March will be a busy month for creative software supplier Adobe (ADBE:NASDAQ), with fiscal 2025 Q1 earnings after the market close on 12 March, followed by what could be a crucial investors day less than a week later, on 18 March.This will be a vital opportunity to give investors a welcome dose of optimism after a testing few months, the stock down 20% since early December 2024.Adobe's strategic f

Operating profit above forecastsInsurance and wealth business strongDirect Line to add 10% to EPS growthDespite a muted response, shareholders in insurance and savings group Aviva (AV.) will be pleased with full-year 2024 results which beat market expectations both in terms of earnings and cash generation.The shares, which have gained 12% so far this year, added another 4p or 0.7% to 529p on a dow

1. President Trump follows through on tariffs: US imports from China, Canada and Mexico, which account for 40% of US trade, will be subject to tariffs ranging from 10%?25%. Mexico and Canada have already negotiated a temporary pause in implementation and talks are continuing with China, although their response has been more muted. They will challenge the legality of the tariffs at the World Trade

Investors naturally put a lot of effort into identifying winning investments to stay ahead of the game, but less appreciated is the idea of steering clear of laggards.For fund investors this is where the Evelyn Partners Investment Management Spot the Dog biannual report comes in.The report's aim is to compare fund performance on an apples-to-apples basis against an appropriate benchmark to identif

London's FTSE 100 closed in the green on Tuesday, though more subdued in the afternoon against its morning highs, as US stocks were shaken by weak consumer confidence data.The FTSE 100 index closed up 9.69 points, 0.1%, at 8,668.67. The FTSE 250 ended down 36.11 points, 0.2%, at 20,448.28, while the AIM All-Share closed down 2.82 points, 0.4%, at 708.06.The Cboe UK 100 ended up 0.1% at 867.14, the

CEO to step down on 1 MarchFernando Fernandez promoted to hot seatUnilever reaffirms 2025 outlookAfter a largely successful 18 months in the role, Hein Schumacher is to step down as Unilever's (ULVR) CEO on 1 March, news that stunned the market and sent shares in the global consumer goods giant down 3.2% to £43.39 in early deals on 25 February.Schumacher's turnaround strategy has borne early frui

Russo to retire at end of AprilEarnings guidance lowered againLike-for-like declines 'at the core' of challengesB&M European Value Retail's (BME) stock plunged 8% to a five-year low of 268p after the struggling discounter delivered another profit warning and announced that Alex Russo will retire as CEO at the end of April.Russo appears to have carried the can for the variety retailer's latest earn

London stocks were mixed on Tuesday prior to the FTSE 100 closing near a record-high, after Fed Chair Jerome Powell reiterated that the US central bank is in 'no hurry' to lower interest rates.The FTSE 100 index closed up 9.59 points, 0.1%, at 8,777.39. It had earlier hit a new all-time high of 8,789.58.The FTSE 250 ended down 66.56 points, 0.3%, at 20,919.72, and the AIM All-Share closed down jus

London's FTSE 100 barely budged heading Tuesday afternoon, as investors await words from central bankers on both sides of the Atlantic, and tariff concerns remain from and centre.The FTSE 100 index traded up just 3.22 points at 8,771.02. It traded as high as 8,789.58 shortly after the opening bell, its best ever level.The FTSE 250 was 36.88 points lower, 0.2%, at 20,949.40, and the AIM All-Share a

London's blue chip index edged to a new record high early Tuesday, despite tariff worries emanating from the US, as investors await speeches from Jerome Powell and Andrew Bailey.Also hitting another record high, gold spiked above $2,942 an ounce but returned some progress.BP barely moved after reporting weaker fourth-quarter results, as eyes turn to a strategy update later this month.The FTSE 100

London stocks closed in the green on Monday, as US President Donald Trump's threats of 25% tariffs on steel and aluminium imports appear not to have phased investors.However, UK steel industry representatives have urged UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer to act to protect it from Trump's threatened levy, warning that the move would be a 'devastating blow'.The UK government is waiting to see details of

Stocks in London were in the red around Friday noon, as investors await US nonfarm payrolls data.The FTSE 100 index fell 22.26 points, 0.3%, at 8,705.52. The FTSE 250 dipped 80.59 points, 0.4%, at 20,892.77. The AIM All-Share was down 0.34 of a point at 720.50.The Cboe UK 100 was down 0.4% at 872.49, the Cboe UK 250 fell 0.5% to 18,223.64, and the Cboe Small Companies was down 0.3% at 15,638.63.In

Stock prices in London opened mixed on a relatively calm Friday, but FTSE 100 constituent Legal & General rose as it announced it will return an extra £1 billion to shareholders.Trade war tensions initially kept a lid on stocks at the start of the week, but the equity market then grew in confidence and the FTSE 100 hit its best-ever level.The blue-chip index traded down just 2.16 points at 8,725.

Although much of the market's focus last week was on president Donald Trump on the one hand, and Chinese AI start-up DeepSeek, on the other, there was also a slew of earnings reports which included a couple of Big Tech companies.Facebook, Instagram and Whatsapp-owner Meta Platforms (META:NASDAQ) posted fourth-quarter revenue of $48.4 billion, up 21% on the previous year and well above analysts' es

European stocks edged higher at Friday midday ahead of US inflation figures which are expected to show pricing pressures remained stable in December.The latest strength means London's FTSE 100 is on track to post a gain of around 6.2% for January, its biggest monthly gain since November 2022.Russ Mould at AJ Bell said: 'Investors will be relieved that the markets have successfully negotiated a wee

Stock prices in London, Paris and Frankfurt were higher on Tuesday morning, while the newest ONS data showed that UK earnings growth outpaced inflation.Meanwhile, UK unemployment rate rose above analysts' forecast to 4.4% for November, according to the Office for National Statistics.Average earnings rose by 5.6% including and excluding bonuses, outpacing inflation. Wage growth excluding bonuses sp

London stocks ended higher on Friday, and the FTSE 100 index rose to a new peak as the pound traded lower after tepid UK data.The FTSE 100 index jumped 113.32 points, 1.4%, at 8,505.22. It had earlier reached a new intra-day high of 8,533.43.The FTSE 250 ended 69.72 points higher, 0.3%, at 20,597.42, and the AIM All-Share advanced 1.76 points, 0.3%, at 719.07.For the week, the FTSE 100 added 3.1%,

London's blue-chips were higher around midday on Thursday, but fresh falls in the pound and bond market angst kept domestically-focused stocks on the back foot.The FTSE 100 index was up 46.80 points, 0.6%, at 8,297.83. The FTSE 250 was down 95.22 points, 0.5%, at 19,857.02, and the AIM All-Share lost 0.68 of a point, 0.1%, at 719.43.The Cboe UK 100 was up 0.6% at 830.81, the Cboe UK 250 lost 0.5%

Bad run of sports results impact US profitFull year US profit lowered by a thirdLong term guidance intactOnline sports betting and iGaming group Flutter Entertainment (FLTR) said a run of customer friendly results in the NFL (National Football League) during November and December will impact full year US profit by around a third.The shares fell 3% after hours in the US while the UK shares dropped

London's FTSE 100 was in the green at midday on Thursday, as climbing oil and gold prices offset declines for banking and airline firms on the first day of trading in 2025.The FTSE 100 index traded up 9.94 points, 0.1%, at 8,182.96. The FTSE 250 was down 78.07 points, 0.4%, at 20,544.54, and the AIM All-Share was up 2.45 points, 0.3%, at 722.08.The Cboe UK 100 was up 0.2% at 820.39, the Cboe UK 25