British Gas arm reports record profitBoosted by lifting of energy price capDividend up by a third and buyback extendedThe latest first-half results from British Gas owner Centrica (CNA) have received a warm welcome from investors but may get a frostier reception elsewhere as households continue to struggle with their energy bills.The company posted a pre-tax profit of £6.4 billion, as opposed to

With AI (artificial intelligence) the flavour of the month and investors focused on intangible assets such intellectual property and brand value, investors may be under valuing real, tangible assets lurking on balance sheets.The value of tangible assets has been a major feature of recent mergers and acquisition activity in the automotive retailer market.When Lookers (LOOK) received a knockout all-

Robust oil and gold prices and the safe haven appeal of utility stocks supported the FTSE 100, though peers in Europe struggled as investors nervously count down the minutes until a US labour market reading.The ADP jobs data is reported at 1315 BST on Wednesday. It is an understudy to the main event, Friday's nonfarms. Elsewhere on Wednesday, there are US PMI readings at 1445 BST and 1500 BST.The

-Fulham Shore agrees 14.15p per share cash takeover-Deal struck at a 35% premium-Continued UK and international expansion of brandsThe owner of the Franco Manca and The Real Greek restaurant chains Fulham Shore (FUL:AIM) has agreed a cash offer from Japanese restaurant group Torridoll Holdings at 14.15p per share representing a 35% premium to the prior closing price sending the shares up 34% to 14

Shares in Europe opened mixed on Wednesday, though the FTSE 100 outperformed, as focus turns to a slew of readings of the services economy.Eyes will also be on the ADP US jobs report, a precursor to Friday's nonfarms.Among London listings, shares in Fulham Shore surged after the Franco Manca owner agreed to a buyout. Fresnillo's stock was on the up, with the miner's shares supported by robust gold

It's been a tricky 2022 for global stock markets and that's made life hard for ordinary and professional investors alike. In this feature several leading fund managers explain what worked out for them over the course of the year and what went wrong.James Harries - Securities Trust of Scotland (STS)What worked?At Troy (Securities Trust of Scotland's investment manager) we seek companies that genera

After an extraordinary year we look back at some of the top performers in different size categories from the heavyweights all the way down to sub £100 million market cap stocks at the bottom of the market and examine what has driven them higher in 2020. We have excluded investment trusts.£4 billion + market capShare price movements in mining companies can be about exposure to the commodities the

Our portfolio of picks for 2017 has achieved 10.3% average gain versus 8.8% from the FTSE All-Share. Among the selection, one of our stocks was taken over; one defied the retail sector sell-off to deliver handsome gains; and another has bounced back after a difficult period in 2016, just like we said it would.Overall we're pleased with the performance although the portfolio wasn't without its weak

Diamond producer Petra Diamonds (PDL) has become the latest miner to fall foul of meddling by the Tanzanian government.Its shares crashed 30% at the market open after saying the government had blocked the export of a parcel of diamonds and some of Petra's employees were being questioned by the authorities. The share price decline had eased back to -7.6% by 8.40am to trade at 83.13p.Petra owns 75%

Capital Drilling (CAPD) 39.5pLoss to date: 20.8%Original entry price: Buy at 49.9pHaving earlier this year enjoyed a tidy paper profit on our Capital Drilling Trade, issues affecting miners and their service companies in Tanzania mean now we are losing money owning these shares. Don't panic.We believe the stock won't stay weak for long. Indeed, this is starting to look like a potential takeover t

Capital Drilling (CAPD) 58.55pGain to date: 17.3%Original entry point: Buy at 49.9p, 22 December 2016A large number of contract awards in the mining sector during the first quarter of 2017 has prompted stockbroker FinnCap to upgrade its earnings per share forecasts for [BOLD] Capital Drilling (CAPD). It lifts the 2017 estimate by 30% to 2.9c and 2018's number by 15% to 5.5c.FinnCap also raises its

Capital Drilling (CAPD) 54.7pGain to date: 43.9% Original entry point: Buy at 38p, 14 July 2016Don't be put off by Capital Drilling's (CAPD) latest full year results. Resurgence in activity across the mining sector might have suggested its results would show booming profit. That wasn't the case.Not only did the company remain loss making, it also saw average revenue per operational drill rig fall

Risk appetite returns on Thursday following the US Federal Reserve's interest rate hike, investors taking it as a dovish signal that the Fed is going to tighten monetary policy only cautiously as the economy improves.While the FTSE 100 races 52.4 points higher to 7,421 early on, Sainsbury's (SBRY) cheapens 1.7% to 266.9p on a rather disappointing fourth quarter trading statement. This shows like-f

Major events in 2017 have fuelled our running 'Great Ideas' stock selections, as well as our '10 for 2017' annual share portfolio.Acquisitions have certainly been on the agenda for many of our preferred stocks. Other catalysts have been trading updates and broker commentary.FTSE 250 chemicals group Elementis (ELM) is to boost the size of its personal care business with the $360m acquisition of Sum

Our annual stock portfolio has delivered more than twice the gains as the wider market since we priced the selections in mid-December 2016. The '10 for 2017' portfolio is so far up by 7.2% on average versus a 3.5% gain from the FTSE All-Share index.One of the best performers is mining services group Capital Drilling (CAPD), up 13.2% to 56.49p. Broker FinnCap has included the stock in its top tips

Every December we publish a list of stocks carefully chosen by Shares' team of journalists. We consider these to be our best ideas for stocks to buy and hold throughout the coming year.This year we've picked 10 companies that have the right qualities to shine in 2017.You will find a mixture of top quality businesses, recovery stories and companies with favourable market conditions.We will update o

London's FTSE 100 falls back below the 7,000 mark on Wednesday, mirroring declines overnight from US and Asian markets and with banks under pressure; HSBC (HSBA) is off 2.2p at 624.1p, Barclays (BARC) cheapens 1.6p to 182.2p and RBS (RBS) trades 1.4% easier at 189.6p.The catalyst is a disappointing third quarter update from Lloyds (LLOY), marked down 3.8% to 53.3p as the bank reports a 3% drop in

Investors are relieved that Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) has agreed a settlement over claims it mis-sold toxic mortgage-backed securities in the run up to the financial crisis in 2008. It will pay $1.1 billion which it says is 'substantially covered by existing provisions'. The shares rise 1.2% to 176.62p.Parcel delivery group UK Mail (UKM) has received a 440p takeover bid from Deutsche Post. The

Capital Drilling (CAPD) 48.75pGain to date: 28.3%Original entry price: Buy at 38p, 14 July 2016Shares in mining services group Capital Drilling (CAPD) are racing ahead, giving us a 28.3% gain so far on our Plays of the Week trade. The latest catalysts have been a positive set of half year results (17 Aug) and the appointment of a new joint broker (23 Aug) which could result in increased publicity

A rally in gold, silver and other metals in 2016 seems to be encouraging some miners to come out of hibernation. A revival in exploration and production expansion activity would be good news for Capital Drilling (CAPD) as a contractor dependent on this sector.We see considerable upside for the shares, even after they've nearly doubled so far this year.Capital Drilling provides drilling rigs to the