Digital viewing up 12% for full year 2024Record profits at ITV StudiosDigital advertising revenue up 15%Shares in ITV (ITV) gained over 5% on Thursday (6 March) after the free-to-air broadcaster reported a strong full year 2024 performance led by its streaming hub ITVX.Digital viewing was up 12% and digital advertising revenue was up 15% for the year ending 31 December driven by the robust perform

Full-year profit at top end of rangeComfortable with 2025 consensus£500 million annual cash flow targetSports betting and gaming group Entain (ENT) delivered full-year profit at the top end of the guided range and said it was comfortable with consensus forecasts for 2025, which was enough to give the shares a 3% pop to 764.4p.The shares are up by around a tenth so far in 2025 versus a 5% advance

2024 sales and earnings up 11%Shares were flat year-to-dateWarning on costs and marginsOn the surface, today's full-year results from FTSE 250 private hospital operator Spire Healthcare (SPI) looked fine, but investors spied one or two things they clearly didn't like and sent the shares sharply lower from the open.By mid-morning the stock was trading 36p or 16% lower at 188p, having earlier hit th

Mixed annual resultsQ4 like-for-likes disappointEssential Home sale on trackReckitt Benckiser's (RKT) shares rallied 2.6% to £53.22 after the consumer and household goods giant reported better-than-expected full-year margins and reiterated its bold plans to restructure and simplify the business.This more than compensated for worse-than-expected fourth quarter sales from the Durex-to-Mucinex maker

Stock prices in London opened mix on Thursday, ahead of a UK construction reading that is expected to show a decelerated fall in activity for February, while investors await US trade data.The FTSE 100 index opened down 19.42 points, 0.2%, at 8,736.42. The FTSE 250 was up 65.74 points, 0.3%, at 20,193.47, and the AIM All-Share was up 3.26 points, 0.5%, at 693.74.The Cboe UK 100 was down 0.2% at 875

Investors are getting conflicting signals when it comes to the future direction of oil prices, and this week's fall to three-month lows off the back of crude producers' cartel OPEC+'s decision to boost output is unlikely to be the end of the story.The introduction of tariffs on neighbouring countries by the Trump administration could stoke inflation, which would typically be reflected in higher en

A quirk of the system means that families can pay £36,000 into a tax-free account for their child in one year ? far exceeding the usual £9,000 annual Junior ISA limit. A clash between how the rules differ between Child Trust Funds and Junior ISAs, plus the generous £9,000 annual allowance per child, means that parents can exploit the loophole to save a huge amount of money in 12 months, or les

No investment style works year in, year out and even Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway (BRKA:NYSE) has fallow spells in its history. Indeed, the so-called Sage of Omaha freely acknowledges this in his latest Letter to Shareholders, when he notes: 'During the 2019-23 period, I have used the words "mistake" or "error" 16 times in my letters to you.'Such humility is commendable, especially as some

Just over five years ago the stock market began to react in earnest to news of the Covid pandemic.The sell-off was short and sharp, with a modest recovery from the lows in the spring followed by sharper gains in November 2020 after AstraZeneca (AZN) made a vaccine breakthrough.However, a large number of UK stocks are still trading below the levels they were at by the close of trading on 21 Februar

UK engineering business Spirax (SPX) is expected to deliver mid-single digit organic revenue growth for 2024 when it announces results on 11 March.As a reminder, the company (once known as Spirax-Sarco Engineering) is a FTSE 100 constituent focused on steam, thermal electric and niche pumping solutions, across a wide range of end-markets. After a period in the doldrums which has seen the shares dr

Investing in tech stocks has been making money for ordinary investors for years. Since the internet emerged in the early 1990s, the broadly drawn tech space has consistently delivered market-beating growth in revenues and profits and dominated share price returns.It is no coincidence that aside from Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.B:NYSE), all of the trillion-dollar companies (currently s

Part of being a successful leader of a public company is managing expectations ? setting achievable targets which you can tick off and, by doing so, build credibility with the market.The under-pressure boss of oil and gas outfit BP (BP.) Murray Auchincloss will have been aware he needed to make a splash during a big strategy event on 26 February but telling the Financial Times he wants to get the

Nike (NKE:NYSE) $79.43Market cap: $117.5 billionPatient investors seeking a high-quality, progressive dividend-paying company with one of the globe's most iconic brands should buy Nike (NKE:NYSE), the lately-unloved sportswear giant trading at a discount to its own history with the shares down 20% over one year and 10% over five.Despite its recent struggles, Shares believes this is an opportune m

Three recent interventions by the Trump administration are having a major impact on financial markets.First, plans for a cryptocurrency strategic reserve were announced, helping to light a fire under Bitcoin and other digital assets.Those gains were soon erased however when, against hopes of a last-minute reprieve, 25% tariffs were introduced on Canada and Mexico along with a 10% levy on Chinese g

TR Property (TRY) 350pMarket cap: £955 millionThere seems no doubt valuations in the European commercial property sector have stopped falling and in some cases have been rising in recent months, but the recovery is uneven with demand for higher-quality assets outstripping that for lesser-quality ones.However, allocating part of your portfolio to property by stock picking or even choosing a REIT (

European stocks were mixed on Wednesday, as the FTSE 100 eased slightly despite a boost for miners from higher metal prices and hints some sectors may be left out of US tariffs.The FTSE 100 index ended down 3.16 points at 8,755.84. The FTSE 250 climbed 177.23 points, 0.9%, at 20,127.73, and the AIM All-Share gained 3.61 points, 0.5%, at 690.48.The Cboe UK 100 ended up 0.3% at 877.63, the Cboe UK 2

Stock prices in Europe were mostly higher on Wednesday midday, with higher-risk and economically sensitive sectors benefiting from a risk-on sentiment among investors.'European and Asian markets were on the front foot on Wednesday amid hopes that Donald Trump might partially wind back tariffs if deals could be struck with Canada and Mexico,' commented AJ Bell's Russ Mould. 'Investors are looking f

Full year profit ahead of expectationsStrong trading across core business and licensingBuilds on strong first halfFantasy games and miniatures retailer Games Workshop (GAW) rolled the equivalent of double-six on Wednesday (5 March) after confidently forecasting full year pre-tax profit to the end of May will be ahead of expectations.The shares jumped as much as 8% to top the FTSE 100, notching up

Robust Q4 across boardBut growth to slow this yearProfit guidance misses consensusShares in Adidas (ADS:ETR) dropped 2% to €233.3 in Frankfurt after the sportwear giant signalled that sales growth will slow this year as it laps a strong 2024 which saw the company reap the benefits of a successful turnaround.Under CEO Bjorn Gulden, the German trainers-to-sports apparel firm has forged a track

European indexes sank on Tuesday as fears of a full-blown trade war grew after increased tariffs were imposed against Canada, Mexico and China by the US.The FTSE 100 index ended down 112.31 points, 1.3%, at 8,759.00. The FTSE 250 slumped 431.79 points, 2.1%, at 19,950.50, and the AIM All-Share fell 14.93 points, 2.1%, at 686.87.The Cboe UK 100 ended down 1.6% at 875.00, the Cboe UK 250 declined 2.