Consolidation is a growing theme across the investment trust sector against a backdrop of stubbornly-wide NAV (net asset value) discounts and increasing pressure on sub-scale funds.2024 is already a record year for M&A (mergers and acquisitions) in a sector which has just seen the eleventh such deal announced, the value-oriented Invesco Asia Trust (IAT) planning to combine with Asia Dragon Trust (

London's FTSE 100 closed in the green on Monday, after UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer courted businesses to boost investment in the UK, declaring the nation open for business.It was a glum day for gambling firms, however. Shares in bookmakers were well and truly bashed on UK tax raid fears, which Jefferies warned 'would all but wipe out' sector profit in the nation.The FTSE 100 index closed up 39.

Stocks in London held firm at the close on Monday, while the euro ebbed amid a slew of weak purchasing managers' index prints.The FTSE 100 index closed up 29.72 points, or 0.4%, at 8,259.71. The FTSE 250 ended up 13.28 points, or 0.1%, at 20,8451.82, but the AIM All-Share closed down 1.30 points, 0.2%, at 744.32.The Cboe UK 100 ended up 0.2% at 825.65, the Cboe UK 250 down slightly at 18,356.82, a

London's FTSE 100 slipped slightly heading into Monday afternoon, as investors digest what was a busy week of interest rate action, while drab eurozone data put the European Central Bank in focus and hurt the euro.Elsewhere on mainland Europe, Frankfurt's DAX 40 traded resiliently in the face of weak German data, but French banks weighed on the CAC 40 on tax hike fears for larger companies.The FTS

The FTSE 100 and 250 closed in the red on Friday, as this week's US interest rate cut was offset by a disappointing consumer confidence reading.The FTSE 100 index closed down 98.73 points, or 1.2%, at 8,229.99. The FTSE 250 ended down 330.87 points, or 1.6%, at 20,831.84, and the AIM All-Share closed down 0.3%, or 2.46 points, at 745.62.The Cboe UK 100 ended down 1.2% at 823.77, the Cboe UK 250 cl

On the face of it #doomspending might seem fairly harmless, a new incarnation of what used to be called 'retail therapy'.Splashing out on nice stuff to give us a mood a lift when life is getting us down. But if you watch the videos, it's actually pretty bleak, all about a dawning financial hopelessness, a feeling that things previous generations took for granted like home ownership and retirement,

The long-term case for emerging markets is easy to grasp - less mature economies with more youthful demographics have scope for greater economic growth as they develop.There are also short-term tailwinds thanks to the dollar weakening (a key factor as many countries in the developing world have their debt denominated in dollars) and the Chinese economy fully reopening after Covid.WHY YOU MIGHT WAN

We could potentially see changes to the FTSE 100 and FTSE 250 indices as a knock-on effect to proposals by the UK financial regulator to change the UK stock market listing rules.The Financial Conduct Authority wants to make it easier for companies to join the UK stock market by revamping the listing requirements. One of the proposals is for the London market's standard and premium segments to beco

For years, UK-listed technology and biotechnology companies moaned about how they could get a higher valuation if their shares traded on the US market. Some added a secondary listing, others ditched the UK completely and parked their shares across the Atlantic. It was a trend that bubbled away, but not a mainstream activity.That's now changing after several larger companies across non-tech sectors

- Alphawave IP director goes on a buying spree- He's been an active buyer of stock throughout February- Also in director dealings, Atome Energy CEO buys 2% stake from chairmanAlphawave IP (AWE) executive director Sehat Sutardja has gone on a buying spree again with the purchase of 800,000 shares in the UK-based technology company (specialising in wired connectivity solutions) for 90p each, valuing

Among the biggest insider purchases of the last week, executive director of computer chip technology firm Alphawave IP (AWE) Sehat Sutardja bought 387,668 shares at 139.52p worth £540,874 taking the Sutardja Family's shareholding to 12.96%.Over the course of the last two months the family has increased its shareholding from 12.3% to just under 13% making the Sutardja family the second largest sha

Sutardja Sehat executive director of computer chip technology developer Alphawave IP (AWE), has splashed out £1.39 million to acquire 875,178 shares. The transactions was made though the Delaware incorporated Sutardja Family LLC.Following the transaction, the entity's total holding in the company was 85,181,376 shares, representing 12.7% of its issued share capital.Toronto-based Alphawave designs

UK investors seem to have got over the blow of Deliveroo (ROO) and other flop IPOs (initial public offerings) with London's new listings matching Europe's bulging pipeline.Despite ongoing inflation and interest rate hike threats, supply chain blockages and a stubborn Covid virus that refuses to go away, investors continue to be willing to back high-quality businesses that have a distinctive story

The FTSE 100 finished higher on Wednesday, retracing the losses from Tuesday's sell-off amid a jump in financials and as AstraZeneca (AZN) and Next (NXT) rallied following M&A and trading updates, respectively.The benchmark FTSE 100 ended the day 1.14% up at 7,108.16, and while worries over inflation, energy and supply chain issues will remain on the market's mind, the index is chock full of multi

The plunge into bankruptcy of the Softbank-backed, self-styled 'construction industry disruptor' Katerra spares investors in US equities the decision over whether to buy into what would have doubtless been an eventual IPO (initial public offering).Katerra had been given 'Unicorn' status - a valuation in excess of $1 billion - before it ran out of cash, so investors may have ducked one there, altho

Coming just six weeks after shares in food takeaway platform Deliveroo (ROO) dropped more than 30% on its first day as a public company, the negative reaction to chip designer Alphawave IP's (AWE) market debut - down 10% in a day - has lead to wider concerns about London's merits as a listing destination and the quality of new companies joining the market.However, these prominent disappointments d

The benchmark FTSE 100 closed in the red but bounced off earlier lows as US stocks regained some lost ground in early trading on Wall Street. Having dropped over 2% to a low of 6,823, the index staged a recovery throughout the afternoon to close only 0.6% lower at 6,963.80.Major US markets staged a modest rally after yesterday's big sell-off with the Dow Jones and S&P 500 up more than 1%, while th

Major UK shares continued to feel the pressure as investors get increasingly jittery over soaring inflation and the potential that interest rate hikes could be on their way.At lunchtime, the benchmark FTSE 100 was 1.8% down at 6,879.50, swiping more than £33 billion off blue chip valuations, and following major European markets, which were also sharply down. The Euro Stoxx 50 fell 1.4%.Mid-caps w

Computer chip technology developer Alphawave IP (AWE) saw its shares slump nearly 19% on their London market debut, wiping close to £550 million off its market valuation. At 10.30am, the stock was trading at 332.55p.The Toronto-based company and founding shareholders has sold £856 million of shares at 410p each, in the middle of a previously announced price range of 375p and 430p per share, valu

Computer chip technology developer Alphawave IP (AWE) is on track to list shares on the London market with a valuation of up to £3.2 billion, according to reports.The Toronto-based company designs high-speed data transmission technology and then licences it to semiconductor designers and manufacturers, a model pioneered by Cambridge-based ARM, the microchip architecture designer that was once the