Stock prices in Europe were generally lower on Friday morning, after optimism from rate cuts in the US and UK wore off, as China unveiled a huge support package under which it will raise the local government debt ceiling.China's top lawmakers have approved a proposal to increase the debt ceiling for local governments by $840 billion, state media said as a key meeting wrapped up in Beijing.Meanwhil

European stocks were higher on Thursday midday, as investors prepare for a US GDP print, while top US White House aide Jake Sullivan met Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing.The FTSE 100 index was up 24.13 points, or 0.3%, at 8,367.98. The FTSE 250 was up 42.84 points, or 0.2%, at 21,109.71, and the AIM All-Share was up 2.36 points, or 0.3%, at 772.66.The Cboe UK 100 was up 0.3% at 836.44, the

European stocks were higher going into Friday afternoon, as investors focused on potential clues about future monetary policy from both sides of the Atlantic.The Jackson Hole meeting will see both Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and and Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey speak on Friday.In other news, energy bills are set to increase by almost £150 after Ofgem raised its price cap, in bad

Big Yellow Group (BYG) £11.74Market Cap: £2.28 billionIt may not be a glamorous sector, but self-storage is a remarkably stable and lucrative business with tremendous growth prospects.As the UK market leader, with a portfolio of 109 stores and 6.4 million feet of lettable space, Big Yellow (BYG) is easily the most recognisable brand.The business is driven by 'life events', which can range from s

Surrey-based maker of Peppa Pig, Teletubbies and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles toys, Character Group (CCT :AIM), knocked earnings forecasts into a cocked hat with its first-half results as pre-tax profit multiplied from £0.2 million to £2.2 million.The firm said the jump in profitability in the six months to February was down to reduced selling and distribution costs and a £0.2 million positive

Share prices in London opened lower on Tuesday, underperforming other European markets, after a somewhat perplexing UK jobs report and an earnings miss by blue-chip lender Barclays.The FTSE 100 index opened down 24.75 points, or 0.3%, at 7,350.08. The FTSE 250 was down 27.63 points, 0.2%, at 17,031.36, and the AIM All-Share was down 1.76 points, 0.3%, at 678.65.The Cboe UK 100 was down 0.3% at 733

London's FTSE 100 outperformed on Monday, as large-cap European stocks largely closed higher, despite some poor PMI readings at the start of the week.After the data, eyes turn to central banks, with decisions from Federal Reserve, European Central Bank and Bank of Japan to come.'Central bankers might be hoping to channel Goldilocks when they deliver their rate hike decisions over the next couple o

London's FTSE 100 was hurt by China-exposed stocks, amid growth worries about the world's second-largest economy, while travel shares also failed to reach dizzying heights.Ocado's stock did, however, boosted by a favourable legal ruling. The 'Barbenheimer' box office event lifted cinema chains, meanwhile.On the foreign exchange front, the dollar gained on the euro and pound ahead of a US purchasin

Brent oil jumped back above $110 a barrel on Monday, allowing the FTSE 100 index in London to outperform European counterparts.Ukraine rejected a Russian ultimatum to surrender the besieged southern city of Mariupol on Monday, as renewed overnight shelling killed at least eight people at a shopping mall in the capital Kyiv.Almost 350,000 people are trapped without water and electricity in the port

Stocks in London limped into the weekend on Friday but encouraging hopes for peace in Ukraine emerged after a positive phone call between the US and China saw some buying pressure in the afternoon.The FTSE 100 index ended up 19.39 points, or 0.3%, at 7,404.73 on Friday. The mid-cap FTSE 250 index closed up 180.93 points, or 0.9%, at 21,156.62. The AIM All-Share index rose 9.72 points, or 1.0%, at

Shares in toy, games and giftware designer Character (CCT:AIM) crashed 19% lower to 562.5p on Wednesday as the New Malden-headquartered company downgraded annual earnings guidance due to a combination of supply chain disruption and rising costs.The developer and distributor of toy products based on top brands including Peppa Pig, Fireman Sam and Goo Jit Zu warned underlying pre-tax profit for the

Keeping a regular watch on stocks with positive and negative share price momentum is a useful exercise as it tells us which areas of the market are hot or not.Investors who follow a pure momentum strategy like to buy stocks that keep a hitting a new 12-month high in the belief the share price is on a roll and can keep going up.Some investors avoid stocks hitting a new 12-month low, for fear this n

The FTSE 100 managed to recover some ground on Friday afternoon as it emerged the R number, showing how quickly Covid-19 is being transmitted, fell to between 0.8 and 1 across the UK.This encouraging news on the course of the pandemic helped the index off its lows to trade down 0.3% at 6,695.07. Over in the US the S&P 500 was also down 0.3% to 3,841.23 by 4.30pm UK time.Airlines and travel operato

The FTSE 100 fell sharply by lunchtime Friday as investors weighed a string of negative economic updates and amid fears of a lengthy lockdown in the UK.Airlines and travel operators were also under pressure International Consolidated Airlines (IAG) down 3.9% to 150.9p on comments from Spain suggesting holidays to one of Britons' favourite holiday destinations might be delayed until late summer.Wea

Sitting in a relatively unknown niche within the real estate investment trust (REIT) sector is Civitas Housing (CSH) which provides secure housing on long-term 25-year leases to tenants who fall under the Government's supported living criteria.An integral part of the UK healthcare sector is facilitating care for individuals with significant long-term care needs. It enables people to live fulfillin

Toys, games and giftware distributor Character Group's (CCT:AIM) shares cheapened 9% to 338p on a full year profit warning blamed on disruption in Scandinavia and margin pressure caused by the weakening of the pound against the US dollar.However, the share price decline was moderated by the fact the maker of Peppa Pig, Fireman Sam and Pokemon-branded ranges assured it will maintain the final divid

UK stock markets continue to drift sideways in early trade on Friday with little direction provided by corporate news on a typically quiet last day of the week's trading.Banks are popular with both Lloyds (LLOY) and Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) up more than 2% a piece, while private hospitals firm NMC Healthcare (NMC) and housebuilder Taylor Wimpey TW.) both sit at the head of the FTSE 100 leader

TV and film rights firm and owner of kids TV favourite Peppa Pig, Entertainment One (ETO) surges nearly 30% to 573p on the back of a £3.3bn bid from US toy manufacturer Hasbro.The news follows on from the recently announced £4.6bn takeover of pubs firm Greene King (GNK), and is another indication that the weakness in sterling is making UK firms vulnerable to overseas predators.Hasbro's approach,

Following a tough day of trading yesterday with worries over the direction of US interest rates, UK stock markets rebounded in early trade on Friday.The UK's leading FTSE 100 index is up 0.65%, or 46.55 points, to 7,174.71.While the FTSE 250, considered more representative of the UK economy, is up 0.9%, or 173.25 points, to 19,378.45 having been fuelled by a takeover bid for one of its constituent

European and Asian markets catch a ride on the same tailwind which lifted US stocks last night, namely hopes that the US could ease tariffs on China. That would be positive for commodity producers, which is why miners and oil stocks are among the biggest risers on the UK market on Friday, the FTSE 100 firming 53 points to trade at 6,888.2.In corporate news, budget airline Ryanair (RYA) loses altit