The FTSE 100 has opened 0.44% higher this morning to 7,246.24 following a rally in global stock markets overnight, but the big news has come from the FTSE 250.Shares in doorstep lender Provident Financial (PFG) have continually climbed in early morning trading and are now up over 10% to 490p after smaller rival Non-Standard Finance (NSF) ended its hostile takeover bid.Provident's board of...

A new mining charter in South Africa is more onerous than expected and implies that companies could have a reduced share of profit and suffer higher costs.Miners have 12 months to ensure a black economic empowerment (BEE) group owns at least 30% of their mining assets in South Africa, up from the previous 26% rule. Miners must also pay 1% of turnover from local assets to the BEE partner, as a...

South Africa-based Ironveld (IRON:AIM) believes it has made a breakthrough in its quest to become a metals producer after striking a deal to buy a 7.5 megawatt smelter.The company hopes to start production early next year of high purity iron, vanadium and titanium. It just needs to clear one more hurdle which is to raise cash to help fund the acquisition, do refurbishment work and provide a...

Staffer RTC's big winMicro cap recruiter RTC (RTC:AIM) soared 68% after winning a staffing contract with Network Rail (25 Feb). The £10 million cap was also named 'key strategic partner' with the public sector body for the period 2014-2019. The deal has an order book value of £80-100 million says boss Andy Pendlebury. (WC)Housing market dipsHouse prices have declined for the first time in...

Investors seeking an interesting way to play price strength in platinum group metals (PGMs) - platinum, palladium, rhodium - should look at Sylvania Platinum (SLP:AIM). The small cap miner has underperformed most of this commodity group over the past six months, yet the business is now at a tipping point where it is forecast to move back into profit, see a dramatic increase in free cash flow...

Investors seeking an interesting way to play price strength in platinum group metals (PGMs) - platinum, palladium, rhodium - should look at Sylvania Platinum (SLP:AIM). The small cap miner has underperformed most of this commodity group over the past six months, yet the business is now at a tipping point where it is forecast to move back into profit, see a dramatic increase in free cash flow...

Foods-to-fashion giant Associated British Foods (ABF) advances 8.1% to £29.44 on plansto launch its budget clothing chain Primark in the US, starting with Boston in late 2015. The news coincides with interim results that show adjusted pre-tax profits 4% ahead at £468 million, as strong performances from Primark and groceries offset a profits slump at AB Sugar, hard hit by declining sugar...

Resources veteran Peter Levine, chairman of President Energy (PPC:AIM), says the oil explorer is 'all about Paraguay' this year. Speaking at the first of two back-to-back Mining & Resources Quarterly (MRQ) evenings (12-13 Mar), he promised the Leeds audience 'surprises' when the firm began its three-well campaign in the South American country this May.One audience member made reference to the...

Could China switch from net exporter to net importer of vanadium? If rumours prove correct that the Asian superpower's vanadium supplies are dwindling as one of its big mines nears depletion then the answer is yes. Helping the demand cause is the need for China to use more of the metal to strengthen its steel in order to meet international standards.Vanadium can be used in batteries to store...

In July 2012, the fact that the mining sector had, on average, halved in value over the preceding 12 months may have prompted many investors to go value hunting. This sharp sell-off, in the context of massive gains made between 2003 and 2008 and then again during 2009 to 2011, seemed out of the ordinary. Yet in hindsight, buying at this point would have been the worst move. A year later, the...

The market didn't like news of a 1% drop in like-for-like sales at Tesco (TSCO), sending the shares down 2% to 357.35p. The decline in sales was worse than expected by analysts. The supermarket giant blamed a poor performance in frozen foods and chilled convenience meals. There was also a weak show from non-food sales apart from clothing.Menswear specialist Moss Bros (MOSB) also reported good...

Why did the shopping centre and fruit juice carton cross the road? To invest in a Russian gold miner. Investors today were scratching their heads as to why two Russian investors have snapped up more than a third of Russian miner Polyus Gold (PGIL), given their backgrounds in vastly-different industries. Market talk says there is logic in the transaction.Russian billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov's...