Energy services firm Wood Group (WG.) is under pressure to deliver after ultimately unrealised takeover interest from private equity firm Apollo Global Management earlier this year.In May Apollo said it would not proceed with a takeover, despite Wood finally opening its books to the firm at the fifth time of asking in response to a bid of 240p per share. With no reasoning given for Apollo's stance

Protective packaging specialist Macfarlane (MACF) gained 3% to 133.8p as it confirmed it had sold its Macfarlane Labels division on 31 December 2021 to The Reflex Group for £6.4 million.The market appears pleased by the exit from a lower-margin part of its business and the modest, though still helpful cash injection associated with the proceeds from the deal.In November, the Glasgow-headquartered

Investors would be wise to look at stocks that are going places, in more ways than one. Backing a business that is growing earnings and market position, as well as strengthening its finances, should in theory result in decent share price gains. It is this combination of factors which underpins our latest search for investment ideas.For this article, we have run two screens on Stockopedia to create

London's FTSE 100 finished Thursday's trading session 0.35% lower at 7,124.98 points as Wall Street endured a slow start and bomb attacks at Kabul airport in Afghanistan rattled investors.Earlier in the day, the blue chip benchmark was grounded by ongoing Covid concerns and fears of a tapering of support for the global economy ahead of the Jackson Hole summit of central bankers.By 4.30pm UK time,

After falls in Europe and the US on Friday, Asian markets were mixed at the start of the week as the coronavirus death toll continued to climb.On currency markets the pound lost 0.5% to $1.239 while in commodities gold lost 0.8% to $1,612/oz.However, the big news was in the oil market where the price war between Russia and Saudi Arabia pushed Brent crude to an 18-year low of $23/barrel and New Yor

One share, one vote remains one of the bedrocks of UK stock ownership yet the debate on so-called dual-class listings could heat up once again in the wake of the US stock market debut of ride-hailing company Lyft last week.San Francisco-based Lyft is a rival of Uber, the better known of the two gig economy start-up Unicorns that have grown into multi-billion dollar businesses.Lyft raised $2.3bn of

Investors will be hoping the retirement of Barclays' (BARC) chairman John Macfarlane in May 2019 and his replacement by Rothschild veteran Nigel Higgins can mark a fresh start for the business. The shares are marked 1% higher to 177p in response to the news.Admittedly there has been operational progress under Macfarlane who led the December 2015 appointment of current chief executive Jes Staley mo

London's FTSE 100 is off 0.78 points at 7,573.5 in early trading, the blue-chip benchmark seemingly ignoring the latest tit-for-tat tariffs between the US and China.Infrastructure giant John Laing (JLG) jumps 6.6% higher to 312.4p as first half results reveal growth in both profit before tax (PBT) and net asset value, bolstered by a gain on the sale of the company's remaining 15% investment in Int

Share buybacks have been in the news again after politician Vince Cable referred to them as 'a scandalous trick' used by listed companies to artificially inflate directors' pay. A share buyback is where a company buys back its own shares from shareholders.Certainly we have seen a surge in popularity for buybacks in recent years. A Goldman Sachs report revealed UK companies spent £15bn buying back

Shares in packaging companies have jumped up after FTSE 100 sector constituent Smurfit Kappa (SKG) received a surprise takeover approach from US-based International Paper.No details were given as to the value of the approach. Takeover bids are often priced at least 20% above the market price before an approach, to give an incentive for shareholders to accept an offer.Investec analyst Gerard Moore

Investors tend to flock to the most popular options when it comes to choosing investment funds and trusts. This herd mentality means many people are missing out on some first-class investments simply because they are under the radar.But seeking out these lesser-known names could provide a serious boost to your returns; several investment trusts which would have tripled your money over the past fiv

Small cap Macfarlane (MACF) is worth checking out in more detail after two directors bought shares for the first time in the acquisitive packaging and distribution business.Finance director John Love and chairman Graeme Bissett each bought £15,250 worth of shares in the company while two non-executive directors also bought in slightly smaller quantities.In July, Shares followed up director dealin

A slump in the share price of protective packaging distributor Macfarlane (MACF) offers an attractive entry point into the fast-growing, acquisitive £79 million cap.The stock fell 9% on 10 May when it revealed sales grew by just 3% in the year to date as a result of subdued market conditions. At 64p it's now trading 8% below its March peak of 69.4p.Macfarlane offers exposure to the growing online

Protective packaging distributor Macfarlane (MACF) is set for further growth this year on the back of major account wins and a rapidly expanding online retail market.At 65.3p the £81 million cap has gained 36% since we wrote on the stock in August 2015. We think there's further growth to come as the online retail market, which accounts for 19% of group revenue, is expected to rise by around 12% a

Investors are yet to grasp the potential of protective packaging distributor Macfarlane (MACF), which is set for further profit upgrades as it continues its acquisitive and organic growth trajectory.The £57 million cap recently reported a 52% rise in pre-tax profit to £1.85 million in the first half of the year driven by 7% organic growth in packaging distribution sales and its acquisitions of L

The FTSE 100 is up 2.3% to 6,116 points following recoveries in stocks listed in the US and China. The CSI 300 index closed 6% higher at 3,205.64, while the Shanghai Composite Index gained 5.4%.Such strong gains overnight have seen risk appetite return to markets, meaning miners are once again in demand - Anglo American (AAL) gains 4.4% to 693p, BHP Billiton (BLT) adds 3.7% to £10.47 and Glencore

Genus croppedAnimal genetics specialist Genus (GNS) lost 10% of its value when its pre-tax profits dropped 30% to £38.1 million in the year to July. A 10% dividend rise to 16.1p per share highlights management's confidence in rising demand fuelled by good harvests. (MD)Fluid MycelxWater technology specialist Mycelx (MYX:AIM) could be in demand following next week's interims (16 Aug). Shares in th