UK water firms had their gains pulled back by Friday's close following yesterday's Ofwat induced bump, as Trump threatened the EU with tariff's if it failed to address its trading deficit.The FTSE 100 index closed down 12.67 points, 0.2%, at 8,092.65. The FTSE 250 ended up 31.24 points, 0.2%, at 20,430.62, and the AIM All-Share closed down 0.1, or 0.73 of a point, at 711.05.The Cboe UK 100 ended d

Stocks in London opened lower on Thursday morning following the US Federal Reserve's rate cut yesterday, as investors prepare for the Bank of England's decision this afternoon.The Fed announced another 25 basis point cut as expected, but hinted that that it will be slowing down next year in contrast with its 'jumbo' 50bp cut in September.'The market reaction was very aggressive, of course,' said S

Few doubt that 2025 will be another huge year for AI, but when looking for interesting investment opportunities, investors can sometimes allow details to obscure the bigger picture. In our view, Alphabet (GOOG:NASDAQ) remains an outstanding growth business with strong AI levers to pull, currently trading a large discount to other 'Magnificent Seven' stocks.This valuation gap will, we believe, narr

Investment trusts have experienced challenges this year, with discounts remaining wide across various sectors and some consolidation occurring. However, certain trusts have performed well compared to both the wider market and their peer group. This article highlights the top performers across four of the Association of Investment Companies' most widely followed equity-facing sectors.GLOBALAn inves

UK & Ireland like-for-likes up 5%Gains in UK and NordicsPost-Budget price rises 'inevitable'Shares in electrical retailer Currys (CURY) topped the FTSE 250 leader board on 12 December, surging 11.5% higher to 88p after the firm reported a rise in first-half profits and a return to sales growth for the core UK & Ireland business despite a tough consumer backdrop.Buoyed by rising demand for AI lapto

It's ingrained in us as investors that the best way to get superior, risk-adjusted long-term returns is to distance ourselves from the crowd and seek out value.That approach has always needed courage and patience, and 2024 has proved to be a particularly fierce test of this discipline for the simple reason that what worked last year worked well again this year.It did so because the consensus macro

Blue-chips in London, Paris and Frankfurt were in the red midday Tuesday, as investors fretted over the outlook for China's economy after some less-than-stellar data.'Chinese exports grew at a slower pace in November versus October, and imports shrank. That doesn't install much confidence about Beijing's efforts to get the country back on top. The prospect of higher tariffs on Chinese goods export

Pets at Home CEO buys nearly £100,000 sharesPod Point CFO snaps up £50,400 sharesForesight Solar Fund directors buyLyssa McGowan, CEO of pet food-to-veterinary services group Pets at Home (PETS) has bought 42,294 shares at 236p for a total value of £99,999 on 29 November.Pets at Home's shares recently plunged to a two-year low after it downgraded profit guidance for the year to March 2025.McGow

Kenvue (KVUE:NYSE) $24.30Market cap: $46.6 billionInvestors looking to add a resilient company with healthy global growth potential to portfolios should consider Kenvue (KVUE:NYSE). The $46.6 billion cap stands behind a variety of self-care, beauty and essential health products. Formerly Johnson & Johnson's (JNJ:NYSE) consumer healthcare division, Kenvue was spun out as a standalone in 2023 via a

Spare a thought for Laszlo Hanyecz. You may not have heard of him, but in 2010 he spent 10,000 Bitcoins on two pizzas, in one of the first ever 'real world' crypto transactions. The market value of those Bitcoins is now $950 million. Hanyecz is pretty stoic about it, but deep down he must know that no amount of melted cheese can make up for the vast fortune he might have had. Hanyecz, a computer p

European equities are having a 'largely positive' session on Wednesday, but the FTSE 100 stuck out a like a sore thumb, with some of its more defensive stocks in the red.The FTSE 100 index fell 18.05 points, 0.2%, at 8,341.36. The FTSE 250 added 31.42 points, 0.2%, at 20,924.16, and the AIM All-Share rose 0.75 of a point, 0.1%, at 735.84.The Cboe UK 100 lost 0.4% at 837.01, the Cboe UK 250 was up

Enterprise software giant sees stock jump to all-time highAI-powered AgentForce shows early promiseStrong Q4 and 2025 in store, believe analystsOutside of a handful of obvious candidates - Microsoft (MSFT:NASDAQ), for example ? AI hasn't yet really woken the growth beast for applications firms, but that could be changing at Salesforce (CRM:NYSE).The customer relationship management gorilla talked

FTSE 100 mining stocks were boosted on Tuesday amid reports of Chinese economic strategy talks while a host of FTSE 250 constituents saw double-digit share price rises after well-received earnings.The FTSE 100 index rose 46.52 points, 0.6%, at 8,359.41. The FTSE 250 ended 123.69 points higher, 0.6%, at 20,892.74, and the AIM All-Share rose 2.05 points, 0.3%, at 735.09.The Cboe UK 100 ended up 0.8%

European equities were higher heading into Tuesday afternoon, boosted by hope that China's top leaders will meet to set out lofty economic aims and discuss stimulus measures for next year. The FTSE 100 index rose 58.76 points, 0.7%, at 8,371.65. The FTSE 250 added 125.89 points, 0.6%, at 20,894.94, and the AIM All-Share rose 2.10 points, 0.3%, at 735.14.The Cboe UK 100 added 0.8% at 840.75, the Cb

Full-year operating profit up 18%Material net debt reductionPositive trading continuesInvestors raised a glass to Marston's (MARS) on Tuesday, pushing the shares up 3.3p or nearly 9% after the pubs group served up a big jump in full-year profit and said positive momentum has continued with Christmas bookings tracking ahead of the prior year.The shares are up around 40% over the last year, comforta

Group pre-tax profit increases 84% to £26.5 millionUp to £25 million share buyback programme launchedShares up 67% over the past yearShares in On The Beach (OTB) jumped 15% to 197p in morning trading after the online package holiday provider reported record bookings, rising profits, a share buyback scheme, and the return of its dividend. 'Winter 2024 volumes are up 25% year on year, as customers

Indices in London ended the session in the green on a mixed day for retailers on Black Friday as US equities pushed higher in a shortened trading session.The FTSE 100 index rose 6.08 points, 0.1%, at 8,287.30. The FTSE 250 climbed 8.79 points, at 20,771.57, and the AIM All-Share firmed 1.58 points, 0.2%, at 732.49.For the week, the FTSE 100 rose 0.3%, the FTSE 250 advanced 0.9% and the AIM All-Sha

London's FTSE 100 was largely flat, though the FTSE 250 made a more sizeable move heading into Friday afternoon, as M&A activity continued.The FTSE 100 index added just 3.66 points to sit at 8,284.88. The FTSE 250 registered a more convincing 31.63 point gain, 0.2%, at 20,794.41, and the AIM All-Share added 1.49 points, 0.2%, at 732.40.The Cboe UK 100 rose 0.1% at 832.14, the Cboe UK 250 added 0.3

Identifying genuine growth stories is not easy but can be extremely rewarding. Nvidia (NVDA:NASDAQ) may be the ultimate growth stock example now but who was flagging its potential 10 years ago when revenue and profit was just a fraction of what it is today and when the widespread application of AI was still restricted to think pieces in periodicals. Some did catch on early and would have enjoyed e

We begin proceedings with two takeover approaches, one successful, the other less so, for now at least.First, Swiss bourse operator SIX agreed to buy UK junior marketplace Aquis Exchange (AQX:AIM) for 727p in cash, representing a 120% premium to the previous closing price of 330p.SIX, which operates the Swiss and Spanish stock markets, called the deal 'a compelling strategic opportunity which will