London's FTSE 100 was largely flat, though the FTSE 250 made a more sizeable move heading into Friday afternoon, as M&A activity continued.The FTSE 100 index added just 3.66 points to sit at 8,284.88. The FTSE 250 registered a more convincing 31.63 point gain, 0.2%, at 20,794.41, and the AIM All-Share added 1.49 points, 0.2%, at 732.40.The Cboe UK 100 rose 0.1% at 832.14, the Cboe UK 250 added...

Value market challengingHigh street market competitive for B2B salesOverheads increased by £1.3 millionShares in On The Beach (OTB) fell as much as 9% to 151p in morning trading as the online package holiday provider?s first-half results showed it is feeling the pressure from the cost-of-living crisis and competition on the UK High Street.It was not all ?doom and gloom? however, as the beach...

De-equitisation pace is ?relentless?AIM received largest number of bids last yearFund flow reverse ?can happen quickly?Broker Peel Hunt (PEEL:AIM) has warned that the ?relentless? pace of de-equitisation driven by depressed UK stock market valuations will likely continue unless action is taken and ?impacts quickly?.Low valuations are making the UK stock market an attractive hunting ground for...

Over the longer term, UK small caps have historically outperformed their larger cap brethren, but prevailing investor sentiment towards smaller companies remains poor due to stubborn inflation, higher interest rates and recessionary fears. It won't be like this all the time.One smart way to gain exposure to the asset class ahead of an eventual rally, with a turn in inflation among the likely...

- Deal to create the largest mid-market broker- Firms react to 'challenging' capital markets- Shareholders to own new firm 50/50UK broking firms Cenkos (CNKS:AIM) and FinnCap (FNCP:AIM) surprised the market with the news they had agreed to merge in an all-share deal valuing the combined business at around £42 million.Shares in Cenkos gained 1.4p or 3.5% to 40.4p while FinnCap shares were flat...

At 4.36pm on 10 August, industrial thread manufacturer Coats (COA) announced its second acquisition in as many months. Not only was this unusual behaviour in that Coats rarely buys companies, but it also asked retail investors for financial help.Historically Coats has relied upon bank debt for financing and used that money, along with internally generated cash, for deals.The fact retail...

UK stocks rallied on Wednesday, regaining much of the previous day's losses along with European and US markets as fears surrounding the latest Covid strain eased.Travel and leisure stocks International Consolidated Airlines (IAG) and Whitbread (WTB) traded higher, while energy stocks BP (BP.) and Royal Dutch Shell (RDSB) were also well bid as oil prices rebounded.Telecom firm BT (BT.A) was...

UK stocks rallied on Wednesday despite US stocks falling overnight after Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell suggested inflation was no longer transitory and hinted that tapering of financial stimulus would have to go ahead no matter the impact of the Omicron variant of Covid-19.Travel and leisure stocks International Consolidated Airlines (IAG) and Whitbread (WTB) were the top performers,...

London's FTSE 100 firmed 1.24% to 7,146.73 points early on Wednesday, despite US stocks falling overnight after Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell suggested inflation wasn't transitory after all and hinted that tapering of financial stimulus would have to go ahead no matter the impact of the Omicron variant of Covid-19.Although the combination of a Covid-related knock to growth, reduction in...