We're making a bold contrarian call on private label household-to-personal care products supplier McBride (MCB) following a pair of profit warnings earlier this year.Restructuring has left it a much simpler business with a clearer focus and one that is more attractive to retail partners. There is also private equity interest in the private label operator space.Its stock trades on a mere 9.2...

The FTSE 100 opens in an upbeat manner, starting the day 31 points higher at 7,646.98. The UK's leading index is following the US where the Dow Jones continues to hit new highs. However, all eyes are on the World Economic Forum held in Davos, where President Trump is making his maiden speech.In corporate news, National Grid (NG.) improves 1.5% to 807.5p thanks to an upgrade by investment bank...

Bank of England governor Mark Carney's hint earlier that interest rates could start rising by the 'turn of the year' is unlikely to dampen the attraction of equities as a core source of income for a considerable amount of time.Any rise in the base rate from the 0.5% at which it has been held for more than six years is expected to be modest with some believing it could take three years to reach...

UK stocks modestly extend gains in early trade on Monday, once again nudging towards record highs. Having surged 160-odd points on Friday in the wake of the Conservative's shock election victory, the FTSE 100 today edges another 20 points up to 7,067.Royal Mail (RMG) leads the blue chips up with a 2% gain to 488.55p, while accounting IT supplier Sage (SGE) closely follows, 1.8% higher at...

Latham (James) (LTHM:AIM) 577.5pSheet and hardwood supplier Latham has been consistently profitable for the past 10 years, more than doubling operating profit in the same period. The Hemel Hempstead-based company is expected to grow earnings per share 19% to 39.5p this year.Leaf Clean Energy (LEAF:AIM) 34pRenewable energy investor Leaf Clean is a closed-end fund in run-off. At a meeting in...

Pharmaceutical group Shire (SHP) leads the FTSE 100 lower as it falls more than 3.5% to £46.98, valuing the business at £27.6 billion. That's still 12% below the recently recommended takeover offer from US rival AbbVie.Ukraine-focused iron ore group Ferrexpo (FXPO) delivers a strong jump in profits in the first half despite the wider geopolitical crisis, with its bottom line helped by the...

Tangent hit by profit dipInvestors should not be put off by a 9% sell-off in the wake of Tangent Communications' (TNG: AIM) first-quarter trading update (24 Jun). A profits decline at the restructured Snowball agency should not come as a great surprise and focus should remain on continued strong trading at www.printed.com, a provider of business cards, leaflets and other promotional material....

British engineering giant Rolls-Royce (RR.) jumps 6.7% to £10.78 after earnings guidance for this year and 2015 isn't as bad as feared. It has confirmed plans for a £1 billion share buyback following the sale of its energy business; that move should boost 2015 earnings per share by 5%. The engineer also says no material acquisitions are planned, thereby removing market concerns that it would...

With the FTSE 100 off 19.38 points at 6,758.5, as concerns over the impact of higher oil prices on global growth due to violence in Iraq as well as fears UK interest rate rises may come sooner than expected, artificial joints giant Smith & Nephew (SN.) slips 2.5% to £10.44. Weakness follows the news Medtronic, the US firm which had been seen as a predator for the knee and hip replacement...

Secondary commercial property is set to generate higher returns this year than prime assets for the first time since the financial crisis. As the UK bounces back this section of the real estate market, that is, property located in the country's regional towns and small cities and dotted in and around London, should rebound from highly depressed levels.Expert in the field DTZ forecasts 2014...

The total return offered by secondary properties, located in the country's regional towns and small cities, is set to outperform those generated by prime assets in the UK's major metropolitan areas, according to property services specialist DTZ. To play this trend we flag Palace Capital (PCA:AIM) although we don't rule out prime plays entirely and believe British Land (BLND) should be...

Real estate's time has come once again. The industry was one of the hardest hit when banks withdrew their support following 2007's financial crisis and many companies only survived the double-dip recession that followed through assets sales and by the support of their shareholders. The industry is making headlines again, but this time for the right reasons.Growth in the property market has...

Commercial property investor Palace Capital (PCA:AIM) is primed to declare its maiden dividend next year after completing a transformational deal.The company has bought a portfolio of 23 secondary properties spread across the UK, along with a further asset in Leeds. Management believes the purchases will help fund a 6% return to its shareholders next year.Palace, which specialises in secondary...