Barely a month seems to go by without another small cap company announcing its intention to delist from the London stock market. The latest escapee is leading cell therapeutics firm MaxCyte (MXCT:AIM) which announced its intention to cancel its AIM listing on 15 April. The proposed cancellation, if approved by shareholders, is expected to take place on 25 June. The board of directors believe...

The UK's flagship stock market index finished in negative territory on Monday, with the FTSE 100 losing almost 1% to 7,073 after Europe introduced tougher curbs on UK travellers to stem the rising cases of the delta variant.The new restrictions put pressure on the airlines with EasyJet (EZJ) and Jet2 (JET2:AIM) declining by around 5% each.CORPORATE NEWSLuxury goods group Burberry (BRBY)...

The new trading week got off to a disappointing start with the UK's flagship stock market index in negative territory. Having initially seen modest gains on Monday morning, by midday the FTSE 100 had fallen 0.6% to 7,096, dragged down by weakness in banks and oil producers.Brent Crude oil dipped 0.3% to $75.98 per barrel while gold also eased back by the same percentage points to trade at...

London's FTSE 100 fell modestly in early dealings on Monday, off 0.2% at 7,120.61 by 8.45 am, as the spread of more transmissible forms of the virus that causes Covid-19, both at home and abroad, tempered global recovery hopes.Brent crude oil prices held firm above $76 per barrel while gold nudged 0.1% ahead to $1,784 per ounce.Higher oil prices, a major cost, together with fading hopes of a...

London's FTSE 100 cheapened the best part of 30 points to 7,065 on Tuesday, despite remarks from Donald Trump that the US and China would 'very shortly' resume trade talks. A rare bout of strength in the pound served to weigh on UK stocks that earn in US dollars, explaining the share price declines seen at Carnival (CCL) and Ferguson (FERG).Flexible office space supplier IWG (IWG) sparked up...

The FTSE 100 builds slightly on yesterday's record high, up 6.7 points to 7,737.76 ahead of the release of UK manufacturing and industrial production dataThe market is as underwhelmed by an update from housebuilder Taylor Wimpey (TW.) as it was by those of its peer Persimmon (PSN) 24 hours earlier, marking the shares 4% lower to 200.3p as it follows suit in sounding a pretty cautious tone on...

London stocks open the largely flat with a string of sagging house builders leading the blue-chip pack lower in what some market watchers believe will be a rather lacklustre session. Wall Street rose overnight Friday, and Asia was mixed this morning. Europe is firmly lower.The FTSE 100 index nudges just two points higher to 6,205, although that's better than either the midcaps or the smaller...

The market is off to a quiet start ahead of George Osborne's Budget announcement at lunchtime. The FTSE nudges ahead 24 points to 6,163.The biggest corporate news is the recommended all-share merger between London Stock Exchange (LSE) and Deutsche Borse. It is called a merger of equals but LSE shareholders will only hold 45.6% of the combined business and the two parties haven't yet agreed a...

Moving into profit can be a powerful share price catalyst. In 2015, investors were well-rewarded for owning some of these types of stocks as they 'moved into the black'.Fast-growing high-end tonic water producer Fevertree (FEVR:AIM) gained 246% in 2015 after registering a profit in its first year as a public company. And commercial gas pipeline engineer Fulcrum (FCRM:AIM), which swung back...

London stocks are trading flat in early trade on Friday following fairly uninspiring sessions in the US and Asia and with remarks from central bankers filling some of the vacuum. The FTSE 100 barely moves, stuck at 6,330, while FTSE 250 midcaps and smaller companies are also similarly unmoved.In an otherwise quiet day for corporate news, Imperial Tobacco (IMT) gains 2.4% to £35.77, and is the...

Despite widespread news coverage surrounding a breakthrough by Eli Lilly (LLY:NYSE) in finding a drug that appears to slow Alzheimer's disease, a finished product is a long way off from being prescribed by a doctor. We believe Cambridge Cognition (COG:AIM) provides a more immediate way of playing the broader theme of dementia-related healthcare.Eli Lilly has released the findings of a study...

A surprise takeover approachhas been made for high street lender TSB Banking (TSB), sending its shares up 27% to 335.5p. Spanish bank Sabadell has proposed to pay 340p a share, valuing TSB at £1.7 billion.Britain's fourth biggest supermarket Morrisons (MRW) is marked 2.5% lower to 201.25p as poor full-year results show a steep 5.9% like-for-like sales decline and a slump in underlying profit...

Smarter cities, smarter industries, a smarter way of living and working; this is the future being peddled, not just by technology boffins and gadgets geeks, but by government, business, charities and investment.We may be years away from some of the more ambitious ideas, plenty will never see the light of day, yet technological breakthroughs are happening right now that promise to improve and...

A trio of investments sends a strong signal for dementia testing software developer Cambridge Cognition (COG:AIM). The chief executive officer (CEO) and finance director have shown their confidence in the business through buying almost £130,000 of its stock. Meanwhile, major shareholder Nigel Wray increased his stake to 20.29%, up from 18.2% (24 Sep).CEO Nick Kerton spent £34,684 on 58,000...

Premier promotionNew Premier Oil (PMO) chief executive officer Tony Durrant will have an opportunity to win the market over on 11 July with a trading and operations report. The update from the mid cap oil firm is the first under Durrant's leadership after an underwhelming reaction to the former finance director's appointment (25 Jun) as a replacement for Simon Lockett. (TS)Conygar's value...

Online retailer MandM Direct is set to become the latest listed play on the structurally-attractive value sector. Selling well-known brands including Converse trainers and Diesel jeans at up to 75% markdowns from the recommended retail price, the profitable company, guided by former John Lewis online chief Jonathon Brown, has announced its intention to float on Aim via a £12.5 million placing...

Momentum is continuing to build at dementia testing software specialist Cambridge Cognition (COG:AIM) cementing expectations that it will post its maiden profit as a listed concern next year.The company enjoyed what it describes as positive trading in the first quarter and remains confident of a return to revenue growth in 2014, according to this month's trading update (8 May). Consensus...

Following last year's big profit warning, FTSE 250 sports media group Perform (PER) bounces back 9% to 255p after appointing a new chief financial officer and saying that first quarter trading has gone well. Ashley Milton is joining from a division of WPP (WPP), the world's largest advertising and marketing group.Struggling grocer Morrisons (MRW), still reeling from its severe profit warning...

Argos-to-Homebase operator Home Retail (HOME) rises 4.6% to 214.5p as a strong year-end trading statementtriggers earnings upgrades from the analyst community. The home and general merchandise seller says pre-tax profit for the financial year ending 1 March will 'slightly ahead' of the £111 million top end consensus estimate following a good final eight weeks of the year. Argos, whose...