Bunzl CEO buys £303,110 sharesCMC deputy CEO buys £420,284 sharesC&C CEO buys 100,000 sharesFrank van Zanten, chief executive of outsourcing business Bunzl (BNZL), bought 10,000 shares for a total value of £303,110 on 6 March.Over the past month, Bunzl shares have fallen 14% despite the FTSE 100 company reporting a 2.2% rise in adjusted full year 2024 pre-tax profit (3 March), its 32nd year...

London's FTSE 100 outperformed its European peers on Thursday morning, as investors continue to move with caution amid US tariff concerns.US President Donald Trump's 25% tariffs on steel and aluminium imports triggered retaliatory action from the EU and Canada on Wednesday.China on Thursday called for 'dialogue' with Washington to resolve spiralling trade tensions that have seen the world's...

Just over five years ago the stock market began to react in earnest to news of the Covid pandemic.The sell-off was short and sharp, with a modest recovery from the lows in the spring followed by sharper gains in November 2020 after AstraZeneca (AZN) made a vaccine breakthrough.However, a large number of UK stocks are still trading below the levels they were at by the close of trading on 21...

Half- and full-year guidance confirmedCore brands hold up in soft marketsSecond tranche of buyback starts todayShareholders in beer and cider producer C&C Group (CCR) celebrated a small win after the company confirmed its half-year profit forecast and continued its share buyback with a small but symbolic programme to buy €15 million (£12.7 million) of stock starting today.The shares rose...

Stock prices in London continued to trend down this week, as new US non farms payroll data signalled that a Fed interest rate cut won't be happening anytime soon.The FTSE 100 index closed down 39.97 points, 0.5%, at 8,245.37. The FTSE 250 ended down 160.51 points, 0.8%, at 20,555.37, and the AIM All-Share closed down 3.01 points, 0.4%, at 793.53.Over the course of the week, they are down 0.4%,...

Stocks in London fell on Friday at midday despite a positive outlook from the CBI for the UK economy, ahead of a US jobs report reading.The FTSE 100 index was down 47.62 points, 0.6%, at 8,237.71. The FTSE 250 was down 105.46 points, 0.5%, at 20,610.42, and the AIM All-Share was down 2.27 points, 0.3%, at 794.27.The Cboe UK 100 was down 0.6% at 821.06, the Cboe UK 250 was down 0.6% at...

McMahon carries can for accounting blunders€125 million Magners write-downAdditional €15 million buyback announcedPremium drinks group C&C's (CCR) shares plunged 7.5% to 156.5p after the Magners maker announced the immediate resignation of CEO Patrick McMahon, who has carried the can for accounting failures which have resulted in some significant write-offs.The maker of Bulmers and...

Persistent inflation and higher interest rates are squeezing disposable incomes. In this scenario there is logic in investors putting their cash behind companies which make premium products which confer pricing power or sell affordable luxuries which help consumers to socialise or unwind at the end of the working day.One sector that enjoys both these attributes is Beverages, the domain of soft...

- Ongoing tech issues to trigger €25 million profits hit- CEO steps down with immediate effect- Post-pandemic profit recovery proving challengingShares in C&C (CCR) sank 17.5% to 127.1p after the Dublin-headquartered drinks company warned it will incur a €25 million one-off hit to profitability for the year to February 2024 related to disruption from a botched software upgrade, which...

- Key brands continue to take market share- Drinks maker to restart dividends- But earnings come in at low end of guidanceDublin-headquartered drinks group C&C (CCR), the maker of Magners and Bulmers ciders, expects to deliver a solid 18% rise in revenues for the year ended 28 February 2023 and resume dividend payments, news that sent the shares bubbling up 2.7% to 154p.However in a mixed...

- Consumer spending squeeze and rail strikes hit hospitality sales- Profit warning triggers 5% earnings downgrade- C&C continues to generate strong free cash flowShares in C&C (CCR) were the biggest FTSE 250 losers on Friday, falling 10.5% to 164.6p after the Dublin-headquartered drinks business served up news of disappointing trading in December.C&C pinned the blame for subdued Christmas...

Special situation funds should, in theory, be busy making new investments in the current market environment. Their strategy includes finding unloved stocks which could either bounce back thanks to corporate self-help measures or the market eventually spots hidden value within a business which then attracts more buyers for the shares.Given how so many stocks have slumped in value this year -...

- Branded drinks maker is back in the black- Strengthened balance sheet paves way for dividend reinstatement- Further price hikes likely to mitigate cost inflationShares in C&C (CCR) fizzed 6.8% higher to 219p after the premium drinks company reported a return to profit for the year ended 28 February 2022 thanks to the return of the on-trade, and served up news of a robust start to the new...

Shares in Dublin-headquartered drinks business C&C (CCR) frothed higher following a positive trading update (16 Mar) from the maker of everything from cider brands Magners, Bulmers and Orchard Pig to beer brand Tennent's and Tipperary Pure Irish Water.Investors toasted evidence of continued recovery in its markets and a significantly reduced debt pile. Indeed, Shore Capital noted C&C can not...

UK stocks drifted in early trading as investors awaited the next piece of US economic data, the December non-farm payrolls report due at lunchtime. A stronger than expected number could be negative for markets as it adds to worries the US Federal Reserve will raise rates earlier than expected.There was positive news in the technology sector with Samsung Electronics, a major Asian chipmaker,...

Despite gains for index heavyweights including Lloyds Banking (LLOY) and GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), the FTSE fell on Thursday due to negative movements from both Royal Dutch Shell (RDSB) and HSBC (HSBA).The blue chip benchmark traded 0.36% lower at 7,227.24 points on a busy day of corporate results.The European Central Bank was set to update the market later in the day and investors will be...

London's FTSE 100 was 0.5% firmer at 7,050.56 points early on Thursday following after a rebound in the US and another dip for Asian equities overnight.A flurry of positive corporate news and decent US data overnight outweighed lingering concerns about the Chinese economy, which dragged down the miners and other companies with links to China such as luxury brand Burberry (BRBY), off 2.75% to...

It's been relatively quiet in terms of director deals over the past week, but two deals that caught the eye involve major stakes traded by bosses at two technology companies.The biggest transaction over the last week involves Jonathan Satchell, chief executive of Learning Technologies (LTG:AIM), and his wife who, via The Satchell Trust, yesterday sold 2.1 million shares at a price of 170p each...

In the second part of our two-part feature we get another fascinating range of responses on what did and didn't work out for top fund managers during a tumultuous 2020 and which stocks they are most excited about now.Interestingly computer games firm Codemasters (CDM:AIM) features as both a success story in the eyes of one manager and a disappointment in the eyes of another. Read on to...

The FTSE 100 dropped 58 points or 1% to 5,832 points at lunchtime on Wednesday as markets awaited signs of progress on talks over further US stimulus.Sentiment also took a hit as Netflix disappointed the market after the market close and the shares traded down 7% in after-hours dealing. Even companies which have beaten forecasts, such as Johnson & Johnson and Lockheed Martin, have failed to...