European equities were on the decline early Friday, with water utilities hurting the FTSE 100, but NatWest limiting the damage.The FTSE 100 index traded down 6.76 points, 0.1%, at 8,262.62. The FTSE 250 was down 22.47 points, 0.1%, at 20,768.08, and the AIM All-Share was up just 0.12 of a point at 725.81.The Cboe UK 100 was down 0.1% at 827.45, the Cboe UK 250 was down 0.3% at 18,324.35, and the C

Prime minister Rishi Sunak has floated and announced big policy changes recently from delaying a ban of the sales of new petrol and diesel cares, pulling back on phasing out gas boilers and introducing a New Zealand-style anti-smoking policy.There has also been the public discussion of abandoning or at least curtailing the zero-carbon high-speed railway to the north of England - better known as HS

There are many interesting businesses on the AIM market which fly under the radar as they do not get the same attention as their counterparts on the Main Market. Research coverage by analysts is thin, AIM stocks aren't discussed much in the media, and only fund managers with a mandate to look at small companies might even be aware of their existence.This means there is a big opportunity for invest

The UK's FTSE 100 fell on Tuesday, dragged down by heavyweight retail, insurance and energy stocks, although employment numbers highlighting a steady UK economic recovery helped limit losses.The UK blue-chip index was affected by worries over the economic slowdown of China, the world's growth engine, which continued to dog international stock markets on Tuesday.The FTSE 100 drifted 0.15% lower at

Optimism surrounding Covid-19 vaccines combined with positive factory data from China and the UK to send the FTSE 100 higher on the first trading day of December, the blue chip benchmark ending the session 1.9% up at 6,384.73.Gold regained its shine again amid a rare down day for cryptocurrency Bitcoin, while US shares were in demand with the S&P 500 up 1.3% to 3,669.14 by 4.30pm UK time.CORPORATE

The FTSE 100 was 2.1% firmer at 6,396.64 on Tuesday, the blue chip benchmark buoyed by positive factory data from China and the UK, although sterling remained volatile with Brexit talks going down to the wire.CORPORATE NEWSIn corporate news, department store Debenhams announced it is entering liquidation after JD Sports (JD.) pulled out of a deal to buy the group out of administration. Shares in J

Following on from recording its biggest monthly gain in three decades in November, London's FTSE 100 started December in bright fashion with blue chip stocks soaring in early trade.At around 8.30am, the UK's benchmark index jumped 1.44% to 6,356.15, as positive Chinese factory data fueled global economic recovery hopes that are already supported by upbeat coronavirus vaccine developments.China's m

Despite Prime Minister Theresa May's heavy Brexit vote defeat, the pound is holding firm and the UK-heavy FTSE 250 index trades 57.3 points higher at 18,487 on Wednesday. This perhaps reflects hopes we are going to get more time for negotiations, we're less likely to have a hard Brexit or Brexit won't happen at all. However, the EU has already said it isn't going to negotiate further and there rem

October and November are on course to be two of the busiest months for new stock market entrants this year. By my calculations there are 12 confirmed IPOs (initial public offerings) about to happen on the UK stock market and rumours of nearly another 20 companies set to float in the coming months or early in 2018.The past few weeks has already seen numerous companies list on either London's Main M

Engineering contractor Van Elle (VANL:AIM) has issued a profit warning less than five months since floating on the stock market. It has blamed contract delays. Stockbroker FinnCap has slashed its pre-tax profit forecast by 13.4% for the financial year ending 30 April 2017 and by 24.6% for the following year. Van Elle's shares are now down 30% so far this year. (DC)

UK shares come under selling pressure in early trade on Wednesday following a bleak overnight session in the US. Wall Street suffered its worst trading day this year as investor concerns about whether President Donald Trump will be able to deliver promised tax cuts weigh on confidence.That dragged both the Dow Jones and S&P 500 lower with banks, which have helped to propel share markets to record

We are big fans of smaller companies and that is reflected by the generous space given to this area of the market in our weekly digital magazine and across our website.Many investors welcome the challenge of sifting through the large number of junior companies on the market. We certainly help with this journey by highlighting what we believe are the best opportunities, as well as companies we don'

Despite a solid shareholder register and a reasonably priced initial public offering (IPO) we are unconvinced by the investmentcase behind earthworks contractor Van Elle (VANL).Nottinghamshire-based Van Elle attracted an all-star list of fund managers including Ruffer, Hargreave Hale, Blackrock and Miton when it raised £40m to join the stock market on 26 October.Decent earnings and a reasonable b