THIS IS AN ADVERTISING PROMOTIONPetro Matad (MATD:AIM), Bacanora Lithium (BCNA:AIM), Anglo Pacific Group (APF), SolGold (SOLG) and Yellow Cake (YCA:AIM). What do these companies have in common? They have all partnered with PrimaryBid to enable retail participation in their fundraisings.Why does this matter? While many companies have wanted to include retail investors when raising capital, the tech

The FTSE 100 recovered their earlier declines to stay flat in late morning trade on Friday at 7,451.53. That was in spite of obvious drags from select heavyweight company news.The mid cap FTSE 250 nudged 0.17% to the good at 21,709.74.Overnight China's Shanghai fell 0.7% and Japan's Nikkei 225 was off 0.6%. Meanwhile oil prices were flat and the pound was steady at $1.3o against the dollar.A lower

Shares in junior mining companies could experience a revival in the next two to three years as more money goes into exploration, according to veteran mining investor Rick Rule.Rule, chief executive of mining investment company Sprott, said decades of underinvestment from major mining companies in looking for new deposits could lead to a bull market for exploration.Speaking at the Mines and Money c

Shares in Australian gold and copper miner SolGold (SOLG) soared over 12% to 22p after mining giant BHP (BHP) agreed a deal to invest an extra $22m in the firm.BHP will become the largest shareholder by a small margin after upping its stake from 11% to approximately 14.7% of SolGold's diluted share capital after agreeing to buy 77m shares at 22.15 each, a 13% premium to Friday's closing price.The

MARKET CAP: £1BN & ABOVE OCADO +101%Shares in Ocado (OCDO) have doubled in value in 2018 as the company made progress with signing international contracts where it sets up large distribution centres to enable online grocery services.Building on a 2017 tie-up with France's Groupe Casino, Ocado has this year signed deals with Canada's Sobeys, Sweden's ICA and most significant of all, with US grocer

The FTSE 100 is down 35 points to 7,422 not aided by a poor showing from the mining sector. There is also continued trepidation over the US' trade talks with Canada which are not buoying the markets.Mining giant BHP Billiton (BLT) is down 1.3% to £16.13 after buying a 6.1% stake in Solgold (SOLG). This move is the latest tit-for-tat exchange BHP is having with Newcrest Mining for control over Bri

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 Gold

Copper miner SolGold (SOLG) has published the long-awaited maiden resource statement on the Alpala section of its highly-prospective Cascabel project - and the boss says the numbers are much better than expected. Investors also seem pleased with the figures, given the miner's share price rises 5.1% to 29.79p.SolGold has reported 1.08bn tonnes at 0.68% copper equivalent, 40% of which is in the indi

The boss of copper miner SolGold (SOLG) has a message to everyone who has doubted the quality of its assets and management capabilities: 'Ignore us at your peril as we are coming.'Chief executive Nick Mather says SolGold is building an integrated exploration and development business 'that will rival the world's biggest copper companies'.That's quite a claim from an exploration business which doesn

Investors have become more risk averse in recent days as the war of words between the US and North Korea has ratcheted up.This has driven investment into gold and gold-related assets which are a traditional safe haven. The UK's largest gold exchange-traded product ETFS Physical Gold (PHGP), which has a total expense ratio of 0.39%, has seen inflows of more than £100m since the start of the week.G

SolGold (SOLG:AIM) plans to move from AIM to the Main Market on 21 August. The Australian gold miner believes the new listing will provide a 'more appropriate platform for its growth and market cap', which is over £550m.SolGold hopes being on the Main Market will raise its global profile and provide an opportunity for more investors to get on board.

The small cap AIM index is enjoying a purple patch so far in 2017. Up 12% year-to-date against a flat FTSE 100 and 7.2% advance for the FTSE 250.Which companies have done best of all? Focusing purely on constituents of the FTSE AIM 100 index, which includes the 100 largest companies on the exchange, reveals the following top 10.AIM 100 starsCompanyPerformance year-to-date (%)Purplebricks100SolGold

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

Share prices have rallied in many parts of the commodity space this year and confidence is spreading fast across the sector. First metal, energy and oil prices went up; now we're seeing interesting corporate deals.BHP Billiton (BLT) has muscled in on attempts by small cap miner SolGold (SOLG:AIM) to secure a strategic partner to help advance its Cascabel copper project in Ecuador.SolGold in Septem

Further weakness in the pound fails to dampen UK domestic stocks with the FTSE 250 index holding ground at 18,005. The FTSE 100 also treads water, nudging ahead a mere three points to 7,048.William Hill (WMH) is considering an all-share merger with Canadian gambling group Amaya, best known for its Full Tilt and Pokerstars websites. William Hill has been struggling on the digital side while Amaya h

Investors are increasingly regaining confidence in the mining sector after years of miserable share price performance. Two stocks in particular catch our attention.SolGold (SOLG:AIM) has increased by more than 500% in value since the summer to 18.38p as several parties made proposals to invest in the business. It has now agreed a deal for $33 million funding to advance its Cascabel copper project.

Today is the big day. Britain is voting on whether to stay in or leave the EU; the result could be one of the most significant events in recent UK history. Understandably the run-up to this event has been troublesome for investors with wild swings in equity valuations as well as uncertainty regarding the potential outcome.Many investors and traders were fed up with the stock market in the final we

London shares lose early gains to drift lower as investor optimism is quickly swept aside despite a fairly robust showing on Wall Street overnight. The FTSE 100 index slips around 23 points to 6,328, matching the prevailing mood on Europe's main markets on Tuesday, although UK midcaps perform better. The FTSE 250 is up close on 30 points at 16,945, albeit a fractional gain.In corporate news, Holid

The sharp decline in the oil price since June has put commodities back on the mainstream news agenda as investors speculate where energy, metal and food prices are headed next. The direction of oil, copper, wheat and other commodities are hugely relevant to investors as they are key raw materials for companies around the world, not to mention a major influence on the cost of everyday living.Amid c

A recurring theme among institutional investors in the wake of last week's Mines & Money conference in London is the lack of effort by miners to communicate with shareholders. Accusations abound that management teams would rather 'hide in the jungle' than do regular face-to-face meetings.With no sign of a strong recovery in commodity prices, it is not surprising to see investors demand more intera