Bunzl raises profit target againCapita and Serco orders growDriver the day?s star turnOn a good day for markets in general, UK business services firms were feeling the love after posting positive trading updates.Half a dozen firms, from FTSE 100 distributor Bunzl (BNZL) to FTSE 250 outsourcer Serco (SRP) and staffing firm SThree (STEM) all the way down to tiddlers Capita (CPI), Driver (DRV) and RM

- Raised guidance for 2022 profit above $100 million- Shares hit all-time high, up 72% over last year- Company enters 2023 with confidenceShares in promotional products company 4imprint (FOUR) racked up another all-time high on Friday, rising 4% to £46.40 after the firm raised full-year profit guidance yet again and taking gains over the last year to 72%.The raise comes hot on the heels of a simi

The brains behind two of the best performing UK equity funds in recent years is to launch its first investment trust, targeting smaller companies that look cheap and which have the right characteristics to grow for many years to come.Sanford DeLand-run Buffettology Smaller Companies Investment Trust is seeking to raise at least £100 million with its IPO offer open to both retail and institutional

London's FTSE 100 opens 19.8 points higher at 7,516 with the FTSE 250 marked up 65.2 points to 19,978, although trading is inevitably overshadowed by last night's terror attack in Manchester.Home emergency cover and repair specialist Homeserve (HSV) trades 12.7% higher at 791p on better than expected full year results. These show strong momentum across the group and a record performance in North A

UK stock markets open largely flat on a typically quiet news Friday, the FTSE 100 index virtually unchanged in early deals from Thursday's 7,278 close.Thin company news is led by speciality plastics and packaging components specialist Essentra (ESNT). It posts a 26% slump in full year adjusted pre-tax profit as sales flag at its health and personal care packaging unit. Integration issues around it

When the manager of one of the UK's most interesting funds makes a rare investment, you need to take notice.Keith Ashworth-Lord of the CFP SDL UK Buffettology Fund (GB00B3QQFJ66) is a very picky man, mirroring the approach of legendary investor Warren Buffett whose stock picking skills are admired around the world and which serves as the backbone to said fund.Only three new companies had been adde

UK equities make decent gains in early trade on Tuesday with the investor mood boosted by official data showing Chinese inflation holding steady and producer price deflation easing in April. China's consumer price index rose 2.3% year-on-year in April, unchanged from the previous month and in line with analyst estimates.The FTSE 100 index adds a little more than 50 points, or a bout 0.85%, to 6,16

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 abundant share pr

Less than 24 hours since the FTSE 100 high a record high, the market is awash with profit warnings. AO World, Driver and Coms all see their share prices slump on bad earnings news. But they are not big enough to trouble the blue chip index with the FTSE 100 holding steady at 6,939 - a drop of only 10 points today.AO World (AO.) crashes 41.3% to 165p after sayingthat it has struggled to achieve exp

The stock market's smallest and riskiest companies have always held fascination for private investors. On the premise that 'elephants don't gallop, but fleas leap,' to borrow Jim Slater's often quoted phrase, it's easier for a tiny company to double its size, and investor's money, than for a big one. Let's face it, a blue chip company worth £1 billion will find it much harder to double or even tr

The more effort you put in to investment research, the more knowledge you gain and the better you are likely to become. In the same way that great generals examine battles from history and the techniques used by the greatest military geniuses, studying the great investors of the past to learn from their triumphs, and their mistakes, will help to improve your own investment skill set. We're applyin

UK investors seeking to profit from the proven investment principles of Warren Buffett need not splash out $190,557-a-pop on shares in Berkshire Hathaway (BRK/A:NYSE). There is an alternative pathway to build and preserve wealth along the guidelines of the legendary 'Sage of Omaha'.It is provided by modest-yet-steely Keith Ashworth-Lord, founder of Sanford DeLand Asset Management and manager of it

Europe's largest bank by assets HSBC (HSBA) rises 0.7% to 664.5p on reports that it may float its UK retail and commercial business. The move could see 30% of the business sold to investors ahead of new regulation that seeks to separate retail business from riskier investment banking operations.The market gives a big thumbs up as oil services firm Kentz (KENZ) announces plans to buy US rival Valer

Morrisons' positive movesStruggling grocer Morrisons (MRW) is beginning to look interesting in light of a new shareholder-friendly strategy flagged last month (12 Sep). The £6.5 billion cap plans to reduce capital expenditure on new supermarket space and return surplus cash to shareholders as its convenience and online catch-up plans are now set. (JC)Bright lights for EverymanSmall cap leisure op

Ladbrokes (LAD) continues to bounce back from its recent profit warning with a 4.6% gain to 188.1p, following significant trading volumes yesterday. This has sent the market speculators into overdrive with guesses that either digital partner Playtech (PTEC) or its founder Teddy Sagi have been buying stock in the troubled bookmaker. Private equity have also been suggested yet that's probably just a

Imagine having bought a stake in a small but promising little semiconductor architecture design business 15 years ago, called ARM (ARM). Long before smartphones and tablets, this was a barely understood business back then, worth just £264 million. Today it is Britain's biggest London-quoted technology business with a market value of £12.5 billion. That is a 47-fold increase, the sort of return m

Gold is back on the move again, rising above $1,300 per ounce and taking gold mining equities along for the ride. Fresnillo (FRES) rises 5.3% to £10.84; Polymetal (POLY) advances 5% to 627p; and African Barrick Gold (ABG) moves 4.9% higher to 111.9p.Baby products retailer Mothercare (MTC) is up 3.1% to 480.75p. The reason is not because there's a royal baby on the way but rather reports Mothercar

A new report by civil engineering specialist EC Harris finds that construction projects are becoming more complex which means contractual disputes are taking longer to resolve, many spanning more than a year. This has positive read-across to dispute consultant Driver (DRV:AIM).The £26 million cap is not dependent on the construction sector to power earnings. It also has a growing business serving

Shares in mid cap oil firm Cairn Energy (CNE) slicked up 1.7% to 286.7p on a successful appraisal well on the Norwegian Skarfell field and news of a discovery by its former Indian subsidiary Cairn India. The Indian find is likely to fuel the argument for merging Cairn Energy with Cairn India. The latter is now 58.5% owned by metals miner Vedanta Resources (VED), up 3.7% at £10.99, with Cairn reta

Buy into Driver's (DRV:AIM) share price momentum. The contractual dispute specialist reckons it can lift profit margins by up to six hundred basis points (6%) at Trett, a loss-making rival business acquired in May which now accounts for nearly a third of its revenue on an annualised basis, to match that of its own operations.Driver also sees opportunities to develop its presence in the US oil and