Encouraging start for small caps trustHulse sees value opportunity in UK small capsWindward?s potential excitesShares in Onward Opportunities (ONWD:AIM) rose 1.5% to 111.5p after the smaller companies-focused trust reported an 11.3% NAV (net asset value) total return to 106.5p for the nine months from its March 2023 IPO (initial public offering) to the end of December.That performance compares to

THIS IS AN ADVERTISING FEATURE Stephen AnnessHead of Global Equities, Invesco The Magnificent Seven ? the group of supercharged stocks named after the classic Western movie ? that delivered such outstanding returns in 2023 generated so much attention you would think it impossible to have beaten the index without owning them all. The fact that some of us did should be hugely reassuring to investor

Italian business sold for ?8 billionDividend to halve from 2025, ?4 billion buybackReshaped business to focus on growth marketsSo-called win-win deals are often touted but rarely delivered, but Vodafone?s (VOD) sale of its Italian business to Swisscom (SCMN:SWX) appears to have pleased both sets of shareholders with shares in the former up 5% and the latter 2% ahead on the news.Swisscom intends to

US activist walks away from bidding?Multiple? efforts to engage with board rebuffedBut JD.com could yet table a bidCurrys? (CURY) shares tumbled 9% to 59p after US investment firm Elliott Advisors abandoned its efforts to buy the electricals retailer, having had two bids spurned and ?multiple attempts? to engage with the board rebuffed.Waterstones-owner Elliott may have withdrawn its bid interest

Every investor understands the basic trade-off when it comes to where to put your money: the more risk you take, the more potential reward you garner. The flip side of this golden rule is the less risk you take, the lower the returns you should expect from your investments.Cautious investors are no doubt aware of this risk-reward trade-off, but they may be surprised by the scale of the returns the

Frasers increases stake to 8.9%Sports Direct-owner a ?strategic shareholder?Opportunity to sell more products via GAME chainMike Ashley-controlled Frasers (FRAS) has shunted its way up the shareholder register at model trains-to-planes maker Hornby (HRN:AIM) as the deal-hungry conglomerate pounces on yet another retail name going through tough times.Shares in Hornby leapt 40.5% to 29.5p on news Fr

BT and Aurelius circling MusicmagpieRedde Northgate/Halfords merger talks rumouredAnalyst sees some logic in proposed tie-upsPotential bids for two unloved stocks have come out of the blue and from unexpected suitors to boot, as the UK takeover machine continues to whir.Shares in Musicmagpie (MMAG:AIM) fluttered 30% higher to 25p after the refurbished electronics seller confirmed it is in early st

The FTSE 100 outperformed as European stocks struggled on underwhelming China trade data, as eyes turn to words from more US central bankers, after one pushed back on softer interest rate expectations on Monday.The FTSE 100 succumbed to share price declines from miners and oil. Though insurers and retail prevented the blue-chip index from suffering a deeper fall.The FTSE 100 index was down just 2.

You'd have to have been hiding under a rock not to know that mortgage rates have risen, meaning that most people coming to the end of their fixed term deal are facing a huge increase in their monthly mortgage costs.Based on UK Finance figures there are around 800,000 homeowners coming to the end of their fixed rate in the second half of this year, and around 1.6 million deals are due to end in 202

It's not often the UK stock market gets to blow its own trumpet but in September the FTSE 100 was the best-performing major global index, gaining 2.3%, while Germany's Dax lost 3%, the S&P500 lost 4% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 ended the month 4.5% lower.Key drivers of international weakness were the continued rise in bond yields, which is particularly negative for the valuation of growth compan

Obesity is one of the fastest growing public health issues facing the world. The World Health Organisation estimates there are two billion overweight adults, of which around 650 million are technically obese.Having a body mass index over 30 means someone is obese, while anyone with a score over 25 is classified under this system as being overweight. Experts predict almost half of US adults will be

As we have observed many times, when global investors look at Europe they tend to think 'value' rather than 'growth' due to the heavy weighting of somnolent sectors like financials, commodities and utilities and the lack of exciting technology companies.Admittedly, that perception is changing thanks to the clear growth potential of firms like Dutch semiconductor equipment maker ASML (ASML:AMS) and

Box office record smashers Barbie and Oppenheimer helped lift admissions for Everyman Media (EMAN:AIM) in the final week of July and this is set to continue in August.But that's where the good news stops, there is no hiding the fact that Everyman is struggling to get known amongst consumers, its punchy price point could be an issue, and that is reflected in a low UK market share compared to its ci

Pitching Apple (AAPL:NASDAQ) as one of our best picks for 2023 was based on a fairly simple investment premise - shares in a fantastic company had fallen too far after limping along for the best part of a year, and that had left them attractively priced versus prospects for recovery.When push came to shove, that anticipated bounce-back was faster and went further than we expected. To have a paper

On 30 May, investment bank Berenberg published a research note on legal group DWF (DWF) saying it should eventually see a 'significant re-rating' as the company continued to deliver organic growth with improving margins. At the time, the shares traded on five times forecast earnings for the year to April 2024.Eight weeks later, Berenberg's prediction has come true and the shares have gone up more

London's FTSE 100 outperformed on Monday, as large-cap European stocks largely closed higher, despite some poor PMI readings at the start of the week.After the data, eyes turn to central banks, with decisions from Federal Reserve, European Central Bank and Bank of Japan to come.'Central bankers might be hoping to channel Goldilocks when they deliver their rate hike decisions over the next couple o

London's FTSE 100 was hurt by China-exposed stocks, amid growth worries about the world's second-largest economy, while travel shares also failed to reach dizzying heights.Ocado's stock did, however, boosted by a favourable legal ruling. The 'Barbenheimer' box office event lifted cinema chains, meanwhile.On the foreign exchange front, the dollar gained on the euro and pound ahead of a US purchasin

With all the hype around technology stocks, and AI (artificial intelligence) in particular, the UK life insurance sector is probably a long way down the list of investors' priorities right now, yet for value players as well as income seekers there is plenty to like.On one hand, the unrecognised value of the cash flows from their existing businesses could far outweigh their current valuations meani

Our investor this week is Andy, who is in his early thirties and has been investing since he left university around a decade ago.A history graduate, Andy puts his initial interest in finance and markets down to his father who is an accountant.'I can't remember exactly what the trigger was,' says Andy, 'but around the time I was leaving university the economy was still just coming out of the global

Whether or not you are a value investor by nature, we all get a kick out of finding companies which are trading on big discounts to 'fair value'.Rather like Warren Buffett, who claims he buys dollar stocks for 50 cents, we all like to think we can spot a bargain.The problem is identifying fair value, first, then having the courage of our convictions to go for it, second.In the investment trust wor