Mid-cap companies have always attracted investors. Seen as large enough to compete on a global scale, but not so big that their capacity for growth is capped, like many FTSE 100 stocks, an increasing number of investors spend time researching stocks on the FTSE 250 index, or simply buy the index through the handful of inexpensive targeted ETF tracker funds that are available.While many...

Vodafone (VOD) has confirmed discussions regarding a potential all-share merger of its Indian business with Idea Cellular.The FTSE 100 telecoms group has been struggling in India due to a price war after new market entrant Jio started offering free calls and data to grab market share.Investors like the news that Vodafone is taking action to strengthen its position in India, sending its share...

London shares make modest gains as traders return to their desks after the Easter break. Bargain hunters provide support for several financial stocks, including insurer Prudential (PRU), which heads the FTSE 100 leader board up 2.3% at £13.045. Wall Street was mixed overnight, Asian markets were lower, although there are firmer gains across Europe.The FTSE 100 index rises 24 points, or about...

Coinciding with its first birthday, online auction platform PrimaryBid will this week announce that retail investors will able to bid for discounted shares from any AIM company. There is a catch, but read on to discover why PrimaryBid could be an interesting proposition.I first discussed PrimaryBid in this column on 31 July 2014 in an article entitled 'Time for equal rights'. The original idea...

UK stocks open on Wednesday showing decent gains for the blue-chips and wider market but midcaps drag on a mixture of corporate news. The FTSE 100rallies around 35 points, or 0.5%, to 6,868 early on, rising for the fifth consecutive session. The index has not closed above this mark since 4 June. But the FTSE 250 fades, drifting a modest 0.1% to 17,978.Supermarket stocks lead the Footsie...

Investors appear to have the bank holiday on their minds with little interest for stocks in early deal on Friday. The benchmark FTSE 100 fades a couple of points lower to 6,958, failing to bounce back beyond the 7,000 mark. Midcaps do little better, drifting modestly to 17,458.It's perhaps a reflection of the market mood that there's limited appetite for news that Lloyds Banking (LLOY) has...

Diagnostic-focused research company Proteome Sciences (PRM:AIM) improves 5.1% to 40.5p as it continues to climb on news that it's close to developing an Alzheimer's detection test.Niche drug maker Shire (SHP) opens 1.2% down at £44.73 following yesterday's £51.15 a share offer from US outfit AbbVie (ABBV:NDQ). The £30.1 billion bid is the fourth the Chicago-based firm has made for the UK...