Stock prices in London and Frankfurt were higher at Tuesday midday, as investors wait for US trade balance data, with US house price index data to follow. Asked whether the power cut there had triggered a fear that British infrastructure could be affected in the same way, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper told Sky News that the UK has a 'continued approach' to 'resilience' and 'security issues'....

Considering companies which invest in insolvency litigation cases are meant to be anti-cyclical, winning when the economy goes into a downturn, by rights Manolete Partners (MANO:AIM) should have cleaned up during the pandemic as the number of struggling businesses soared.However, much to the firm's chagrin, the opposite scenario unfolded - tens of thousands of struggling firms were saved from...

As 2022 draws to a close amid continuing market volatility Shares has canvassed leading fund managers to find out where they have been finding the best opportunities.Jamie Ross - Henderson Eurotrust (Hne)LOOKING OUT FOR BOMBED-OUT GROWTH STOCKSWe have spent the last 12 months trying to find opportunities within the growthier area of the market - our favoured part of the market and the part of...

- Firm suffers 'adverse ruling' on 2019 case- First half losses seen at £5 million- Underlying trading well ahead of last yearShares in litigation finance provider Manolete (MANO:AIM) plunged 15% to 213p, close to a 12-month low, after the firm warned it would report a first half loss of around £5 million.Roughly half of the loss is due to the write-down of the full value of one large case...

The third quarter 'Red Flag Report' on UK corporate financial health from insolvency and advisory firm Begbies Traynor (BEG:AIM) shows fewer businesses in what it calls 'significant financial distress' than the second quarter, but warns of a rise in creditors chasing companies through the courts which it says 'paints a gloomy picture' for future insolvencies.The report, which began in 2004 and...

It's been a relatively quiet week in terms of directors buying and selling shares in their respective companies, but there a few deals which have caught the eye.FTSE 250 software company Kainos (KNOS) has continued to have a strong run in recent months after its shares bounced back significantly from the market selloff in March 2020, and it seems senior business development executive Paul...

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...

Shares in litigation finance provider Burford Capital (BUR:AIM) leapt 16% to 726p on Thursday, taking gains for the week to almost 23%, after the firm reported 'significant realisations' and cash receipts for the half-year to June.Burford-only realisations rose 40% to $478 million, well above market expectations, while group-wide realisations rose 32% to $820 million.Notably, there was no...

Shares in AIM-listed insolvency litigation funding firm Manolete Partners (MANO:AIM) rallied 10% to 560p after it revealed a surge in revenues and earnings for the year to the end of March and doubled its full year dividend.In its first year as a listed company, Manolete delivered a 36% increase in revenues to £18.7 million and a similar increase in earnings before interest and taxation...

UK markets began trading very slowly on what will be a US-free Friday session because of the Independence Day holiday, with company news typically light on the ground.This followed a firm rally for Asian shares overnight on robust US payrolls data and a brisk pickup in Chinese service sector activity, but a surge in coronavirus cases in the United States kept a lid on stronger gains.But the...

While no firm wants to be seen publicly to be 'having a good crisis', given the gravity of the threat to the economy and public health from coronavirus, the fact is some firms are doing rather well despite, or in some cases as a result of, the pandemic.Some have been in the right place at the right time - think of healthcare, sanitation and hygiene firms - while others have been less obvious...

Insolvency litigation finance specialist Manolete Partners (MANO:AIM) revealed it had seen a strong uptick in new signed cases and enquiries in the first four months of the year, sending its shares up 8% to 480p on higher than average trading volumes.New signed cases were above prior-year levels in each of the first four months, totalling 58 by the end of April compared with 27 a year ago,...

UK stocks traded sideways on Monday as concerns over the financial health of aerospace firm Rolls-Royce (RR.) and travel and leisure stocks were offset by a general rise in pharmaceutical and healthcare stocks.By 8.45am the FTSE 100 index was flat at 5,768 points, significantly outperforming European markets - many of which were closed on Friday for a bank holiday - which were down between 3%...

AIM-listed insolvency litigation finance firm Manolete (MANO:AIM), named after a famous bullfighter from Cordoba, delivered an impressive set of half-year results with a higher number of investments in new cases in the six months to the end of September than in the whole of the prior year.Revenues for the first six months were up 15% to £7.5m while gross profits were up 50% to £6.6m. A total...

London's FTSE 100 gave up 49.2 points to trade at 7,213.3 early on Thursday with investors growing tired of the lack of progress with US/China trade talks and the Federal Reserve's latest meeting minutes showed it is in no hurry to make further interest rate cuts in the US.CENTRICA REMAINS ON TRACKUnloved energy giant Centrica (CAN) rallied 4.5% to 75.96p after leaving its full year outlook...

The FTSE100 is nudging higher after a report in the South China Post hinted that the US and China had reached a tentative truce in their on-going trade dispute. The index of the top 100 shares gains three points to 7,419 in early trade.Banks, builders and miners are leading the index, up 0.72%, 0.63% and 0.95% respectively, while tobacco, down 1.2%, and personal goods, down 0.82%, are a drag...

Shares in legal services business Anexo (ANX:AIM) rally 5% to 139p after the firm reports its maiden set of full year results as a listed company.Revenues for the 12 months to 31 December are up 25% to £56.5m while operating profits before listing costs are up 14% to £17.2m, ahead of expectations as the company flagged in January.Anexo combines a credit hire business and a wholly-owned legal...

Shares in litigation finance firm Burford Capital (BUR:AIM) are flying high, up 15% to £14.98 after the firm announced that it had secured funding for $1.6bn (£1.25bn) in new investments.The money is coming from three sources: an unnamed sovereign wealth fund (SWF), a new private investment fund and Burford's own reserves.To begin with Burford has formed a strategic relationship with an SWF...

The FTSE 100 starts lower this morning after weak Chinese data overnight and as Theresa May shows little sign of making any progress with the EU as she looks to save her Brexit deal.Early on the index is down 1% at 6,811.16.On the corporate front, we are clearly winding down for Christmas now with only a handful of announcements out.Three pretty disparate companies help warm up a cold morning...