London's blue chip index was in the red around midday on Friday, as investors await US retail sales and industrial production data.The FTSE 100 index traded down 17.80 points, 0.2%, at 8,747.10. The FTSE 250 was up 65.80 points, 0.3%, at 20,981.66, and the AIM All-Share climbed 2.18 points, 0.3%, at 725.38.The Cboe UK 100 was flat at 877.76, the Cboe UK 250 firmed 0.3% to 18,337.27 and the Cboe Sm

Video games retailer struggling to adapt to fast changing marketFinancial performance has suffered badlyGameStop could join likes of Tesla and Block with crypto investmentsThe old MicroStrategy, now called simply Strategy (MSTR:NASDAQ) following a splashy rebrand on 5 February, has enjoyed such success over the past year that its cryptocurrency playbook was bound to gather mimics.GameStop (GME:NYS

Full year to be materially aheadRegulatory change tailwindAnalysts upgrade earningsIn an unscheduled trading update, pension consulting and administration group XPS Pensions (XPS) said it expects full year results to March to be 'materially' ahead of prior expectations.The shares raced 14% ahead, hitting an all-time peak of 396p in early trading before settling around the 386p level.Over the last

Fourth-quarter sales rise 17.6%Group continues to outperform peersShares test new all-time highsHaving risen more than 300% over the past five years, Hermes' (RMS:EPA) shares were marked up another 3.5% to an all-time high of €2,912 in Paris after the high-end handbag-maker defied the depressed luxury goods market by delivering forecast-beating fourth-quarter sales.Revenue rose across the boa

Full year profit up 10%Dividend hiked by 7%Buyback raised to £1.5 billionShares in business information and data analytics company Relx (REL) climbed 2% to a new all-time high of £42 after reporting 10% growth in adjusted full-year operating profit and projecting another strong year in 2025.The shares are up 27% over the last 12 months, comfortably ahead of the 16% gain in the blue-chip FTSE 100

2024 revenue and earnings beat2025 outlook in line with forecasts£1 billion also meets estimatesAs the first bank to report earnings, there was a great deal of focus on what Barclays (BARC) would say about 2024 and the outlook for 2025, and although it more or less met market forecasts for last year, the lack of upgrades to current-year forecasts left investors feeling flat.The shares, which had

Hargreaves Services (HSP:AIM) 620pMarket cap: £200 millionIt's always a test of our conviction if we can recommend a stock just as the shares are touching a 12-month high, but in the case of environmental services, property and materials group Hargreaves Services (HSP:AIM), its shares are trading at a 10-year high.In our defence, we did flag the company a year ago at 475p in our 'Five small-cap s

Consolidation across the investment trust sector continues, against a backdrop of wide NAV (net asset value) discounts, pressure on sub-scale funds and shareholder activism.2024 proved a record year for mergers and acquisitions (M&A) across the sector, with 11 mergers and eight trusts being acquired, and this trend has continued into 2025.On 7 February, JPMorgan Global Growth & Income (JGGI) and s

BlackRock Frontiers Investment Trust (BRFI) 158.5pMarket cap: £300 millionInvesting in frontier markets might seem too risky for some, yet the world's youngest economies present exciting growth opportunities for adventurous portfolio builders. When high quality, lowly valued companies with their own growth drivers and significant re-rating scope are held in a portfolio diversified by stock, geogr

I have been interested to read recent commentary on the proposals to extend IHT (inheritance tax) to pensions. One point caught my attention which was the reference to a 90% effective tax rate. I'm pretty certain my estate would fall in that category, but could you explain the 90% calculation, please?My situation is I have no direct descendants, only a nephew, niece and great-nephew and I am singl

In the fourth and final part of our series on small caps we look at smaller company funds with global horizons.These can be a good way of investing in small caps in markets where buying individual stocks might be a challenge, either because you are restricted from investing or because it is difficult to get sufficient information to make an informed decision.Some of these funds focus on smaller fi

Imagine going for a night out in a busy pub, and when the time comes to use the loo, you leave your phone and wallet on the table unguarded. You wouldn't. Yet your online data is, in theory, just as exposed.Don't panic, fortunately, most of your information is secured by the clever digital locks and latches of cybersecurity, be that your personal banking details, your Facebook identity, or your Am

Japanese prime minister Shigeru Ishiba could have been forgiven for a degree of trepidation before his recent visit to the White House. Tariffs would have a major impact on Japan given how reliant its economy is on exports.Therefore, beyond a mild warning from president Donald Trump that Japan could face the T word if it didn't get its trade deficit with America down to zero, Ishiba will have left

The resilience of the US labour market looks likely to keep Federal Reserve rate cuts on hold for the foreseeable future.Although non-farm payrolls for January showed the economy added 143,000 jobs, below the median estimate of 170,000, figures for the prior two months were revised up by 100,000 taking the three-month average increase to 204,000 in the fourth quarter from 170,000 previously.The un

London's FTSE 100 reached a record-high close at above 8,800 on Wednesday, despite a stronger-than-expected inflation report leaving the US market downcast.The FTSE 100 index closed up 30.05 points, 0.3%, at 8,807.44. It had earlier hit a new all-time high of 8,810.62.The FTSE 250 ended down 39.22 points, 0.2%, at 20,880.50, and the AIM All-Share closed down 1.15 points, 0.2%, at 723.39.The Cboe U

London's FTSE 100 was slightly higher on Wednesday afternoon, but trade lacked a spark as investors await a US inflation report and more words from Fed chief Jerome Powell.It was a similar story in Paris, but Frankfurt's blue-chip index hit another record high.The FTSE 100 index traded up 8.88 points, 0.1%, at 8,786.27. The FTSE 250 was 105.22 points higher, 0.5%, at 21,024.94, and the AIM All-Sha

Robust growth in 2024Strong demand for premium beers€1.5 billion buyback launchedInvestors re-acquired a taste for Heineken (HEIA:AMS) stock after the Dutch brewer delivered forecast-beating full-year earnings, hiked the dividend 7.5% to €1.86 and launched a two-year €1.5 billion buyback.There was also relief as the globe's second-biggest brewer guided for tasty operating profit gro

Q4 sales and earnings beat estimatesFiscal 2025 seen above consensusSpin-off of electronics unit confirmedShares in technology-based materials group DuPont de Nemours (DD:NYSE) leapt 7% overnight after fourth-quarter earnings topped Wall Street estimates reflecting a strong performance in electronics, driven by demand for AI applications.The shares scaled a new month-high of $81.48, taking 12-mont

London's blue chip index performed weaker than its peers in Paris and Frankfurt on Wednesday morning, while Asian stocks climbed after Japan asked the US for an exemption on tariffs on steel and aluminium.A bright light on the London market was Barratt Redrow. The housebuilder surged on lofty profit guidance.The FTSE 100 index traded up just 1.87 points at 8,779.26. The FTSE 250 was 82.05 points,

Member companies raised dividends every year for more than 25Erie Indemnity, Eversource Energy, FactSet Research addedIndex now 69 stocks strong with combined 2.39% income yieldThe S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats, an index that follows companies with a history of raising their dividends for at least 25 consecutive years, has announced its annual rebalancing, adding three new names to its exclusive me