Despite a sell-off on Wednesday (27 November) on the back of stubbornly strong inflation, US markets still put in a strong performance over five days with the S&P 500 index closing above 6,000 (26 November) before easing back. October's PCE (personal consumption and expenditure) data showed a steeper-than-expected rise in prices, while the economy and employment remain robust, raising concerns the

Investor excitement surrounding weight-loss drugs has arguably been as great if not greater than that seen for everything AI (artificial intelligence) in the last two years.Market leaders Novo Nordisk (NOVO-B:CPH) and Eli Lilly (LLY:NYSE), makers of Wegovy and Zepbound respectively, have seen their share prices soar as investors seemingly extrapolate their initial success years into the future.Ben

Bob Iger was summoned out of retirement in 2022 to get iconic media company Walt Disney (DIS:NYSE) whirring again, but there is still much for the chief executive to do to turn round the fortunes of the 'House of Mouse'.Cost-cutting progress, streaming business subscriptions and the outlook for the important Parks business will all be scrutinised when Disney delivers third-quarter results on 7 Aug

The emerging battle for market share in the lucrative obesity market, which analysts at Goldman Sachs estimate could be worth more than $100 billion by 2030, is starting to heat up.Sales of market-leading weight-loss drug Wegovy more than doubled to around £1 billion in the first quarter of 2024, helping to drive total sales for Danish drugmaker Novo Nordisk (NOVO-B:CPH) up 24% to DKK 65.3 billio

Having started the year betting on up to half-a-dozen interest rate cuts, then having to undo those bets as stronger-than-expected US economic data and Fed comments pointed at the possibility of one or even no cut in rates this year, investors? heads have been in a spin for the last few weeks.Cue the return on 3 May of the ?Goldilocks? scenario, where the US economy turns out to be moderating so i

Pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly (LLY:NYSE) is due to report first-quarter earnings before the market opens on 30 April. Wall Street is expecting EPS (earnings per share) of $2.54 which represents a 57% increase compared with the first quarter of 2023.All eyes will be on sales momentum in Lilly?s diabetes treatment Mounjaro and obesity treatment Zepbound following the latter?s launch in November 202

London?s FTSE 100 ended higher on Tuesday, registering its first daily gain since hawkish words from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell last week all but ensured there would be no March rate cut from the Federal Reserve.His words echoed around markets on Thursday, and there was a red-hot US jobs report on Friday, the final nail in the coffin for March rate cut hopes. Markets still digested that r

Investors will be looking forward to tucking into fourth-quarter results from fast-food giant McDonald?s (MCD:NYSE) on 5 February to see whether despite higher interest rates US consumers are still hungry for its value-for-money offering.?It's hard to see McDonald's not winning in any consumer environment,? says Wedbush analyst Nick Setyan, while Andy Barish at Jefferies named the stock a top pick

The biotechnology sector should be a major beneficiary of an ageing world population and strained government health budgets as companies develop new drugs to treat chronic diseases.After underperforming the major indices since the end of the pandemic, the NBI (Nasdaq Biotechnology Index) offers great relative value and the prospect of superior earnings growth.The sector trades at a 18% PE (price t

Obesity is one of the fastest growing public health issues facing the world. The World Health Organisation estimates there are two billion overweight adults, of which around 650 million are technically obese.Having a body mass index over 30 means someone is obese, while anyone with a score over 25 is classified under this system as being overweight. Experts predict almost half of US adults will be

After a downbeat start to September, US markets have staged a healthy recovery thanks to buying of heavyweight big tech stocks and huge excitement over ARM's (ARM:NASDAQ) IPO, the biggest in the US for two years. As of the market close (14 Sep), Amazon (AMZN:NASDAQ) was up 5.7%, Meta Platforms (META:NASDAQ) up 4.1%, Microsoft (MSFT:NASDAQ) up 2.7% and Tesla (TSLA:NASDAQ) up around 7.5% over the we

Major US indices trended lower over the past week despite latest US inflation figures (10 Aug) lifting sentiment late on, adding to optimism that the Federal Reserve's rate hike cycle is at an end. As for investors, they were taken with pharma stocks and a US luxury sector mega-merger.Tapestry (TPR:NYSE) tumbled after agreeing to buy Michael Kors, Versace and Jimmy Choo parent Capri (CPRI:NYSE) in

US industrials outfit Caterpillar (CAT:NYSE) is a big, globally diversified business which operates across several economically sensitive markets.As such, its quarterly update on 1 August will not only be a marker for the health of the company itself but also for the wider global economy.Its core business areas are construction, mining, energy and transportation. Thanks in part to its own efficien

Positive mid-stage trial results for obesity drugPatients lost ten pounds in 16 weeksBig market opportunityShares in Pfizer (PFE:NYSE) gained over 5% in US trading last night after the company revealed a full-peer review of mid-stage clinical trial results for its obesity drug danuglipro.Pfizer's drug was tested on 441 adults with type-two diabetes who received either the drug or placebo. The stud

Barclays to kick off key reporting season with UK banks undera cloudThe recent crisis in the sector has raised questions about financial stabilityThe collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and the resulting fallout in the banking sector is not the best backdrop for the UK banks as they get set to report first quarter numbers.Up first is Barclays (BARC) on 27 April. Its 2022 results published on 15 Februa

- Investment manager wants to terminate contract- Current fund managers to stay on for smooth transition- Likely to be strong interest from other fund managersBiotechnology specialist International Biotechnology Trust (IBT) said investment adviser SV Health Investors had given notice to terminate the management of the trust from 9 February 2024 or earlier if agreed by the parties.SV Health Investo

A little-known global equity fund called Nutshell Growth (BLP46Q1) last year gave Fundsmith Equity Fund (B41YBW7), one the most popular investments among UK retail investors, a good run for its money in terms of performance.Between 1 January and 15 December 2021, Nutshell returned 27.9% versus 20.1% from Fundsmith, according to FE Fundinfo data. It also beat another widely held global fund, Blue W

The UK's benchmark index gave up its early trading gains in a subdued session early in the afternoon on Friday. At midday, the FTSE 100 was down 0.03% at 7,123.17.In a market that has struggled to find both momentum and direction investors will be focusing on the comments made by Fed Chairman Jerome Powell at the Jackson Hole symposium. The market will be scrutinizing his remarks for any outline o

The controversial moneylender Amigo (AMGO) announced first quarter (April-June) results this morning that showed a sharp increase in profit.The group announced a £15 million pre-tax profit in the first quarter of the year, up from £1.4 million a year earlier.This announcement comes rapidly on the heels of an earlier announcement this week reporting a significant loss for the last financial year.

The FTSE 100 made a slow start to the final trading day of the week ahead of the long Bank Holiday weekend with investors keeping their powder dry ahead of Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell's comments at the Jackson Hole symposium for central bankers.Economic watchers largely expect the address to the remote conference will be unremarkable, but the market awaits in anticipation regardless.At 9am