Investment trusts have experienced challenges this year, with discounts remaining wide across various sectors and some consolidation occurring. However, certain trusts have performed well compared to both the wider market and their peer group. This article highlights the top performers across four of the Association of Investment Companies' most widely followed equity-facing sectors.GLOBALAn inves

Specialist business services firm FRP Advisory (FRP:AIM) is one of those businesses which many investors may have heard of but few are sure exactly what it does.Put simply, FRP helps companies through each stage of their development, giving advice on raising capital, managing debt, acquisitions, corporate finance and forensic accounting. It is probably best-known for 'crisis management' where it h

UK takeovers moved up a gear in 2024 as predators targeted bigger companies. The average value of deals was £1.07 billion, nearly three times higher than the £390 million average in 2023. In total, there were £49 billion worth of recommended bids versus £17.2 billion last year.A bounty of unloved or underappreciated companies were swept off their feet, signalling the UK market as being 'on sal

Saba's investment totals £1.5 billionSix of the seven trusts underperformedCompany proposes sacking directorsThe normally-sleepy world of investment trusts received a wake-up call this morning with the publication of a shareholder letter by activist investor Saba Capital Management calling for change at no fewer than seven well-known funds.The firm, which has a history of successfully instigating

Stocks in London were in the green on Wednesday morning, as investors prepare for eurozone inflation data and the US interest rate decision this afternoon.UK consumer price inflation and producer price inflation data came out before the London open.According to the Office for National Statistics, the consumer prices index rose by 2.6% in the 12 months to November, picking up pace on-month from a 2

UK indices were down at the close on Tuesday, as Bunzl warned deflation will have a impact on profitability.The FTSE 100 index closed down 66.85 points, 0.8%, at 8,195.20. The FTSE 250 ended 270.17 points lower, 1.3%, at 20,542.86, and the AIM All-Share gave back 7.45 points, 1.0%, at 722.04.The Cboe UK 100 ended down 0.7% at 823.10, the Cboe UK 250 fell 1.4% at 18,067.65, and the Cboe Small Compa

Dividends are a key component of successful investing whether taken as an income to support retirement or reinvested to compound future total returns.With interest rates set to fall as inflation is gradually brought back under control dividend yields will become more competitive as a source of income compared with income from cash and bonds.In this article we scour the FTSE 350 for the companies w

Blue-chip stocks in London, Paris and Frankfurt opened lower on Wednesday ahead of a Canadian interest rate decision and consumer price index inflation data from the US.The FTSE 100 index traded down 27.16 points, 0.3%, at 8,253.20. The FTSE 250 was down 79.67 points, 0.4%, at 20,894.27, and the AIM All-Share was down 0.58 of a point, 0.1%, at 736.99.The Cboe UK 100 was 0.4% lower at 828.28, the C

UK indices were mixed at Friday's close as FTSE 100 housebuilders and property firms alike edged upwards off the back of Halifax housing data.The FTSE 100 index closed down 40.77 points, 0.5%, at 8,308.61. The FTSE 250 ended up 57.94 points at 21,059.00, and the AIM All-Share closed up 1.30 points, 0.2%, at 738.22.The Cboe UK 100 ended down 0.5% at 834.32, the Cboe UK 250 closed up 0.3% at 18,536.

Shares in US retail titan Costco Wholesale (COST:NASDAQ) have been on an astonishing run, not just over the last 12 months but for several years before that and the shares are now trading at all-time highs.The company has consistently reported earnings ahead of expectations in recent quarters and, given the elevated share price, it may need to do so again if it is to sustain its red-hot momentum w

Spare a thought for Laszlo Hanyecz. You may not have heard of him, but in 2010 he spent 10,000 Bitcoins on two pizzas, in one of the first ever 'real world' crypto transactions. The market value of those Bitcoins is now $950 million. Hanyecz is pretty stoic about it, but deep down he must know that no amount of melted cheese can make up for the vast fortune he might have had. Hanyecz, a computer p

In last week's magazine, Shares focused on the methods by which leading fund managers identify genuine long-term growth opportunities, covering everything from the need for a growth mindset to bottom-up stock picking and the need to factor in top-down considerations.Now we turn the spotlight on the regional markets, themes and stocks which have some of the market's most admired investors salivatin

London's FTSE 100 was largely flat, though the FTSE 250 made a more sizeable move heading into Friday afternoon, as M&A activity continued.The FTSE 100 index added just 3.66 points to sit at 8,284.88. The FTSE 250 registered a more convincing 31.63 point gain, 0.2%, at 20,794.41, and the AIM All-Share added 1.49 points, 0.2%, at 732.40.The Cboe UK 100 rose 0.1% at 832.14, the Cboe UK 250 added 0.3

Company agrees takeover by FortressAll-cash 310p offer is 30% premiumStock trades at new all-time highAll-day bar/restaurant operator Loungers (LGRS:AIM) came to the market on the eve of the pandemic in 2019 and now appears to be going back to private equity ownership after agreeing a takeover offer from Fortress Investment at a 30% premium to the last closing price.The shares jumped 28% to a reco

Indices in London closed higher on Monday as the market reacted favourably to President-elect Trump's choice of Scott Bessent to head the US Treasury, although oil majors suffered amid falling brent prices.AJ Bell's Russ Mould said Bessent is perceived as being a relatively 'conventional and safe pair of hands candidate'.'Importantly, Bessent is seen as being less aggressive on tariffs than some o

Markets seem to approve of the election of Donald Trump as the 47th US president. The S&P 500 has hit a record high in the wake of the election result, crossing over the 6,000 mark for the first time. This latest bump comes on the back of an exceptional run for US stocks, which has put other regional markets firmly in the shade, including the UK's own stock market.The historic performance differen

It's been a prosperous time to have invested in the markets. Each one of the major share indices around the world has delivered a positive total return over the past 12 months, factoring in share price performance and dividends.At the top end, the US has returned 32.5% as measured by the S&P 500 index; Japan's Nikkei 225 index has returned 15.3%; and even 'unloved' UK has lined investors' pockets

To date, a small, exclusive club of UK retailers have exceeded £1 billion in annual profits, a high street elite that includes Tesco (TSCO), Marks & Spencer (MKS) and Kingfisher (KGF). Some may view this £1 billion figure as merely symbolic, but breaching this barrier is no mean feat and demonstrates a retailer has a lasting place in consumers' affections and the scale to win in a competitive ma

Stocks in London were mixed at Wednesday midday, as investors digested a hotter-than-expected consumer price growth reading in the UK, while focus across the Atlantic turns to Nvidia's earnings.The FTSE 100 index climbed just 3.66 points at 8,102.68. The FTSE 250 fell 59.75 points, 0.3%, at 20,367.87, and the AIM All-Share was up 1.04 points, 0.1%, at 725.27.The Cboe UK 100 was flat at 814.74, the

European equities traded higher on Wednesday morning, as stocks in London shrugged off a hotter-than-forecast UK inflation reading for now.Sage shone on the FTSE 100, while Severn Trent also impressed.The FTSE 100 index climbed 23.61 points, 0.3%, at 8,122.63. The FTSE 250 edged up 22.23 points, 0.1%, at 20,449.85, and the AIM All-Share was up 2.56 points, 0.4%, at 726.79.The Cboe UK 100 was up 0.