London's FTSE 100 closed 0.17% higher to 7,184.95 on Wednesday as attention turns to the latest decision on interest rates from the US Federal Reserve later in the day.On Wall Street markets were somewhat less optimistic with the S&P 500, Dow Jones and tech-heavy Nasdaq all trading flat in morning trading stateside.All eyes will be on the US central bank as it finishes its two-day meeting,...

London's FTSE 100 edged 0.1% higher to 7,179.76 just before midday on Wednesday as attention turns to the latest decision on interest rates from the US Federal Reserve later in the day.All eyes will be on the US central bank as it finishes its two-day meeting, with some analysts predicting it will bring forward its projections for its first post-pandemic interest rate rise by a year to...

London's FTSE 100 edged 0.25% higher to 7,190.61 points early on Wednesday as investors waited the latest decision on interest rates from the US Federal Reserve and the market took news of another sharp jump in inflation in its stride.UK CPI rose by 2.1% in May on an annual basis, ahead of consensus expectations of 1.8% and coming in higher than the 1.5% rate in April, though investors were...

The FTSE 100 opens 9.4 points up at 7,430.37 as Asian markets are ending the week in positive territory. The leaders of North and South Korea, two nations technically still at war, have met in what is viewed as a landmark occasion.The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) share price is down 1.2% to 269.2p despite a 70% improvement on its first quarter operating pre-tax profits to £1.2bn.However, its...

A surge in support for 'Leave' ahead of Britain's referendum on EU membership along with falling commodity prices hits the stock market and sterling in early trading.FTSE 100 shares fall 0.5% to 6,012 and sterling, after a volatile session on Monday, dips around half a cent against the dollar and now buys $1.413.The corporate news story of the day comes at Premier Farnell (PFL), which is being...

Dubbed 'micro caps' by investors, the London stock market's smallest quoted company fry can be binary bets, as likely to 'turn turtle' as morph into a 'ten-bagger', the latter the holy grail of growth company investing. Yet despite their inherent risks, micro caps should form at least a portion of a well-diversified portfolio, since they offer potential for rapid-paced growth and abundant...

Dillistone (DSG:AIM) 107pGain to date: 7.5%Original entry price: 99.5p, 10 Jul 2014Previous Shares view: Buy at 96.5p, 23 Oct 2014Recruitment software supplier Dillistone (DSG:AIM) continues its steady if unspectacular progress, and much of the same can be said of the share price.This week's (27 Apr) full year to end December 2014 results were arguably subdued, with much of its £0.5 million...

UK shares start early trade Wednesday on a modest back foot despite rampant gains across the pond overnight. The S&P 500 closed up 29.18 points higher, or 1.44%, at 2,050.03, while the Dow's rally was even stronger, adding 305.36 points (1.76%) to finish the session at 17,666.40, just 2.2% off its all-time 18,053.71 record.In contrast to US enthusiasm the FTSE 100 index drifts 11 point to...

Dillistone (DSG:AIM) 96.5pLoss to date: 3%A profit warning from FTSE 250 recruiter Michael Page (MPI) (14 Oct) has unsettled the wider recruitment space but we believe staffing software group Dillistone (DSG:AIM) is capable of carefully navigating obstacles.Flagged in the summer at 99.5p (see Shares, Plays, 10 July), the shares are off just 3% despite the vicious market sell-off, a sure sign...

London shares begin Tuesday trading modestly on the back foot with investors casting a concerned eye towards weakness overnight on Asian markets. The FTSE 100 eases 4.5 points lower to 6,242 in early deals.Heading the Footsie leaderboard is part state-owned Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), which now expects to 'significantly' beat bad loan loss estimates of around £1 billion thanks to sturdy...

The tables featured on these pages will help you swot up on stocks, investment trusts and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) before everyone returns to the market after the traditional summer lull.We've pulled together seven snapshots that look at valuation and income. They should generate ideas for both short-term traders and long-term investors.Low PEG candidates (Price to earnings growth)The PEG...

Investors are giving high-risk growth stocks a wide birth at the moment but that makes Dillistone's (DSG:AIM) low valuation, strong growth trajectory, cash generation potential, robust balance sheet and promised dividend payouts all the more appealing. The London-based £18.1 million cap supplies enterprise resource planning (ERP) software specific to the recruitment industry. Its product...

Exploration company Kefi Minerals (KEFI:AIM) is to buy the remaining 25% of the Tulu Kapi gold prospect in Ethiopia that it didn't already own. It is encouraging news in its attempts to buy the project acquired last December, moving the share price 4.8% higher to 1.62p. The seller is Nyota Minerals (NYO:AIM), up 18.9% to 0.32p, which will get £1.5 million split equally between cash and...

Recruitment market software developer Dillistone Group (DSG:AIM) should report its fourth straight year of double-digit revenue growth when it unveils full-year 2013 results in April. The London-based £20.8 million cap could also return to the acquisition trail later this year after the successful integration of its last target, FCP Internet Holdings, purchased for £2 million in July last...

On a very quiet day for large cap corporate news, the FTSE 100 advances 0.2% to 6571. There's a stronger performance from the mid caps with the FTSE 250 up 0.3% to 15,838. We explore this index in the latest issue of Shares, looking at ways to play momentum, income, growth as well as big themes to consider among the mid caps. This link will give you an overview of the magazine's contents.The...

Buy recruitment market software designer Dillistone (DSG:AIM) ahead of likely earnings upgrades following a trading update towards theend of January.The company has experienced strong second half trading thanks to new product launches. The London-based £13 million cap also offers an attractive 5% dividend yield to boot.Dillistone supplies enterprise resource planning software specific to the...

'If you think education is expensive, try ignorance' is a pungent aphorism for which the former Harvard University president Derek Bok is rightly lauded. Although its origins lie within the realms of academia, it also applies to investors. Our intelligent, informed and independent research is designed to explain the financial markets so you can best use them to protect or create wealth, as we...