As ever, it has been a busy time for small-cap investors, with companies joining the market and companies leaving the market, either of their own accord ? as in the case of sports data provider 4Global (4GBL:AIM) ? or because they have been acquired, as in the case of Downing Renewables & Infrastructure Trust (DORE), which was taken private by its largest shareholder. It has also been a time...

In what could be one of the biggest listings of the year, Cobalt Holdings ? a company set up to buy and hold cobalt, as its name suggests ? said it intended to float in London next month through a $230 million issue of new equity partly underwritten by mining giant Glencore (GLEN). The company, which will seek admission to the commercial companies segment of the official list, claims it will...

We start the review on a positive note with the news of two small-cap IPOs (initial public offers), one in the healthcare space and one in the red-hot AI (artificial intelligence) space.Having sold its governance, risk and compliance software business to private equity earlier this year and returned £225 million to shareholders via a buyback and special dividend, business services group...

London's FTSE 100 finished Wednesday's session down 0.04% at 7,337.35 points, so broadly flat on the day, the blue chip benchmark giving up earlier gains with the UK on the cusp of fresh restrictions designed to slow the growth in Omicron cases.The pound weakened and travel and leisure stocks were under pressure as investors weighed the likely impact of new rules being imposed in the UK, such...

Shares in CCTV camera supplier 21st Century Technology (C21:AIM) tumble more than a third as it warns of big losses in the year to 31 December 2016.Profitability is struggling because of lower volumes of new vehicle orders among UK bus operators, in which 21st Century Tech installs devices, as well as pressure on its ticketing technology business.Even a five-year contract renewal with...

Market share gains and benefits from diversifying across sectors both look like they are bullish for the investment case at security systems specialist Synectics (SNX:AIM).Impressive financial performance in the year to 30 November 2015, in which the business returned to profit and revenue growth after a bumpy few years, could signal that initiatives to shift focus from the oil and gas...

London stocks strike a sturdy recovery in early trade on Wednesday after a steep decline in the previous session, as investors geared up for the Bank of England's Quarterly Inflation Report. In early deals the benchmark FTSE 100 index is trading 52 points, or about 0.74%, higher at 6,985, nudging the 7,000 mark once more.On the corporate news front, a string of blue chips provide a mixed bag...

A profit warning triggers a sell-off in surveillance systems expert Synectics (SNX:AIM), down 25.5% to 317.5p. There's a big cost overrun from a larger project, business disruption from moving into a new UK site and delays to expected oil and gas sector work in Iraq. The first-half dividend has been scrapped but the company says second-half trading prospects look very good so the dividend...

Direct Line to troubleIt could be time to take profits in Direct Line Insurance (DLG) following a stellar run. At 262.3p the £3.9 billion cap stands near record highs but with competition increasing, especially in motor cover where premiums fell 10% in the first quarter, there could be hard times ahead. (MD)Johnson beds in new businessThe £22 million acquisition of Bourne Services (3 Mar)...

Africa focused oil firm Heritage Oil (HOIL) soars 10.2% to 232p as it announces net production from the OML30 asset in Nigeria averaged 15,600 barrels of oil per day year to date. This represents an advance of 17% on the rate achieved in the last three months of 2013. The company also indicates tax discussions with the Nigerian authorities have successfully concluded with the benefits likely...

Our Plays of the Week portfolio is presently delivering one of our best performances in many years. While a rising stock market does provide a good starting point, we have beaten the time-equivalent returns from FTSE All-Share by a simply enormous amount. Several our stock selections have provided gains well in excess of 100% gains this year.In the past 12 months, our Plays portfolio has...

It is a quiet end to the week for the market with no corporate news from the blue chips. The FTSE 100 dips 22 points to 6,543. Yet there's plenty of news from the smaller end of the market to keep investors happy.Defence firm QinetiQ (QQ.) ticks up 0.9% at 196.3p despite analyst concerns about its trading update, which will in more detail here.Cadmium-free quantum dots technology developer...

Property and casualty insurer Beazley (BEZ) continues to tumble following yesterday's interim results. Down a further 10% to 217p, investors don't like the 27% drop in pre-tax profits during the first half of the year. Analysts have questioned how the returns from Beazley's underwriting operations will perform in an increasingly competitive market. Yet Joanna Parsons at Westhouse reckons the...

Mr Kipling-to-Hovis bread and cake maker Premier Foods (PFD) says its 2013 trading profit will be at the top end of market expectations. The news excites the market, sending the shares up 6.5% to 90.5p as full-year upgrades look inevitable. While the restructured food producer is trumpeting a 50% rise in closely-watched 'trading' profits to £47.4 million, Premier actually made a £23.5...

The FTSE 100 struggled to get the new week off to a good start, dipping 0.6% to 6,082. The results calendar looks bare for the large cap stocks this week, meaning that the index is likely to be purely driven by investor sentiment towards macro events.A widely-expected poor takeover offer has emerged for Eurasian Natural Resources (ENRC), leaving the stock flat at 217.4p. The real loser in the...

A profit warning from G4S (GFS) has dragged its share price down 13.7% to 263.6p. The security group has warned of tough trading conditions in Europe, lower margins and £6 million of bad debts. Analysts subsequently downgraded forecasts and flagged that G4S may have to sell some businesses if it wants to maintain its target of spending £150 million to £200 million on new...

There is a future in Argos, after all. That's the message from today's results by parent group Home Retail (HOME) which said the catalogue shopping group had grown sales for the first time in five years. But it wasn't enough to get the share price moving, slipping 2% to 153p. Home Retail still has a lot of work ahead in fixing Homebase whose operating profit halved to £11 million. The parent...

An impressive set of full-year results (27 Feb) and a major contract win two days later (1 Mar) have helped to sustain momentum in Synectics (SNX:AIM). The Sheffield-based group specialises in security and surveillance systems used in a variety of industries including gambling, oil and gas, banking and transport. Sales, profits margins, dividends and its share price are all rising.We consider...