Stocks in London, Paris and Frankfurt were down at midday Monday, as producer price inflation data from the US, to be out Tuesday, was nearing.In disappointing news for Chancellor Rachel Reeves, a survey of UK chief financial officers by consultancy Deloitte found a net 26% felt more pessimistic about their businesses than they did three months ago. However, sentiment is still well above the lows

Identifying genuine growth stories is not easy but can be extremely rewarding. Nvidia (NVDA:NASDAQ) may be the ultimate growth stock example now but who was flagging its potential 10 years ago when revenue and profit was just a fraction of what it is today and when the widespread application of AI was still restricted to think pieces in periodicals. Some did catch on early and would have enjoyed e

Optima Health (OPT:AIM) 164.5pMarket Cap: £146.1 millionAs the UK's leading occupational health provider, Optima Health (OPT:AIM) is uniquely positioned to consolidate a fragmented market via bolt-on acquisitions as well as delivering organic growth faster than the underlying market.Analysts at RBC Capital Markets believe Optima Health's buy-and-build strategy can deliver a 23% compound annual gr

HarbourVest Global Private Equity(HVPE) £23.10Market cap: £1.75 billion The markets haven't been kind to private equity and other 'long-duration' investments over the last couple of years as high interest rates hammered their valuations, but with the global rate cycle now turning we believe money is poised to flow back into these assets.HarbourVest Global Private Equity (HVPE) is a $4.3 billion

Firm to power Tesco Clubcard ChallengesOne-year contract with option to renewEagle Eye?s sales rose 20% in H1Technology tiddler Eagle Eye Solutions (EYE:AIM) has secured a new contract with Tesco (TSCO) for personalised promotions, exciting news which sent shares in the UK SaaS (software-as-a-service) firm up 9% to 510p on Monday.While no financial details were disclosed, house broker Shore Capita

Gaming Realms (GMR:AIM) 31.6pMarket cap: £93.4 millionFor the uninitiated, Gaming Realms (GMR:AIM) is a leading business-to-business licensor and distributor of games to the regulated gaming market.The company owns the IP (intellectual property) to the Slingo brand, one of the most popular formats of games played online.As the name suggests the format is a mash-up of slots and bingo. The game in

Although Pinewood Technologies (PINE), the SAAS (software-as-a-service) provider to motor dealers, may not seem familiar to UK investors at first glance, it is simply the rump of the old Pendragon business following the sale of the UK motor and leasing division to North American dealership group Lithia (LAD:NYSE).The shares have risen 140% over the last year after Lithia had to hike its offer from

Bumper special dividend on wayHigh gross margins and recurring revenuesHuge growth potential in USCar seller-turned-software-as-a-service firm Pinewood Technologies (PINE) has confirmed its plan to reward shareholders with a bumper capital return following the recent sale of its lower margin UK motor and leasing business to North American dealerships group Lithia (LAD:NYSE).As pledged last year, P

Database and software giant a major player in new AI worldPowerful innovation at heart of investment story$15-plus billion revenue boost over next few yearsIt's been a quite a ride for Oracle (ORCL:NYSE) this year, shares in the database monster rallying 22% so far even after September's sharp rebasing. That's twice the return of the S&P 500 although not quite as strong as the Nasdaq Composite's 2

Sale of UK motor and leasing businesses agreedPendragon to rebrand as Pinewood Technologies16.5p per share payout plannedShares in Pendragon (PDG) sped 25% higher to 23.1p after the small cap car retailer struck a deal that can only be described as a takeover with a twist.Rather than being bought in its entirety, Pendragon is selling its UK motor retail and leasing operation to North American play

Evercore ISI analysts hike target by $50 to $650Consensus predicts company could nearly double in three yearsStock has surged 3,009% since 2012 IPOAnalysts see AI (artificial intelligence) as a major lever of future growth for ServiceNow (NOW:NYSE), the $114 billion digital productivity and workflow management platform.Over the past couple of decades software delivery has changed hugely, shifting

In less than 25 years Salesforce (CRM:NYSE) has become a giant of the global software industry and an iconic Silicon Valley name.Valued at $206 billion, it is the thirty-second largest company on the S&P 500, and according to Fortune's latest surveys, ranks eighth in the world's 100 best companies to work for, and eleventh on the most admired companies in the world.All well and good, but what sort

Transport technology specialist Journeo (JNEO:AIM) is seeing the momentum behind its earnings feed into a strong share price performance. The stock market minnow is up more than 34% over the last six months.On 28 March Journeo, which provides a range of technical and data-related solutions to rail, bus and coach operators, reported underlying profit up 100% to £1.2 million on revenue up 35% to £

ChatGPT is the hot topic around the world. It's therefore no surprise investors are now wondering whether generative AI (artificial intelligence) is the next big thing in technology, and if so, which companies are best positioned to ride it.After years of research, it appears AI is reaching a tipping point, capturing the imaginations of everyone from students saving time on their essay writing to

- $75 million acquisition of US customer support platform- Shares fall after strong run and overpaid concerns- Combined businesses provide compelling offer to clientsCreative services provider to the video gaming industry Keywords Studios (KWS:AIM) has agreed to buy Helpshift Inc, an innovative consumer-facing digital support platform for up to $75 million.Despite CEO Bertrand Bodson insisting the

- Instem wins largest ever contract worth $12 million- Demonstrates adoption of cloud-based services- Increases margins and visibility of revenuesIT solutions provider to the life sciences industry Instem (INS:AIM) announced its largest ever contract win on Friday worth a minimum of $12 over the next five years, helping the shares gain 7.2% to 670p.The client is a global CRO (contract research org

- Company is growing ahead of markets- Recurring revenues and earnings ahead of target- More earnings-enhancing acquisitions to comeCompliance services and software firm Marlowe (MRL:AIM) posted a sharp increase in revenues and earnings for the year to March.The main contribution came from acquisitions, although organic sales growth was also respectable and the company says over 85% of revenues ar

THIS IS AN ADVERTISING PROMOTIONEleco (ELCO:AIM) is a progressive software specialist providing solutions to the built environment, from early planning through to maintenance as well as niche product areas including interior visualisation, timber engineering and staircase manufacturing.From its 1895 origins as a manufacturer of lighting, the Company has been on a journey of continual evolution and

THIS IS AN ADVERTISING PROMOTIONSamarkand (SMK:AQSE) is a cross-border e-commerce technology and retail group focusing on connecting international brands with China, the world's largest e-commerce market. The Chinese e-commerce market alone accounts for over 50% of global e-commerce sales, larger than the next top 10 markets combined. China is the clear global leader when it comes to e-commerce, i

While the US equity market has had a stunning rally off the Covid lows, with many commentators seeing a bubble ready to pop, investors simply cannot afford to ignore what remains the world's largest and most liquid stock market.For those retail investors that just don't have the time to monitor news flow from individual companies, entrusting cash to a professional fund manager with proven pedigree