Bloomsbury (BMY) 700pMarket cap: £571 million Publishing group Bloomsbury (BMY) is a pandemic winner which has kept on winning since Covid.Lockdown saw people rediscover their love of reading, and the company has tapped into and exploited through successful marketing some popular trends in fiction which have helped drive a big increase in returns.That has meant Bloomsbury's return on capital empl

Investors in London showed confidence on Monday, with stocks closing up on hopes on interest rate cuts being around the corner.The FTSE 100 index closed up 3.94 points at 8,424.20. The FTSE 250 ended up 123.43 points, 0.6%, at 20,873.33, and the AIM All-Share closed up 15.92 points, 2.0%, at 809.94.The Cboe UK 100 ended up 0.1% at 840.87, the Cboe UK 250 closed up 0.6% at 18,250.48, and the Cboe S

All eyes on earnings and dividends as housebuilders report next monthInvestors will be hoping activity picks up and payouts are at least maintainedAfter analysts at Deutsche Bank recently cut their recommendations on four leading housebuilders, investors will be keen to hear from Persimmon (PSN) and Taylor Wimpey (TW.).Persimmon, which reports full-year earnings on 1 March, revealed in November it

Terry Smith might be Britain's favourite fund manager. Having built up an army of retail investor fans with his flagship Fundsmith Equity (B41YBW7) vehicle, he is often compared to Warren Buffett, such is his laser focus on a deceptively simple three-point investment strategy; buy good companies, don't overpay, do nothing.But it's been a tough start to 2022 for Fundsmith, with two of its largest s

A weak start to trading in the US, amid suggestions from central banks about a tightening of monetary policy, helped put the FTSE 100 firmly on the back foot on Thursday afternoon.By the market close, the blue chip benchmark was down 1.1% at 7,012.02 points, with tech names in the US dragging down the Nasdaq index by 0.4% to 14,585.31 as of 4.30pm UK time.Heavyweight oil firms BP (BP.) and Royal D

London's FTSE 100 traded 0.7% lower at 7,044.16 by lunchtime on Thursday with heavyweight oil firms BP (BP.) and Royal Dutch Shell (RDSB) in the red amid a slump in crude prices as OPEC reached a compromise on increasing production.A steady rise in inflation coupled with higher local coronavirus infections also stoked concerns of slowing the pace of economic recovery.Mid-caps were also weaker by n

Major UK stocks e FTSE 100 made a quiet start to trading on Thursday as inflation fears kept a lid on equity markets. The FTSE 100 was largely flat at 9am as heavyweight energy stocks tracked weak oil prices, while a steady rise in inflation coupled with higher local coronavirus infections stoked concerns of slowing the pace of economic recovery.The benchmark index was 0.02% higher at 7,092.77 wit

Shares in infrastructure firm Kier Group (KIE) fall 6% to 454p in early trade after the company delivers a sub-optimal set of first half results and promises a better second half.Revenue for the six months to 31 December is up just 2% to £2.2bn as income from the Infrastructure Services and Building divisions offset a 19% slump in Development & Housing revenue.READ MORE ABOUT KIER GROUP HEREThe I

Construction outsourcing group Kier (KIE) can ill afford the kind of accounting error which the company is owning up to this morning.With memories of the collapse of its peer Carillion in 2018 still fresh, announcing net debt as at 31 December was materially higher than previously flagged is not likely to inspire confidence. It is therefore no surprise to see the shares dive 16.5% to 416p.It also

London's FTSE 100 firms 18.7 points to trade at 7,197.8 on Wednesday, boosted by share price gains from the banking and mining sectors, while markets across mainland Europe and Asia also take a step forward.Supermarket J Sainsbury (SBRY) slumps 15.3% to 244p as the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) says its planned £7.3bn takeover of Walmart-owned Asda could push up prices and reduce the qu

The FTSE 100 index of leading UK stocks is down 0.3% in early trade at 6,950 points, in line with the softer tone in European markets.Weighing on the index are the banks, metal and mining stocks and oil & gas producers.In company news, retailer Dixons Carphone (DC.) delivers a Christmas trading update which doesn't contain any nasty surprises for a change.Group like-for-like sales were up slightly

It appears investors in construction firm Kier (KIE) are losing faith in the business as its heavily-discounted £264m rights issue secured only 37.6% support, prompting a 3.5% fall in the shares to 371.6p.Kier has long been under pressure, more so since the collapse of rival outsourcer Carillion earlier this year.'While Kier still gets the full amount of money because the rights issue was fully u

Construction and infrastructure play Kier (KIE) had several key reasons for launching its heavily discounted £264m rights issue on30 November.Chief executive Haydn Mursell tells Shares the company acted in the face of discussions with lenders, which have become increasingly wary of the construction and contracting sectors following the collapse of Carillion, as well as pressure to pay suppliers f

Construction and infrastructure firm Kier Group (KIE) surprised a somnolent stock market on Friday afternoon by announcing a £264m rights issue.The out-of the blue cash call has clearly caught investors on the hop, sending the share price tumbling 18% to 610p.It seems the shorters called it right. As we explained recently, Kier had been the UK's most shorted stock with nearly 13% out on loan.Part

Investors appear to be regaining confidence after a volatile period last week with markets marching forward across the UK, mainland Europe and Asia on Monday morning, the FTSE 100 climbing 26.4 points higher to 7,040.3 and the FTSE 250 up almost 140 points at 18,729.Industrial components distributor Diploma (DPLM) ticks up 7.3% to £13.90 on strong full year results revealing 9% growth in adjusted

Having joined the stock market at 180p in November 2017, shares in food group Bakkavor (BAKK) have since drifted down to 164p.One possible explanation is a negative read-across from quoted peer Greencore (GNC) which has had mixed fortunes with its UK and US expansion.Also weighing on the share price are tough market conditions, concerns about input cost volatility and the supply chain post Brexit,

Investors in construction company Kier (KIE) have been worrying about the fallout from the collapse of outsourcer Carillion (CLLN) for over a week now.Kier's trading statement has gone some way to reassure its investors judging by the 10.1% uplift in the share price to £10.54, topping the list of FTSE 250 risers.The company states it has traded in line with expectations in the six months to 31 De

The market is displaying a sunnier disposition to builder and civil engineer Kier (KIE) in the wake of its latest financial results published on 21 September.Sentiment towards Kier had soured thanks to damaging profit warnings from sector peers Carillion (CLLN) and Interserve (IRV) such that the stock was down 20% year-to-date before the numbers were published.The results were thankfully reassurin

Haydale Graphene Industries (HAYD:AIM) has reported a 90% surge in revenue to £1.5m in the first half, up from £0.8m in the first six months of 2015.Despite a decent set of numbers and strong test results from its partner Huntsman concerning its Araldite resin, investors are struggling to get excited as the stock nudges 0.2% higher to 166.4p.Haydale's plan is to adds graphene, a strong carbon co

As London's FTSE 100 ticks up by a modest 14.69 points to 7,155.4, insurer and Lloyd's syndicates manager Beazley (BEZ) is among the early risers, bid up 9.2% to 446.1p as CEO Andrew Horton reports a good performance 'across the board' for 2016.Beazley generated improved taxable profits of $293.2m (2015: $284.0m) on gross premiums up 6% to almost $2.2bn last year, despite more challenging underwri