Prime minister Rishi Sunak's decision to call an early general election came too late for UK investors to respond, but the 'day after the night before' saw the the FTSE 100 close 30 points or 0.4% lower at 8,339 which is hard to read anything into as far as markets are concerned.A more telling reaction was the bounce in sterling, which continued its month-long advance against the euro as any chanc

Equities in London were on the back foot on Wednesday afternoon, as unease in markets continued amid a less favourable US interest rate outlook.It would be a ?mistake? for the US Federal Reserve to start cutting interest rates too soon, despite its recent progress against inflation, a senior Fed official said Tuesday.On Tuesday, Cleveland Fed president Loretta Mester, who is a voting member of the

London?s FTSE 100 edged lower and its European peers closed off session highs as robust US jobs data may have all but killed any lingering hope that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates next month.The FTSE 100 index closed down 6.62 points, down 0.1%, at 7,615.54. It went into the jobs data on the up, before stock market sentiment soured in the wake.The FTSE 250 ended up 41.48 points, 0.2%,

Stock prices in Europe traded higher on Friday afternoon, after largely bullish US tech earnings overnight, ahead of a key jobs report from the world?s largest economy.In London, airlines and oil majors moved in opposite directions amid peace talks in the Middle East.The FTSE 100 index was up 21.24 points, 0.3%, at 7,643.40. The FTSE 250 was up 191.59 points, 1.0%, at 19,322.75, and the AIM All-Sh

Stock prices in London opened in the green on Friday, as European stocks were boosted by a rally on Wall Street ahead of the key US nonfarm payrolls report later in the day.The FTSE 100 index opened up 39.43 points, 0.5%, at 7,661.59. The FTSE 250 was up 170.25 points, 0.9%, at 19,301.41, and the AIM All-Share was up 2.46 points, 0.3%, at 755.16.The Cboe UK 100 was up 0.6% at 766.55, the Cboe UK 2

Vivendi shares jump over 8%Split would give added value to shareholdersUniversal Music spun off in 2021Shares in Vivendi (VIV:EPA) were up over 8% to ?9.70 in morning trading as the French media giant said it was considering splitting itself up three ways.In the story first reported in the Financial Times the owner of Gameloft, Groupe Canal+, Havas, Prisma Media, Vivendi Village and Dailymotion sa

Stocks in London opened lower on Tuesday as Rolls-Royce outperformed, but there was a lack of strong positive catalysts to boost share prices overall.The Cboe UK 100 was down 0.6% at 740.58, the Cboe UK 250 was down 0.4% at 15,927.04, and the Cboe Small Companies was slightly lower at 13,425.19.In European equities on Tuesday, the CAC 40 in Paris was down 0.4%, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt was do

Stocks headed lower in London on Friday morning, following quiet post-Thanksgiving trade, as the key Black Friday retail period gets underway.The FTSE 100 index opened down 28.39 points, 0.4%, at 7,455.19. The FTSE 250 was down 27.60 points, 0.2%, at 18,453.23, and the AIM All-Share was down 1.45 points, 0.2%, at 716.63.The Cboe UK 100 was down 0.4% at 744.41, the Cboe UK 250 was down 0.1% at 15,9

World's biggest chipmaker talked down demand for monthsQ3 earnings/revenue lower but better than expectedStock up 25.5% in 2023 but down 13.5% since June peakThe chip industry slump has been taking few prisoners and Taiwanese firm TSMC (TSM:NYSE) has found itself caught between Scylla and Charybdis in recent months.But perhaps not for much longer. TSMC, or Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Compan

Shares have sold-off on single use vapes ban whispersSupreme confident vaping is 'most effective' cigarettes alternativeOn track to meet 2024 guidanceSpeculation that the UK government is drawing up plans for a ban on disposable vapes in a bid to tackle underage vaping has hit Supreme (SUP:AIM) hard. Shares in the company have lost 15% this past week.Supreme, which supplies disposable vapes to the

JD.com and Alibaba top spot in Scion Asset Management portfolioBurry remains a big believer in Zoom CommunicationsHe once bet that Tesla would collapse by 90%Most people had never heard of Michael Burry before the film The Big Short hit screens worldwide in 2015. He was the maverick hedge fund manager, played by Christian Bale, who bet against the US housing market in the run-up to the global fina

Stocks in London were down at midday on Tuesday as an unexpected return to growth for the UK private sector failed to offset investor apprehension ahead of the minutes of January's US Federal Reserve meeting, due out Wednesday.'Hints a 50 basis-point rate hike could be in the offing [from the US central bank] have helped sour sentiment a little but confirmation could really undermine investor conf

ChatGPT is the hot topic around the world. It's therefore no surprise investors are now wondering whether generative AI (artificial intelligence) is the next big thing in technology, and if so, which companies are best positioned to ride it.After years of research, it appears AI is reaching a tipping point, capturing the imaginations of everyone from students saving time on their essay writing to

Following on from the pandemic and war in Ukraine, UK stocks are being buffeted by headwinds from hot inflation, rising rates and the cost-of-living crisis. But it is UK small and mid-cap investors that have endured the toughest period over the past year, with the small cap, mid cap and AIM indices all suffering severe setbacks.The good news, however, is this sell-off has created opportunities acr

Investors took to the sidelines this week after the S&P 500 index approached its 200-day moving average - a measure of long-term resistance - at around the 4,300-point level.US markets rallied earlier this month as most of the recent economic data from jobless claims to housing starts has come in softer than expected and investors start to hope the Federal Reserve may pause its interest rate hikes

- Maverick manager bets $3.3 million on prison operator- Alphabet and Meta Platforms among stocks sold- New holding trades on a 2022 PE of just 6.3Most people had never heard of Michael Burry before the film The Big Short hit screens worldwide in 2015. He was the eccentric hedge fund manager, played by Christian Bale, who bet against the US housing market in the run-up to the global financial cris

Few companies have escaped the impact of higher inflation, whether in the form of higher raw material and energy costs or increased labour and transportation expenses.Even if central banks manage to eventually cool inflation, it seems more likely than not to remain elevated for some time.This shift in the macro environment will encourage companies to accelerate investments in automation and produc

With hundreds of investors granted the opportunity to ask questions in person to Scottish Mortgage's (SMT) fund managers at an event in London, you might have expected some angry audience members given the investment trust's share price at 676.2p has fallen 56% since peaking in November 2021.However, attendees of the Baillie Gifford event in mid-June were either too polite to vent any frustration

Barry Norris, founder of Argonaut Capital and manager of the long-short VT Argonaut Absolute Return Fund (B7FT1K7), takes no prisoners with his investment style, an approach which reflects his interest in military history and strategy.Describing the fund's first quarter performance, Norris quotes Prussian Field Marshall Helmuth von Moltke who observed that 'no plan survives first contact'.In other

Despite having generated more than three times the return of the FTSE All-Share index over the past 10 years (304% versus 100% respectively), North Atlantic Smaller Companies Investment Trust (NAS) remains under the radar of most investors.Those already owning the shares are rarely willing sellers, says manager Christopher Mills. 'A lot of our shareholders have been with us forever. We started wit