The biggest brands often draw in investors who believe these giants of industry are surefire winners on the stock market. Nike (NKE:NYSE) has shown that brand achievements do not always equate to strong earnings and this is a lesson worth remembering if brand strength has ever influenced investment decisions.Nike has taken its eye off the ball in the sporting shoes market. Two sets of rivals have

If you're thinking about using property to fund your retirement, you wouldn't be the first. The post-financial crisis boom in house prices, propelled by low interest rates and government support schemes, led many budding property tycoons towards investing in buy-to-let instead of saving in a pension.For many, that gamble probably paid off, thanks to the long period when mortgages were super cheap,

For those approaching or entering retirement, the idea of being able to live off the income generated by their investments and not having to touch the underlying capital is hugely appealing.For the lucky few who have a 'pot' worth millions that dream may well be a reality, but for most of us it is something we are going to have to work on well before we get to the stage where we can finally stop l

Whereas passive funds aim to track the performance of a key benchmark or index, active funds are run by a professional fund manager who selects what goes in the portfolio with the aim of outperforming the market. Active managers are paid a fee by investors for their stock picking expertise, benefit from face-to-face access to company management teams and unlike index trackers, can analyse qualitat

There are many reasons why people start investing ? to get better returns on their cash, to meet long-term investment goals, to save for a deposit on a house purchase or for retirement.Whatever your investment goals you can generate wealth from investing in shares, investment trusts, ETFs and funds. In this article we will explain how to turn that aspiration into reality in this step-by-step guide

UK banks have enjoyed a renaissance in 2024. And, while the snap UK election put paid to plans for a big share sale in NatWest (NWG), anticipation of a 'Tell Sid' style offer definitely put the spotlight on the sector.As such, now is a perfect time to take an in-depth look at the banks' relative merits, particularly off the back of their annual 2023 and first-quarter 2024 results.It's worth saying

Since spearheading the so-called gig economy over the past decade, Uber Technologies (UBER:NYSE) has emerged as a volatile investment.Having whipped up a frenzy among investors with valuation pitches of up to $120 billion ahead of its 2019 IPO (initial public offering), bigger even than Facebook's $104 billion 2012 float. In the end, its debut was a disaster, the $45 stock plunging on day-one to c

After the AI (artificial intelligence) miss from Salesforce (CRM:NYSE) last week, the foreboding mood around Adobe (ADBE:NASDAQ) is almost tangible. Like many enterprise software firms, it has been happy to talk up the potential growth power-up of integrating AI across its suite, but if the proof of the pudding is in the eating, and so far investors have been left hungry.In March, Adobe shares tum

One of the most compelling reasons for investing through a Junior ISA is to help provide your offspring with the necessary funds to leave university without the burden of onerous debts.If you invested the whole allowance of £9,000 every year from birth until your child reached 18 they would inherit a pot worth £229,000 based on an annual return of 4.5% and with charges of 0.75% factored in. Best

Lowest profit margins in four years predictedElectric vehicle maker appears to have ditched its low-cost model plansStock has fallen 42% this yearMega tech earnings kick-off this week with Tesla (TSLA:NASDAQ) set to get the ball rolling after the market close Tuesday (23 Apr), and the results and commentary are likely to be bleak.The electric vehicle giant earlier this month reported an 8.5% decli

A quick run-through of the first-quarter results from the US banks suggests a clean sweep of better-than-expected revenue and earnings, yet that didn?t translate into a rise in their share prices.First to report was JPMorgan Chase (JPM:NYSE), which smashed earnings forecasts due to the strong underlying performance of all of its businesses.Chief executive Jamie Dimon described the economic outlook

Equity prices in London found some composure heading into Wednesday afternoon, recovering from an uncertain start following an unnerving UK inflation reading.International Distribution Services jumped, after a billionaire shareholder?s takeover proposal that was rebuffed by the Royal Mail parent.The FTSE 100 index rose 46.18 points, 0.6%, at 7,866.54. The FTSE 250 climbed 107.23 points, 0.6%, at 1

Weak first-half sales priced inProfit seen ?significantly? higher New finance director appointedShares in ASOS (ASC) rallied 10% to 366.2p in early dealings after the online fast-fashion retailer maintained its full-year 2024 guidance and flagged progress in shifting its mountain of excess stock as chief executive Jose Calamonte?s turnaround plan gains traction.Nevertheless, the retailer?s transit

Adjusted EBITDA ahead of guidanceGrowth trend improved in H2Positive cash flow targeted for 2024Shares in Deliveroo (ROO) rose 2.6% to 117.5p after the takeaway company reported significantly narrowed losses and a welcome uptick in revenues in what the food delivery service dubbed a ?resilient year of growth given macroeconomic conditions?.The London-headquartered firm also flagged an improved sec

Proposed de-listing from AIMShares crash 70% to 0.61p£9 million of capital sought Shares in LoopUp (LOOP:AIM) fell by as much 70% after the remote meetings specialist announced plans to de-list from London?s alternative investment market (AIM), with more than 27 million shares traded by lunchtime.The company?s management said the reason for the proposed de-listing was to raise ?at least? £9 mill

In an up and down week US indices were a touch off their record levels although the end of the week took on a more positive hue thanks to comments from Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell. Powell suggested rate cuts were not too far away. Shares in IT outfit Hewlett Packard Enterprises (HPE:NYSE) surged on strong demand for the company's artificial intelligence focused servers. Excitement around

More and more UK companies are buying back their own shares. Data collected by Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, shows share buybacks at FTSE 100 companies are running at an aggregate value of £18.3 billion so far in 2024.Despite being only two months into the year, the value of buybacks already equates to 35% of the whole value of buybacks in 2023.This isn?t just a UK phenomenon either

Full year profit rises 13.1%2024 off to good startUnexpected extra payoutFood-to-go specialist Greggs (GRG) continues to deliver tasty sales and profit growth despite the tough economic backdrop with its value proposition shining through during the cost-of-living crisis.Shares in the bakery retailer rose 4.6% to £28.40 on Tuesday morning after Greggs served up strong full-year results, announced

Investors will ravenously digest comments on the current trading environment when UK food-to-go specialist Greggs (GRG) delivers its full-year results on 5 March.While the value-for-money sausage roll, coffee and Yum Yums retailer has enjoyed positive momentum supported by its value-for-money proposition, extended trading hours and deliveries, an upgrade to guidance feels like a stretch with the f

Investors are increasingly turning to passive investment products such as tracker funds and exchange-traded funds as they seek a low-cost, uncomplicated way to get exposure to the markets.There are numerous reasons why trackers and ETFs are filling more portfolios. Underperformance by active managers is one of them ? just 36% of active manages beat the average passive alternative in 2023 across se