The FTSE 100 index fell on Friday, while short sellers are reportedly eyeing consumer-facing UK companies facing reduced customer spending and higher employment costs.'The UK outlook is getting worse by the day,' commented AJ Bell's Dan Coatsworth. 'Business and consumer sentiment is already weakening amid concerns that the new government doesn't have an effective plan to accelerate economic growt

Weaker demand for discretionary toys and treats and an ongoing vet industry investigation by the CMA (Competition & Markets Authority), driven by concerns market consolidation has led to pet owners being overcharged for medicines and prescriptions, have kept Pets at Home's (PETS) shares on a tight leash this past year.Having previously expressed 'disappointment' over the CMA probe, the UK pet care

Over the long haul, small-caps have historically outperformed large caps, fuelling the research highlighting the so-called 'small-cap effect' ? the idea that smaller companies offer higher risk-adjusted returns than larger ones. Unfortunately, the higher interest rate environment of recent years has proved tough for the stock market's small fry, who've spent more than a decade lagging more sizeabl

The pub and hospitality sector continues to recover from the pandemic and inflationary pressures, and premium pub and hotel group Fuller Smith & Turner (FSTA) is due to update the market with full-year results to the end of March on 13 June.The shares are trading close to 12-month highs, reflecting strong momentum in the business which saw the company deliver like-for-like sales growth of 11.5% fo

Will Ashtead continue to benefit from a US infrastructure boom?Tool hire firm reported its end-markets were 'robust with ongoing momentum' in MarchUS-focused construction equipment hire group Ashtead (AHT) is set to report its full-year results on 13 June with investors hoping for its recent strong performance to be sustained.In its third-quarter trading update in March, the company described its

With the FTSE 100 hitting new all-time highs and global stock markets in the ascendency since the Autumn it has arguably become more difficult to find stocks which offer good value.This article delves into the unloved parts of the UK stock market to search for opportunities which investors may have missed. A problem with looking at cheaper stocks is they may be cheap for good reason and they are o

There is a well-worn phrase that 'a week is a long time in politics'. In market terms, a week can feel even longer and can sometimes signal a shift from one trend to another.A fortnight ago when we introduced the idea of watching the number of stocks making new highs as a barometer of the health of the market, the FTSE All-Share was just below its all-time high and everything seemed to be going sw

The appeal of a growth company is easy to understand - when we put our money into a business which we expect to grow rapidly we can imagine the worth of our investment growing fast too.Many of today's largest companies were once small or medium-sized operations which have expanded their business by targeting a buoyant market or identifying a particularly profitable niche.And growth as an investmen

It is always fascinating to get insight into fund managers' views on their stock picking decisions and so we've spoken to range of managers about their best and worst calls in 2019.The managers in this article discuss a range of stocks on both the UK market and ones listed overseas.WILL JAMESDeputy head of European Equities at Aberdeen Standard InvestmentsMEDIOBANCA - GOOD CALL'European banks in a

It is always fascinating to get insight into fund managers' views on their stock picking decisions and so we've spoken to range of managers about their best and worst calls in 2019.The managers in this article discuss a range of stocks on both the UK market and ones listed overseas.WILL JAMESDeputy head of European Equities at Aberdeen Standard InvestmentsMEDIOBANCA - GOOD CALL'European banks in a

Many investors are fascinated by how certain investors got to be so famous, searching for the special formula that made the likes of Warren Buffett and Philip Fisher so rich. Well now's your chance to mimic their approach and apply their proven methodology to today's market.We show you two ways to deploy their process. The first uses stock screeners built using Stockopedia's interpretation of how

The FTSE 100 is up by 12.46 points to 7,057.20 despite a poor performance overnight on Wall Street as the fallout from the Facebook scandal continues to weigh heavily on some of the largest tech stocks.Trading platform CMC Markets (CMCX) bids up 4.1% to 161.6p after saying it expects net operating income for the second half to be significantly above the prior year. The company's revenue per client

Cinemas chain Cineworld (CINE) has struck the previously flagged deal to buy US peer Regal, agreeing a $3.6bn, or rough £2.7bn price.Between them the combined group will have more than 9,500 screens across the US and Europe, making it the world's second biggest cinema operator.Investors appear to be somewhat nervous about the price tag and/or the value in bringing the pair together, marking Cinew

IT hosting and managed services company Iomart (IOM:AIM) is in talks to buy German managed hosting company PlusServer. The target is reportedly an unwanted part of the Host Europe business acquired by US websites business GoDaddy earlier this year.The move has surprised investors but left some market experts sceptical. Securing the takeover of PlusServer would be a significant departure for the UK

Iomart (IOM:AIM) 325.25pGain to date: 25.8%Original entry point: Buy at 258.5p, 23 June 2016Another valuable bolt-on acquisition (Dediserve in Ireland), organic growth momentum, super cash generation and a 90% jump in the dividend are key stand outs of another excellent trading year for Iomart (IOM:AIM).'Textbook delivery,' and 'cash machine' were among the remarks made by analysts and the company

When most people read the terms cybercrime, cyber security, hacking attacks or something similar a doom-laden future scape will often be conjured up. Investors need to look beyond the implied gloom and spot the opportunities to invest in what is clearly a big issue now, and it's getting more critical by the day.For those that can, the latest report from technology market researcher Juniper will be

Failing to pick the right stocks is one of the biggest reasons why individual investors struggle to make money on the stock market. Don't despair; we are help to help.We believe an investment journey can be greatly enhanced by following a few simple steps in order to filter out the bad stocks and leave you with a universe of more interesting - and hopefully profitable - shares.In this article we d

Iomart (IOM:AIM) 295.5pGain to date: 14.3% Original entry point: Buy at 258.5p, 23 June 2016More organic growth at an accelerating pace is the key takeaway for Shares from what is another reliably fine pre-close trading update for Iomart (IOM:AIM) (31 Mar). The company pulled off 17% headline revenue growth, which translates into rough high-single digits on an underlying basis.Shared hosting arm E

On balance we believe global stock markets will have a good year in 2017 despite plenty of big political events which could cause bouts of volatility.Economic data is positive in the US, Eurozone and China in particular and corporate earnings are forecast to improve over the coming year. Investment bank Morgan Stanley believes the latter point should drive outperformance from value stocks and larg

IOMART (IOM:AIM) 285.75pGain to date: 10.5% Previous Shares view: Buy at 258.5p, 23 Jun 2016Typically predictable and robust, a trading update on 30 September 2016 reaffirms the attractive investment case we made for IT outsourcing and cloud services supplier Iomart (IOM:AIM) back in June.Management reports revenue and profit materially ahead of the comparative period last year, in line with expec