London's FTSE 100 struggled to make headway on Monday, creeping into the red by the close on news the coronavirus vaccine developed by Oxford University, and to be manufactured by pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca (AZN), has been shown to be 70% effective in protecting people against Covid-19.This effectiveness is less than the 95% protection shown by the Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech vaccines,...

UK markets began trading very slowly on what will be a US-free Friday session because of the Independence Day holiday, with company news typically light on the ground.This followed a firm rally for Asian shares overnight on robust US payrolls data and a brisk pickup in Chinese service sector activity, but a surge in coronavirus cases in the United States kept a lid on stronger gains.But the...

London's FTSE fell 30.5 points or 0.49% to 6,195.3 on Tuesday as fears of a resurgence of COVID-19 cases were reinforced by new lockdown measures, notably in the UK city of Leicester.Also weighing on sentiment was the news that the UK's first quarter GDP reading has been revised lower.In corporate news, Royal Dutch Shell (RDSB) slipped 1.8% to £12.48 as the oil giant warned that it would book...

London's FTSE 100 rose 30.4 points to 7,320.4 on Thursday thanks to strength in utilities, oil producers, miners and insurers. The most heavily-traded stock by volume was British Airways owner International Consolidated Airlines (IAG), which saw its shares fall 3.9% to 461.5p after downgrading earnings guidance.Imperial Brands (IMB) wafted 9.8% lower to £18.63 on a full year profit warning,...

London's FTSE 100 rose 15 points to 7,568 on Monday with strength in miners and tobacco stocks helping to offset weakness in banking and utilities names. European markets were less volatile than those in Asia, where big declines were seen across China, Hong Kong, India and Japan. Market chatter suggested that investors were no longer betting on sharp interest rate cuts in the US and so...

Investors seem to think there is a very real chance that telematics technology business Trakm8 (TRAK:AIM) will struggle to survive.Today's 63.5% share price slump to 23.5p has slashed its market value to sub-£10m, or penny stock levels. That's a long way from the 375p, £136m business it was three years ago.Sparking this bombshell reaction are half year results that are dismal even by...

If there was a bright spot in AA's (AA.) painful profit warning and slashed dividend it comes in the shape of Car Genie. This is the self-installed plug-in road vehicle diagnostics box that the road-side recovery business has been testing. You may have seen the ads on TV.AA reckons Car Genie is capable of predicting a third of breakdowns before they happen. Powering the solution is the fleet...

The pressure on Trakm8's (TRAK:AIM) profit should lift now that a spell of heavy investment in new products and marketing is coming to an end.Investors will be looking for evidence of this shift in circumstances when the company reports half year results on 27 November.The telematics markets in which the company operates certainly have exciting potential, yet unpredictable insurance demand...

Investors may have noted the increasingly number of car insurance applications that rate your driving and offer you a policy renewal quote priced on how well you score. GPS-based telematics is the technology under the hood that makes this possible, often called 'black boxes'.The Aviva Drive app is a good example (mum and dad challenge sons and daughters to an effective 'drive-off'), but there...

Positive economic data from Asia has bolstered the FTSE 100, which opens 30 points up at 1,342.93. The US public holiday tomorrow suggests trading might be light on today's main market although the release of June's PMI data might stoke interest.Oil producer Premier Oil (PMO) ticks up 7% to 53.5p as it announces the acquisition of the Wytch Farm field for £11.7m. This increases the company's...

Global stock markets approach the end of the week on a sour note. The FTSE 100 dips 0.3% at the market open to 7,363 on Friday, following a poor performance in Asia and surrounding areas.Markets in Japan, China, Hong Kong, Korea and Australia all pulled back.London Stock Exchange (LSE) reported 17% rise in total income for 2016 to £1.65bn. It says work continues on the proposed merger with...

A 77% drop in pre-tax profit at telematics data insight provider Trakm8 (TRAK) and a warning about an uncertain second half has investors running for the exit, triggering a share price crash of 29% to 131.5p.The AIM-listed firm blames higher investment in sales, marketing and engineering for the decline in pre-tax profit from approximately £1.24m in the first half of 2015 to £282,000 for the...

The FTSE 100 declines 0.6% to 6,800 at the start of the new trading week. There are notable declines in banks and oil producers, more than offsetting positive returns from miners and utilities.Aberdeen Asset Management (ADN) jumps 3.6% to 296.45p as full year results are ahead of expectation, despite reporting a 39% decline in pre-tax profit to £352.7m. Pre-tax profit and earnings per share...

A £500,000 increase in component costs has slammed the brakes on shares in telematics equipment manufacturer Trakm8 (TRAK:AIM). But substantial growth in the order pipeline and management's impressive execution track record suggests now could be a good time to buy on price weakness. Analysts are sticking to a 425p target price that implies investors could double their money in 12 to 18...

After gains on Wall Street and falls in Asia overnight the FTSE 100 is flat this morning at 6,286.06.Trading platform CMC Markets (CMCX) sinks 11.4% to 245.5p as it warns first half net operating income will be lower year-on-year as it says low levels of market volatility provide fewer trading opportunities for its clients.Traditional stockbroker Hargreaves Lansdown (HL.) is also under...

'Micro caps', the London stock market's smallest quoted companies, are often binary bets. They either make investors lots of money or lose everything. Yet despite their inherent risks, micro caps should form at least a portion of a well-diversified portfolio, since they offer potential for rapid-paced growth and bumper share price gains if you pick the best ones.This is an especially...

There is much to admire in today's year-end update from telematics kit maker Trakm8 (TRAK:AIM). There's more super-charged revenue growth, up 44% at the headline level, with recurring income jumping around 50% to more than £8 million. The acquisitions of DCS and a unit from Route Monkey added an extra £2.6 million to the top line, which means that the underlying revenue growth measure is up...

London shares advance in early trade on Tuesday as traders sift through a batch of company results and trading updates and largely react positively. The FTSE 100 index rises around 30 points, or 0.4%, to 6,287, led higher by bank Standard Chartered (STAN), up nearly 7% at 556.7p, following its quarterly trading update to 31 March.BP (BP.) also rallies despite posting a pre-tax loss of $865...

In some ways, investment styles are a bit like the pick 'n' mix section of a well-stocked sweet shop. Cola bottles will suit some tastes, others may prefer cola cubes; pear drops, rhubarb and custard or humbugs could prove the fancy of a completely different group. So it is with investment, every investor must make their own choices based on their own feelings towards risk, time frame and an...

Big money could have been made on the stock market in 2015 if you managed to pick the right companies. A 2.5% decline in the FTSE All-Share paints a misleading picture; we calculate that more than 600 stocks on the London market saw their share price rise by 10% or more in the year.Many investors believe there is merit in 'running the winners'. What better place to start than looking at the...