Investor news is dominated by falling stock markets around the world amid escalating tension between Russia and Ukraine. That's hit countless stocks with exposure to the regions, as we detail in this article. Elsewhere, there's plenty of corporate announcements yet limited share price movement due to the bearish backdrop.Heading the fallers is Smiths News (NWS) where weak tradingin its books...

Follow buying by joint chief executive officer (CEO) Dennis Melka and cultivate a holding in Malaysian palm oil play Asian Plantations (PALM:AIM). The small cap may be ripe for the picking as a bid target at a premium take-out price.Since joining Aim in 2009, the £99.7 million cap has successfully acquired strategically attractive palm oil development land in Malaysia, where forest zoning...

The urge to merge is set to hit the corporate finance market this year with more money expected to be spent on mergers and acquisitions (M&A) than at any time since the financial crisis. Global deal-making figures are forecast to explode on the back of improving economic sentiment, cash-rich corporates and cheap debt.The market has started as it means to go on. The year is less than a month...

D-day for ComputacenterExpect a late flurry of work for Computacenter (CCC), the IT refresh supplier trading at 652.5p. Microsoft (MSFT:NDQ) releases its last security update for Windows XP in late April and it will pull the plug on support, prompting a swathe of businesses to finally upgrade. (SFr)MedicX's Reit decision Healthcare property investor MedicX Fund (MXF) will update the market in...

A downwards drift at Malaysian palm oil play Asian Plantations (PALM:AIM) offers an opportunity for value hunters. Next month's interims, for which a date is yet to be confirmed, should highlight growing third-party fresh fruit bunch (FFB) processing volumes, while additional upside catalysts include a crude palm oil (CPO) price recovery and the outside possibility of a bid.The Singapore-based...

Owning the right share at the right time, what investor could ask for more? In July the shareholders of media and communications group Aegis found themselves in just such a position.Management had accepted a £3.2 billion cash offer for the business from Japanese advertising and PR company Dentsu (4324:T). The 240p-a-share offer represented a 48% premium to Aegis' 162.2p closing price,...

Buy palm oil play Asian Plantations (PALM:AIM) ahead of potential upgrades to both production and revenue estimates which should foster fruitful share price gains. With an increase in revenues expected for 2013, the £107 million cap is strongly geared into a recovery in the crude palm oil (CPO) price while its attractive agricultural land-bank in Malaysia could even draw a bidder before too...