Quarterly earnings beat forecasts Investment bank outperforms Full-year profit outlook raised Like its rivals HSBC (HSBA) and Societe Generale (GLE:EPA), UK lender Barclays (BARC) enjoyed a strong first quarter thanks to the increased volatility in stock and bond markets which powered gains in its investment banking business. Barclays shares, which have gained more than 45% in the last year...

Lack of one-off items impacts earnings Profit excluding items beats forecasts Buyback programme renewed for 2025 Investors in global banking group HSBC (HSBA) looked through the 25% drop in reported earnings for the three months to March 2025 and focused instead on the full-year outlook along with a new $3 billion buyback programme. The shares, which despite the volatility of recent weeks have...

Defensives hold up in sell-offNew appetite for growth stocksBanks unable to shake off lossesAs the dust settles from the three-day 'Liberation Day'-inspired sell-off, the list of winners and losers makes for interesting reading.Not everything which held up during the market meltdown is being sold off, and not everything which racked up big losses is rebounding, unlike in previous recoveries,...

The end of the tax year is now just a couple of weeks away so if you want to make use of any remaining ISA allowance your window to do so is rapidly closing.In this article the Shares team has put its collective heads together to identify a quintet of funds which we think are worthy of inclusion as part of a diversified portfolio. Some of these names may already be familiar but others are...

JPMorgan European Growth & Income(JEGI) 110.9pMarket cap: £466.3 millionEuropean equities have outperformed their US counterparts by the widest margin since 2000 so far this year according to Morgan Stanley.All of the major European indices have rallied this year. The German DAX index has risen nearly 17%. France's CAC 40 has gained 11.5% and the UK's leading blue-chip index the FTSE 100 has...

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...

2024 results meet forecastsDividend and buyback in line2025 outlook implies upgradesDespite rallying overnight in Hong Kong, shares in Asia-focused banking giant HSBC (HSBA) were slightly lower at the London open as investors took on board in-line annual results, a hike in the dividend and another buyback, but seemed to miss the increase in 2025 guidance.Having gained 14% since the start of...

There may be a sense of poignancy when Europe's biggest bank HSBC (HSBA) reports full-year earnings next week as for several hundred staff it will be the last call.At the end of January, the company informed managers in its UK, European and US corporate advisory and equity underwriting teams it was closing down operations as it finally gave up chasing a place at investment banking's top...

Paul's very first taste of investing came when his employer, aerospace and defence company Rolls Royce (RR.), introduced an employee share scheme which gave him what seemed to be a low-risk way of getting exposure to its shares.It seemed low risk, explains Paul, because the scheme allowed employees to save a monthly or four weekly amount for five years and at the end of the period the savings...

Earnings beat despite sluggish revenuesWealth and investment bank deliverNew buyback and restructuring in focusRounding out the results of the Big Four UK banks, HSBC (HSBA) delivered third-quarter earnings which beat market forecasts and announced it would launch a fresh $3 billion share buyback.After rallying 4% in Hong Kong earlier in the day, the shares had popped 28p or 4% to 720p by...

First-half revenue flatProfit 16% above forecasts2025 return target raisedGlobal banking giant HSBC (HSBA) pleased investors with its first-half trading update and another bumper buyback as it said goodbye to chief executive Noel Quinn who is passing the baton on to Georges Elhedery.HSBC shares were marked up 24p of 3.5% to 701p making them the biggest gainer in the FTSE 100. PROFIT...

There has never been a better time to be an income investor in UK equities, as payouts for the period from April to June hit an all-time quarterly record of £36.7 billion according to the latest Dividend Monitor from Computershare.Most of the increase was thanks to one-off special dividends, leaving the underlying growth rate at just 1%, but for those clipping the coupons or reinvesting the...

Announcing a new share buyback programme has been one way to trigger a share price boost. The ease at which companies have made such capital allocation decisions has naturally caught the attention of politicians, thus buybacks are increasingly a target for tax collectors.Joe Biden has already pushed through a 1% tax on buybacks in the US and wants to raise that level to 4% if he gets a second...

UK banks have enjoyed a renaissance in 2024. And, while the snap UK election put paid to plans for a big share sale in NatWest (NWG), anticipation of a 'Tell Sid' style offer definitely put the spotlight on the sector.As such, now is a perfect time to take an in-depth look at the banks' relative merits, particularly off the back of their annual 2023 and first-quarter 2024 results.It's worth...

If we took a straw poll of readers and asked which country has the world's biggest sovereign wealth fund, the chances are Saudi Arabia and Singapore would come high up the list if not at the top.In fact, the largest is Norway's Government Pension Fund Global which has a value of more than $1.6 trillion.When the country discovered large offshore oil fields at the end of the 1960s, the...

Shares in global banking group HSBC (HSBA) hit a five-year peak of 700p last week after the Asia-focused lender said first-quarter net interest income dipped 3% to $8.65 billion, beating market forecasts of $8.5 billion.Pre-tax profit of $12.65 billion, down around 2% on last year, also beat the consensus despite a higher technology spend thanks to low levels of provisioning for bad loans due...

Profits beat consensusBuyback bigger than thoughtChief executive stepping downInvestors in Anglo-Pacific bank HSBC (HSBA) had plenty to cheer as the group posted first-quarter results above expectations and increased the size of its buyback.The shares continued their recent rally, adding another 17p or 2.5% to take them to a new post-pandemic high of 685p. BETTER RESULTS AND BUYBACKFor...

Annual profit surges on higher ratesFurther $2 billion share buybackChina provision a negative surpriseShareholders in HSBC (HSBA) will be feeling frustrated after the global bank posted its best-ever annual profit and extended its share buyback yet its stock price slumped on an unexpected non-cash charge for its holding in a Chinese lender.After trading 3% lower in the Hong Kong session, the...

The publication of full-year results by the big four UK high-street banks is imminent and there will inevitably be a good deal of scrutiny of their margins and provisions for bad loans.If last week?s update from Virgin Money UK (VMUK) is any guide, net interest margins should be fairly steady although that will depend on how keen the major players have been to expand their loan books.Virgin...

While it may have been choppy seas for growth investors last year, for those with an income strategy it was plainer sailing with regular dividend payments for the FTSE All-Share excluding investment trusts growing by more than 5% to over £88 billion according to the latest Dividend Monitor report from financial services company Computershare.The firm?s latest quarterly report reveals some...