With the UK economy seemingly headed for a 'soft landing' and interest rates set to fall at some point this year, more adventurous investors will be looking to add a little more risk to their portfolios.Given the UK market, and the mid-cap space in particular, is widely acknowledged to be cheap, the passive option would be to buy a mid-cap ETF (exchange-traded fund) such as the iShares FTSE 250 (M

One of the UK market's biggest corporate splits in years is about to happen, with GSK (GSK) demerging its consumer healthcare business called Haleon. The latter should become a FTSE 100 company and give investors exposure to some of the best-known brands in toothpaste, painkillers and more.This article will give you the essential details on Haleon and its prospects. But if you're still unsure what

Mining tycoon Sir Mick Davis, the ex-chief of former FTSE 100 miner Xstrata, is back on the comeback trail in the industry after raising $300 million for his new mining venture with a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) in the US.Davis, one of the mining industry's most well-known figures, has partnered his Vision Blue Resources company with New York-listed ESM to look for mining ventures p

UK and European stocks are holding their ground in early trading on Thursday after falls in stock markets in Asia. China's benchmark Shanghai Composite index earlier hit a 4-year low as fears of a damaging trade war linger.After their best day in six months on Tuesday, US stocks finished modestly lower last night following minutes from the Federal Reserve which confirmed market expectations of mor

Demergers are back in fashion with five companies in the FTSE 350 index each preparing to split into two separately-listed entities. Another one has just completed its split and there are rumours that a further FTSE 350 stock could spin off one of its businesses.Unbundled companies often flourish because they have the freedom to be more entrepreneurial and not be part of a larger company where man

Australian-based mining and metals company South32 (S32) has sealed a deal to acquire the remaining 83% stake of Arizona Mining for $1.3bn in cash.South32, previously demerged from BHP Billiton (BLT), has offered C$6.20 per share for the remaining shares it doesn't already own in Arizona.The price represents a 50% premium to the Arizona Mining's closing price on Friday, implying a total equity val

The FTSE 100 is down slightly by 7 points to 7,627 as trade war fears are once again brought to the fore. Also German chancellor Angela Merkel's stance over her open door immigration policy has put her in a precarious position which is weighing on investor sentiment.Miner South32 (S32) which spun out of mining behemoth BHP Biliton (BLT) gains 1.2% to 214.2p on news it is acquiring Arizona Mining f

Grandparents looking to set money aside for their grandchildren have a wealth of options available to them. From Junior ISAs to children's pensions and even Premium Bonds, there are a number of ways to help young relatives to start saving.Among the most popular are Junior ISAs, which were introduced in 2011 to replace Child Trust Funds and provide a tax-free place to save for young people.Parents

We're bang in the middle of corporate results season with many of the UK's largest quoted companies issuing their latest financial results.The main themes have been large earnings beats or misses and investors continuing to be very focused on dividend payments.THUMBS UP FROM THE MARKETLloyds' (LLOY) shares rose by 2.8% to 69.72p on 21 February despite missing consensus forecasts for its pre-tax pr

Investors may be disappointed with no annual dividend growth from FTSE 100 bank HSBC (HSBA) despite it reporting a stronger capital position.The bank's common equity tier 1 ratio, a measure of the ability of the balance sheet to withstand economic shocks, has jumped to 14.5% from 13.6% a year ago.HSBC has decided to maintain its dividend at $0.51 per share. That puts the shares at 729.4p on a 5% d

A new mining charter in South Africa is more onerous than expected and implies that companies could have a reduced share of profit and suffer higher costs.Miners have 12 months to ensure a black economic empowerment (BEE) group owns at least 30% of their mining assets in South Africa, up from the previous 26% rule. Miners must also pay 1% of turnover from local assets to the BEE partner, as a way

Last year's 100%+ hike in the value of the FTSE 350 mining index seems a long distant memory. A recent pullback in commodity prices has resulted in a sea of red for anyone watching the share prices of miners on their screen. Is this cause for panic or just a natural pullback?'Based on our meetings and calls with investors in the UK and Europe over the past two weeks, we conclude that sentiment reg

Coal to manganese miner South32 (S32) has staged a dramatic recovery in earnings over the past year, as evident by impressive half year results. The company has moved from a loss to profit, dramatically improved free cash flow and reported its first interim dividend.The company generated $626m free cash flow in the six months to 31 December 2016, ending the calendar year on an $859m net cash posit

MARKET CAP £1bn and aboveANGLO AMERICAN +287%Few people would have predicted a year ago that 2016's best large cap performers on the stock market would be mining stocks. Fast forward a year and the evidence is clear - eight of the top 10 top risers are commodity producers.Anglo American (AAL) was one of the most heavily-shorted stocks in 2015 amid concerns about its huge debt pile and poor busine

There is growing talk that FTSE 100 miner Anglo American (AAL) is trying to demerge or sell its South African coal and iron ore businesses. It has already announced plans to focus primarily on diamonds, platinum and copper.Anglo's share price has risen 284% year to date thanks to improving commodity prices and a reduction in the miner's costs. 'A restructuring for Anglo could lead to further near-

Spin-off group takes the market by stormCoal-to-manganese miner South32 (S32) has outperformed its former parent company BHP Billiton (BLT) by 130% so far this year on the London stock market, according to Google Finance data. South32's spending has fallen, cash generation has risen and the balance sheet strengthened. BHP spun out various assets in 2015 to create the standalone business.

The coking coal price has risen more than 150% so far this year, making it the best performing commodity. It is fair to say that no-one predicted such a surge, with most of the gains having happened since July. There could be merit in adding some coal producers to your portfolio despite market commentators saying the price has peaked at circa $200 per tonne.Investment bank Jefferies says the outlo

The FTSE slips 41 points to 6,794 amid several blue chips going ex-dividend including Prudential (PRU), London Stock Exchange (LSE) and Taylor Wimpey (TW.).Ongoing strength in the Americas region puts a shine on CRH's (CRH) first half results and sends the shares up 3.9% to £25.64. The FTSE 100 construction group has upgraded its guidance for deleveraging the balance sheet thanks to strong levels

Investing in spin-offs is a bit like dining at a high-end restaurant, according to investor Joel Greenblatt, chief investment officer at Gotham Funds.Go to an average pub and the menu will be extensive. But your chance of picking a really outstanding dish is pretty low - and the prospects of ordering something terrible is a possibility.Wading through a wide choice of mostly unattractive options is

Changes to a complex deal between Tullett Prebon (TPLR) and ICAP (IAP) result in a transaction that now looks like a reverse spin-off of ICAP's financial technology business.Tullett Prebon shares which were to be issued to ICAP under the deal will now be passed through to ICAP's shareholders.In an announcement after the close yesterday (21 June), ICAP said it would no longer retain the 19.9% stake