Stock prices in Europe were in the red at Tuesday midday, with airline stocks hit badly in particular, as European countries intend to boost their militaries amid a US freeze on aid for Ukraine.'Investors were desperately hoping that Trump would delay tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China at the eleventh hour, yet the US president has stuck to his guns and brought them into power,' commented AJ Bell

London's blue chip index was in the red around midday on Friday, as investors await US retail sales and industrial production data.The FTSE 100 index traded down 17.80 points, 0.2%, at 8,747.10. The FTSE 250 was up 65.80 points, 0.3%, at 20,981.66, and the AIM All-Share climbed 2.18 points, 0.3%, at 725.38.The Cboe UK 100 was flat at 877.76, the Cboe UK 250 firmed 0.3% to 18,337.27 and the Cboe Sm

Hargreaves Services (HSP:AIM) 620pMarket cap: £200 millionIt's always a test of our conviction if we can recommend a stock just as the shares are touching a 12-month high, but in the case of environmental services, property and materials group Hargreaves Services (HSP:AIM), its shares are trading at a 10-year high.In our defence, we did flag the company a year ago at 475p in our 'Five small-cap s

In the fourth and final part of our series on small caps we look at smaller company funds with global horizons.These can be a good way of investing in small caps in markets where buying individual stocks might be a challenge, either because you are restricted from investing or because it is difficult to get sufficient information to make an informed decision.Some of these funds focus on smaller fi

European stocks traded higher on Monday, despite more US tariffs, while the FTSE 100 outperformed peers on a boost from BP.A report that an activist investor has picked up a stake in BP lifted the oil major. Gold hit a record high, boosting precious metal miners. News of another batch of US tariffs, this time in the aluminium and steel sectors, meant European stocks got off to a slow start to the

New contract valued at £16.8 millionShares up 186% over the past year1H25 group revenue up over 200%Shares in Filtronic (FTC:AIM) hit an all-time-high of 107p in early morning trading as the communications kit designer announced a further contract win with Elon Musk's SpaceX.The contract, valued at £16.8 million, is to be fulfilled over full year 2025 and full year 2026. WHAT DID THE CEO

As we write, the first five investment trusts targeted by Saba have seen the US activist hedge fund proposals overwhelmingly voted down.As a brief reminder Saba was proposing to replace the current independent boards with two new directors and had stated an intention to follow this up with a replacement of the investment manager and a new investment mandate. After Herald Investment Trust (HRI) sha

The UK market has a long tradition of collective investing in smaller companies, which means there is a wide range of funds and trusts available to investors looking for broad exposure rather than to pick individual stocks themselves.There are two dozen trusts listed on the Association of Investment Companies website, with a combined market cap of around £6 billion, while the Investment Associati

First of seven vital votes on Saba proposalsRetail investor engagement key to outcomeInvestors should 'use votes wisely' says analystThis is potentially a historic day (22 January) for the UK investment trust sector, with Herald Investment Trust's (HRI) shareholders about to kick-start a string of crucial votes to either approve or reject a radical agenda pursued by US raider Saba Capital Manageme

The normally sleepy world of investment trusts received a wake-up call just before Christmas with the publication (18 December 2024) of a shareholder letter by activist investor Saba Capital Management calling for change at no fewer than seven well-known funds.Set up by hedge fund manager Boaz Weinstein, Saba has a history of successfully instigating change, and while critics argue its proposals a

Higher-than-expected ordersSpaceX driving upgrade cycleAerospace and defence market penetration excites analystsShares in Filtronic (FTC:AIM) rose 7% to an all-time high of 96.5p on 13 January after the communications equipment specialist upgraded guidance for the year to May 2025 once again amid ongoing positive order momentum.In a brief update, the County Durham-based firm announced that order i

Funds play a really important role in most investors' portfolios. Many of us may not have the time or the inclination to research our own investment ideas and would rather entrust a professional to pick stocks (and other investments for us).The strength of broad market indices, particularly global and US ones, has made it difficult for actively managed funds to outperform over the last decade and

Saba's investment totals £1.5 billionSix of the seven trusts underperformedCompany proposes sacking directorsThe normally-sleepy world of investment trusts received a wake-up call this morning with the publication of a shareholder letter by activist investor Saba Capital Management calling for change at no fewer than seven well-known funds.The firm, which has a history of successfully instigating

Shares gain 289% over the past yearFurther contracts expected in space marketsTechnology roadmap progress madeShares in Filtronic (FTC:AIM) were up 8% to 77p in morning trading as the communications kit designer said it expects strong half-year results for the six months ending 30 November.It has been a stellar year for the firm which has seen its shares rise 289% due to a strong order flow from S

In last week's magazine, Shares focused on the methods by which leading fund managers identify genuine long-term growth opportunities, covering everything from the need for a growth mindset to bottom-up stock picking and the need to factor in top-down considerations.Now we turn the spotlight on the regional markets, themes and stocks which have some of the market's most admired investors salivatin

Edinburgh Worldwide Investment Trust (EWI) surprised the market this week when it announced it had developed 'a comprehensive action plan to improve execution' and would return up to £130 million of capital to shareholders next year.'Our vision, to identify and manage a carefully selected portfolio of transformative businesses, has the potential to deliver outsized returns for shareholders,' insi

Stocks in London ended Tuesday in the red, as growth fears sparked by the latest US manufacturing data and the weak demand outlook from China weigh on commodity stocks.The FTSE 100 index closed down 65.38 points, 0.8%, at 8,298.46. The FTSE 250 ended down 171.95 points, 0.8%, at 20,808.56, and the AIM All-Share closed down 4.51 points, 0.6%, at 762.39.The Cboe UK 100 ended down 0.7% at 830.63, the

Stocks in London were lower during midday trade on Tuesday, as investors looked ahead to the week's various US data prints.The FTSE 100 index was down 47.88 points, or 0.6%, at 8,315.99. The FTSE 250 was down 53.66 points, or 0.3%, at 20,928.34, and the AIM All-Share was unchanged at 766.96.The Cboe UK 100 was down 0.5% at 832.51, the Cboe UK 250 was down 0.4% at 18,417.49, and the Cboe Small Comp

European markets ended in the red on Friday, after the fallout from a global IT outage sapped risk appetite.The FTSE 100 index ended down 49.17 points, 0.6%, at 8,155.72. The FTSE 250 ended down 166.48 points, or 0.8%, at 21,067.68, and the AIM All-Share fell 3.54 points, 0.5%, at 784.13.For the week, the FTSE 100 fell 1.2%, the FTSE 250 shed 0.6% and the AIM gave back 0.3%.The Cboe UK 100 ended d

Disposal boosts Chrysalis' liquiditySBO to receive back original investmentAnalyst says deal is 'good news' for UK techBritish semiconductor company Graphcore may have been sold to Japan's Softbank (9984:TYO) at a fraction of its peak value, but the deal has allowed investment trusts Chrysalis Investments (CHRY) and Schroder British Opportunities (SBO) to realise some cash and report uplifts in NA