Shares in international payments group Wise (LON:WISE) fell after the Belgian financial regulator opened an investigation. The probe was prompted by concerns the company’s services may have been used to launder the proceeds of crime. Ongoing enquiry According to The Bureau of Investigative Journalism, Belgian prosecutors opened the probe last year. This was in response to Wise accounts featuring in ‘hundreds’ of requests for cross-border help in criminal proceedings. The requests came from more than 30 countries across Europe and involved transactions totalling around €500 million. According to The Bureau, the regulator is looking into ‘indications of non-compliance with AML…

Shares in AIM-listed integrated circuit maker EnSilica (LON:ENSI) extended their gains on news of a major contract win. So far this year the stock has risen close to 160%, with most of the gains coming in the last two months. Tier 1 customer Abingdon-based EnSilica announced it had won a new $75 million seven-year contract with a German auto components firm. The contract is to manufacture and supply an Arm-based sensing chip already in production, meaning no design or testing is required. While the contract is worth $75 million in total, only $4m will flow into the company’s account in…

Shares in EasyJet (LON:EZJ) jumped over 10% on news US private equity firm Castlelake was considering making an offer. Castlelake is majority owned by US alternative asset management firm Brookfield (NYSE:BAM). ‘Highly opportunistic’ timing Castlelake issued a statement late on Friday 29 May saying it was ‘in the early stages of considering a possible offer’ for the firm. Today it revealed it owns 16.2 million shares or 2.1% of EasyJet’s share capital. The US firm also said any bid would be at no less than 403.23p per share. EasyJet shares closed at 398p on Friday so investors will have to…

Sensors, snoopers and superheroes are among our areas of focus next week. Cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike (NASDAQ:CRWD) has had its ups and downs over the last year but it remains one of the most closely watched, and highest rated, cybersecurity stocks around. CrowdStrike reports after-hours Wednesday, 3 June, just a day after Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) reports, so a busy week for the cybersec space. 3 JUne will also see quaterlies from Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO), one of the real AI infrastructure winners so far – AVGO stock +23% YTD. Elsewhere, we’ll hear from America’s biggest specialist beauty retailer Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA), a…

Shares in Ocado (LON:OCDO) jumped 10% on news the online grocery retailer had signed a partnership with Asda. With a network of around 1,100 stores and FY25 sales of over £21 billion, Asda is the UK’s third-biggest grocery seller. 2027 start date Asda already operates a substantial online business, fulfilling more than 700,000 orders per week from its stores and warehouses. The deal will see Ocado roll out its software platform across these sites, replacing Asda’s current system, from 2027. Asda will deploy Ocado’s software for its front end, in-store fulfilment, click and collect and last-mile delivery. It will also…

Following its merger with Shires, the strengthened Aberdeen Equity Income Trust (LON:AEI) has delivered a strong H1 performance. For the six months to March 2026, the trust generated an NAV total return of 9.9%. That compares with an 8.9% total return for the FTSE All Share index. Dividend Hero Following the successful integration of Shires Income, AEI increased its assets by over £120 million. More than 96% of Shires shares were rolled over, demonstrating investors’ faith in the strategy. Not only did the trust beat the benchmark in H1, it is now outperforming over one, two and three years. Moreover,…

International hotel group PPHE (LON:PPHE) revealed it had received a cash bid valuing the company at £930 million. The board said it had considered the bid, and thought it represented fair value. The proposal, from Fattal Holdings, prices the shares at £22 each, a 36% premium to the previous close of £16.12. Shareholder pressure In November last year, PPHE announced it had started a strategic review ‘to improve shareholder value or introduce growth capital’. Among the options on the table was putting the company up for sale. The review was prompted by the group’s two biggest shareholders, with a combined…

High-performance materials group Zotefoams (LON:ZTF) posted a positive four-month trading update ahead of its AGM. The firm saw strong trading across all divisions and reiterated its full-year earnings guidance. On track for full year For the period to the end of April, Zotefoams saw a 26% increase in revenue to £64 million. Demand was robust in key markets, while the contribution from OKC (Overseas Konstellation) offset the anticipated slowdown in footwear. In EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa), sales grew 24% to £50 million with OKC contributing almost £10 million. Underlying sales were stable against a strong prior-year period which…

Shares in AIM-listed defence technology group Cohort (LON:CHRT) climbed 10% after FY26 results beat forecasts. The firm’s CEO also expressed confidence in its FY26/27 financial outlook. Record revenue and orders For the year to April, Cohort reported revenue of £303 million, up 12% and ahead of the consensus of £294 million. Operating profit of £36 million was also ahead of the consensus, which was pegged at £34.7 million. The Communications & Intelligence division grew revenue by almost 27% to £159 million with a strong performance from EM Solutions. The business was only acquired in January of 2025 and is already…

AIM-listed PR firm Pathos Communications (LON:NEWS) announced its largest contract so far, covering FY26 and FY27. The contract, worth $0.7 million, comes from an existing customer, a major non-profit consulting firm. Increasing confidence Pathos, which aims to ‘democratise PR’ for small and medium-sized companies, operates across multiple channels. The latest deal, from a client of the company since 2023, includes US tv placements. podcasts, articles and book publishing. The 12-month contract takes the total spend by the client to nearly $1 million and will generate over $0.5 million in EBITDA. ‘This win gives us increasing confidence in the strength of…