Earnings to miss forecasts Perm market still poor No sign of an upturn yet In its pre-close year-end trading update, staffing firm Hays (HAS) cut its operating profit forecast and warned weakness in the global job market was likely to persist into 2026. The shares fell as much as 14p or 20% to 55.7p before recovering to 61p for a loss of 9p or 13%, marking an all-time low for the stock. > More...

It has been a tough start to 2025 for investors in recruitment firms, and particular for those holding Robert Walters (RWA), with the shares down exactly one third at the time of writing, at a 10-year low of 210p. The fact the stock is trading even lower than it did during the pandemic sell-off in 2020 suggests the outlook for the staffing sector is worse than it has been for a long time. In...

In the third of our four-part series on small caps (you can read part two on UK small cap funds and trusts elsewhere in this issue), we get our data-crunching caps on and take a look at key metrics around value, income and growth in the smaller companies universe.To narrow things down we limited our search to London-listed companies with market valuations between £50 million and £500...

Everyman non-exec ups stakeRobert Walters chair buys sharesWizz Air executive buys stockMichael Rosehill, non-executive director of up-market cinema group Everyman Media (EMAN:AIM), bought 750,000 shares at 53p for a total value of £397,500 on 1 August.Rosehill is also a director of Blue Coast Capital ? a private equity group. Following the transaction, Blue Coast Capital owns 26,603,639...

Profit from permanent recruitment down 18.6%UK gross profit falls by 19.2%Headcount reduced by 100Shares in PageGroup (PAGE) fell 6% to 456p after the recruitment firm reported a 12.8% fall in group gross profit to £219.7 million for the first quarter of 2024.CEO Nicholas Kirk warned: ?The slower end to the fourth quarter of 2023 continued into the first quarter 2024, particularly within...

Sharp slowdown in UK job marketShare prices fall across the sectorInterim earnings guidance cutThe European staffing sector became a sea of red on Tuesday with share prices down sharply after FTSE 250 bellwether Hays (HAS) posted a grim account of trading in the three months to the end of December and warned half-year profits would miss expectations.Hays shares were down as much as 19% to 87p...

A big profit warning on 14 June from Hays' (HAS) rival Robert Walters (RWA) has created nervousness ahead of the former's fourth quarter and full-year trading update on 13 July.The recruitment space is often a bellwether for the wider economy and, with economic clouds gathering, the portents are not too promising.This is despite April's solid third quarter update from Hays, with the company...

Shares fall as much as 20%Earnings seen 'significantly' below forecastsRival firms report mid-JulyA second profit warning in less than six months from professional recruitment firm Robert Walters (RWA) has sent a shiver through the staffing sector just when it seemed from most macro data the global job market was in good health.Robert Walters shares opened down as much as 20% at 371p before...

Finally, everyone is talking about UK stocks. The spotlight is back on the country after the UK's FTSE 100 was one of the few major indices globally to record positive returns in 2022 and this year it has broken through the 8,000 level and hit a new record high. Hopefully, this will lead to the return of foreign investors who have shunned the UK since the Brexit vote in 2016.Investors can...

- Marked slowdown in hiring in last quarter- Net profits to 'slightly' miss estimates- Hays and Michael Page report tomorrowProfessional recruitment firm Robert Walters (RWA) revealed a sharp slowdown in net fee income growth in the final quarter of last year as it faced 'difficult market conditions' across its business.The shares fell 6.5% to 505p, pulling down with them shares in rivals Hays...

- Hiring showed signs of slowing in September- UK market flagged as 'more challenging'- Firms still returning large amounts of surplus cashTrading updates from three of the UK's major listed staffing firms this week all pointed towards a slight slowing in demand for new hires, particularly in the permanent job market.While all three companies posted strong net fee income growth, most of the...

Shares in specialist white-collar recruitment firm Robert Walters (RWA) rallied 2% to 825p after the company posted a better-than-expected 33% jump in fourth quarter net fee income and said earnings would beat forecasts.The firm, which specializes in placing candidates in professional roles in sectors such as accounting, finance, IT, legal services and human resources, said it posted record...

UK stocks opened higher on Tuesday as profit upgrades from the likes of FTSE 100 constituent Electrocomponents (ECM) and cyber security firm Darktrace (DARK) brightened investors' mood ahead of the release of key US inflation data on Wednesday.The consensus forecast is for inflation to have hit 7.1%, meaning all eyes will be on the Federal Reserve and how quickly it plans to take action to try...

London's FTSE 100 closed Thursday's session 1.25% higher at 7,260.61, the blue chip benchmark taking the Bank of England's surprise interest rate hike from 0.1% to 0.25% in its stride, despite sterling gaining as a result.Around 70% of the FTSE's constituents earn in foreign currencies so a rising pound is negative for them.The central bank was widely expected to keep rates on hold due to the...

The FTSE 100 managed to hold onto most of its earlier gains despite a surprise interest rate hike from the Bank of England which pushed up the pound.Around 70% of the FTSE's constituents earn in foreign currencies so a rising pound is negative for them.The central bank was widely expected to keep rates on hold due to the uncertainty created by the Omicron variant. However, it has acted now due...

UK equity markets started Thursday's trading session on a positive note ahead of key interest rate decisions from both the Bank of England and the European Central Bank.Last month inflation reached a 10 year high of 5.1%, which is more than double the official target.However the emergence of the Omicron variant, and recent government guidance to restrict socialising has added a new degree of...

Interestingly, the biggest insider deals of the past fortnight have all been sales rather than purchases, which may or may not be telling us something about the mood in the market.The chairman and chief executive of Potters Bar-based social care housing specialist Caretech (CTH:AIM) each sold 750,000 shares at 620p at the start of August, netting £9.3 million between them.The sale, which...

Shares in recruitment firms PageGroup (PAGE) and Robert Walters (RWA) jumped sharply after both firms raised their full year earnings guidance following stronger than expected current trading.PageGroup shares climbed as much as 6% in early trading after the company posted a 94% increase in second quarter net fee income and lifted its full year operating profit forecast by more than a...

After their worst session in nearly three weeks yesterday, UK stocks rallied on Wednesday with energy and mining stocks leading the gains. By 8.30am the FTSE 100 index of leading shares was up 34 points or 0.5% at 7,136 points.Elsewhere, investors seem to be questioning the strength of the global recovery with 'safe haven' trades such as US government bonds and the Japanese Yen attracting...

After more than a decade of domination for growth stocks, global markets are finally seeing a shift into value.This in turn has benefited funds pursuing a value investing style. Growth performed relatively well through the initial course of the pandemic with technology stocks leading the way, but the key catalyst for the long-awaited rotation into value was 'Pfizer Monday' on 9 November last...