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...

The FTSE 100 rose on Monday morning, albeit not as confidently as peers in Paris and Frankfurt, as investors reflect on a slew of data releases from last week, and look ahead to what could be a key few days for inflation and monetary policy developments.The FTSE 100 index rose 9.70 points, 0.1%, at 7,920.86. The FTSE 250 climbed 68.77 points, 0.4%, at 19,794.71, and the AIM All-Share advanced...

Second half momentum improvementProfit guidance ?slightly? increasedNew branding well-receivedCake Box (CBOX:AIM) shares sweetened up 6.2% to 171p on Monday after the fresh cream celebration cakes retailer said full year profits will be ?slightly? ahead of the £5.9 million consensus estimate, implying a 10% year-on-year uplift, after trading momentum improved in the second half.As a result,...

For the second part of our annual survey, we asked fund managers if they had changed their view on any stocks this year, for better or for worse, and what lay behind their decisions.As with the winners and losers survey last week, the answers were often frank and once again we would like to thank everyone who took part.Thomas Moore - Aberdeen Equity Income Trust (AEI)THE STOCK THAT I CHANGED...

David is a 41-year-old IT consultant who first got interested in investing in 2004 after buying shares in his employer when it floated on the Indian stock market.He then started investing in the UK and US markets for his ISA and SIPP (self-invested person pension). The ISA is used to house stocks while the SIPP is comprised of funds and investment trusts.David still owns shares in the Indian...

- Profit warning sends shares 45% lower- Cost inflation higher than anticipated- Like-for-like sales slumpFresh cream cakes specialist Cake Box (CBOX:AIM) has issued a profit warning for the year to 31 March 2023, sending the shares 45% lower to 91.1p on Wednesday.Cake Box now expects full year profitability to be 'significantly below' market expectations. Darren Shirley, food retail analyst...

Shares in Cake Box (CBOX:AIM) rallied 8.6% to 209p after the fresh cream cakes retailer served up a reassuring full year trading update that confirmed the strong trading seen since the end of lockdown has continued.The Enfield-headquartered egg-free cakes franchisor expects adjusted pre-tax profit for the year to March 2022 to be in line with market expectations, having put recent reporting...

Shares in Cake Box (CBOX:AIM) rallied 8.8% to 216p after the fresh cream cakes retailer announced senior management changes which helped soothe market fears following recent worrying revelation of poor internal controls.Investors were also relieved as the Enfield-headquartered egg-free cakes franchisor delivered news of strong trading in the second half to date and expressed confidence its...

Sukh Chamdal, chief executive and co-founder of specialist fresh cream cakes retailer Cake Box (CBOX:AIM) has sold shares with a market value of £10.5 million.The sale represents 7.5% of the company's shares and was executed through an accelerated book build with house broker Shore Capital. The sale leaves Chamdal with 9.8 million shares, representing just under 25% of the company.STRONG...

Shares in specialist retailer of fresh cream cakes Cake Box (CBOX:AIM) sweetened 4.5% on Monday to a new all-time high of 397p after the group reported record first half results to 30 September.Revenues grew 92% to £16.5 million resulting in pre-tax profit more than doubling to £3.7 million. For the four months through September, a period which compares a fully opened estate year-on-year,...

UK stocks continued their positive progress on Monday with technology and energy stocks lending support to the main index.US markets pushed to new highs on Friday after a strong October payrolls report and news that drugmaker Pfizer had developed a new Covid-19 pill.Brent crude future firmed 0.8% to $83.60 per barrel after OPEC rejected US calls for it to step up production, while sterling was...

Shares in egg-free fresh cream cakes franchisor Cake Box (CBOX:AIM) surged 10% to 370p on Monday, marking an all-time high for the stock after the company posted a 91% increase in first-half revenues through September to £16.4 million.To provide a cleaner picture of underlying performance and exclude any overlap with the past lockdowns, the company flagged that over the last four months...

UK stocks started the week cautiously, in spite of a raft of earnings upgrades, after another weak session in Asia where stocks in China and Japan were down 2% and 1% respectively as the Evergrande saga rumbled on.In energy markets, the focus was on the meeting of OPEC+ oil producers for any decision on whether to increase crude production, after a sharp rally in oil and gas prices this year....

Over the past week, directors have sold into share price strength at a number of well-followed companies, while the outgoing boss of one firm put more money to work ahead of his switch to a non-executive role.DESAI DEMONSTRATES FAITHThat man is Samir Desai, who will soon step down as CEO of Funding Circle (FCH) after 12 years in the hot seat. However, he demonstrated his faith in the lending...

UK stocks pulled back from their recent highs on Wednesday as first quarter GDP fell 1.6%, revised down from 1.5% reflecting the most recent lockdown, and oil prices retreated.Brent crude futures gave up 0.3% to $74 per barrel while precious metals were also weaker, with gold down 0.2% at $1,758 per ounce, capping its worst monthly performance for a couple of years, down 8% since the start of...

Eggs-free cakes maker Cake Box (CBOX:AIM) reported a rise in annual profit as revenue was boosted by a record franchisee sales despite the pandemic impact.For the 12 months ended 31 March 2021, pre-tax profit jumped 11.8% to £4.2 million year-on-year as revenue increased 16.9% to £21.9 million.Online sales grew 84%, and like-for-like sales grew 14.7% in franchise stores, up from 5.1% in the...

UK stocks pulled back on Wednesday as first quarter GDP fell 1.6%, revised down from 1.5% reflecting the most recent lockdown, and oil prices retreated.Brent crude futures gave up 0.3% to $74 per barrel while precious metals were also weaker, with gold down 0.2% at $1,758 per ounce, capping its worst monthly performance for a couple of years, down 8% since the start of June.At 12.15pm, the...

UK stocks made a subdued start on Wednesday as first quarter GDP fell 1.6%, revised down from 1.5% reflecting the most recent lockdown.Trading in Asia was mixed with China's SE Composite index gaining 0.5% while Japan's Nikkei was down 0.1%.Commodities were weaker with gold down 0.2% to $1,758 per ounce and Brent Crude was 0.1% lower at $74.7 a barrel.At 08:45 the FTSE 100 index of leading...

UK stocks ended Monday's session in the red as the reopening of shops and pubs across the UK failed to generate much of a market reaction.Caution prevailed as many investors decided to hold off on any big decisions as first quarter earnings season picks up pace in the US.'UK markets have remained pretty subdued as they seemed to have priced in today's lockdown easing exuberance,' explained...

UK stocks were ever slightly lower by lunchtime on Monday, even as local restaurants, bars and other non-essential businesses began to reopen, with sentiment uncertain amid global jitters over rising bond yields and lofty stock valuations.By lunchtime, London's blue chip benchmark index was off 22 points or 0.31%, at 6,894.2, with high street names weakening on reopening day as investors...