on a UBS downgrade, having announced a £1.2 billion rights issue last week. MARKET NEWS Shares in ...

UK stocks recovered from Friday's losses in early trading, despite  weakness in US markets at the end of last week and a fall in Asian equity markets. All three major US indices fell on Friday after a court ruling was seen as negative for heavyweight tech stock Apple. Meanwhile, the Hang Seng and Shanghai Composite indices were pulled lower by concerns of greater Chinese regulation of tech ...

Despite mixed trading in Asia overnight, London’s FTSE 100 returned to life on Wednesday as summer holidays came to an end with the index up 0.7% to 7,171.68 points early on. Mining was the only sector to struggle after metal prices took a hit, with investors showing greater interest in the oil and gas sector where commodities prices were stronger. CORPORATE NEWS Magazines, books and ...

Shares in defence services group Babcock International (BAB) jumped as much as 8.5% to 332p, topping the FTSE 250 leader board, after the firm announced it had secured the sale of Frazer-Nash Consultancy to US engineering firm KBR for £293 million. The business, acquired by Babcock in 2007, forms part of the Marine division providing cyber-security, robotics, security and software services to ...

London’s FTSE 100 opened modestly higher on Friday morning, the blue chip benchmark bid up 0.4% to 7,220.1 points following energy sector share price falls earlier in the week, as investors shrugged off a Delta variant linked sell-off in Asia. The more domestically-focused FTSE 250 firmed 0.1% to 23,770.5 early on, while gold made further gains to $1,760 following yesterday’s strong ...

UK stocks finished the month flat despite a strong corporate  earnings season as concerns over Chinese regulation of technology stocks and disappointing US results weighed on sentiment. Overnight, Asian stocks sank as fears re-surfaced that Beijing could extend its intervention to more parts of the Chinese economy, while in the US shares in e-commerce giant Amazon.com fell 7% after the ...

UK stocks traded lower at lunchtime on Friday after continued weak trading in Asia and as e-commerce giant Amazon missed quarterly sales forecasts for the first time since 2018, sending its shares down 7% in after-hours trading. Japan’s Nikkei 225 index sank 1.8% while China’s SE Composite gave up 0.4% as concerns increased over the tighter regulation of Chinese companies. Brent Crude ...

Delayed results from specialist engineering services play Babcock (BAB) weren't worth the wait for investors as £2 billion worth of impairments saw the stock sink 11.2%. For year ended 31 March, pre-tax losses widened to £1.72 billion from £88.9 million year-on-year as revenue fell 3% to £4.18 billion. Total impairments and charges of £2 billion made this a messy set of numbers as the ...

UK stocks opened lower on Friday after continued weak trading in Asia and as e-commerce giant Amazon missed quarterly sales forecasts for the first time since 2018, sending its shares down 7% in after-hours trading. Japan’s Nikkei 225 index sank 1.8% while China’s SE Composite gave up 0.4%. Brent Crude prices fell 0.5% to $73.2 per barrel and Gold was flat at $1,829 per ounce. At 9am ...

Shares in Anglo American (AAL) spin-off Thungela (TGA), a thermal coal miner, tumbled 16% to 126.2p in their first day of trading on the London Stock Exchange, down from their opening price of 150p. It comes after Anglo American completed the demerger of its thermal coal business in South Africa, allowing Thungela to start trading on both the London and Johannesburg stock exchanges. Thungela ...

Across the UK voters go to the polls today (6 May) with investors’ attention likely to be focused on voting for the Scottish parliament – with the SNP looking to secure the majority it can claim as a mandate for a new independence referendum. Polling suggests the outcome is on a knife edge. The SNP could remain in power but having staked so much on getting a majority, the market is likely ...