Strategic review includes possible sale of businessTwo stage process inviting indicative offersOperational improvements made in last three yearsShares in Benchmark (BMK:AIM) surged more than 25% higher to 44p on Monday after the leading aquaculture genetics and nutrition firm formally put itself up for sale.Over the last year the shares are up around 3% compared with a 4% drop in the FTSE All-Shar

Oil prices rallied hard on Monday as investors bet on speculation that major produces, the cabal known as OPEC+, may pause an output increase in response to the spread of the new Omicron Covid variant.That helped the benchmark FTSE 100 add 66 points, or about 0.94% at 7,109.95 as oil giants BP (BP.) and Royal Dutch Shell (RDSB) added more than 3% and 2% respectively to finish at 328.35p and £15.9

Oil prices were rallying hard at lunchtime on Monday as investors bet on speculation that major produces, the cabal known as OPEC+, may pause an output increase in response to the spread of Omicron.At 12.20pm, Brent crude futures had jumped almost 5% to $74.92 following the big sell-off on Friday.That helped the benchmark FTSE 100 add more than 80 points, or about 1.15% at 7,122.85 as oil giants B

Global markets regained some composure after Friday's sell-off caused by the emergence of a new virus strain Omicron which has reached at least 12 countries.Some calm was reinstalled after vaccine makers said they could make new formulae to combat the new virus strain within weeks.Asian markets steadied with China's SE Composite almost flat and Japan's Nikkei 225 index losing 1.6%. Meanwhile commo

The FTSE 100 closed Monday's trading session 0.4% lower at 7,203.83 points as US stocks slipped, energy prices continued to surge following weak Chinese data overnight and UK investors fretted over a potential November interest rate rise.China's gross domestic product grew at a relatively measly 4.9% in the September quarter amid supply bottlenecks and property developer Evergrande's woes.Travel c

Shares in aquaculture firm Benchmark (BMK:AIM) jumped 13% to 64.5p on higher than average volume after the company said full year operating profits would be 'significantly ahead of market expectations'.Following a strong third quarter, which saw sales up 25% driven by a rise in demand across all three divisions, the fourth quarter to the end of September saw continued strong momentum thanks to an

The world is on the cusp of the most consequential disruption in food and agricultural production since domestication of plants and animals began thousands of years ago.As highlighted in Baillie Gifford's 2020 'Positive Change Impact Report', in 2050, the global population is expected to reach 10 billion, up from around 8 billion today.This explosive population growth will require global food prod

FTSE 100 closed higher on Tuesday with little to spark much interest on the economic or news front as traders await the Jackson Hole event later this week.The UK's index of leading shares finished up around 16 points, or 0.24%, to stand at 7,125.78. The more UK-focused FTSE 250 added 145 points, or 0.61%, at 23,886.01.On Wall Street, the Dow Jones added over 46 points, the S&P 500 was up around se

Major UK stocks had lost their earlier gains by lunchtime with limited growth exposure seeing the benchmark FTSE 100 miss out on a wider embracing of risk assets.At 12.30pm, the FTSE 100 index was down 0.23% at 7,092.41 points, although mid-caps did better, the FTSE 250 gaining 0.44% at 23,843.98.Oil prices pushed higher continuing Monday's sharp rebound with the full approval of the Pfizer/BioNTe

UK stocks nudged higher in early trading on Tuesday as firmer commodity prices boosted mining and oil plays.By 8.40 am, the FTSE 100 index was up 0.2% at 7,121.2 points, while the FTSE 250 traded 0.4% to the good at 23,836.5 points.Major movers included mining titan BHP (BHP), which added 1.3% to £23.37, as well as oil giant BP (BP.), bid up 0.8% to 297.3p.Investor sentiment was boosted by a stro

Shares in aquaculture company Benchmark Holdings (BMK:AIM) sank 5% to 54p on Friday after reporting a 15% fall in full year revenues to £105.6 million, resulting in a 51% drop in operating profits to £7.9 million.TRANSFORMATION ACHIEVEDBenchmark has successfully restructured the business over the last year, exiting loss-making activities and divesting of non-core activities. The company has made

People have continued to spend on the health and wellbeing of their pets during the pandemic, implying that retailers and service providers in this area should be fairly resilient.While the UK pet population has been broadly stable for the past decade, spending on pets has grown by 7% annually over the same period according to investment bank Liberum.Spend on vet services has also seen strong grow

A 9.4% discount to net asset value at Odyssean Investment Trust (OIT) looks attractive for investors keen to pocket a ready-made portfolio of small caps with significant performance improvement potential.The trust looks to generate attractive total returns, principally through long-term capital growth, by backing often under-researched and undervalued smaller companies.Besides the re-rating potent

UK stocks see-sawed throughout Friday due to a dearth of company updates and following the news that Japan's longest-serving Prime Minister Shinzo Abe would resign for health reasons. Markets are closed on Monday for a bank holiday.The benchmark FTSE 100 index ended drifting off 36 points or 0.6% to finish at 5,963, back below the psychologically significant 6,000 level.Gains in Miners Anglo Ameri

UK stocks edged higher on a quiet Friday for company news following an earlier setback on news that Japan's longest-serving Prime Minister Shinzo Abe would resign for health reasons. Markets are closed on Monday for a bank holiday.At midday the benchmark FTSE 100 index added 4 points or 0.1% to take it back above the 6,000 level to 6,004 points. Miners Anglo American (AAL), Fresnillo (FRES) and Po

FTSE opened 0.3% weaker at 5,992 points on Friday as investors digested Fed chairman Powell's speech where he signalled the central bank would allow inflation to run higher and unemployment to run lower.Also impacting markets and foreign exchange today was news that Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was stepping down for health reasons, ending his run as the country's longest-serving premier. Japa

Well-regarded stock-picker Stuart Widdowson says there is now 'obvious value' in UK markets, a domain being shunned by international investors, for the first time in four years. His comments accompany maiden half year results from his new vehicle, Odyssean Investment Trust (OIT), where his first seven portfolio picks are revealed.Odyssean Investment Trust listed on the Main Market in May having ra

The FTSE 100 opens down by 20 points to 7,377.93 following a mixed bag of trading in the US and Asia. In the US last night the Dow Jones and S&P 500 both closed down whereas Hong Kong's Hang Seng index today rose 0.5%.The biggest FTSE 100 fallers in early trading on Friday are Marks & Spencer (MKS), down 2.5% to 319.05p; and doorstep lender Provident Financial (PFG) which declines 2.2% to 771.25p.

As the FTSE 100 index rises by 56.2 points to 7,440 ahead of UK unemployment figures and following uninspiring performances on Wall Street overnight and in Asia this morning, insurer Admiral (ADM) sinks 6.75% to £20.31.Despite reporting marginal growth in first half profits and a boost in customer numbers and turnover, CEO David Stevens concedes some extra costs of large injury claims resulting f