London's FTSE 100 was on the up on Wednesday afternoon, shaking off tariff worries, and recovering from its worst run since September.The FTSE 100 index traded up 52.53 points, 0.6%, at 8,548.52. It had fallen for six days in a row heading into Wednesday. It has not had a run that poor since September.The FTSE 250 was up 151.86 points, 0.8%, at 19,922.02, and the AIM All-Share was up 3.36...

Company posts record resultsOperating margin up 200 pointsNew CEO sharpens focusInfrastructure equipment firm Hill & Smith (HILS) clearly pleased the market with its results for the 12 months to December and the new chief executive's determination to continue improving sales and margins.The shares, which had been languishing at 12-month lows, leapt 206p or nearly 12% to £19.40 sending them to...

Hotter-than expected UK inflation for January, with headline CPI up 3% year-on-year versus the 2.8% expected, combined with a volatile geopolitical backdrop, means investors should be seeking ways to protect their income.Shares has long championed the unique advantage investment trusts have when it comes to paying regular and progressive dividends, since these funds are able to hold back up to...

Now the ballots have been cast at the general election, the UK could become the 'reassuringly boring' market, both politically and fiscally, when compared to the more extreme politics on the other side of the English Channel and Atlantic Ocean.So suggests Jean Roche, manager of the Schroder UK Mid Cap Fund (SCP), who notes capital allocators know more or less what to expect, which could...

Caledonia Investments (CLDN)Price: £35.18Market cap: £1.92 billionAmid all the talk of the UK market being full of 'hidden gems', we think Caledonia Investments (CLDN) could be one of the best examples of 'hidden value' in the mid-cap FTSE 250 index.The global multi-asset investment company tends not to get much air-time, but Shares caught up with chief executive Mat Masters and finance...

The UK stock market has enjoyed quite the ride this year, with the FTSE 100 keeping pace with the S&P 500 in the US and hitting new record highs. It is certainly helping to raise the profile of what has been an unloved part of the investment universe ? however, investors often overlook one of the UK?s key attributes.You might think having a rich pool of takeover targets on cheap valuations is...

- Top-line growth accelerates in latest quarter- Full-year profits now seen above best estimates- Firm demonstrates strong pricing powerShares in engineering group Hill & Smith (HILS) jumped as much as 9% to £11.94 in early trading, topping the mid-cap leader board, after the firm posted a positive trading update and raised its full year outlook.WHAT DOES HILL & SMITH DO?The Birmingham-based...

Hill & Smith (HILS) £14.12Loss to date: 7.1%Original entry point: Buy at £15.20, 20 May 2021It's been a disappointing start to 2022 for road safety engineer Hill & Smith (HILS) with more than a year's worth of share price gains wiped out.Most of the damage was done in early January when news came that the UK Government would temporarily halt the rollout of new smart motorways. These use the...

Infrastructure firm Hill & Smith (HILS) posted profits for the year to December which under-shot market estimates by some distance.However, investors decided to chase the shares up as much as 11% to £14.36 thanks to the positive medium-term outlook.PROFITS COME UP SHORTThe firm, which mainly supplies steel products to the utility, transport and construction sectors, reported sales of £705...

Leading UK shares edged higher on what is expected to be a relatively quiet day, given that US markets are closed for the Thanksgiving holiday, with ex-dividend stocks acting as a brake on larger gains.At 9.00am, the benchmark FTSE 100 was 7.5 points or 0.1% at 7,294.13 despite worries about further lockdowns in Europe, particularly Germany, and the continuing pricing pressures which are...

The belated approval of US president Joe Biden's $1 trillion infrastructure plan is a positive development for several UK-listed businesses.However, this is not 'new' news to the market as the spending package had been in the post for months, held up by brinksmanship and haggling. The spending will be allocated across areas including roads, rail bridges, high-speed internet, green energy,...

We're pleased to welcome back Malcolm from Edinburgh who is sharing his experience as someone in retirement taking charge of their investments for the first time. This is part five of the series click to read parts one, two, three and four. In managing my retirement portfolio of 30 shares, currently divided between 12 in the FTSE 100, 13 in FTSE 250 companies and five from the FTSE AIM 100...

Coming in at more than 2,000 pages, the bipartisan bill to revamp the US's ageing - and in some cases crumbling - infrastructure has taken months to put together and has inevitably resulted in a compromise.While president Joe Biden can take many positives from the deal, which forms a crucial part of his economic agenda, he will no doubt be ruing the reduction in funding for clean energy and...

UK stocks advanced as the first half reporting season continued to show companies meeting or beating expectations in general.By 8.30am the benchmark FTSE 100 index was up 24 points or 0.3% to 7,185 points, not quite an intraday high but very close, driven by gains in financial and industrial stocks.The FTSE 250 mid-cap index hit yet another record high, albeit with a small gain of 22 points to...

Hill & Smith (HILS): £15.34Gain to date: 0.9%Original entry point £15.20, 20 May 2021Infrastructure equipment firm Hill & Smith (HILS) revealed last week revenues in the first four months of the year were 10% above 2020 and were also ahead of 2019 levels.The roads division was the main driver of the growth in turnover thanks to 'high levels of demand' in the US, a 'solid' performance in the...

On a largely uninspiring day for global equity markets, London's FTSE 100 ended modestly lower after trading broadly flat for much of the day.Sterling strength weighed on the overseas earnings dominated index, with the blue chip benchmark closing down 0.3% at 7,029.79, while the more domestically focused FTSE 250 finished 0.2% lower at 22,438.90.Reopening names were in demand, among them the...

London's FTSE 100 was struggling for direction by midday on Tuesday, down a modest 0.01% to 7,050.78 points after UK public borrowing figures came in lower than expected, although the FTSE 250 edged 0.08% higher to 22,502 points.Government borrowing hit £31.7 billion in April, official data shows, and while this was the second highest amount on record it was lower than the same month last...

UK stocks continued their winning streak on Tuesday, extending their gains after figures showed Government borrowing came in less than expected last month amid growing optimism over the recovery of public finances.Government borrowing hit £31.7 billion in April, official data shows, and while this was the second highest amount on record it was lower than the same month last year as parts of...

As president Biden's team begins what are likely to be weeks of horse-trading with their Republican peers over the shape and size of the new infrastructure plan, one firm which is set to benefit is FTSE 250 road safety equipment supplier Hill & Smith (HILS).A new chief executive has the ability to drive earnings growth and a loftier valuation, providing a double win for investors.SPEND, SPEND,...

We're pleased to welcome back Malcolm from Edinburgh who is sharing his experience as someone in retirement taking charge of their investments for the first time.After a year-and-a-half of taking responsibility for investing for retirement through my SIPP and Stocks and Shares ISA, matters are becoming clearer. There is no going on endless holidays and checking my portfolio once a fortnight,...