An increasingly tense geopolitical backdrop knocked European stocks on Tuesday, while the pound continued to struggle ahead of Wednesday's UK inflation print.The FTSE 100 index ended down 10.30 points, 0.1%, at 8,099.02. The FTSE 250 rose 32.21 points, 0.2%, at 20,427.62, and the AIM All-Share faded 3.32 points, 0.5%, at 724.23.The Cboe UK 100 ended flat at 814.55, the Cboe UK 250 rose 0.1% to 17,

I can't be the only person who walks down the aisle of a local convenience-style supermarket and finds their jaw dropping at some of the prices.For anyone without a car and/or uncomfortable with buying online, and therefore reliant on these outlets for their weekly grocery shop rather than just picking up bits and pieces, the extra cost is significant. Consumer group Which? reckons you're talking

The FTSE 100 joined European peers in the red on Wednesday, while the US hit new highs following Donald Trump's win in the presidential election.The FTSE 100 index closed down 5.71 points, or 0.1%, at 8,166.68. It had earlier hit an intra-day high of 8,301.78.The FTSE 250 ended up 76.66 points, 0.4%, at 20,446.70, and the AIM All-Share rose 2.75 points, 0.3%, at 739.04.The Cboe UK 100 ended slight

Stock prices in London were mixed just before the UK budget announcement by Chancellor Rachel Reeves, with the FTSE 100 lower and the FTSE 250 and AIM All-Share registering a minor gain.The FTSE 100 index traded down 42.68 points, 0.5%, at 8,176.93. The FTSE 250 was up just 3.96 points at 20,626.75, and the AIM All-Share was up 0.98 of a point, 0.1%, at 716.77.The Cboe UK 100 was down 0.6% at 818.

Stocks in London recovered to close Monday in the green, as all eyes look to the UK budget to come on Wednesday.The FTSE 100 index closed up 36.78 points, or 0.5%, at 8,285.62. The FTSE 250 ended up 15.19 points, or 0.1%, at 20,835.10, and the AIM All-Share closed down 0.2%, or 1.57 points, at 721.10.The Cboe UK 100 ended up 0.5% at 830.25, the Cboe UK 250 closed up 0.3% at 18,385.28, and the Cboe

Stocks in London trended lower on Monday, as oil majors retreated due to easing fears about Middle Eastern conflict, and car finance providers slumped further.The FTSE 100 index traded down 20.47 points, 0.3%, at 8,228.18. The FTSE 250 was 42.07 points lower, or 0.2%, at 20,778.66, and the AIM All-Share shed 3.15 points, 0.4%, at 719.52.The Cboe UK 100 was down 0.3% at 823.83, the Cboe UK 250 fell

Despite the strong market reaction to results from the US banks last week, we can't see investors getting quite so excited when the UK's biggest financial institutions unveil their latest earnings over the coming weeks.As usual, the country's largest mortgage lender Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) gets proceedings under way with its third-quarter trading update on Wednesday 23 October.Although it post

There is a huge body of academic work highlighting behavioural biases which consistently trip-up investors' supposedly rational thinking. In this article we look at seven big sins of investing, with some examples and insights on how to avoid them.A lot of the credit for these principles goes to Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky who collaborated in the 1960s to research apparent anomalies and contra

London's FTSE 100 jumped on Wednesday, massively outperforming European peers, as a deceleration in UK inflation pushed equities higher, but sent the pound hurtling below the $1.30 mark.The FTSE 100 index closed up 79.79 points, or 1.0%, at 8,329.07. The FTSE 250 ended up 185.06 points, or 0.9%, at 20,979.50, while the AIM All-Share closed up 5.57 points, 0.8%, at 739.43.The Cboe UK 100 ended up 0

London's blue chip index was in the green while its European peers were in the red, following better-than-expected consumer price index inflation data, with on-year CPI falling below the 2% target in September.The FTSE 100 index was up 46.02 points, or 0.6%, at 8,295.30. The FTSE 250 was up 95.54 points, or 0.5%, at 20,889.98, and the AIM All-Share was up 1.34 points, or 0.2%, at 735.20.The Cboe U

Here's a sentence you won't read very often: the annuity market witnessed a significant boom in the last tax year. Data from the FCA shows annuity sales rose by almost 40% in 2023/24, marking a sharp reversal in fortunes. Ever since pension freedoms were introduced in 2015, annuities have been shunned in favour of more flexible ways of drawing a pension.But rising interest rates have led to a sur

Tomorrow (11 October) sees the release of third-quarter earnings from JPMorgan Chase (JPM:NYSE), America's biggest bank by market cap and the 12th-largest company in the S&P 500 index. With a market value of $445 billion and annual revenue of around $130 billion, which includes investment banking, corporate lending, retail banking and credit cards, the firm has become a bellwether for the US econo

European stocks made a limp start to trading on Monday as investors eye this week's US inflation data in the wake of Friday's blow-out payrolls report.The FTSE 100 index was down 12.60 points, 0.2%, at 8,268.03, having briefly seen slight gains immediately after the opening bell. The FTSE 250 was down 55.56 points, 0.3%, at 20,844.52, but the AIM All-Share was up 1.72 points, 0.2%, at 740.08.The C

The UK manufacturing sector remained in 'expansionary' territory for a fifth month running in September with a reading of 51.5 on the S&P Global UK PMI (purchasing managers' index).A figure above 50 indicates an expansion in activity while a figure below 50 represents a contraction.Both output and new orders continued to rise, particularly in consumer and intermediate goods, with the domestic econ

This is the third and final part of our mini-series on portfolio construction where we discuss some key life milestones and how they can impact investment plans and portfolios.Managing a portfolio of investments should be a dynamic process which evolves with changing life circumstances, goals, age, and risk appetite.Your early 20s are often associated with significant changes to financial and pers

Stocks in London closed in the green on Friday, as Chinese stimulus measures continued to give equities a boost.The FTSE 100 index ended up 35.85 points, 0.4%, at 8,320.76. The FTSE 250 closed up 230.12 points, 1.1%, at 21,240.56, and the AIM All-Share added 4.00 points, 0.5%, at 745.65.For the week, the FTSE 100 rose 1.1%, the FTSE 250 added 2.0%. The AIM was unmoved from this time last week.The

European stocks were in the green at Friday midday after a slew of fiscal stimulus measures from China, and as investors await key US inflation data which is crucial in the Federal Reserve's interest rate decisions.The core personal consumption index remains traders' main focus going into Friday afternoon, and is expected to remain unchanged at 0.2% on a monthly basis with a small annual uptick fr

Industry backdrop 'challenging'But expectations unchangedSpirits giant confident growth will returnIn a thin trading update, alcoholic drinks behemoth Diageo (DGE) warned that the global backdrop for the industry 'remains challenging' with consumers continuing to exercise caution.However, shares in the Johnnie Walker-to-Smirnoff vodka maker rallied 4% to £26 on relief that things aren't getting a

Stocks in Europe opened higher on a busy Thursday filled with economic readings from the US and Europe as well as comments from US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.The US data today will be followed on Friday by the Fed's preferred inflation gauge of core personal consumption expenditures.'The global economy is settling into a newfound stability and central banks can continue to cautiously cut

With just over a month to go until the US presidential elections, Shares takes stock of where the two candidates stand in the polls and what the implications of a Democrat or Republican victory would mean for investors.There is no question the televised debate earlier this month was negative for Donald Trump, to the extent he refused to schedule a re-match.Yet, despite his poor performance, voting