Modification work on vending machines ahead of the introduction of a new pound coin in 2017 represents a big sales opportunity for service specialist Vianet (VNET:AIM). Chief executive Stewart Darling says the cost to vending operators of making the modifications is likely to make them seek to ‘future proof’ their machines by installing Vianet’s contactless/card-enabled payment ...

Price to earnings (PE) ratios are one of the most common valuation techniques for equities. Seasoned investors can judge if a share looks cheap or expensive by looking at the PE figure. Yet less-experienced individuals could benefit from having a better understanding of what the PE represents, its role in stock picking and in what situations it shouldn’t or couldn’t be used. To help you become ...

Is the mooted tie-up between AG Barr (BAG) and Britvic (BVIC) doomed? The Competition Commission has provisionally cleared the potential merger on the grounds it is unlikely to substantially lessen competition. A final decision is expected by the end of July yet Britvic's shares have today fallen 1.1% to 495.1p after the group made some odd comments. Britvic's chairman Gerald Corbett said the ...

Investors may have breathed a sigh of relief that Vianet (VNET:AIM) hasn't cut its dividend following February's profit warning, yet there remain significant risks hanging over the group. Its core pubs monitoring business faces the threat of UK government intervention and there's no guarantee that a large delayed contract in its vending arm will actually go ahead. The market is clearly ...

Why did the shopping centre and fruit juice carton cross the road? To invest in a Russian gold miner. Investors today were scratching their heads as to why two Russian investors have snapped up more than a third of Russian miner Polyus Gold (PGIL), given their backgrounds in vastly-different industries. Market talk says there is logic in the transaction. Russian billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov's ...