The FTSE 100 starts a smidge higher on Wednesday at 7,203.64 with gains in the mining sector offset by weak utilities. Sterling is fairly steady ahead of a series of votes by MPs later to try and find a consensus on Brexit.Ailing department store Debenhams (DEB) jumps 52% after Mike Ashley's Sports Direct (SPD) proposes a takeover bid worth £61.4m. Sports Direct rose 0.4%. The deal would be...

The FTSE 100 trades higher at the start of the week, with a weaker pound on continuing Brexit uncertainty and renewed US-China trade hopes lifting the index. In early deals the FTSE is up nearly 1% to 7,138.29.Gold miner Acacia Mining (ACA) builds 1.3% to 194.7p, as it swings to an annual profit and forecasts a broadly flat production performance in 2019.Takeaways platform Just Eat (JE.) gains...

Healthcare ingredients developer OptiBiotix Health (OPTI:AIM) plans to spin-out its anti-infection creams business SkinBiotherapeutics. The latter will become a separately-listed AIM company that can independently raise growth funding from its own set of investors. The float is pencilled in for 5 April when SkinBiotherapeutics will seek to raise £3m of initial funding.This is part of a...

Obesity is becoming an increasingly big issue for governments and businesses.In Europe, 15.9% of people over the age of 18 are classified as obese.Scotland is considering enforcing parking restrictions to get people to walk more, while France recently banned unlimited fizzy drinks in restaurants.Life sciences business Optibiotix (OPTI:AIM) aims to capitalise on our over-indulgence by...

The rise in the number of children living with type-2 diabetes is an indicator of increasing demand for healthcare across the board. The lifestyle-related illness now affects 533 under 17-year-olds in England and Wales, up from 500 a year ago, the Local Government Association says.This might seem an insignificant number in a population of 56 million people but the issue is not the volume of...

London stocks retreat from yesterday's heady gains in early trade on Thursday as traders clear profits from resources and financials, with property issues of all trending lower. The FTSE 100 index slides around 20 points lower to 6,342, largely matching the mixed mood across Europe's leading bourses despite a modestly positive close on Wall Street overnight.Corporate news is to some extent...

Few industries have stronger investment drivers than pharmaceuticals and biotechnology. The rewards can be significant for investors who back the company that discovers the next wonder drug. For example, US outfit AbbVie (ABBV:NYSE) collected $12.5 billion in revenue in 2014 from Humira, a treatment for inflammatory conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis.The risks are proportionately high, so...

Dixon in major US pushDixons Carphone (DC.) is to strengthen its position in the US market after deciding to roll out a joint venture with mobile network operator Sprint from 15 to 500 stores. It will invest up to $32 million to get a 50% stake in the venture; the cash will be used to fund the roll-out and operation of the stores. (DC)TUI extends Tunisia banTour operator TUI (TUI) has extended...

London stocks are trading flat in early trade on Friday following fairly uninspiring sessions in the US and Asia and with remarks from central bankers filling some of the vacuum. The FTSE 100 barely moves, stuck at 6,330, while FTSE 250 midcaps and smaller companies are also similarly unmoved.In an otherwise quiet day for corporate news, Imperial Tobacco (IMT) gains 2.4% to £35.77, and is the...

UK shares remain largely flat in early trade on Tuesday as investors await a report that is expected to show a slowdown in UK construction activity growth. The Markit/CIPS UK construction purchasing mangers' index is estimated to fall to 58.8 in October, from 59.9 a month earlier. The benchmark FTSE 100 index is largely unchanged from yesterday's close at 6,359, while London midcaps and...

London shares shrug-off expectations of a lower start to make steady gains in early trade on Wednesday, with miners making strong gains on commodity price speculation. The blue-chip FTSE 100 index rallies 50-points, or 0.8%, to 6,376 dragging midcaps and smaller company indexes along for the ride. The FTSE 250 is up 0.13% at 17,155, while the FTSE Small Cap index rises 0.3% to 4,610.Mining...

London shares post modest gains in early trade on Monday as investor's appetite for risk returns and a series of important corporate announcements. The benchmark FTSE 100 index rises around 20 points, or 0.3%, to 6,798, with similar gains registered across the FTSE 250 midcaps and FTSE All-Share indexes.Sporting goods retailer Sports Direct (SPD) heads the blue-chips leader board with a 2.5%...

London stocks loss early gains as caution once again grips UK stock markets with the mood still dominated by the delicate state of the negotiations between Greece and its creditors. Having ticked up first thing the FTSE 100 index drifts back modestly, with little in the way of corporate news to stimulate interest, the blue-chips nudging around 14 points lower to 6,776.The midcaps FTSE 250 and...

Functional food ingredient and supplement developer OptiBiotix Health (OPTI:AIM) is on the verge of agreeing commercial deals that could help bring the products in its pipeline to market.The company, which develops compounds to tackle metabolic diseases such as obesity, high cholesterol and diabetes, is in the latter stages of discussions that management believe could deliver a significant...

As the FTSE 100 edges another 2.68 points higher to 6,900.81, embattled soft drinks colossus Coca-Cola HBC (CCH), the second biggest bottler for Coca-Cola (KO:NYSE), cheapens 3.9% to £11.33 on full-year and fourth quarter results lacking fizz. The disappointing results reflect volatile market conditions and currency headwinds, though the Switzerland-headquartered beverages group does at least...

An overnight rally on Wall Street and gains across Asian markets puts UK investors in positive mood in early trading on Wednesday, pushing London share prices higher. The benchmark FTSE 100 index is trading 40 points up, or roughly 0.6%, at 6,660 thanks to a swathe opf positive corporate announcements, although mid cap progress capped, the FTSE 250 nudging just 24 points higher, 0.15%, to...

London stocks nudge modestly higher in trading on Tuesday, bobbing around levels not seen since late September. The FTSE 100 makes single-digit gains at 6,619 aided by a strong rally by Vodafone (VOD) and in blue-chip property stocks.The UK mobile giant heads the Footsie leader board as interim results show consumers demanding ever more data, helping revenues rise 8.9% to £20.8 billion,...