First half EBITDA up 24%£300 million buyback initiated2024 earnings seen 'top end'Drax (DRX) shares powered up 12.5% to a 52-week high of 636p after the renewable energy generator delivered strong first-half results, issued a positive full-year outlook and said it would shortly begin a £300 million share buyback.Investors were wowed by Drax's smoking-hot results for the half to 30 June, which sh

A major development in retail investing in recent years is the increased availability of vehicles which simply look to track the performance of a market. Thanks to their low cost, these passive funds have proved very popular and drawn money away from actively managed funds, where a professional stock picker makes the investment decisions.In this article we flesh out what active and passive investi

THIS IS AN ADVERTISING FEATURE Nuclear power, which uses uranium to produce electricity with a small carbon footprint, has been around for decades, but the technology and underlying commodity have experienced renewed interest as the world looks to transition away from fossil fuels and nations work to increase energy security. The shift from fossil fuels to green energy sources such as solar and wi

The end of the tax year is coming down the track fast and that means there are only weeks remaining to make full use of your £20,000 annual ISA allowance.Even if you are some way off this maximum limit or haven?t invested through an ISA at all in 2023/24, the rapidly approaching deadline is a good spur to look at the possibility of making money from the financial markets.Two weeks ago we ran an a

In bear and bull markets, economic expansion or recession, income is rarely out of fashion with retail investors. Evenlode Income (BD0B7D5) has become one of the UK's favourite fund options, a £3.34 billion actively managed fund that has outstripped its UK equity income category almost three-to-one over the past decade.In a year of red-hot inflation and interest rates rising from historic lows, t

It is becoming increasingly likely that major economies around the globe will plunge into a full-blown recession this year, the UK included.Analysts and economists fear the global economy's growth momentum will grind to a halt as central banks continue to raise interest rates in a desperate attempt to combat high inflation.If the UK and other major economies do fall into recession, what can invest

In one corner there is the co-founder of PayPal (PYPL:NASDAQ) and secretive data analysis platform Palantir (PLTR:NYSE). In the other, arguably the best investment double act ever. Peter Thiel and Warren Buffett/Charlie Munger respectively have been throwing cryptocurrency brickbats at each other in recent weeks.The former says crypto is a transformation that will change how we move and even think

How does a 5% return on your money sound right now? With UK interest rates showing little sign of increasing from rock bottom levels despite mounting inflation, a 5% rate is certainly appealing.If you are using your investments to pay the bills or to fund your living expenses in retirement the income you receive is vital. The great news is that the dividends from stocks and shares can offer invest

Self-invested personal pensions or SIPPs have become the retirement savings product of choice for investors wanting pensions that offer transparency, control, choice and competitive pricing.key reasons to have a sipp- Tax relief on contributions at your marginal rate of tax- Investments grow free of income and capital gains tax- A quarter of the value of your SIPP fund can be taken tax-free from t

In a year in which 'quality growth' stocks stretched their outperformance over 'value' stocks, notwithstanding a late bounce-back in the latter on the announcement of a Covid vaccine, it seems odd that UK investors should have overlooked the legal sector.As it is, most legal services and related stocks registered double-digit percentage losses last year with many underperforming the FTSE All-Share

Many investment trusts offer high yields which might tempt some investors in the current environment. But are they more trouble than they're worth?Some may be worth pursuing, while others can have complex investment models and come with underappreciated risks.HOW MUCH CAN YOU GET?Data from the Association of Investment Companies implies there are numerous investment trusts offering yields of 8% to

Given the scale of the global market sell-off, now could prove an opportune time to buy quality stocks or to invest in funds with a quality tilt. We cannot say for certain that they will be good investments in the short-term, yet we're much more confident they will provide generous rewards in the long-term.'Stocks are simple,' says Warren Buffett. 'All you do is buy shares in a great business for

Little is more satisfying in investing than receiving a dividend payment from one of your holdings and investment trusts have an excellent track record of delivering a regular stream of income.Some trusts offer very attractive yields too. According to industry body the Association of Investment Companies, the average for all trusts is 3.2% but there are a significant number of trusts which offer d

It has long been a vital tool in helping investors to value shares but price-to-book value (PBV) has fallen out of favour in recent years.For most of the past decade investors have been drawn to growth stocks because that's where the best returns have been earned.The PBV value tool is not always suited to rapidly growing business, but it is much better at flagging up value, which may be coming bac

UK markets make further gains in early trade on Tuesday as investors rally around more declines for the pound and the impact on large overseas earnings for many of the FTSE 100 companies. That comes as energy regulator Ofgem announces a probe into the recent power blackout and National Grid's (NG.) part in it.Sterling fell 0.4% against the dollar, taking cable (the nickname given to the pound doll

When investors buy shares in quoted companies they know that their capital is at risk and that the companies they own could underperform or in the worst-case scenario go bust.If a stock underperforms the market for a long period of time, sometimes a big activist investor will step in and demand changes in order to raise the value of the business and the shares.Edward Bramson took a stake in Barcla

The quest for income remains at the top of the agenda for many investors. While UK interest rates have started to go up, they are still low relative to history and so cash savings accounts are unlikely to offer any decent levels of interest.For example, the best paying instant access cash savings rate is currently 1.5% from Goldman Sach's new Marcus service and Kent Reliance. Fixed-rated accounts

Continuing a strong trend for small cap asset managers, Liontrust Asset Management (LIO) is yet another pint-sized fund housethat has been performing well.For investors who are familiar with this space, the company is larger than Miton (MGR:AIM) but smaller than Polar Capital (POLR:AIM), for example.The company enjoyed a substantial increase in assets under management (AUM) as it acquired Alliance

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has given the all-clear for Tesco's (TSCO) takeover of grocery wholesale supplier Booker (BOK) after ruling the pair out as competitors.The CMA says 'Tesco, as a retailer, and Booker, as a wholesaler, do not compete head-to-head in most of their activities.'The decision was widely expected but it will leave many Tesco shareholders unhappy, worried about

One of the biggest decisions to make when you're saving for retirement is which type of pension you should use.The main choice is whether to opt for a traditional personal pension, offered by the likes of Aviva and Standard Life, or a self-invested personal pension (SIPP), provided by DIY investment platforms and bespoke SIPP providers.Historically, a lot of traditional personal pensions have cont