Stock prices were lower in London at midday Wednesday as UK retail sales continued to fall in August, and while investors awaited second quarter earnings from tech firm Nvidia.The FTSE 100 index was down 9.17 points, or 0.1%, at 8,336.29. The FTSE 250 was down 36.43 points, or 0.2%, at 21,125.64, and the AIM All-Share was down 5.92 points, or 0.8%, at 773.26.The Cboe UK 100 was down 0.1% at 834.18

With the UK economy seemingly headed for a 'soft landing' and interest rates set to fall at some point this year, more adventurous investors will be looking to add a little more risk to their portfolios.Given the UK market, and the mid-cap space in particular, is widely acknowledged to be cheap, the passive option would be to buy a mid-cap ETF (exchange-traded fund) such as the iShares FTSE 250 (M

Suitor walks awayBlames geopolitical risks, financial market turmoilWood reiterates outlooks for 2024 and 2025Shares in oil services and consulting firm Wood Group (WG.) slumped 38% to 122.3p on Monday after Sidara terminated takeover talks, the suitor citing 'rising geopolitical risks and financial market uncertainty' for its decision not to make a firm offer.Aberdeen-headquartered Wood had rejec

Up to $2 billion impairment expectedBP sees earnings hit from lower refining marginsHunting upgrades guidance, Wood wins Shell contractBP (BP.) shares slid 3.6% to 457.6p on Tuesday after the energy producer warned it would book impairments of up to $2 billion in the second quarter of 2024 arising from plans to scale back refining operations in Germany which have been hit by rising energy costs an

Firm has received four bidsFinal bid pitched at 230pDeadline for talks extendedThe board of oil services and consulting firm Wood Group (WG.) last night published a statement saying while they were confident in the company's strategic direction and its prospects they had decided to engage with bidder Sidara.Wood Group shares jumped 19p or 10% to 205p, which is still some way short of Sidara's cash

Ashtead Technology revenue soarsFull-year results seen 'comfortably' above forecastsWood Group inks $330 million dealAshtead Technology (AT.:AIM), the offshore energy services firm spun out of construction equipment hire group Ashtead (AHT) in late 2021, seems to be following in the tracks of its parent company with its latest trading update.After a 57% jump in first-half revenue, the firm now exp

First-half revenue and profit top forecastsFull-year targets raisedShares gain 5% to top FTSE 250Shares in John Wood Group (WG.) jumped 5% to 155.7p after the energy services firm lifted its outlook for full-year sales and profits following a strong first half and 'significant' contract wins.The news will come as some relief for shareholders after private equity giant Apollo Global Management (APO

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

S4 Capital chief operating officer offloads nearly £3 million sharesExperian directors go on a spending spreeWood Group director buys after share price fallThe chief operating officer (COO) of London-based digital advertising agency S4 Capital (SFOR) has offloaded nearly £3 million worth of shares in the company. Christopher Martin sold 2,087,984 shares at 134p for a total value of £2.8 million

All we have heard for the last few years is that private equity firms - especially those based in the US - have plenty of 'dry powder' to make acquisitions, and the UK market is a prime target due to the low valuations of stocks here.So why is it that several recent deals have failed to take off as the market expected, and what are the takeaways?Earlier this week, New York-based private equity gia

- Private equity firm made five offers- Withdrawal follows snub by THG last week- Investors see bid premium evaporateFor the second time in as many weeks, global private equity investor Apollo Asset Management has ended talks with a UK target, this time Scottish-based oil and gas engineering and services firm John Wood Group (WG.).Shares in Wood Group fell as much as 40% from their previous close

Slowing growth coupled with heightened uncertainty is never a good combination for stock markets. Smaller company shares tend to deteriorate more because their operational risks are seen to be more concentrated versus large-cap peers.History shows that smaller companies tend to underperform larger ones during economic downturns, so given the gloomy backdrop, many investors will happily avoid small

- CentralNic non-executive buys after upgrades- Domino's director adds to his stake- Jet2 mogul jettisons £38m of sharesAs we approach the year-end, we thought it might be instructive to see which directors have been most active in buying - and selling - their companies' shares.Using the Director Deals function on the Shares website, we ranked the most active directors over the last three and 12

- First half revenue and profit down- Order book rises by 4.7%- Second-half recovery expectedInvestors focused on a sluggish first six months of 2022 for Wood Group (WG.) despite the energy services flagging a recovery in the remainder of the year underpinned by a strong order book.A measure of caution is probably understandable given how many times companies bank on a better second half to help t

In recent decades globalisation has transformed economies, societies, and capital markets. More and more companies started operating on an international scale, enabling them to look beyond their homeland for manufacturing, supplies and labour.This period was accompanied by a marked decline in inflation and lower central bank interest rates. By participating in the global economy millions of people

European stock markets are running scared as tensions mount between Russia and Ukraine with war becoming increasingly likely. German chancellor Olaf Scholz is flying to Kiev and Moscow to try to pull both nations back from the precipice, yet the US says war could start within days.Throw in the rising interest rates cycle and the US registering the highest headline inflation number in over 40 years

After a weak morning session, UK shares recovered over the course of the afternoon to close at the highs of the day thanks to a rally in banks and other financial stocks which more than offset further falls in house builders and weakness in retailers.Gold was down 0.2% at $1,823 an ounce while Brent crude was 0.2% higher at $84.35 a barrel. Sterling continued its advance against the dollar, up ano

After a weak session in Asia overnight, UK shares recovered from their morning lows to trade sideways at lunchtime as banks and other financial stocks crept higher, offsetting further falls in house builders and weakness in retailers.Gold was down 0.2% at $1,823 an ounce while Brent crude was 0.2% higher at $84.35 a barrel. Sterling continued its advance against the dollar, up another 0.2% to $1.3

UK shares traded lower on Thursday following a weak session in Asia after Chinese data showed bank lending fell more than expected in December, hitting property and consumer stocks.The SE Composite fell 1.2% and Japan's Nikkei 225 dropped 1%.Gold was down 0.2% at $1,823 an ounce while Brent Crude was 0.2% higher at $84.35 a barrel.At 8:50, the FTSE index of leading shares was down 0.2% at 7,537 po

The benchmark FTSE 100 closed lower on Friday in spite of solid progress on Wall Street, with heavyweight miners taking a tumble as gold prices retreated on inflation concerns, and rising costs put the squeeze to pharma giant AstraZeneca (AZN).At the finish, the UK blue-chip index was down 36.27 points, or 0.5% at 7,347.91, just above the session low of 7,340.49, and well below the day's peak of 7