UK shares are firmly on the up in early trade on Tuesday ahead of Philip Hammond's first Autumn Statement due tomorrow. SOme of this strength is likely down to Monday's jump in the value of Sterling. The FTSE 100 index rallies 55 points, or about 0.8%, to 6,833, after a largely flat finish to trade on Monday.In corporate news. Construction equipment group Lavendon (LVD) soars 41% to 196p as it...

The sharp decline in the oil price since June has put commodities back on the mainstream news agenda as investors speculate where energy, metal and food prices are headed next. The direction of oil, copper, wheat and other commodities are hugely relevant to investors as they are key raw materials for companies around the world, not to mention a major influence on the cost of everyday...

Resource firms are coming into focus as investors search for oversold equities and yield opportunities. But anyone deploying cash here needs to step back and take a careful look at the project economics relating to each individual miner or oil and gas play given what is likely to remain a challenging backcloth for commodity prices.When commodity prices were roaring away, picking a successful...

Top of the leader board, troubled regional airline Flybe (FLYB) ascended 12.9% to 50.5p after agreeing to take on some of Ryanair's (RYA) routes. This is to help the Irish low-cost carrier win the European Commission's approval for its Aer Lingus (AERL) takeover bid. Ryanair will pump ?100 million into a new business, Flybe Ireland, which will contain 43 routes, airport slots and staff. The...