Stock prices in London were lower at midday Friday, as investors grappled with a large IT outage on a global scale that affected a plethora of businesses and trade. Companies around the world reported technical issues, with planes grounded, trains disrupted, and television and radio broadcasters taken offline, while Microsoft Corp said it was taking mitigating actions after service issues. As A...

Retail sales fell in June as colder-than-average weather conditions and election uncertainty dampened consumer spending, with sales across department stores and clothing categories faring especially poorly. Last month's disappointing sales decline came despite hopes of a boost from above-inflation wage growth and some major sporting events. Shares in major retailers cheapened in reaction to the...

Netflix (NFLX:NASDAQ) shares were marginally lower at $643 in pre-market trading despite the global streaming giant reporting a 16.8% rise in second-quarter revenue to $9.56 billion and adding over eight million paying subscribers. Netflix now has a total of 277.65 million global streaming paid memberships, more than analysts had anticipated. Quality content like Baby Reindeer, a new season of...

Investors got a reminder over the past week that stocks don't go up all the time, and that there is a dark side to handing so much data over to the 'cloud', after a worldwide Microsoft (MSFT:NASDAQ) Azure outage following a software update from virus defender Crowdstrike (CRWD:NASDAQ) caused chaos. Amid a busy earnings season, there was more tough talk from both the Biden and Trump camps on re...

The FTSE 100 was in the green on Friday morning, while other stocks were mostly downbeat amid gloomy UK retail sales data and a global IT outage. Companies around the world reported technical issues, with planes grounded, trains disrupted, and television and radio broadcasters taken offline. According to Sky News, Berlin Airport has halted all flights until 0900 BST, while Microsoft Corp said i...

Stocks in London ended higher on Thursday, with promising updates sending retailers Frasers and Dunelm higher, while in mainland Europe, the European Central Bank took centre-stage as it opted to leave rates unmoved. The conviction remains that the ECB will cut at its September meeting, however. In the UK, signs of a softer labour market aided Bank of England rate cut expectations. The FTSE 100...

Stock prices in London were in the green at midday, as investors awaited the next interest rate call from the European Central Bank, while UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer hosted leaders from across Europe at a summit. The FTSE 100 index was up 59.33 points, or 0.7%, at 8,246.78. The FTSE 250 was up 151.37 points, or 0.7%, at 21,244.71, and the AIM All-Share was up 2.77 points, or 0.4%, at 789.57...

Shares in online gambling firm Evoke (EVKOK), formerly known as 888, dropped over 8% to 79.3p after the William Hill, 888 and Mr Green branded business issued a full-year profit warning. The company said first-half adjusted EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation) was running £35 million to £40 million behind plan which would clearly impact its full-year outcome....

Homewares retailer Dunelm (DNLM) demonstrated once again how resilient its business is against a challenging consumer backdrop by posting an increase in sales and earnings slightly above expectations for the year to the end of June. The shares, which had been trading down on the year, added 75p or 7% to £11.80 taking them into positive territory by a small margin. PROFIT TO TOP FORECASTS For t...

Frasers' (FRAS) topped the FTSE 100 leader board on Thursday 18 July, surging 9.5% higher to 899p after the retail giant delivered annual profits at the top end of guidance, driven by Sports Direct, and expressed confidence in delivering 'another strong increase' in profits this year. Controlled by mercurial retail magnate Mike Ashley, Frasers has now passed the half-a-billion-pound mark for an...

London stocks outperformed its European peers on Thursday morning, as investors await a key interest rate decision by the European Central Bank. The FTSE 100 index opened 78.02, or 1.0%, at 8,266.64. The FTSE 250 was up 54.31 points, or 0.3%, at 21,147.65, and the AIM All-Share was up 1.63 points, or 0.2%, at 788.43. The Cboe UK 100 was up 0.8% at 824.37, the Cboe UK 250 was up 0.3% at 18,435.3...

London's FTSE 100 shook off a stronger pound and a robust UK services inflation reading to register its first rise of the week on Wednesday, as investors also digested the latest King's speech, with new Prime Minister Keir Starmer getting his feet firmly under the table at Number 10. A stronger pound is usually a headwind for the international earner-heavy blue-chip index, though some share pri...