Retail and hospitality companies have slammed the UK government's Budget as a raid on corporate coffers that will heap extra costs on already hard-pressed sectors, with Labour's 6.7% increase in the National Living Wage and uplift in employers' national insurance contributions (NICs) forecast to lead to job cuts and price hikes.Chancellor Rachel Reeves' lowering of the employers' NIC threshold to

Q3 sales and profit beatFull year profit guidance raisedNew $5 billion share buybackLeading gaming and betting firm Flutter Entertainment (FLTR) jumped 4% to an all-time high of £201 after revealing third quarter earnings ahead of analysts' expectations, raising guidance and announcing a $5 billion share buyback.The shares have surged 46% this year, trouncing Ladbrokes owner Entain (ENT) and Will

ProCook (PROC) 29pMarket cap: £32.7 millionRisk-tolerant investors seeking a compelling recovery play with tasty re-rating potential should consider ProCook (PROC). This direct-to-consumer specialist kitchenware brand is carving out market share gains under management's refreshed strategy to serve up profitable growth.After a tough few years post its 2021 IPO (initial public offering), when the c

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

Stocks in London slipped at the close on Monday, as the FTSE 100 joined European peers in negative territory.The FTSE 100 index closed down 40.01 points, or 0.5%, at 8,318.24. The FTSE 250 ended down 242.98 points, or 1.2%, at 20,906.60, and the AIM All-Share lost 5.74 points, 0.8%, at 734.95.The Cboe UK 100 closed down 0.4% at 833.19 on Monday, the Cboe UK 250 ended down 1.1% at 18,461.11, and th

London's FTSE 100 was in the red during midday trade on Monday, returning the morning's gains as optimism fuelled by China's interest rate cuts ebbed.There was some sparkle in commodity markets from gold, however. Oil prices also climbed, supporting Shell and BP, which rose 1.1% and 1.9%.The FTSE 100 index went into the afternoon in a tepid fashion, despite the heavyweight oil majors rising. The l

Revenue rises to record £230 millionProfit to be ahead of consensusStrong pipeline of new centresLeading tenpin bowling operator Hollywood Bowl (BOWL) delivered another record year of revenue alongside tight cost control, resulting in profits coming in ahead of consensus expectations.The positive update was well received by investors with the shares gaining nearly 3% to 334p, taking the advance o

The FTSE 100 started the week on the front foot as an interest rate cut in China boosted share prices of UK-listed miners.The FTSE 100 index traded up 28.35 points, 0.3%, at 8,386.60. The FTSE 250 was up 36.02 points, or 0.2%, at 21,185.60, and the AIM All-Share was up 2.31 points, or 0.3%, at 743.00.The Cboe UK 100 was up 0.4% at 839.69, the Cboe UK 250 also rose 0.4% to 18,742.74, and the Cboe S

Next CEO sells £29 million sharesDunelm founder's son sells 10 million sharesHollywood Bowl director sells 275,000 sharesSimon Wolfson, CEO of clothing retailer Next (NXT) has sold three tranches of shares during the period 20 to 24 September.Wolfson sold 204,349 shares at £100.65 for a total value of £20,568,376; 57,962 shares at £101.57 at a total value of £5,887.051 and 27,689 at £100.04

On 1 August the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee made a 5-4 decision to kickstart its rate-cutting cycle. A 25 basis point reduction in the base rate to 5% marking The Old Lady of Threadneedle Street's first cut since March 2020.This means cash savings rates are heading in one direction, down. And the lower-than-expected jump in UK inflation reported on 14 August only boosted market exp

Shares fall on read-across from US verdictLiabilities could total up to $1.5 billionNews muddies potential unit saleShares in hygiene, health and nutrition products powerhouse Reckitt Benckiser (RKT) sank as much as 10% to around £40.40, their lowest level since 2013 after a US jury found Abbot Laboratories' (ABT:NYSE) specialised infant formula caused an Illinois girl to develop a dangerous bowl

Now that the dust has settled after the UK elections and attention has turned back to markets, we have updated the performance stats on our tips for 2024. Overall, our picks have gained 8.7% year-to-date compared with an 8.3% rise in the FTSE All-Share. That's not to say it has been plain sailing ? our returns range from a gain of almost 60% to a loss of more than 40%, the latter is in a US tech s

London's FTSE 100 closed higher on Friday, though stocks in New York struggled, taking little confidence from a key US inflation gauge producing no scares.The FTSE 100 index ended up 44.33 points, 0.5%, at 8,275.38. The FTSE 250 ended up 59.25 points, 0.3%, at 20,730.12, and the AIM All-Share closed up 3.10 points, 0.4%, at 805.79.For the week, the FTSE 100 lost 0.5%, the FTSE 250 fell 0.2%, while

Stock prices in London closed largely up on Wednesday, as the FTSE 100 shrugged off hotter-than-expected UK inflation data.The FTSE 100 index closed up 27.63 points, 0.4%, at 7,847.99. The FTSE 250 ended down just 4.40 points at 19,340.14, and the AIM All-Share closed up 4.84 points, or 0.7% at 743.12.The Cboe UK 100 ended up 0.6% at 785.06, the Cboe UK 250 closed up 0.1% at 16,784.15, and the Cbo

Q1 revenue falls less than expectedUS market share maintainedNew CEO could be announced imminentlyAfter a challenging couple of years amid pressure from activist investors to improve performance, bookmaker Entain (ENT) said first quarter net gaming revenue including its 50/50 joint venture with BetMGM fell 3%.Consensus analyst expectations compiled by the company were looking for a bigger drop in

First half revenue up 8%Strong pipeline of new centresGood progress in CanadaThe UK and Canada?s largest tenpin bowling group Hollywood Bowl (BOWL) said first half revenue increased 8% to a record £119.2 million as UK revenue tipped over £100 million for the first time.The shares dipped 1.3% to 331p in a tough session with the mid-cap FTSE 250 index in the red to the tune of 1.5% after a sell-of

THIS IS AN ADVERTISING FEATURE Abby Glennie and Amanda Yeaman, managers of abrdn UK Smaller Companies Growth TrustThe long-awaited turnaround in smaller companies is unlikely to happen just because shares are lowly-valuedHowever, an improving economic and interest rate backdrop could spark renewed interest in the sectorM&A activity is also providing support for the smaller companies sectorInvest

Our portfolio of picks for 2024 is off to a solid start in what proved an uneven first quarter for the stock market as a whole.Our return of 9% is comfortably ahead of our FTSE All-Share benchmark at 3.9%. It?s a tale of feast and famine, however, with half of our selections achieving double-digit gains while 40% are in the red.!function(){"use strict";window.addEventListener("message",(function(a

The shrinking UK stock market is a worry for fund managers and has wider implications for the UK as a listing venue as well as the UK?s economic growth, say analysts at Peel Hunt.This article explores the so-called de-equitisation of the UK stock market, or plainly put the substitution of debt for equity via share buybacks and cash acquisitions.More than 45 companies exited the UK market in 2023 d

In a world of thousands of stocks, certain people just want to focus on ones that are doing well. If these stocks are part of a group with a snappy acronym or label, they must surely matter, right? That is the widespread view among the investment community.Investors love a narrative and what better way to hook people in than with a label that says, ?look at me?. The Magnificent Seven is the latest