1H trading above expectationsUS infrastructure a big driverShares top their decade-old highSpecialist geotechnical contractor Keller Group (KLR) sparked a stampede to buy its shares after it published an upbeat trading statement ahead of today?s AGM (annual general meeting).The stock price leapt 178p or 15.7% to a new all-time high of £13.14, surpassing the previous high struck more than a decade

Firm raised guidance last OctoberProfit seen ?significantly? above forecastsShares still on just six times 2024 EPSWhile most construction and housebuilding stocks are trading lower after the surprise uptick in UK inflation, which could delay the Bank of England?s rate cutting schedule, FTSE 250 infrastructure group Keller (KLR) is heading higher after a positive full-year trading update.The share

Stock prices in London declined on Wednesday morning as consumer price inflation came in higher than expected for December, adding concerns for some economists who had expected a rate cut in May.The FTSE 100 index opened down 103.82 points, 1.4%, at 7,454.52. The FTSE 250 was down 262.19 points, 1.4%, at 18,931.13, and the AIM All-Share was down 7.42 points, 1.0%, at 740.39.The Cboe UK 100 was dow

Keller performs ahead of expectationsVistry sees no recovery in private salesShares top and tail the mid-cap indexThere was mixed news from the construction sector, with groundworks specialist Keller (KLR) delivering a surprise upgrade to its full-year earnings forecast after third-quarter trading exceeded its forecasts while housebuilder Vistry (VTY) issued a downbeat statement saying the usual s

Prime minister Rishi Sunak has floated and announced big policy changes recently from delaying a ban of the sales of new petrol and diesel cares, pulling back on phasing out gas boilers and introducing a New Zealand-style anti-smoking policy.There has also been the public discussion of abandoning or at least curtailing the zero-carbon high-speed railway to the north of England - better known as HS

- Firm uncovers sophisticated fraud dating to 2019- Financial damage appears limited- Shares fall but quickly steady down around 7%Investors in FTSE 250 construction and infrastructure group Keller (KLR) received an unwelcome surprise at the start of the week with news the firm had unearthed financial fraud in its Australian division.Fortunately, the share price wasn't too badly affected due to th

The FTSE 100 fell on Monday as losses in the energy, financial and consumer-facing sectors offset gains in mining shares. News that Omicron had become the dominant variant in London and claimed its first casualty dented investor confidence.At the close the FTSE 100 of leading shares was down almost 1% at 7,231.COMPANY NEWSOutsourcing firm Capita (CPI) posted a rise of just 1% in group revenues for

UK shares were directionless at midday on Monday as investors digested Omicron fears and interest rate uncertainties ahead of the final central bank meetings of the year. The UK government said the Omicron variant had become the dominant virus in London, taking over from the delta variant while the prime minister didn't rule out introducing further restrictions in the capital.Meanwhile, sterling d

UK investors were in 'wait and see' mode ahead of a huge week for markets, with central banks in the UK, Europe, Japan and the US set to guide on the future path of interest rates.On Wednesday the US Federal Reserve is expected to announce it will accelerate 'tapering' or reducing its support for financial markets and to issue guidance on when it will raise rates, while on Thursday the Bank of Eng

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, clean wa

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 the in

There is a common theme in the current wave of takeovers involving UK stocks, namely that many of the targets operate in the business-to-business space and provide products or services to other companies.Since the middle of July there have been more than half a dozen significant bids, most of which have been recommended by the boards of the target companies.Parker-Hannifin's bid for component make

The UK market was lower on Friday as sterling firmed on rising optimism about a Brexit deal, which hit exporters. The FTSE 100 was 23 points lower at 7,332.63 while the FTSE 250, with more domestic exposure was 47 points to the good at 20,136.74.The biggest faller in the FTSE 100 was engineer Rolls Royce (RR.), its shares 3.5% lower at 781.8p after saying that it expects problems with its Trent 10

Last year was a vintage one for mergers and acquisitions (M&A) with deals totalling more than $4trn, the highest figure since 2007 and the onset of the global financial crisis. This year is shaping up to also be a historic period for takeovers and we believe UK-listed companies are prime targets for foreign companies.In 2018 mega deals worth $10bn or more grabbed the headlines. According to the MA

Invest in what you know is the golden rule for first time investors. This advice has stood the test of time and is a great way for people to get to know what investing is all about.Fortunately, there are many companies on the FTSE 350 which are household names.But when you get more comfortable with investing and how the stock markets generally work, there's a whole host of companies less familiar

London's FTSE 100 jumped up 55.7 points to 7,605 on Monday as a spate of corporate action put a new lease of life in the market. Separate deals involving Just Eat (JE.) and London Stock Exchange (LSE) as well as an increase in private equity activity this year have got investors excited over the prospect of further mergers & acquisitions (M&A). Investors also bid up shares in various unloved large

All eyes are on Royal Mail (RMG) ahead of the FTSE 100 re-shuffle next Tuesday. With the shares trading down another 2% to 317p on Friday, its current market capitalisation of just over £3.2bn.That puts it in 119th spot in terms of valuation on the UK stock market, well below the 110th place cut-off, meaning it will automatically be ejected from the blue-chip index.This sums up a negative trading

European shares are in freefall on Thursday following a rout on Wall Street, with jitters over rising US Treasury yields sparking a broad sell-off of riskier assets. London's FTSE 100 and FTSE 250 are certainly feeling their share of pain, the indices dropping 110.7 and 390.2 points respectively to trade at 7,035 and 18,849.On a busy day for corporate reporting, homewares retailer Dunelm (DNLM) ra

London's FTSE 100 kicks off the week in uncertain form as investors await key monetary policy decisions in the UK, US and Japan, with the blue-chip benchmark retreating 26 points to 7,676 early on.Gaming group GVC (GVC) sparks up 5.4% to £11.54 on excitement over its establishment of a 50/50 joint venture with New York Stock Exchange-listed MGM Resorts to create a sports betting and online gaming

The green light for US tax reform is a potential boost for several UK-listed businesses with significant US operations.Some are taking hefty charges as they recalculate deferred tax assets. However, these one-off charges will have no cash impact and a cut in corporation tax from 35% to 21% is expected to provide a long-term boost.4imprint (FOUR) - The 97% US-based promotional products firm sees no