Even today?s market giants started out small. Microsoft (MSFT:NASDAQ) may now be the world?s largest company with a $3 trillion valuation which rivals the GDP of some major global economies but it began life as a start-up founded by Harvard College drop-out Bill Gates and his childhood friend Paul Allen. Few then would have predicted its global domination today.While we are not expecting the names

After a strong 2022 as energy prices surged in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the UK's contingent of UK small and mid-cap oil and gas companies has endured a much more challenging time in 2023. Windfall taxes have taken a big bite out of profits and commodity markets have fallen back as fears of recession dampen demand expectations.Facing the prospect of an unstable and more onerous fis

- Open letter expresses 'unmitigated disgust' with Serica's proposed acquisition of Tailwind Energy- Writer claims entities he manages have a beneficial interest of 1.3 million shares- Company had hailed the deal as 'increasing scale and diversity of asset base'An open letter was published online this morning voicing strong criticism of Serica Energy's (SQZ:AIM) £367 million acquisition of fellow

As investors debate whether the next move in markets is up or down, it's worth noting that there are a group of stocks which are quietly making new 52-week and multi-year highs and even a few making new all-time highs.While some are involved in special situations, such as bid talks, and some are related to the unprecedented surge in energy prices, the most interesting from our point of view are th

A healthy number of lesser-known businesses have done very well in share price terms since coming to market in the last two years, with price appreciation reflecting strong operational performances or the fact they sate voracious investor appetite for a particular theme.Readers will be familiar with high-profile post-pandemic newcomers on the London Stock Exchange (LSGE) trading above their issue

Geopolitical ructions and rising interest rates have seemingly failed to stem the appetite for global takeover activity according to analysis from consultants Earnest & Young (EY).And the UK financial services industry recorded a seven-year high of 136 deals in in the first half of 2022, although their £8.6 billion combined value was 18% down on 2021 levels.While a recent survey of UK M&A profess

A potential merger between North Sea gas producers Kistos (KIST:AIM) and its larger peer Serica Energy (SQZ:AIM) could create a FTSE 250 outfit with wider strategic importance.Russia's invasion of Ukraine and its recent renewed threat to cut off gas supplies to Europe, plus the role of gas as a bridge between more polluting fossil fuels and renewables as countries advance their net zero ambitions,

The euro fell to parity against the dollar on Tuesday morning, amid concern about recession in Europe and expectations that interest rates will continue to diverge from the US.The gloom spread to stock prices as well, with London and continental exchanges all suffering losses.The FTSE 100 index was down 30.59 points, or 0.4%, at 7,166.00. The FTSE 250 index was down 123.43 points, or 0.7%, at 18,7

Oil and gas investor Kistos (KIST:AIM) has revealed plans for a £1 billion tie-up with its larger rival Serica Energy (SQZ:AIM).London-based energy industry investor Kistos said its proposed combination terms valued Serica at 382p per share or a 25% premium to yesterday's closing share price of 305p.Kistos is offering 0.2932 new Kistos shares and 246p in cash for each Serica share. Under the term

We might have thought we'd seen it all after 2020 but it's been quite a year in 2021 too with an impressive rebound for the markets from the ravages of the pandemic.But which stocks have done best? Read on to discover the top performers up and down the market cap spectrum and find out why they've done so well. For the purposes of this article we've deliberately excluded investment trusts.£4 billi

While the pledge to hit net zero targets by oil and gas majors BP (BP.) and Royal Dutch Shell (RDSB) may have captured the headlines over the past 18 months or so, the push for more ESG-focused strategies is permeating further down the industry food chain.In most of this author's recent discussions with companies in the sector, the ESG (environmental, social and governance) angle has been brought