Canadian firm pays 28% premium Deal marks another mid-cap exit Science Group books big profit Shareholders in engineering and consulting group Ricardo (RCDO) will be toasting the company this morning after it announced an agreed £280 million takeover by Canadian professional services firm WSP Global (WSP:TSE). Ricardo shares climbed 83p or 25% to 418p, just shy of the 430p cash offer from...

We start this month's round-up with news of not just one but three new faces, all of which joined the market recently.First up is One Health Group (OHGR:AIM), a provider of NHS-funded medical procedures, which raised £7.8 million before listing costs through a placing of shares at 180p to fund its first surgical hub.The site is expected to deliver revenue of £6 million to £9 million per...

UK stocks consolidated their gains on Monday after comments from Bank of England members over the weekend hinting at an early rise in interest rates to head off persistently high inflation.US markets were weaker on Friday after a weak jobs report, but the mood was brighter in Asia where China, Hong Kong and Japan all posted solid gains of between 1% and 2%.After climbing steadily throughout...

UK stocks edged higher again on Monday despite comments from Bank of England members over the weekend hinting at an early rise in interest rates to head off persistently high inflation and a subsequent rally in sterling.US markets were weaker on Friday after a weak jobs report, but the mood was brighter in Asia where China, Hong Kong and Japan all posted solid gains of between 1% and 2%.At...

Monday morning trading on the UK equity market was distinctly subdued with the FTSE 100 index edging 0.2% higher to 7112.17, whilst the FTSE 250 drifted -0.2% lower to 22,474.27.There were fears UK investors could be rattled by comments over the weekend from external MPC member Michael Saunders who argued the rapid rise in energy markets coupled with labor shortages were fueling inflationary...

UK stocks nudged higher in early trading on Tuesday as firmer commodity prices boosted mining and oil plays.By 8.40 am, the FTSE 100 index was up 0.2% at 7,121.2 points, while the FTSE 250 traded 0.4% to the good at 23,836.5 points.Major movers included mining titan BHP (BHP), which added 1.3% to £23.37, as well as oil giant BP (BP.), bid up 0.8% to 297.3p.Investor sentiment was boosted by a...

Defence contractor-turned-software consultancy TP Group (TPG:AIM) saw its share price plunge by more than 6% to 4.98p on Monday after potential buyer Science Group (SAG:AIM) threatened to walk away from a deal.Science Group said it had made an offer to TP's board that was at a 'significant premium to the prevailing 3.9p share price' before Science Group acquired a 10.2% stake in the business...

London's FTSE 100 took a turn for the worse in afternoon trading on Monday as rising coronavirus cases and the prospect of tighter lockdown restrictions finally caught up with the stock market.Prime Minister Boris Johnson warned the UK is at a 'perilous' moment in the pandemic and said ministers are keeping lockdown restrictions under 'constant review', adding that 'where we have to tighten...

UK stocks fell throughout morning trading as reports emerged that the Government is considering tighter lockdown restrictions.Stocks had already started in subdued fashion as investors took profits following strong recent gains, driven by expectations of more US stimulus and Covid vaccine success, but continued to fall on Monday as concerns mount over rising coronavirus cases and the...

The FTSE 100 made a slow start to the new trading week with opening enthusiasm from vaccine roll-outs and US stimulus giving way to the grim reality of mounting coronavirus cases.Increasingly draconian measures are reportedly being contemplated by the Government to halt the spread of the more virulent form of Covid with worries intensifying that the NHS is close to being swamped.At 8:50am, the...

Insiders buying up shares in their company always tends to be something that pleases investors, and WPP (WPP) shareholders may be interested to note two big purchases made by its bosses.WPP BOSSES BUY THE DIPChief executive Mark Read and chief financial officer John Rogers recently bought a chunk of shares worth a combined £928,000, having taken advantage of a dip in the company's share price...

A busy week for economic data gets off to a positive start in the UK with markets on the front foot as investors embraced the government's first moves to ease pandemic lockdown measures.Both the benchmark FTSE 100 and FTSE 250 mid cap indexes made early gains on Monday despite the absence of major corporate news, rising around 1% apiece to 5,994.32 and 16,414.81, outstripping gains on major...

The FTSE 100 moved nearly 1% higher to 7,192 as investors awaited the publication of the minutes from the latest meeting of the US Federal Reserve. These might offer some clues into the future direction of interest rates across the pond.Plumbing group Ferguson (FERG) gained 1.6% amid reports it was considering switching to a US listing under pressure from activist investor Trian Fund...

In November 2011 the FTSE had just broken through 6,200 and the Bank of England's key interest rates was 5% and rising. Could the FTSE 100 rise through the 7,000 mark by 2007, Shares asked? 'As long as the Bank of England doesn't keep tightening the screws, we should be OK', we said. A year later rates were 5.75% and the FTSE did not hit 7,000 until early 2015. Key picks in that edition...

In a highly encouraging development, UK economic growth is now picking up nicely. Yet world growth has slowed markedly in a trend that will continue to naturally constrain those bigger corporate beasts with large market shares. Yes, dependable large caps offer you exposure to proven profits, cashflow and dividends, though their fortunes are far more closely correlated with wider GDP...