Investors will be keen to discover if insurer Direct Line Insurance (DLG) has continued its positive start to the year when it reports first-half results on 4 September after a tumultuous 12 months.The business delivered a strong first quarter, with double-digit written premium growth in Motor, Home and Commercial businesses and overall growth of 15% for ongoing operations.Chief executive Adam Win

Stocks in London finished in the red on Tuesday, as interest rate rise fears continued to grow following unexpectedly strong US job openings data.The FTSE 100 index closed down 40.56 points, or 0.5% at 7,470.16 on Tuesday. The FTSE 250 ended 299.53 points, or 1.7%, at 17,677.76. The AIM All-Share closed down 14.20 points, or 2.0%, at 703.44.The Cboe UK 100 ended down 0.5% at 745.71, the Cboe UK 25

European stocks continued to decline on Wednesday, with investors unnerved by the outlook for US interest rates, which are likely to remain elevated for longer.Oil and gas firms were among the best performers in London, getting a boost from rising commodity prices and some good news for FTSE 250-listed Ithaca Energy.Among some smaller London listings, there was some M&A excitement involving Pendra

Equity markets in Europe continued to struggle on Wednesday, as an elevated interest rates outlook in the US and beyond left investors perturbed.Events in US Congress continue to cast a dark cloud on stocks also, as a government shutdown is yet to be averted.The FTSE 100 index was down 22.94 points, or 0.3%, at 7,602.78. The FTSE 250 was down 55.60 points, or 0.3%, at 18,281.05, and the AIM All-Sh

Stock prices in London were a mixed bag on Thursday at midday, with the FTSE 100 edging lower, as jitters were evident before the US Federal Reserve's latest print of its preferred inflation measure, the personal consumption expenditures index.'The markets are so data driven right now, aping the stance adopted by central bankers, and it feels like a worse than expected reading could extinguish the

All eyes on earnings and dividends as housebuilders report next monthInvestors will be hoping activity picks up and payouts are at least maintainedAfter analysts at Deutsche Bank recently cut their recommendations on four leading housebuilders, investors will be keen to hear from Persimmon (PSN) and Taylor Wimpey (TW.).Persimmon, which reports full-year earnings on 1 March, revealed in November it

The FTSE 100 closed in the red on Wednesday as markets waited to see whether the US Federal Reserve would dial back the pace of rate hikes in its next interest rate decision, due this evening.The FTSE 100 index closed down 10.59 points, or 0.1% at 7,761.11 on Wednesday. Meanwhile, the FTSE 250 ended up 45.09 points, or 0.2%, at 19,898.54 and the AIM All-Share closed up 5.40 points, or 0.6%, at 873

The automotive sector is in flux amid a transition to electric and hybrid vehicles as well as developments in assisted driving technology and frequent changes in safety and regulatory standards. That's good news for UK engineering champion AB Dynamics (ABDP:AIM) which is one of the best performing AIM companies of the last decade.If you invested £1,000 when the company floated in May 2013, you wo

- CentralNic non-executive buys after upgrades- Domino's director adds to his stake- Jet2 mogul jettisons £38m of sharesAs we approach the year-end, we thought it might be instructive to see which directors have been most active in buying - and selling - their companies' shares.Using the Director Deals function on the Shares website, we ranked the most active directors over the last three and 12

- Alfa Financial chairman and CEO sell over £9 million shares- Combined deals represent around 3% of their holdings- Renew director nets over half a millionAndrew Page, chairman of Alfa Financial Software (ALFA), a company providing mission critical software to the asset finance industry, sold 5.3 million shares netting him £8.4 million in proceeds.The sale was made via CHP Software and consulti

There were trading updates from the likes of Centrica, Haleon and AstraZeneca to keep stock traders busy ahead of a key US inflation reading later on Thursday.Haleon and Astra both lifted guidance, will Centrica announced a buyback.The US CPI print comes in at 1330 GMT, alongside the weekly initial unemployment claims data.A hotter-than-expected CPI reading could embolden the central bank to enact

The London market reopened on Tuesday in the midst of a week expected to be dominated by central bank policy decisions, while the FTSE 100 got an early boost from a positive set of maiden results for GSK-spinoff Haleon.The BoE will announce its interest rate decision on Thursday, a day after the US Fed unveils its own decision. The BoJ and SNB rate decisions also will come on Thursday.The FTSE 100

Stock markets were trading solidly on Wednesday despite several new sources of concern for investors. These include Google-owner Alphabet showing it isn't invincible and Russia ratcheting up its threat to gas supplies in Europe.The FTSE 100 index was up 71.13 points, or 1.0%, at 7,457.32 at midday on Wednesday, recovering by more than 100 points after dropping to a low in the morning of 7,344.89.T

London's FTSE 100 reversed 24.2 points to 7,343.25 on Monday with investors spooked by the attack on Saudi oil facilities and flocking to safer havens such as gold. Markets were also weak across other parts of Europe and Asia where investors reacted in a similar manner to the oil price spike and how it might fuel inflation.In corporate news, Tullow Oil (TLW) gushed 9.9% higher to 244.3p on news th

Investors are certainly seeing the glass half full when it comes to UK asset and consumer finance industry software supplier Alfa Financial (ALFA), for today at least.Beating full year forecasts will typically do that. 'Revenues in line and adjusted profit across a number of measures 10% to 15% better than our forecasts', admit analysts at broker Numis Securities today.You can read the detailed nu

There is a slow start for UK stocks on Thursday as several stocks trade ex-dividend and after weakness in Asia overnight. The FTSE 100 down 0.4% to 7,169.14.Industrial turnaround specialist Melrose Industries (MRO) gains 4.1% to 187.4p as full-year adjusted pre-tax profit almost trebles thanks to its acquisition of British engineering group GKN last year.It reports a pre-tax profit of £703m for 2

Power generation specialist ContourGlobal (GLO) is continuing its strategy of acquiring, developing and operating power assets and building its raft of contracts with its latest acquisition in Mexico.ContourGlobal has agreed to acquire Alpek's portfolio of two natural gas-fired combined heat and power (CHP) plants in Mexico, as well as development rights and permits for a third plant for $724m.Loc

In little more than a year Alfa Financial Software (ALFA) has gone from cherished FTSE 250 technology luminary to virtual stock market leper.In a similar vein to Sir Richard Branson's quip about how to become a millionaire (start with a billion, then buy an airline), owning shares in Alfa Financial have, thus far, been a ticket to the poor house.Founded by executive chairman Andrew Page in 1990, A

Shares in the world's biggest advertising agency WPP (WPP) plunge more than 7% to £11.88 in early trade on Tuesday, heading the FTSE 100 loser board, after posting lower revenues in its first half results.The group, which confirmed Mark Read as its new chief executive yesterday, also raised its sales expectations for the full year, not that investors are giving it much credit for doing so.Read ta

It is fair to say that 2018 is shaping up to be a difficult year for investors. Stocks are volatile, and the market is in very unforgiving mood with even the hint of bad news prompting big falls in company share prices.Already this year funerals provider Dignity (DTY) announced a complete change to its business model which sparked an immediate halving of its share price while technology firms Soph