UK water firms had their gains pulled back by Friday's close following yesterday's Ofwat induced bump, as Trump threatened the EU with tariff's if it failed to address its trading deficit.The FTSE 100 index closed down 12.67 points, 0.2%, at 8,092.65. The FTSE 250 ended up 31.24 points, 0.2%, at 20,430.62, and the AIM All-Share closed down 0.1, or 0.73 of a point, at 711.05.The Cboe UK 100 ended d

Supermarket chain Tesco (TSCO) gets off the a strong start to the current year with first quarter sales beating market expectations. Britain's largest grocer reports a like-for-like sales increase of 2.3% in the three months to 27 May, boosted by demand for fresh food. That's after stripping out the impact of new stores. The news is welcomed by investors, although early morning gains become temper

Stat of the Week: 660p.According to Numis Securities this is the per share worth of FTSE 250 UK industrial stock Vesuvius (VSVS). It has come to this conclusion using the valuation implied by Mineral Technologies' (MTX:NYSE) $1.7 billion bid last month (10 Mar) for the company's US rival AMCOL (ACO:NYSE).The 660p represents a 52% premium to Vesuvius' current 434.4p share price, and while there ar

The Government is under pressure to increase investment in flood prevention following the widespread damage caused by torrential storms lashing Britain. Emergency funds have already been announced and greater long-term investment put under consideration. That plays into the hands of Renew (RNWH:AIM) which undertakes repair and maintenance of infrastructure assets with a particular emphasis on wate

Not everyone is relying on central banks and government fiscal policy to get growth going. Some firms are launching major self-help programmes, designed to stoke their fortunes and get profits on a rising trajectory. These names can be high risk, as some may be picking themselves up by their boot-straps, but the rewards can be great if all goes according to plan.A turnaround story may take many fo