Stocks in London closed higher on Wednesday, as some tepid UK economic data means that the Bank of England may 'pause for thought' when making its next interest rate decision.Equity markets were also confident looking ahead to the Jackson Hole central banking event.The FTSE 100 index closed up 49.77 points, or 0.7% at 7,320.53 on Wednesday. The FTSE 250 ended up 202.23 points, or 1.1%, at 18,226.4

Over the last 15 years the electronics and electronic equipment space, home to some of the UK market's highest-quality engineering and capital goods firms, is the best performing sector in the FTSE 350 with an 11.7% compound annual return.The industrial engineering sector is not too far behind with its own annualised return of 9.7%. For comparison, the FTSE All-Share's annualised return over the s

In almost any market, crowds of competitors fight for business within their niche, but over the years and with few exceptions, a small number of businesses have come to dominate the industry.These are often names we all know, logos we see every day, and brands that have become part of everyday life.Markets love a monopoly, and while there are regulations designed to level the playing field and pro

A strong showing from pharmaceutical stocks failed to lift the FTSE 100 out of the red at the close on Wednesday as investors digested mixed economic data from both China and Europe.The FTSE 100 index closed down 32.20 points, or 0.4% at 7,489.19. The FTSE 250 ended down 169.51 points, or 0.9%, at 18,930.57, and the AIM All-Share closed down 5.66 points, or 0.7%, at 834.53.The Cboe UK 100 ended do

- Company sticks with 2022 guidance- Seeing strong order intake- Expects to start 2023 with record order bookEngineering outfit Rotork (ROR) was in demand as it pointed to successful management initiatives driving a strong recovery in revenue in recent months.Headquartered in Bath, the company makes flow control solutions for a variety of industries including oil and gas, water and wastewater as w

London's FTSE 100 rounded off a largely positive week with a sizeable gain on Friday, amid more hope of a roll-back of bruising zero-Covid measures in China, lifting shares in miners, Prudential and HSBC.The latter was also in focus after a major shareholder pushed for a break-up. Elsewhere in London, shares in carbon and ceramic materials manufacturer Morgan Advanced and furniture company DFS end

Public sector digital technology company Made Tech (MTEC:AIM) has the potential to be a big part of Government plans to get public services online in future.Set-up by founder and chief executive Rory MacDonald in 2008, it quickly developed a reputation for getting the job done, cutting its teeth on projects with the Home Office, DVLA, HMRC, Department for Education, Department for International Tr

- Benefiting from Government digital push- Shares rally 7% - still a third of 122p IPO- More than £50 million of future work already bookedPublic sector digital technology provider Made Tech (MTEC:AIM) has seen growth accelerate, with full-year revenue soaring 120% thanks to significant contract wins across healthcare, central, and local government organisations.The company said in a statement th

Shares in Adidas (ADS:ETR) fell 5.6% to €177.7 after the German trainers-to-sports apparel firm downgraded its sales and profit guidance for 2022 due to the negative impact of renewed Covid-related lockdowns in China.Less than two months after providing an upbeat forecast for the year, Adidas reported a 3% drop in first quarter 'currency neutral' sales to €5.3 billion, not helped by supp

Shares in Adidas jumped 9.3% to €202.2 in Frankfurt after the German trainers-to-sports apparel firm posted strong 2021 results and said it expects to deliver double-digit sales growth in 2022.Having suspended operations in Russia, Adidas forecasts an 11% to 13% increase in constant currency sales in 2022, which includes the risk to its business in Russia and Ukraine, with Greater China sales

There are many interesting businesses on the AIM market which fly under the radar as they do not get the same attention as their counterparts on the Main Market. Research coverage by analysts is thin, AIM stocks aren't discussed much in the media, and only fund managers with a mandate to look at small companies might even be aware of their existence.This means there is a big opportunity for invest

Austria imposing a full lockdown and Germany possibly following suit is not what the markets want to hear. Despite the ongoing rollout of Covid vaccinations, this pandemic is still raging on, and with it comes more disruption to consumers, businesses and the flow of goods.We've just seen what happens when companies trading on high earnings multiples disappoint the market - their share prices take

FTSE 100 falls accelerated through the afternoon session despite a firm start on Wall Street, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq trading higher. Reports that the US and China could release some of their strategic oil reserves appear to have taken their toll, and despite a recovery in the price of Brent crude, up 0.7% at $80.87 a barrel, both BP (BP.) and Royal Dutch Shell (RDSB) posted near 2% declines t

The FTSE 100 remains entrenched in the red at lunchtime on Thursday as investors were spooked by reports that the US and China could release some of their strategic oil reserves.West Texas Intermediate is off 0.45% while Brent crude fell 0.32% to $80.02 a barrel. These worries saw both BP (BP.) and Royal Dutch Shell (RDSB) among the biggest FTSE 100 fallers, off around 2% a piece at 335.95p and £

The FTSE 100 slipped lower on Thursday, as miners declined and investors digested news Royal Dutch Shell (RDSB) could be hit with an exit tax in the Netherlands ahead of its move to relocating its headquarters to the UK.Early on, the blue chip benchmark traded 0.22% lower at 7,275.32 points, not helped by rising inflation as this raised the likelihood of a pre-Christmas rate rise, thereby boosting

UK stocks edged lower into the close on Wednesday as investors awaited clues to the speed of a possible US rate rise from the publication of the latest meeting notes from the Federal Reserve.At 4.45pm, the benchmark FTSE 100 index was down 12 points or less than 0.2% at 7,169, with losses for miners offsetting gains for house builders after more strong data on home prices.COMPANY NEWSPersimmon (PS

UK stocks edged higher in early trading on Wednesday as any optimism generated by another batch of positive earnings updates was offset by concerns about the spreading Delta coronavirus variant.At 08.15am, the benchmark FTSE 100 index was up 4.28 points, or less than 0.1%, at 7,185.39.The modest rise came after the release of inflation data, with the UK's consumer price index up 2.0% in July, miss

UK stocks represent a 'once in a generation' opportunity for investors, say fund managers. After years dogged by political and economic uncertainty, and soggy stock market performance, this is a welcome change of mood music.'UK equities are on a 30 year low versus peers, and we see this as a once in a generation opportunity to get involved in some fantastic businesses,' said Rory Bateman, manager

Shares in Adidas (ADS:XETRA) leapt 7.5% to €278.3 on Friday after the German sportswear giant sprinted in with forecast-beating first quarter sales and upgraded its 2021 outlook amid a rebound in online and China sales ahead of the return of mass sporting events.In spite of lockdowns in Europe and industry-wide supply chain challenges, Adidas generated impressive 27% constant currency first q

Many Brits have seen their incomes remain much the same through the year of lockdowns but their spending plummet. It's time to put that spare money to work in an ISA.Investing spare cash is a sensible option for many people. Take George, for example. He put £10,000 in a Cash ISA account five years ago on a fixed 2% a year interest rate. At the same time, his sister Mildred also decided to put £1