With a sense of anticipation Shares scurried along to Finsbury Growth & Income Trust's (FGT) latest AGM (annual general meeting) at London's Guildhall on a wet and windy day (28 January), where shareholders turned up in droves and one or two left the assembled board members squirming in their seats.While the total return-focused trust's long-run record under star manager Nick Train remains...

Fourth year of underperformanceConsumer brand exposure reducedTrain optimistic for better future returnsVeteran fund manager Nick Train, manager of the well-followed Finsbury Growth & Income Trust (FGT), insisted he is more enthused by the company's prospects than at 'any time this century', despite the company reporting a fourth consecutive year of underperformance versus the...

Quarterly index changes this weekThree new names to join FTSE 100Four new stocks to join FTSE 250This Wednesday, FTSE Russell ? part of the London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) ? will announce the results of its latest quarterly index review.This includes potential changes to the FTSE 100, FTSE 250 and FTSE Small-Cap indices which will become effective from the start of trading on 23...

Prime minister Keir Starmer and chancellor Rachel Reeves have made no bones about making 'painful' decisions in order to stabilise public finances and grow the economy, so investors are right to be nervous over what might be included in the Labour party's first Budget since 2009 at the end of this month.Top of the list of investor concerns is that rather than raising income tax, national...

Stock markets across the globe have just emerged from a short, sharp shock, with the sell-off on 5 August one of the worst days in years as investors mull the frightening thought that the US economy is slowing and could be sent spinning into recession.Combined with the impact of the unwinding in the yen 'carry trade' discussed in this explainer and some stretched valuations and you had the...

Private equity firm hoping for valuation up to ?16 billionGoing public would allow firm to expand and diversify modelAmsterdam market picked over New York and LondonPrivate capital investment firm CVC Capital Partners hopes to get an IPO (initial public offering) away at the third attempt later this month.The London-based buyout giant, which owns stakes in Liptons Tea, upmarket watch maker...

The UK FCA (Financial Conduct Authority) is falling into line with other financial regulators and softening its stance on investing in digital currencies as bitcoin hits a record high.From April 2024, issuers will be able to list exchange traded products linked to Bitcoin and Ethereum coins on the London Stock Exchange.The FCA banned crypto-related derivatives in 2021 on concerns over the...

Revenue lifted by data and analyticsIPO pipeline ?promising? says CEOShares drift to three-month lowGlobal financial and information firm London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) failed to set investors? pulses racing with its preliminary full-year results which showed revenues rising but profits falling.The shares slid 224p or 2.5% to £86.88, their lowest level of the year so far. ...

Stock prices in London were mostly in the green on Thursday morning following a slew of earnings releases, ahead of a key US inflation reading.The FTSE 100 index opened up 19.31 points, 0.3%, at 7,644.29. The FTSE 250 was up 53.29 points, 0.3%, at 19,066.87, and the AIM All-Share was down 0.68 of a point, 0.1%, at 737.36.The Cboe UK 100 was up 0.4% at 766.62, the Cboe UK 250 was up 0.3% at...

By his own admission, Nick Train, manager of Finsbury Growth & Income (FGT), isn?t one for nostalgia, whether that is reflecting on past glories or the ?melancholy fact? as he puts it that the popular investment trust has underperformed the FTSE All-Share index for the last three years.Moving into 2024, the trust has again lagged the benchmark with a share price return of -1.9% in January...

Full year outlook loweredUPS declines on negative read-acrossWarning spells bad news for US economyShares in FedEx (FDX:NYSE) fell nearly 10% in after-hours trading on Wall Street after the air freight and delivery giant?s second quarter results missed expectations.Disappointing figures from FedEx also dragged down industry rival UPS (UPS:NYSE), which fell by nearly 3% on the negative...

A change in personal circumstances following a few years of being down on his luck gave Peter the chance of a fresh start and to consider taking control of his financial future.The sale of a canal boat allowed Peter to settle things with his partner and provide a lump sum to invest. He considered consolidating five of seven private pensions into a single pot with a view to opening a SIPP...

Group lifts full-year revenue growth forecastCosts depress first-half operating marginsSluggish trading revenues a concernDespite a seemingly strong set of results and an increase in revenue growth guidance for the full year, shares in London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) fell as much as 6% shortly after the open as investors homed in on a rise in costs and continued weakness in trading...

Near-6% stake sale via discounted placingShares in London Stock Exchange tumble 4%Is London losing its public listings allure?News came today (17 May) that London Stock Exchange (LSEG) stake owners have sold a 33 million slug of stock in the UK's main stock market operator. An investor consortium, including US buyout firm Blackstone and financial data and news firm Thomson Reuters, sold 33...

We could potentially see changes to the FTSE 100 and FTSE 250 indices as a knock-on effect to proposals by the UK financial regulator to change the UK stock market listing rules.The Financial Conduct Authority wants to make it easier for companies to join the UK stock market by revamping the listing requirements. One of the proposals is for the London market's standard and premium segments to...

- Smith & Nephew director snaps up shares after strong first quarter results- London Stock Exchange director buys more than £1 million worth of shares- Dowlais directors go on a spending spreeRupert Soames, non-executive director medical equipment manufacturer Smith & Nephew (SN.), has snapped up more than £100,000 worth of shares in the wake of its recent first quarter update.On 27 April...

- Hollywood Bowl director sells 125,000 shares- LSEG director Brand sells £2.6 million shares- Endeavour Mining CEO sells 175,000 sharesMelanie Dickinson chief people officer (CPO) at ten-pin bowling and mini-golf centre operator Hollywood Bowl (BOWL) has sold 125,000 shares at 248p at a cash value of £309,588 on 12 April.Dickinson's sale comes as no surprise after the company delivered...

- YouGov boss transfers shares to family firm, gifts shares to children- London Stock Exchange NED buys over £1 million of shares- Balfour Beatty chief capitalises on positive set of resultsStephan Shakespeare, the chief executive of YouGov (YOU), the international online research and data analytics group, sold 1,563,625 shares at 950p per share on 3 April for a total consideration of...

Given some of the most successful fund managers go to the trouble of calculating the average age of companies in their portfolios it is fair to conclude it is an important characteristic of how they invest.In this article we look at why longevity in companies matters and identify some of the oldest firms across the UK, Europe, and US. Later in the article we look at some of the oldest...

For years, UK-listed technology and biotechnology companies moaned about how they could get a higher valuation if their shares traded on the US market. Some added a secondary listing, others ditched the UK completely and parked their shares across the Atlantic. It was a trend that bubbled away, but not a mainstream activity.That's now changing after several larger companies across non-tech...