Stock prices in London opened in the green on Thursday, hours before the upcoming interest rate decision from the European Central Bank.The FTSE 100 index opened up 4.77 points, or 0.1%, at 8,251.72. The FTSE 250 was up 77.23 points, or 0.4%, at 20,751.01, and the AIM All-Share was up 0.81 points, or 0.1%, at 799.78.The Cboe UK 100 was down 0.1% at 822.04, the Cboe UK 250 was up 0.2% at 18,192.46,

Private equity firm hoping for valuation up to ?16 billionGoing public would allow firm to expand and diversify modelAmsterdam market picked over New York and LondonPrivate capital investment firm CVC Capital Partners hopes to get an IPO (initial public offering) away at the third attempt later this month.The London-based buyout giant, which owns stakes in Liptons Tea, upmarket watch maker Breitli

Shares fall 11% to six-month lowVolatile markets cause exits to stallShares down over 45% since listingThe market's reaction to the interim trading update from FTSE 250 investment firm Bridgepoint (BPT) suggests investors aren't at all convinced private equity is where they should be putting their money.Despite a 'strong' first half, during which the firm navigated significant macroeconomic volati

After a decent showing in 2022, the UK stock market has failed to fire in 2023. The good news for investors is shares in other parts of the world have done much better and it has never been easier to have a globally diversified portfolio.There is an excellent range of products and instruments which allow you to participate in the returns from markets across the globe and, in this article, we provi

The FTSE 100 proved resilient on Wednesday, finishing the month higher despite fears about a forthcoming recession in the UK, as other indexes came to a mixed close.The FTSE 100 index closed up 61.05 points, 0.8%, at 7,573.05. The FTSE 250 ended down 22.83 points, 0.1%, at 19,163.33, and the AIM All-Share closed up 4.37 points, 0.5%, at 848.59.The Cboe UK 100 ended 0.9% at 758.76, the Cboe UK 250

Robert Rhea's outline of a bull market in his tome, The Dow Theory, which dates back to 1932, still seems relevant today. He said: 'There are three principal phases of a bull market: the first is represented by reviving confidence in the future of business; the second is the response of stock prices to the known improvement in corporate earnings, and the third is the period when speculation is ram

Private equity group Bridgepoint (BPT) delivered a better than expected performance for the year to December thanks to strong markets and higher than normal realisations.The shares climbed 12% to 325p as investors rushed to capitalize on their decline year to date.OVERVIEWBridgepoint, which floated in July last year, describes itself as 'the leading pan-European investment group focusing on the mi

Heptagon European Focus Equity Fund (BPT3468) £203.48Loss to date: 18%Original entry point: Buy at £248.02, 12 August 2021Heptagon European Focus Equity Fund (BPT3468) has a well-defined investment process with a preference for high quality growth companies. Importantly, manager Christian Diebitsch believes they continue to deliver on expectations.However, the fund has disappointed recently due

Burger King's UK operation is set to join the London stock market, according to reports. Private equity firm Bridgepoint (BPT) has been the master franchisee for Burger King UK since 2018 but is now believed to have appointed advisers with a view to floating the business on the London Stock Exchange with a £600 million valuation during the first half of 2022.The master franchise for Burger King i

With global stock markets going through a rocky patch, triggered by the US central bank signalling the end of loose monetary policy, Shares believes now is an opportune time to pick up high-quality shares which may have been oversold in the broad market correction.There is a lot of uncertainty and confusion even among professional investors and a good way to navigate this turbulent period is to fo

A combination of factors including sagging US consumer confidence, a spate of downgrades to China's economic growth forecasts and renewed inflationary concerns weighed on UK stocks towards the end of Tuesday's trading session.The FTSE 100 Index closed 0.4% lower at 7031 and the FTSE 250 Index finished the session 1.6% lower at 23,233 points.Economists have cut their growth forecasts for the Chines

Fears that inflationary pressures will be more persistent than originally anticipated, coupled with concerns regarding the winding up of the UK furlough scheme weighed on both the FTSE 100 and FTSE 250 Indexes during lunchtime trading.At midday the former had slipped by 0.4% to 7031 while the latter had given up 1.6% to 23,233 points. The recent rally in crude oil prices has reignited concerns tha

UK stocks dropped at the open on Tuesday as the fuel crisis sweeping the country showed no signs of easing. To make matters worse, Brent crude oil prices surged to a three-year high over $80 per barrel, pushing up prices at the pump, and UK and European natural gas price hit new records.By 8.45am the FTSE 100 index was down 30 points or 0.4% to 7,035 points as weakness in miners and industrials ou

How does a 5% return on your money sound right now? With UK interest rates showing little sign of increasing from rock bottom levels despite mounting inflation, a 5% rate is certainly appealing.If you are using your investments to pay the bills or to fund your living expenses in retirement the income you receive is vital. The great news is that the dividends from stocks and shares can offer invest

London's FTSE 100 rallied for the second successive day following Monday's correction, climbing on hopes that central banks might maintain support for the global economy for longer given rising Covid infections as well as a number of positive corporate updates.By the close, the blue chip benchmark finished 1.7% higher at 6,998.28 points, its recovery from a tough start to the week supported by a s

Sometimes investors ignore funds which have accumulated a limited amount of funds from investors, often because they are seen as not having much of a future due to a lack of scale or just because they don't have the marketing budgets of the big asset managers.However, ignoring these smaller funds could mean neglecting some potentially interesting investment options.VICTIMS OF SUCCESSWhile we are l

Cobham profit warningDefence components specialist Cobham (COB) has suffered its second profit warning in six months (26 Apr) coupled with the prospect of an emergency rights issue. The shares fell 17% to 178.30p on the news (SFl)Whitbread's German hopesPremier Inn and Costa owner Whitbread (WTB) plans to innovate its core UK business and expand internationally - in particular growing Premier Inn

Online gambling group GVC (GVC:AIM) is going into its reverse takeover of Bwin.Party (BPTY) from a position of strength after reporting double-digit revenue growth in 2015.Full-year net gaming revenue rose by 10.2% to €247.7 million, while fourth quarter revenue was 21.3% higher on a constant currency basis.The figures follow a positive trading update from Bwin (5 Jan) which revealed a 5% ris

The investment case for the acquisition of Bwin.Party (BPTY) by GVC (GVC:AIM) has been given another boost after the online gambling company reveals an acceleration in its net revenue growth.Bwin's year-on-year net revenue rose by 5% in the fourth quarter of 2015, compared with an 8% fall in the third quarter and a 6% drop in the first half.The gain, which was driven by sports betting and casino,

UK shares make a modest attempt at a rally following a massive China-driven sell-off on Monday, with investors on the hunt for value-buying opportunities. The benchmark FTSE 100 index rises 25 points, or about 0.35%, to 6,114. This after a poor overnight turn on Wall Street, with Asian markets also lower.In corporate news, high street clothing colossus Next (NXT) is marked down 3.2% to £69.60 as