Hollywood Bowl directors sell 300,000 sharesBarclays director sells shares after new highMidwich director buys 150,000 sharesMelanie Dickinson, chief people officer at tenpin bowling and mini-golf centre operator, Hollywood Bowl (BOWL) has sold 150,000 shares at 331p for a total value of £497,505 on 24 October.Dickinson now has 290,276 shares after the sale. Matthew Hart, chief marketing and tech

Profits to be 'significantly' down year-on-yearFurther deterioration in GermanyMidwich winning market shareSpecialist AV (audio visual) equipment distributor Midwich (MIDW:AIM) has forged a strong growth track record since coming to the stock market in 2016.However, the company is in the doghouse with investors after warning (21 October) that adjusted operating profit for 2024 will be 'significant

It's said there are only two certainties in life ? death and taxes ? and as it stands the world is steadily getting older, with not enough births or young people coming through to offset the increasing ranks of the middle-aged and old-aged.Moreover, according to the United Nations' latest World Populations Prospects study which came out earlier this year, the global population is likely to peak th

Insurer beats consensus againUK general insurance strongCommitted to returning capitalMaybe it is a measure of just how much chief executive Amanda Blanc has achieved since taking the helm at insurance giant Aviva (AV.) that its 'excellent' first-half results were greeted with a yawn rather than fireworks.The shares, which have gained 27% in the past year compared with a 10% rise in the FTSE 100,

Aviva (AV.) 464pMarket cap: £12.9 billionThere's a gambit insurance salespeople use which goes something like: if you had a machine in the shed which printed £70,000 a year of genuine £20 notes, how much would you insure it for? The customer usually gives a high figure, say in the region of £500,000.The salesperson then counters, so shouldn't you insure your homes' chief breadwinner for the sa

This feature was prompted by a reader question on why 'bond proxies' such as insurers Phoenix Group (PHNX) and Aviva (AV.) do not attract more investor attention.A bond proxy typically refers to a company which has a steadier-than-average income stream and offers a higher-than-average level of income.Long-term savings and insurance group Phoenix sits on a dividend yield of 10.4% based on an expect

Activist Cevian builds 5% stakeSees significant long term valueShares jump 7%Medical products maker Smith & Nephew (SN.) topped the FTSE leader board with the shares jumping 7% to £10.5 after activist investor Cevian Capital disclosed a 5% stake, making it the second largest shareholder in the group.The shares are down around 13% over the last 12-months compared with a 7% gain in the FTSE 100 ind

Aviva director buys £484,000 sharesBalfour Beatty CEO buys £129,696 sharesCakebox CEO Sukh Chamdal ups stakeT Neil Morrison, non-executive director at life insurer Aviva (AV.) has bought 100,000 shares at 484p for a total value of £484,000 on 25 June.Over the past year Aviva shares have gained 23%.Morrison's move comes after the life insurer reported a strong set of results for the first quarte

Is BT (BT.A) finally worth owning? For years it has been a complete dog of a stock and despite spinning back through our archives, Shares struggled to find the last time we had anything positive to say about the company or its shares.Yet suddenly in May 2024, the stock jumped, chalking up rough 30% gains within days and now at roughly 138p. 'There is a surge of energy running through BT after the

First-quarter premiums upWeather-related claims upFocus on cost savingsShareholders in FTSE 250 motor and home insurer Direct Line (DLG) were unmoved by the latest trading update despite chief executive Adam Winslow talking up the firm?s positive start to the year.The shares, which touched 240p two months ago after Belgian insurer Ageas (AGS:EBR) made a preliminary offer, drifted 5p or 2.5% lower

UK stocks look cheap on so many different valuation metrics, not just one or two, suggesting a robust, genuine investment opportunity is available to long-term investors. So why does nobody seem convinced?This article explores the scepticism surrounding the UK?s market?s attractive valuation and examines the underlying evidence to support it. Shares concludes UK stocks really are a compelling inve

Stocks in London were up on Thursday midday, with JD Sports shares in the FTSE 100 jumping as it outlined its financial 2025 profit forecast, while water utilities struggled.The FTSE 100 index was up 20.39 points, 0.3%, at 7,952.37. The FTSE 250 was up 52.23 points, 0.3%, at 19,862.89, and the AIM All-Share was up 1.29 points, 0.2%, at 743.40.The Cboe UK 100 was up 0.2% at 794.61, the Cboe UK 250

Aviva CEO Amanda Blanc buys over 10,000 sharesInchcape CEO Nigel Stein makes the most of strong resultsLikewise CEO offloads £2.5 million sharesAmanda Blanc, CEO of Aviva (AV.) has bought 10,597 shares at 474p for a total value of £50,241 along with her husband Kenneth Blanc who has bought 17,121 shares at 468p for a total value of £80,242 on 7 March.The purchases come after the insurance giant

Profit at both firms tops forecastsAviva announces £300 million buybackBeazley plans $325 million buybackShares in FTSE 100 insurance groups Aviva (AV.) and Beazley (BEZ) were among the gainers after both firms posted positive results and announced plans to buy back their shares.Aviva shares climbed 4% to 473p while Beazley shares added 2.5% to 670p. AVIVA ON SOLID GROUNDAviva reported ful

No-one could accuse the CMA (Competition and Markets Authority) of sitting on its hands, least of all this year.As well as investigating several high-profile mergers ? including this month alone Aviva (AV.)/AIG Life, SpreadEx/Sporting Image, RedBird IMI/Telegraph Media Group, Pharmacy2U/Lloyds Direct and Hitachi/Thales ? the regulator has been busy looking into pricing in the funeral market (again

While it may have been choppy seas for growth investors last year, for those with an income strategy it was plainer sailing with regular dividend payments for the FTSE All-Share excluding investment trusts growing by more than 5% to over £88 billion according to the latest Dividend Monitor report from financial services company Computershare.The firm?s latest quarterly report reveals some interes

General insurance sales up 13%Dividend reaffirmed at 33.4pCEO sees firm beating targetsFTSE 100 insurance group Aviva (AV.) delivered a typically reassuring third-quarter trading statement and suggested it was on track to exceed its medium-term financial targets.The shares gained just under 1% to 417p, continuing the recovery from their September lows around 360p. HEALTHY GROWTHThe firm rep

When debating what kind of portfolio is going to be best suited to an environment of 'higher-for-longer' interest rates, looking at past periods of high rates provides a partial guide.In the UK interest rates were high and stayed high pretty much from the start of the 1960s all the way through to 1990 and during that period not only were rates in double digits but so was inflation. The difference

In what will seem like yet another case of dejà vu for property investors, one of the biggest open-ended funds in the market has decided to suspend dealing in its shares and shut up shop.This move brings into question the future of this type of property fund given the inherent structural problems it has.Several open-ended funds suspended dealings in the aftermath of the Brexit vote in 2016

Insurance non-exec buys sharesBig Technologies sets up employees trustMidwich director buys after strong resultsMohit Joshi, a non-executive director at UK insurer Aviva (AV.), bought 59,300 shares at 409p on 12 October for a total value of £242,537.The deal comes after several Aviva employees bought shares over the past few weeks, including chairman George Culmer and chief executive Amanda Blanc