Retailer Next (NXT) has managed to eke out an impressive 20% share price gain in 2023 despite all the pressures on household budgets as it has continued to deliver sector-leading performance.Investors will be hoping for more of the same when it posts first-half results on 21 September. These numbers will have wider resonance as Next is seen as a bellwether for the retail sector. Unlike some of its

JD WetherspoonInvestors will be looking for signs pubs group's sales momentum is poised to pick up in the second halfPubs group JD Wetherspoon (JDW) is scheduled to release first half results to 29 January 2023 on 24 March. The shares have had a strong run since last October gaining around 38% on the back of a general market recovery.A January trading update said first half like for like sales gre

UK stocks finished slightly in the red on Monday after a quiet day with US markets closed for Martin Luther King day, ahead of Joe Biden's inauguration on Wednesday.The FTSE 100 struggled for direction and closed 0.22% lower at 6,720 points, while the FTSE 250 finished 0.12% higher at 20,639.ASTRAZENECA ADVANCESIn corporate news, pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca (AZN) gained 1.2% to £76.8 after i

UK stocks fell into negative territory at lunchtime on Monday as increasing virus cases offset hopes of economic recovery on a quiet day with US markets closed for Martin Luther King day, ahead of Joe Biden's inauguration on Wednesday.China reported better than expected growth of 6.5% year-on-year in the fourth quarter.At 12pm the FTSE 100 was 0.25% lower at 6,710 points, while the FTSE 250 was un

UK stocks were largely flat early on Monday as the UK prepared to start offering Covid-19 vaccines to over-70s, while tensions remained high in the US, where markets are closed for Martin Luther King day, ahead of Joe Biden's inauguration on Wednesday.By 8.25 am, the FTSE 100 was up just 0.01% at 6,736.2 points, while the FTSE 250 edged up 0.18% to 20,653.2.ASTRAZENECA ADVANCESIn corporate news, p

Theme Park operator Merlin Entertainments (MERL) has succumbed to pressure from activist shareholder ValueAct and accepted a 455p cash offer from a consortium.Berkeley is 50% owned by private equity house Blackstone and the Canadian Pension fund CPPIB. The other half, interestingly, is in the hands of the Kirk Kristiansen family that founded and still owns Lego.Merlin's shares have rallied 14% to

Perennial underperformer Card Protection Plan (CPP) has surprised investors with a big upgrade to profit expectations in the year to 31 December.Shares gained as much as 64% to 8.87p today as cost control, higher sales volumes in India, as well as a weaker pound drove improved performance.The company helps customers to cancel and replace lost cards using an emergency assistance service.CPP has str

There is only thin data to provide direction for London trading on Friday with the FTSE 100 index opening around 10 points lower at 6,785 in early trade. There are no significant UK data releases scheduled for today, although a speech by the Bank of England's Ben Broadbent will be studied for any hints regarding of Philip Hammond's forthcoming Autumn Statement.The corporate news that there is, FTS

Private equity outfit SVG Capital (SVI) attracted a joint bid from Goldman Sachs and the Canadian Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) as its takeover saga took a new twist.Shares in SVG pared earlier losses following the announcement, at 2.15pm, and currently trade 0.8% lower at 669p.The Goldman-CPPIB bid adds to earlier offers from HarbourVest and a joint proposal from Pomona Capital and Panthe

London shares tank in early trade on Friday as Greece is once again thrust into the limelight. Greek prime minister Alex Tsipras has stood down from his post in response to the most recent bail out deal with the rest of the EU, paving the way for new elections and putting investors worldwide into a spin. This, plus fears of a slowing global recovery, saw a big sell-off overnight in the US, with le

The urge to merge is set to hit the corporate finance market this year with more money expected to be spent on mergers and acquisitions (M&A) than at any time since the financial crisis. Global deal-making figures are forecast to explode on the back of improving economic sentiment, cash-rich corporates and cheap debt.The market has started as it means to go on. The year is less than a month old bu

To get a flotation away the stockbrokers organising the transaction need to price it sensibly and leave something on the table for the investor to ensure the deal goes well. If an initial public offering (IPO) is a success, the shares swiftly rise above the issue price and everyone is happy: the company management, the new shareholders and the broker, who may drum up more business on the back of a

Former US secretary of defence Donald Rumsfeld took an awful lot of heat for a 2002 press conference at which he stated: 'There are known knowns; there are things we know that we know. There are known unknowns; that is to say, there are things that we now know we don't know. But there are also unknown unknowns - there are things we do not know we don't know.'Criticism descended as he attempted to

The FTSE 100 advanced 23 points to 6,300, propelled by a positive market response to Barclays' (BARC) strategic review results, sending the bank up 4.1% to 313.p. The wider banking sector hopped on board for the ride with Lloyds Banking (LLOY) up 3.5% to 54.6p and Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) up 2.6% to 349.1p. Click here for the full story.Reports that US regulators are probing ICAP (IAP) over it

A 26% advance in the FTSE SmallCap index year shows the rewards that can be netted if you fish around among the UK market's minnows and the New Year looks quite capable of providing further gains, especially if investors remain enthusiastic about central bank easing and maintain a 'risk on' stance. Of our Tips for 2013 (see Cover, Shares 27 Dec '12), Avon Rubber (AVON) is the sole FTSE SmallCap co