Followers of Bitcoin will have been closely watching the latest ?halving event? in the cryptocurrency which took place on 19 April.For the fourth time, the number of new Bitcoin entering the market has been slashed by cutting the rewards earned by Bitcoin miners by 50%.Mining Bitcoin involves using powerful computers to solve extremely complicated mathematical problems in order to verify transacti

A key rationale for investing in the smallest companies on the UK market is that these businesses have the most capacity for growth.However, for several reasons investing in micro-cap businesses is not for everyone and has, with some notable exceptions, proved less than fruitful in recent years. WHAT IS A MICRO CAP?The definition of what constitutes a micro cap varies. Natalie Bell, fund manager a

This feature explores spin-offs or de-mergers, looking at the rationale for them and how they have performed, and asks if they can be a promising hunting ground for investors.One of the UK?s largest recent spin-offs was GSK?s (GSK) demerger of its consumer healthcare division in 2022.GSK reportedly rebuffed a £50 billion offer from personal goods giant Unilever (ULVR) to buy the division, named H

It must be maddening for analysts that every time they?ve put forecasts for Darktrace (DARK) into the market, they?re forced to tear them up and start again. It happened for the third time already this year earlier this month (11 April), in the wake of a surprisingly strong third fiscal quarter update (to 31 March) that the company predicts will mean an extra $2.4 million of ARR, or annual recurri

The persistently high interest rate environment means companies are under pressure to cut costs and jobs are an obvious target. While they can cut their workforce through redundancies or slash the wage bill through shorter or fewer shifts, others might already be operating with a skeleton crew and cannot pare back any further.It is against this scenario that higher wages are adding to companies? p

Shares down 55% over the past yearAnnual group pre-tax loss of £98.3 millionSlow post-pandemic recoveryShares in Mobico (MCG) were down over 8% to 54p in morning trading despite the bus and rail business reporting a 12.2% rise in group full year revenue to £3.15 billion, driven by improved passenger volumes, route recovery and pricing.The transport group however made a group pre-tax loss of £98

In a surprising development for a company which is usually considered fairly staid, Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) circulated an internal memo last month letting staff know it was ?saying goodbye? to a number people in its risk management team after an internal review found the function was hampering its transformation plans.The memo from the bank?s chief risk officer, seen by the Financial Times, cl

Q1 revenue falls less than expectedUS market share maintainedNew CEO could be announced imminentlyAfter a challenging couple of years amid pressure from activist investors to improve performance, bookmaker Entain (ENT) said first quarter net gaming revenue including its 50/50 joint venture with BetMGM fell 3%.Consensus analyst expectations compiled by the company were looking for a bigger drop in

Stock prices in London opened mixed on Wednesday, as UK consumer price inflation ebbed, but not by how much economists were expecting, prompting investors to rethink their Bank of England interest rate expectations.The reading followed numbers showing UK wage growth was loftier than expected in the three months to February. Sterling traded higher early Wednesday.The FTSE 100 index opened just 1.54

£346 million sale agreedShare buyback worth £100 million plannedHigher margin distribution now the focusInchcape?s (INCH) shares revved up 4.5% to 730p on news the global automotive distributor has agreed to sell its UK car retail operations to a US rival for £346 million in cash.The disposal, which follows a strategic review launched in January, will allow Inchcape to focus on its higher margi

THIS IS AN ADVERTISING FEATURE For roughly 80 years, rapid industrial production growth defined the U.S. economy. Starting in the early 2000s, however, the U.S. industrial production machine began a two-decade stagnation. But things are changing. Deglobalization and re-shoring are gaining momentum, and developed economies want to strengthen their supply chains. To mitigate economic and geopolitic

First-quarter sales top estimatesCRH lime acquisition to boost growthAnalysts see nearly 50% upsideRaw materials group SigmaRoc (SRC:AIM) signaled a positive start to 2024 ahead of its AGM (annual general meeting) and said the board was ?confident in the firm?s ability to make further progress in the current year and beyond?.The shares gained 0.6p or 1% to 64.4p in line with other mining and mater

Fund outperforms benchmark in 2023Dividend increases by 7% to 7.65pShares sit at 13% discount to NAVMid- and small-cap UK growth investor Mercantile Investment Trust (MRC) outperformed its benchmark in the year to 31 January, delivering a net asset total return of 4.5% and total shareholder returns of 6.1%.The dividend was increased by 7% for the year to 7.65p per share, comfortably covered by rev

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

US-listed large-caps shone last year with shares in mega-caps, and the ?Magnificent Seven? in particular, surging higher. However, this outperformance only widened the valuation gap between US large and small-caps and left shares in the latter cohort languishing at the low end of historical valuations.Over one and five years, the Russell 2000 index of US small-cap stocks is up 14.6% and 30.5% at t

Second half momentum improvementProfit guidance ?slightly? increasedNew branding well-receivedCake Box (CBOX:AIM) shares sweetened up 6.2% to 171p on Monday after the fresh cream celebration cakes retailer said full year profits will be ?slightly? ahead of the £5.9 million consensus estimate, implying a 10% year-on-year uplift, after trading momentum improved in the second half.As a result, reven

?Strong? Q4 performanceRetail volumes up 9%Share buyback continuesUsed car retailer Motorpoint (MOTR) has reported an improvement in trading in the new calendar year amid an uptick in consumer demand for nearly-new vehicles.Margins gradually improved through the fourth quarter to March 2024 too, as the Derby-headquartered company increased stock turn and worked through the inventories affected by

London?s FTSE 100 rose on Thursday morning, despite doubts over the timing of US Federal Reserve interest rate cuts still lingering, while gold reached another record high.The FTSE 100 index opened up 18.52 points, 0.2%, at 7,955.96. The FTSE 250 was up 34.02 points, 0.2%, at 19,787.66, and the AIM All-Share was up 0.82 of a point, 0.1%, at 742.90.The Cboe UK 100 was up 0.3% at 795.53, the Cboe UK

The shrinking UK stock market is a worry for fund managers and has wider implications for the UK as a listing venue as well as the UK?s economic growth, say analysts at Peel Hunt.This article explores the so-called de-equitisation of the UK stock market, or plainly put the substitution of debt for equity via share buybacks and cash acquisitions.More than 45 companies exited the UK market in 2023 d

In retrospect, it seems clear the tipping point for AI (artificial intelligence) was the release in November 2022 of OpenAI?s free-to use ChatGPT system.Until that point, most AI products were being developed privately and weren?t widely available to the public, added to which most were fairly clunky whereas ChatGPT was able to interact in a conversational way, answering questions, challenging inc