On a very quiet morning for corporate news investors attention is drawn to rising tensions in the Middle East after the US accused Iran of involvement in an apparent attack on two oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman yesterday.With safe havens in demand precious metals miner Fresnillo (FRES) gains 2.4%. The FTSE 100 retreats 0.3% to 7,346.96.Recruitment firm SThree (STHR) is up 3.6% on reporting a...

Oil services minnow Mycelx (MYX:AIM) is in free-fall - down 65.7% to 45p - as it warns challenging conditions in the sector will persist into the second half of the year and adds that a major project it hoped to win is not progressing.Its experience shows that even good technology can struggle to gain traction in a conservative industry - particularly when spending is being pared back. The...

A falling gold price and weakness in Asian markets adds to disappointment over updates from some of the big miners and this is putting pressure on the FTSE 100 - down 48.77 points at 6720.30.BHP Billiton (BLT) falls 3% to £12.13 as better-than-expected iron ore output is offset by weak commodity prices. BHP spin-off South32 (S32) continues to have a terrible time on the stock market, down a...

The UK is the perfect environment for nurturing new businesses. Private investors can get involved at a very early stage in a company's development through venture capital trusts (VCTs). The risks can be high, but so too the potential rewards.Start-ups are risky due to the long lead time involved in building up a company and the higher probability of failure. Their size also makes them more...

Around half of water technology specialist MyCelx's (MYX:AIM) future revenue growth is expected to come from recurring sales of consumable filters.Since these products entail very little extra overhead the company is operationally geared and this raises the prospect of earnings upgrades. At 500p the shares trade on 48.5 times 2014 consensus forecast earnings and 22.2 times for 2015. As such...

LEDs designer Dialight (DIA) is feeling the squeeze again with its obstruction lighting arm still under the cosh. New business for lights put on tall buildings, mobile masts and wind turbines, for example, have failed to materialise as hoped. This will hit full-year expectations. Dialight continues to see rapid 50%-plus growth on the industrial installation side, but investors mark the shares...

Genus croppedAnimal genetics specialist Genus (GNS) lost 10% of its value when its pre-tax profits dropped 30% to £38.1 million in the year to July. A 10% dividend rise to 16.1p per share highlights management's confidence in rising demand fuelled by good harvests. (MD)Fluid MycelxWater technology specialist Mycelx (MYX:AIM) could be in demand following next week's interims (16 Aug). Shares...