One way to reduce the risks associated with less forgiving markets is to ensure you buy companies at the right valuation. With this in mind Shares has conducted a screening exercise of the market to identify stocks which in our view are too cheap and therefore represent attractive investment opportunities.After running the numbers on discounted stocks with earnings momentum and firms which...

Learning good habits at an early age can pay dividends later in life, as Richard from North Somerset has found out. The investor regularly reinvests dividends from his portfolio to compound his returns.Rather than spend the cash now, he would rather use it to buy more shares so the next round of dividends might be even bigger than the last.Richard is 36 years old and works as a locum for a...

- Parties enter scheme implementation deed- Oz Minerals shareholders to vote on takeover in late March, early April- Berenberg says transaction 'makes sense from strategic perspective'Mining giant BHP's (BHP) takeover of Oz Minerals moved towards completion overnight as the two parties entered a scheme implementation deed.The agreement would see BHP acquire all shares in Oz at a price of...

The dust may be settling for now on the recent unrest in Kazakhstan, but the ructions are still being felt in the markets.Prices of oil and uranium, of which Kazakhstan is a major producer, moved higher amid the disruption. The country is a key centre for bitcoin mining and concerns over the violence helped contribute to volatility in the cryptocurrency, which recently hit a four-month...

The past week has been a relatively quiet one when it comes to directors buying and selling shares in their companies with little of the volume usually seen, but there have been some notable deals.The biggest involves Vanessa Perrins, the wife Berkeley (BKG) chief executive Rob Perrins, who sold over 228,000 shares in the FTSE 100 housebuilder on Friday at £47.43 each, in a transaction worth...

We're pleased to welcome back Malcolm from Edinburgh who is sharing his experience as someone in retirement taking charge of their investments for the first time. Having explained out how he set up his first portfolio Malcolm turns to how he is managing his investments.In an earlier column I explained my attempts at managing new investments in a SIPP and ISA pension fund.I detailed how half of...

London's FTSE 100 was in positive territory early on Wednesday, with optimism around the potential Covid-19 vaccine breakthrough continuing to buoy global markets.The blue chip benchmark improved 0.31% to 6,316.62, while the FTSE 250 rose 0.02% to 19,032.BAE SEES BIDEN BOOSTAerospace and defence contractor BAE Systems (BA.) added 1.4% to trade at 470p after it maintained its full year guidance...

Shares in copper and zinc miner Central Asia Metals (CAML:AIM) gained around 1.6% to 154p despite the company putting on hold a decision over its interim dividend after a problem at one of its mines.It comes after Central Asia Metals reported on Monday that there was a short-term leakage of waste material from its Sasa TSF4 storage facility into the local river, though it added the leakage was...

UK stocks have bounced back a little this morning after yesterday's nervousness over the Saudi Arabia oil attacks and what they'll mean for global growth, given the major spike in the oil price.Oil giants BP (BP.) and Royal Dutch Shell (RDSB) have again benefited, with their shares rising 1.3% to 531p and 1.6% to £23.67 respectively.The UK's leading basket of stocks, the FTSE 100 index, was...

If you're an investor in copper, you would have had a tough time in the past decade. The price of the metal has almost halved compared to a decade ago, and some people think the price won't pick up soon thanks to a dodgy global environment.It begs the question why you would bother investing in it. Read on and we'll explain why.Copper is used in practically everything - wiring, transport,...

Central Asia Metals (CAML:AIM) 257.5pGain to date: 8.9%Original entry point: Buy at 236.5p, 27 September 2018Full year results from the metals miner showed positive earnings growth and a decent reduction in debt. However, the market focused on a 12% cut in the dividend to 14.5p, sending its shares down on the day.It is worth noting that Central Asia Metals changed its dividend policy following...

Buying shares in the mining sector will take some nerve given how commodity prices have been very weak of late, thanks to concerns about how the trade war between the US and China and Chinese economic activity will affect demand for raw materials. Yet buying when no-one is interested can often yield superior returns.You need to look at the downside risk with mining as much as the upside...

A company hoping to reopen an old copper mine in the US will this month provide investors with an updated estimate for how much easy-to-access metal is contained in its Empire project in Idaho.Phoenix Global Mining (PGM:AIM) is confident of boosting the current estimate of 68,200 tonnes of contained copper for a section that will be mined from above-ground.It hopes to produce 7,000 tonnes of...

Anyone used to owning shares in Central Asia Metals (CAML:AIM) as a low-risk, high-yield stock should brace themselves for a change in risk profile and potentially more volatile share price movement.The miner has struck a deal to buy Lynx Resources, the owner of the Sasa underground zinc and lead mine and processing operation in Macedonia, for $402.5m.Historically Central Asia Metals has been...

The FTSE opens in negative territory as Asian and US stocks fell overnight due to North Korea appearing to ramp up its nuclear threat. It is considering a nuclear test of 'unprecedented scale' in the Pacific Ocean, according to North Korea's foreign minister.That news helped to drive up the gold price by nearly 0.5% to $1,297 per ounce.Also influencing markets is the movement in the pound...

Copper miner Central Asia Metals (CAML:AIM) has hinted to Shares it may pay a special dividend later in the year if surplus cash isn't needed elsewhere for acquisitions or exploration work.Its capital expenditure requirements are greatly reduced this year,having completed work to expand a tailings reprocessing operationin Kazakhstan.The miner already pays a generous dividend, yielding 7.1%. (DC)

Mining was the second best performing FTSE 350 sector in 2016 and is still in the top 10 so far this year. Improving commodity prices, stronger balance sheets and more lean mining operations have all contributed to share price success.Anyone who wants exposure to the sector without the individual country risk should look at the wide range of investment trusts that invest in miners. You should...

The AIM market has come out of the blocks in 2017 like Usain Bolt, leaving the mainstream stock market indices trailing in its wake. This article contains some of our best AIM stock ideas and explains why the market has been racing ahead.The FTSE AIM All-Share index has rallied 7.9% year to date to close at 910.38 on 1 March 2017, the highest the junior index has been since 2011. That compares...

Profit warnings take centre stage as three Main Market stocks disappoint investors with bad news about trading.Pearson (PSON) says life is even worse than previously expected in the North American higher education market. Its dividend will be cut, although the FTSE 100 media group says it may issue a special dividend if it can sell its 47% stake in Penguin Random House. The market is shocked...

The future is starting to look very interesting for copper producer Central Asia Metals (CAML:AIM).Having essentially been a single asset business since joining the stock market in 2010, the £251m cap group now has two additional projects that could significantly enhance the amount of metal it produces in the medium term.Central Asia Metals' share price has recently been given a boost by a...