Credit/debit card firm has $3.9 billion of previous scheme to investS&P 500 companies on track for record buybacks yearMastercard shares have rallied 26% in 2024The board of Mastercard (MA:NYSE) has approved a new share buyback scheme worth $12 billion of its Class A shares, about 1.3% of its total share capital.Mastercard, one half of the world's debit and credit card duopoly with Visa (V:NYSE),

Transformational year for beauty retailerFirst-half sales down by a fifthReturn to growth forecast for Q4Revolution Beauty's (REVB:AIM) share price chart looked ugly on Wednesday, the stock cheapening 11.5% to 16p after the cosmetics minnow unmasked a mixed first-half update including a worse-than-expected plunge in revenue.In the midst of a painful corporate makeover, the beauty retailer expects

DoJ claims anticompetitive conduct to maintain debit card dominanceStock plunges 5.5%, swiping $30 billion off market capCiti analysts tell clients to switch to MastercardAntitrust watchdogs have had Big Tech firmly in theirs sights for months but now its Visa (V:NYSE) that finds itself being hauled over the regulatory coals after the US Department of Justice launched a lawsuit against the credit

Eight months in, 2024 is already a record year for M&A (mergers and acquisitions) in the investment trust sector.Trust boards are increasingly focused on value for money and shareholder returns amid persistently wide discounts to NAV (net asset value) and with activists nosing around. A major trend underway is mergers between sub-scale trusts with similar remits to create funds large and liquid en

2024 profits to be at lower end of expectationsOrders returned to growth in Q2£20 million buyback launchedTakeaway firm Domino's Pizza (DOM) served up news of a tasty pick-up in second quarter orders and also launched a fresh £20 million share buyback programme in show of confidence in its future prospects.So why did shares in the firm, which holds the master franchise agreement to own, operate

Stocks in Europe traded higher on Wednesday morning amid a slew of corporate earnings and a rise in oil prices, after the Bank of Japan raised its main interest rate and before the Federal Reserve's decision later.The FTSE 100 index shot up 93.67 points, or 1.1%, at 8,368.08 on Wednesday morning. But the FTSE 250 rose 194.53 points, 0.9%, at 21,627.04, while the AIM All-Share added 3.72 points, 0.

Given that the American consumer is buckling under the strain of sticky inflation and high interest rates, Procter & Gamble's (PG:NYSE) organic sales growth performance and forward guidance will be closely monitored when the consumer products powerhouse posts fourth quarter earnings (30 July).Analysts will be hanging on management's every word pertaining to currency headwinds, input cost pressures

The starting gun has sounded for the second-quarter US earnings season but expect the excitement level to climb next week when big tech firms start reporting, with Microsoft (MSFT:NASDAQ) among the first out of the gate on 23 July.These results will be crucial as there's a great deal riding on whether the AI (artificial intelligence) runners, which have driven most of the gains for US markets this

Craneware will use Microsoft's Azure platformShares up 38% year-to-dateStrengthens existing relationship with MicrosoftShares in Craneware (CRW:AIM) were up over 2% to £23.65 in morning trading as the Edinburgh-based healthcare software company announced a tie-up with tech giant Microsoft (MSFT:NASDAQ).Craneware provides software solutions that help hospitals and other healthcare providers discov

Is BT (BT.A) finally worth owning? For years it has been a complete dog of a stock and despite spinning back through our archives, Shares struggled to find the last time we had anything positive to say about the company or its shares.Yet suddenly in May 2024, the stock jumped, chalking up rough 30% gains within days and now at roughly 138p. 'There is a surge of energy running through BT after the

This column has no axe to grind with Nvidia (NVDA:NASDAQ) and ? like everyone else ? it continues to be both surprised and impressed by the growth that the semiconductor specialist is generating, thanks to the competitive position it is crafting itself in providing silicon chips that power the data centres that, in turn, drive the large language models that are so important to the development of A

There's no doubt the shock departure of a star fund manager or well-followed stock picker is a red flag, but there are various reasons why successful portfolio managers choose to leave their investment management firm and therefore their funds.And, as with most aspects of investing, there are no hard and fast rules about what investors should do when their fund manager ups sticks. Much depends on

Caledonia Investments (CLDN)Price: £35.18Market cap: £1.92 billionAmid all the talk of the UK market being full of 'hidden gems', we think Caledonia Investments (CLDN) could be one of the best examples of 'hidden value' in the mid-cap FTSE 250 index.The global multi-asset investment company tends not to get much air-time, but Shares caught up with chief executive Mat Masters and finance director

Full year tops expectations2025 organic growth of 6% to 8% on expanded marginDividend increased by 7%Global data services specialist Experian (EXPN) notched-up a new high and led the FTSE gainers after revealing full year revenue growth at the top end of expectations and a strong outlook.The shares jumped 7% to £37.75 taking gains over the last 12-months to 35%, handsomely outperforming the blue-

Pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly (LLY:NYSE) is due to report first-quarter earnings before the market opens on 30 April. Wall Street is expecting EPS (earnings per share) of $2.54 which represents a 57% increase compared with the first quarter of 2023.All eyes will be on sales momentum in Lilly?s diabetes treatment Mounjaro and obesity treatment Zepbound following the latter?s launch in November 202

If you had £10,000 to invest in a single fund, which would you choose ? one of the most popular with retail investors for more than a decade, or a relative new kid on the block with a similar asset allocation approach?In a manner of speaking, it is what billionaire City grandee Michael Spencer challenged formidable money man and Fundsmith Equity (B41YBW7) founder Terry Smith at the end of 2023, t

US-listed large-caps shone last year with shares in mega-caps, and the ?Magnificent Seven? in particular, surging higher. However, this outperformance only widened the valuation gap between US large and small-caps and left shares in the latter cohort languishing at the low end of historical valuations.Over one and five years, the Russell 2000 index of US small-cap stocks is up 14.6% and 30.5% at t

Record profits deliveredFY25 guidance reiteratedOverseas developments exciteShares in Next (NXT) rallied 5.4% to an all-time high of £89.66 on Thursday after the fashion and homeware retailer reported forecast-beating results for the year to January 2024 and reiterated its full year 2025 guidance.Investors? spirits were buoyed by comments from chief executive Simon Wolfson, described as a ?retail

Continued strong trading in first five monthsRecord gold price boosts gross profitBoard highly confident in meeting full year expectationsPawnbroker and financial services provider Ramsdens (RFX:AIM) said trading in the five months to 29 February continued to be strong, positive news that boosted the shares by 5% to 190p.In a statement ahead of the company?s annual general meeting, the board said

Shares up 6% over past yearUnderlying sales rise 5% to £3.7 billionFree cash flow of £387 millionShares in Pearson (PSON) improved 4% to 998.2p after the education media group reported a positive set of results for the year to December 2023.The FTSE 100 company reported a rise in adjusted operating profit from £456 million to £573 million.EPS (earnings per share) rose 12.4% to 58.2p and Pearso