China reported an increase in the number of deaths from and cases of coronavirus, while the first patient has been diagnosed in London, news that gave investors the jitters on Thursday. The FTSE 100 traded down 0.9% at 7,468.37, with its heavy weighting towards commodity stocks, which are particularly sensitive to events in China, contributing to the weakness.Barclays (BARC) cheapened 2.8% to 174.

'It's tough to make predictions, especially about the future,' as they say. Variations of this quotation have previously been attributed to physicist Nils Bohr, writer Mark Twain, movie mogul Sam Goldwyn and baseball player Yogi Berra, yet the identity of the originator is less important that its implication, which feels very relevant for today's financial markets.The swings in the pound neatly en

There are few truly great investors who reliably beat the market, and even they will admit they don't get it right every time.Most investors, private and professional, are doing well if they can match an index over the long term.Even if you invest with a professional manager who does perform in line with the index, after management fees your returns will be lower.That is one of the reasons why ind

Although the momentum of the blue-chip benchmark has stalled since it hit new record highs in late May, London's FTSE 100 recovers some of yesterday's losses early on, ticking 39 points higher to 7,615.In corporate news, Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) rises 3.1% to 257.8p as half year results not only reveal adjusted profitability comfortably ahead of consensus forecasts, but the bank also announces

Thirty out of the 38 sectors in the FTSE 350 have fallen in value since the start of 2018. The market as a whole, as defined by the FTSE All-Share, is down by 8.5%. The FTSE 100 index has fared even worse, down 9% year-to-date.Five of the FTSE 350 sectors in positive territory have mustered up gains of less than 2%. The other three sectors have been driven by individual stocks having a dominant in

The FTSE 100 is in positive territory up 21 points to 7,154.17 despite fears over a potential trade war with China leading to another day of losses on Wall Street overnight. There are reports that President Trump is going to impose $60bn of tariffs on goods imported from China with many fearing what the retaliation will be from the Chinese.Tesco (TSCO) is the top FTSE 100 riser with a share price

Gem Diamonds (GEMD) has already found seven high quality diamonds greater than 100 carats this year which is very good considering it only found seven in total during 2017.This provides a welcome reminder about the capabilities of its Letseng mine in Lesotho, although it is pure luck as to when more high quality diamonds will be found.The recent discoveries have helped to revive Gem's share price,

Under fire support services firm Carillion (CLLN) has buckled under the strain, entering into compulsory liquidation. Trading in the company's shares is suspended on Monday as accountants move in to salvage any saleable assets.You can read what the implications will be for shareholders in Shares news story here.The shock waves reverberate across the the sector with tools hire business Speedy Hire

London's FTSE 100 edges 6.8 points lower to 7,717.5 early on Monday, investors bracing themselves for a blizzard of Christmas trading updates this week with Tesco (TSCO), Morrisons (MRW) and Sainsbury's (SBRY) all due to report.Maternity products retailer Mothercare (MTC) slumps 27.4% to 45p after issuing another profit warning following disappointing Christmas trading.UK like-for-like sales slump

Shareholders accounting for nearly a fifth (18.4%) of shares in Gem Diamonds (GEMD) have voted against the re-election of Clifford Elphick as chief executive.The opposition represented 26.9% of votes cast at the annual general meeting. Two other directors were also left with red faces with one fifth of votes in favour of removing chief legal and commercial officer Glenn Turner and non-executive Ga

Diamond discoveries can be like buses; you wait ages for one to turn up and two come together. Gem Diamonds (GEMD) and Firestone Diamonds (FDI:AIM) have both found stones more than 100 carat in size this month.Gem Diamonds' Letseng mine in Lesotho has historically been an excellent source of high quality stones and its latest discovery is a 114 carat diamond.The number of discoveries at Letseng gr

For every action there's a reaction and it appears that the overnight US missile strike against Syria has implications for the FTSE 100.The index dipped 13 points on opening before beginning a slow recovery. Bond and gold prices suggest investors are looking for safe havens amid heightened geo-political tensions.Statpro (SOG:AIM) sees it share price rise by almost 4% to 93.5p on announcing the pur

On a quiet day for corporate news the mining sector is boosted by positive Chinese data but the FTSE 100 shows muted gains, up 0.2% to 7,374.81, ahead of the hotly anticipated decision on interest rates from the US Federal Reserve this evening.Pharmaceutical giant Astrazeneca (AZN) ticks slightly higher to £48.72 as it notes results from the Phase 3 trial of its ovarian cancer treatment Lynparza

The FTSE 100 enjoys a positive start to the new trading week, up 0.2% to 7,201. Banks, miners and utility companies all help to drive up the blue chip index.Looking at corporate news, airlines are a key focus with Ryanair (RYA) and EasyJet (EZJ) both updating on their operational and financial performance.Ryanair says its third quarter profit fell 8% to €95m as growth in passengers numbers wa

UK-listed diamond producers are not being dragged down by Lucara's (LUC:TSX) auction flop where last night (29 Jun) it failed to sell the world's second largest gem-quality diamond. Analysts had expected the 1,111 carat stone, discovered in November 2015, to fetch at least $70 million but Lucara's reserve price wasn't met.The surprise outcome may raise questions about whether this year's recovery

Gem Diamonds (GEMD) is undertaking due diligence to potentially buy a project that was the downfall of former AIM-quoted Paragon Diamonds. It is among a group of miners looking at the Mothae prospect in Lesotho, four kilometres from Gem's flagship mine Letseng.Paragon Diamonds failed to get the necessary funding to buy the mine from Lucara Diamond (LUC:TSE). The small cap lost its nominated advise

The decision by De Beers to regularly comment on its diamond sales events will bring greater transparency to the market and let investors get a better feel for the health of the industry. The first announcement (26 Jan) also points to more positive market fundamentals for diamonds. This should encourage investors to revisit diamond mining stocks heavily sold down in 2015.Clearly sales figures from

There is no real safe haven in the commodities space. Diamonds and gemstones were long considered to be the only place in the natural resources industry where share prices would go up. Investors have been caught out this year with a sudden drop in demand for luxury goods leading to a major sell-off in most of the diamond miners.The near-term outlook remains poor, so investors wanting to take advan

Just when you thought it couldn't get any worse, another wave comes crashing down on the commodities space. Prices are getting hammered thanks to plentiful supplies and concerns about global growth (therefore equating to worries about commodities demand).Metals are declining in value including aluminium closing below $1,600 per tonne for the first time since July 2009. Oil prices are retreating fr