- IWG boss snaps up stock after share plunge- Admiral directors sell stock to pay tax bill- Keystone Law CEO buys nearly £500,000 worth of sharesMark Dixon, the chief executive of Regus-owner IWG (IWG), has bought £1.2 million worth of shares in the serviced office provider. That's the first time he has acquired more stock on the market since investing £91.3 million of his own money as part...

In light of the implications of the unfolding tragedy in Ukraine, the global growth outlook has dimmed, which means now more than ever, portfolios should be as diversified by asset class as possible to in order to maximise returns relative to risk.Higher risk assets they may be, yet 'micro caps', the London stock market's smallest quoted companies should form at least a portion of a...

Charles Wigoder, executive chairman of Telecom Plus (TEP), the London-based supplier of gas, electricity and broadband to residences and businesses, has sold 2.5 million shares at a price of £14.50, netting a total of £36.3 million. The sale represents approximately 3.2% of the company's issued share capital.Telecom Plus, which trades as Utility Warehouse, has been a key beneficiary of the...

Over the past week, directors have taken advantage of their strong corporate results to take profits at a number of well-followed companies including Dechra Pharmaceuticals (DPH), Keystone Law (KEYS:AIM) and Churchill China (CHH:AIM).Dechra chief executive Ian Page and managing director Anthony Griffin took profits on their holdings after the global veterinary drug maker posted strong annual...

London's FTSE 100 was 0.5% firmer at 7,050.56 points early on Thursday following after a rebound in the US and another dip for Asian equities overnight.A flurry of positive corporate news and decent US data overnight outweighed lingering concerns about the Chinese economy, which dragged down the miners and other companies with links to China such as luxury brand Burberry (BRBY), off 2.75% to...

Keeping a regular watch on stocks with positive and negative share price momentum is a useful exercise as it tells us which areas of the market are hot or not.Investors who follow a pure momentum strategy like to buy stocks that keep a hitting a new 12-month high in the belief the share price is on a roll and can keep going up.Some investors avoid stocks hitting a new 12-month low, for fear...

The executive management team of Russian real estate firm Raven Property Group (RAV) were out in force last week after the general meeting approved their purchase of shares from Invesco Funds as part of a newly-formed joint venture company Raven Holdings Limited.The directors, who previously owned 58.4 million shares representing 9.98% of the firm's ordinary share capital, bought up 46.7...

In a year in which 'quality growth' stocks stretched their outperformance over 'value' stocks, notwithstanding a late bounce-back in the latter on the announcement of a Covid vaccine, it seems odd that UK investors should have overlooked the legal sector.As it is, most legal services and related stocks registered double-digit percentage losses last year with many underperforming the FTSE...

London's FTSE 100 edged 0.28% higher to 6,385.65 early on Monday morning as investors weighed optimism about a potential Covid-19 vaccine against fears of a more severe economic fallout from the pandemic as virus cases continue to rise.Investors continued to worry about a potential no-deal Brexit as the 31 December end to the transition period nears, with few signs of a trade deal being struck...

Mining and selling gold has been a very lucrative business so far this year and that doesn't look like stopping anytime soon given the wall of worries created by the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic.The shiny metal has returned princely sums for both the companies digging the commodity out of the ground, and also the people in charge of those companies it seems.Highland Gold (HGM:AIM)...

Shares in challenger legal services firm Keystone Law (KEYS:AIM) gained 1.7% to 442p after it posted a rise in first half revenues and restarted dividend payments.The company's operational and financial structure meant that it was in a stronger position than most traditional law firms to adapt to the challenges brought by the pandemic, with most principals and their support staff already...

China reported an increase in the number of deaths from and cases of coronavirus, while the first patient has been diagnosed in London, news that gave investors the jitters on Thursday. The FTSE 100 traded down 0.9% at 7,468.37, with its heavy weighting towards commodity stocks, which are particularly sensitive to events in China, contributing to the weakness.Barclays (BARC) cheapened 2.8% to...

After a difficult 2018, our latest annual portfolio of 10 stocks has delivered far superior rewards. Last year we outperformed the market, albeit still making a loss. This year we've smashed the returns from the FTSE All-Share and generated significant profits.Our portfolio has delivered a 23% total return (capital gains and dividends) versus 16.7% from the market. That's one of our best...

After a roaring start to the year for our 'fantastic stocks for 2019' portfolio, it has been a more testing time in recent months. We've faced earnings setbacks, fall-out from other stocks, and the pressures of a weaker global economic outlook.Fortunately we are still streets ahead, having delivered 61% outperformance versus the broader stock market as measured by the FTSE All-Share. We're up...

At the halfway point of the year our key selections for 2019 are doing superbly. Our average gain of 18.3% compares with an 11.2% gain for the FTSE All-Share over the same time period.Pleasingly not a single selection is in negative territory and four names are up by more than a quarter on our starting point. More than half the portfolio has enjoyed double-digit gains.WHICH IS THE BEST...

Newly-listed legal firm DWF (DWF) releases a confident trading update for the year to 30 April with a forecast of 'not less than 15%' revenue growth and earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) in line with its forecasts at the time of floating.Shares add 1.7% to 120.5p, bucking the weakness in the broader market and taking them back to just below the March 11...

UK markets open softer on Wednesday as with the FTSE 100 large-cap index easing back by 0.2% to 7,245 while the FTSE 250 mid-caps eases by 0.1% to 19,434. Most sectors are in the red bar Miners and Oil Producers with Food Retailers and Utilities each giving up over 1%.Tobacco giant Imperial Brands (IMB) reports a solid first half performance with net revenues up 2.5% to £3.66bn despite a 6.9%...

Our top picks of the year have got off to a great start with the portfolio up 14.1% versus 7.9% from the wider market. We've only suffered one profit warning and only two of the 10 stocks are in negative territory. Six of the stocks have delivered double-digit gains, so hopefully you are sharing our success with your own portfolio.The best performer is Fevertree Drinks (FEVR:AIM), up 36.9%...

Legal services firm DWF has confirmed plans to join the London stock market in what could be the largest legal services flotation. The firm first announced last June that it was interested in an IPO (initial public offering).Media reports speculate DWF will be valued at around £700m or 15 times 2018 profits but some observers expect it to push for a higher rating.While its quoted rivals can...

Keystone Law (KEYS:AIM) 400pGain to date: 8.1%Original entry price: Buy at 370p, 20 December 2018Shares in Top 100 'challenger' law firm Keystone Law (KEYS:AIM) traded sharply higher on 21 January after the company revealed that full year profits will be 'comfortably ahead of market expectations'.Keystone's platform model continues to attract experienced lawyers with new clients and strong...