London stocks closed higher on Tuesday's shortened trading day, buoyed by gains in the retail and mining sectors, while Windward surged 42% following a takeover bid from FTV VIII LP.The FTSE 100 index closed up 34.27 points, 0.4%, at 8,136.99. The FTSE 250 ended up 152.42 points, 0.8%, at 20,571.51, and the AIM All-Share closed up 4.96 points, 0.7%, at 717.40.The Cboe UK 100 ended up 0.5% at 816.2

Second quarter better than feared Sales down in North America, ChinaTurnaround more marathon than sprintFollowing an initial bounce in after-hours trading on Wall Street stoked by better-than-feared second-quarter results (19 December), Nike's (NKE:NYSE) shares stumbled to trade roughly flat on the realisation the sportswear firm's turnaround will take longer than expected.There was also disappoin

UK equities suffered on US exposure as they closed lower on Thursday amid the Bank of England holding interest rates, but warning of 'heightened uncertainty'.UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer pleaded for patience over his drive to improve living standards, warning it 'will take some time' for people to feel the benefits.Starmer hopes changes to planning rules, reforms to regulations and the use of te

UK indices remained in the red at midday on Thursday but with water companies bucking the trend following UK regulator Ofwat green lighting a substantial industry investment package.Interest rate calls on either side of the Atlantic dominated events with the Bank of England leaving rates unchanged, after a 'hawkish' cut by the US Federal Reserve on Wednesday.The BoE's Monetary Policy Committee vot

17% premium to undisturbed share priceIntelligent Ultrasound has struggled to growSimulation Business is 'particularly attractive'Yet another unloved UK company has agreed to a takeover by an overseas buyer, further deleting the ranks of firms listed on the London stock market.The latest name to throw in the towel is Intelligent Ultrasound (IUG:AIM), an ultrasound AI software and simulation minnow

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

Pubs group JD Wetherspoon's (JDW) value credentials continue to shine through. According to fund manager Anna Farmbrough at Ninety One the company has doubled its average price advantage over competitors to 40% since the pandemic.Farmbrough notes that a few years ago there were three pubs in her local area while today there is just a single Wetherspoons, demonstrating its ability to benefit as con

Strange as it may sound, the pandemic turned out to be a blessing in disguise for the auction industry as it forced firms to join the 21st century and offer an online service.Whereas previously many small auction houses were limited to the number of buyers they could accommodate due to lack of physical space, today they can not only tap into their local market but a whole army of online punters at

Stocks in London were mixed after opening higher on Wednesday, as UK inflation data increased the chances of the Bank of England holding rates steady tomorrow.The FTSE 100 index closed up just 3.91 points at 8,199.11. The FTSE 250 ended 59.13 points higher, 0.3%, at 20,601.99, and the AIM All-Share gave back 2.62 points, 0.4%, at 719.42.The Cboe UK 100 ended down 0.1% at 822.61, the Cboe UK 250 ro

Credit/debit card firm has $3.9 billion of previous scheme to investS&P 500 companies on track for record buybacks yearMastercard shares have rallied 26% in 2024The board of Mastercard (MA:NYSE) has approved a new share buyback scheme worth $12 billion of its Class A shares, about 1.3% of its total share capital.Mastercard, one half of the world's debit and credit card duopoly with Visa (V:NYSE),

Saba's investment totals £1.5 billionSix of the seven trusts underperformedCompany proposes sacking directorsThe normally-sleepy world of investment trusts received a wake-up call this morning with the publication of a shareholder letter by activist investor Saba Capital Management calling for change at no fewer than seven well-known funds.The firm, which has a history of successfully instigating

Stocks in London were in the green on Wednesday morning, as investors prepare for eurozone inflation data and the US interest rate decision this afternoon.UK consumer price inflation and producer price inflation data came out before the London open.According to the Office for National Statistics, the consumer prices index rose by 2.6% in the 12 months to November, picking up pace on-month from a 2

European stocks were mixed at midday on Tuesday, as new UK unemployment data was unchanged signalling weak job creation.Investors will be eagerly anticipating the US Federal Reserve and Bank of England rate calls this week. The Fed appears very likely to announce its latest cut, while the BoE is expected to keep rates unchanged.The UK Office for National Statistics reported that unemployment in th

Record revenue and profitNew year started positivelyLong runway of growthThe UK and Canada's largest tenpin bowling operator Hollywood Bowl (BOWL) reported record revenue and profit for the year to 30 September despite tough prior year comparatives and said the new financial year had started positively.Despite the positive progress investors were not bowled over and took the opportunity to take so

Key UK indices were broadly flat at Thursday's close as the ECB decided to 'play it safe' with interest rate cuts.Also, the UK prime minister has said providing homes for people must be the 'top priority' over nature and the environment as government reforms are set to allow more building on the green belt.A shake-up of planning rules means councils have been given mandatory targets to deliver a t

Stocks in Europe were mixed on Thursday midday ahead of an interest rate decision by the European Central Bank, while New York's Nasdaq Composite is set to ease after storming above the 20,000 point mark.The FTSE 100 index traded up 12.99 points, 0.2%, at 8,314.61. The FTSE 250 tread water. It was down just 0.53 points at 20,972.92. And the AIM All-Share was up 2.74 points, 0.4%, at 740.28.The Cbo

Stock prices in Europe were in the green on Thursday morning, in anticipation of an interest rate cut by the European Central Bank.Meanwhile, the Swiss National Bank enacted a chunkier than expected rate cut on Thursday.The FTSE 100 index traded up 15.34 points, 0.2%, at 8,316.96. The FTSE 250 was down just 5.35 points at 20,968.10, and the AIM All-Share was up 2.16 points, 0.3%, at 739.70.The Cbo

Predicting what will happen to the global economy and markets over the next 12 months is hard enough at the best of times, but with Trump's election victory on 5 November that job has become even more difficult.As Deutsche Bank's head of global economics and thematics Jim Reid put it, the outlook is no longer 'business as usual' which opens up a much wider range of potential outcomes for the globa

FTSE mining stocks on Wednesday were boosted by an uptick in gold prices while the Nasdaq Composite hit an all-time high, topping 20,000 for the first time.A jump in the gold price boosted Endeavour Mining and Fresnillo, while Lloyds Banking Group climbed as the Supreme Court agreed to an appeal brought by motor finance companies regarding car loans.The FTSE 100 index closed up 21.26 points, 0.3%,

Softer than expected Q3Gross margins to remain stableGrowth slows ahead of ChristmasSpanish clothing retailer Inditex (ITX:BME) has transformed itself from a humble textile maker into a global fashion titan with a reputation for being on-trend and quick to market and can usually be relied upon to meet or beat forecasts.But the Madrid-listed shares were under pressure on 11 December, falling 5% to