A key rationale for investing in the smallest companies on the UK market is that these businesses have the most capacity for growth.However, for several reasons investing in micro-cap businesses is not for everyone and has, with some notable exceptions, proved less than fruitful in recent years. WHAT IS A MICRO CAP?The definition of what constitutes a micro cap varies. Natalie Bell, fund manager a

Blue-chip European equities opened mixed on Monday, with enthusiasm at the start of the week tempered by less-than-stellar data from China, as well as more poor headlines from the nation?s property sector.The pound continued to trade above the $1.26 mark, meanwhile, with traders optimistic that US interest rates have peaked. A key US inflation reading later this week could challenge that notion, h

Full-year results to be published on 26 September from consumer goods firm PZ Cussons (PZC) come hot on the heels of the company's announcement that it plans to take full control of its Nigerian business.This decision may come under some scrutiny as the impact of the devaluation of the Nigerian naira could well mar the upcoming numbers. Volatility in the currency and the country itself has been a

Shares in gas, electricity and water supplier Yu Group (YU.:AIM) have soared off the back of its latest profit upgrade (31 May). The shares gained more than a third in the wake of the announcement to 676p, extending gains over the last six months to nearly 70%.The company, which endured a big sell-off in 2018 thanks to accounting issues, aims to provide a one-stop-shop utilities service for UK sma

- Management given a hard ride at general meeting- Shareholder group calls for break-up of the bank- Vote defeated as UK institutions give their backing Annual general meetings (AGMs) aren't generally the sort of events which grab headlines, but today's gathering of HSBC (HSBA) shareholders in Birmingham was one for the record books.Aside from repeated interruptions by climate activists, who label

Direct LineCan the insurer win back the market's support after dividend fiasco?Having paid out over £1.5 billion to shareholders in the last decade, including during the pandemic, Direct Line (DLG) was a well-liked and widely-owned stock.However, after dropping a bombshell in January with the news it was pulling its dividend in order to rebuild its balance sheet, Direct Line has a mountain to cli

Using data from Stockopedia, Shares has searched for the companies with the best earnings upgrades for this year and next over the last month.We also noted their performance over the same period to see how much the upgrades had lifted the share prices, and the evidence is clear: all else being equal, upgrades tend to lead to outperformance.Top of this month's list is 'challenger' gas, electricity

Consistent growth and recent upgrades to earnings forecasts from Yu Group (YU.AIM) have sent the shares up 87% over the past six months and the independent gas and electricity supplier's latest trading update (28 November) helped sustain the rally.Energy crisis beneficiary Yu said sales, adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) and operational cash flow for th

While many investment funds have recorded heavy losses this year, there have been a few outlier funds which have not only recorded a positive return when looking at the three months to 31 May, but in some cases have also outperformed their benchmarks by a decent amount.We spoke to various managers of funds in the UK smaller companies, Europe ex-UK, Asia ex-Japan, strategic bond and absolute return

As the city of Wuhan ends its 11-week quarantine, it seems that life in China is more or less getting back to 'normal'. Although a handful of new virus cases are being reported, the draconian measures the government took to limit the virus mean the country is recovering just as the rest of the world goes into lockdown.Cinemas and schools have reopened in many provinces and traffic is back to norma

Shares in independent utility supplier Yu Group (YU:AIM) surged 22% to 137.5p after the company said it anticipates 2019 revenues ahead of forecasts.In a trading update the company, which supplies gas and electricity services to businesses, revealed that it expects to post revenue of approximately £110m. That would be roughly 36% up on 2018's £80.6m and 6% ahead of consensus estimates, according

London's FTSE 100 recovered some of the heavy ground lost yesterday, rising a modest 11.3 points to 7,423.3 early on Tuesday, although markets are likely to be in a holding pattern until there is greater clarity on how and when the coronavirus can be contained.Recently in the doldrums following a savage profit warning last summer, IRN-BRU-to-Rubicon maker A.G. Barr (BAG) fizzed 14.7% higher to 624

London's FTSE 100 added a further 117 points to trade at 7,470.5 on Monday, building on Friday's impressive rally thanks to some of the bigger constituents taking a small step forward including banks, miners and tobacco stocks.Mike Ashley's Sports Direct (SPD) sprinted 13.3% higher to 407.8p after the retailer reported a 58% rise in first half underlying pre-tax profit to £101.8m and insisted it

As worries over US-China trade bubble away in the background, the FTSE 100 struggles to make much progress on Thursday, marked down 11.3 points to 7,286 with a drag from a number of index heavyweights trading ex-dividend.UK cyber security specialist Sophos (SOPH) surges 14.2% higher to 388.4p on strong full year results showing 11% top line growth to $711m and a swing into the black at the pre-tax

Shareholders in Metro Bank (MTRO) could be forgiven for thinking they had unwittingly booked tickets on the Oblivion vertical-drop ride at Alton Towers.On 23 January the shares collapsed 39% to £13.45 as the company missed its profit target and chief executive Craig Donaldson confessed it had wrongly accounted for some of its loans. The next day they rallied to £14.81 and the storm looked to hav

Shares in blue-collar recruitment firm Staffline (STAF:AIM) remain suspended at 670p this morning at the company's request after losing a third of their value yesterday.Staffline shares fell 330p or 33%, wiping over £90m off its market value, after the company delayed the release of its full year results.Following the suspension of the shares yesterday afternoon the company released a statement t

UK stocks are on the front foot this morning with the FTSE 100 index up 1.3% to 6,833 points led by mining stocks ahead of the resumption of US-China trade talks.Evraz (EVR) adds 1.6% to 487p, Glencore (GLEN) adds 1.9% to 303p, Anglo American (AAL) adds 2.3% to £18.93 and Rio Tinto (RIO) is out front up 3% to £41.98.Company news is thin on the ground with London Stock Exchange (LSE) the main fea

Macroeconomic uncertainties, the return of volatility and political turmoil suggest diversification will prove a key investment watchword in 2019.One way in which investors can diversify portfolios is by allocating funds to UK micro caps, often agile and fast-growing minnows offering better value relative to larger caps; they fly under the radar of big institutional investors and are generally les

The FTSE 100 made a cautiously positive start, up 0.4% to 6,728.21, as investors await the US interest rate decision later.Pharmaceuticals giant GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) gains 5.8% as it reaches an agreement with Pfizer to combine their consumer health businesses into a new joint venture.The joint venture is expected to realise 'substantial' cost synergies and help GSK scale its consumer healthcare

Two of our Great Ideas have been hit by recent negative news and exit the portfolio after trading below our stop loss.Insurer Hastings (HSTG) delivered poor third quarter numbers (25 Oct) which revealed premiums failing to keep pace with claims and a failure to grow the volume of customers.Shore Capital Analyst Paul De'Ath pithily summed up the negative outlook for the stock, noting: 'There is lit