London's FTSE 100 firms 18.7 points to trade at 7,197.8 on Wednesday, boosted by share price gains from the banking and mining sectors, while markets across mainland Europe and Asia also take a step forward.Supermarket J Sainsbury (SBRY) slumps 15.3% to 244p as the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) says its planned £7.3bn takeover of Walmart-owned Asda could push up prices and reduce the qu

Deep value investing involves buying bargain basement shares inthe hope they will eventually move back to their intrinsic value. It is a strategy that has forged the reputations of some of the world's greatest investors.Value investing can be highly volatile and takes a lot of patience; hence many fund managers shy away from it. However, current practitioners include Kevin Murphy and Nick Kirrage,

One of the longer term holdings in the SVS Church House Deep Value Fund (B79XM02), Enteq Upstream (NTQ:AIM) 'came back to life with a bang during April', according to portfolio manager Jeroen Bos (pictured below).At 32.5p, Enteq's shares are up 33% on the 24.5p average paid during 2014, although they've recently been as high as 40p for a 63% paper gain and Bos believes this stock 'should do very w

Oil rig refurbishment and construction outfit Lamprell (LAM) slumps 8.4% to 92.75p as it says 2017 revenue will be at the lower end of the guided range of $400m to $500m.For 2016 revenue of around $700m is expected, down from 2015's $871.1m and below consensus forecasts for around $750m.LAGGING RECOVERYThe update from the company is a reminder that oil services companies typically experience a lag

London shares slump into the red for a third straight day in early trade on Tuesday as ongoing concerns about Greece are added to but a hefty sell-off in China and caution ahead of inflation data.The FTSE 100 index is trading around 35 points lower, or 0.5%, at 6,675 early on, after hitting a three-month closing low of 6,710.52 on Monday.Midcaps and the wider market are similarly off, the FTSE 250

Value hunters are quickly chased out of UK markets after a promising opening to Thursday trade, with leading indices extending a four-day losing streak. Confidence is not being helped by overnight falls on Wall Street and ongoing crude price pressure.The benchmark FTSE 100 index slides 0.3% lower to 6,374, led by a 3.6% fall to £28.27 by Imperial Tobacco (IMP), the biggest Footsie fallers in earl

Supermarkets giant Tesco (TSCO) ticks 3.7% higher to 296.8p, despite delivering disappointing annual figures to 22 February with taxable profits down 6.9% at £3.05 billion. Losing share to the hard discounters and other rivals in a polarising market, UK like-for-like sales at Britain's biggest retailer fell 1.4% excluding VAT and petrol, a decline that isn't as bad as many analysts feared. Worrie

Downgraded earnings estimates and an uncertain outlook for the price of crude mean the oil services sector does not look like a compelling value opportunity even after its significant underperformance of the broader market in 2013. A selective approach is necessary and investors need to be wary of companies which are chasing growth for its own sake. Small-cap names have probably already travelled

51.5pLoss to date: 10.4%We retain our faith in Enteq Upstream (NTQ:AIM) even if the shares are taking a battering after last week's (21 Nov) interim results. Selected at 57.5p, (see Plays, Shares, 26 Sep) the oil services minnow unveiled lower-than-expected gross margins and increased costs. Even though the figures overall met consensus, house broker Investec cut its forecast earnings per share (E

Mother and baby specialist Mothercare (MTC) nurtures a 2.6% gain to 425p as interim figures meet expectations and there's an encouraging strategic update on its loss-making UK business. The £365 million cap reports a return to half-year profit, swinging from £1.8 million losses to £2 million of underlying taxable profits for the six months to 12 October, although UK like-for-like sales stayed i

There are almost 100 companies quoted in London set to convert a loss into a taxable profit in their current financial years. However, not all profits are of the same quality and investors need to look carefully at what is driving growth to limit the chances of any gains disappearing shortly after they arrive.Of all the companies poised to return to the black perhaps the part state-owned banks ar

A pre-close interim trading update , scheduled for some point in October, should show an improvement in trading for oil services minnow Enteq Upstream (NTQ:AIM).A 12-month, 52.1% decline in the share price creates an attractive entry opportunity ahead of this imminent catalyst while the long-term investment case is underpinned by a buy-and-build growth story. Based on house broker Investec's March