Stocks in London drifted lower by the close on Thursday, as more weak US jobs data tested nerves ahead of Friday's nonfarm payrolls data.The FTSE 100 index closed down 27.89 points, 0.3%, at 8,241.71. The FTSE 250 ended down 46.11 points, 0.2%, at 20,762.50, and the AIM All-Share closed down 0.54 of a point, 0.1%, at 759.12.The Cboe UK 100 ended down 0.2% at 825.08, the Cboe UK 250 closed up 0.2%

Stock prices in London were lower at midday ahead of US jobs data, but alongside news that the UK construction sector is recovering from a 'difficult start' to the year.The FTSE 100 index was down 16.37 points, or 0.2%, at 8,253.23. The FTSE 250 was up 53.03 points, or 0.3%, at 20,861.64, and the AIM All-Share was up 1.09 points, or 0.1%, at 760.75.The Cboe UK 100 was down 0.1% at 825.66, the Cboe

Eight months in, 2024 is already a record year for M&A (mergers and acquisitions) in the investment trust sector.Trust boards are increasingly focused on value for money and shareholder returns amid persistently wide discounts to NAV (net asset value) and with activists nosing around. A major trend underway is mergers between sub-scale trusts with similar remits to create funds large and liquid en

It's said there are only two certainties in life ? death and taxes ? and as it stands the world is steadily getting older, with not enough births or young people coming through to offset the increasing ranks of the middle-aged and old-aged.Moreover, according to the United Nations' latest World Populations Prospects study which came out earlier this year, the global population is likely to peak th

6.2 million passengers for Wizz Air, up 1%8% rise in passengers for RyanairRyanair reports load factor of 96% in AugustEuropean budget carrier Wizz Air (WIZZ) reported a record 6.2 million passenger numbers for August despite operated seat capacity being down 0.4% year-on-year due to the Pratt & Whitney GTF engine-related groundings.Wizz Air has seen a large number of aircraft grounded thanks to t

Stock prices in London opened softly in the green on Thursday as investors remained cautious ahead of upcoming US GDP data.The FTSE 100 index opened up just 4.00 points at 8,347.85. The FTSE 250 was down 11.24 points, or 0.1%, at 21,055.63, and the AIM All-Share was up 1.74 points, or 0.2%, at 772.04.The Cboe UK 100 was up slightly at 834.44, the Cboe UK 250 was down a little at 18,563.12, and the

Anyone lucky enough to have enjoyed a long summer holiday and focused on the beach rather than their portfolio might not have noticed the recent jolt in global stock markets.While the second half of July was a miserable time markets amid fears of a US recession, the scale of the subsequent rebound has been remarkable.Glance at your portfolio now and you might only see a small dent. There is certai

1. Rotation into small caps: Small-capitalisation (small-cap) stocks in emerging markets (EM) rose in July but performed in line with large-cap peers. In the second quarter (Q2) there was a pause in their outperforming trend. The likely catalyst we see for small caps to resume outperformance centres on increased conviction that central banks will cut interest rates in the coming months as inflatio

It's now three years since the cost of living crisis began to grip the nation. In August 2021, CPI inflation jumped to 3.2%, up from 2% in July of that year. It then climbed all the way up to a peak of 11.1% in October 2022 before gradually, and painfully, falling back to current levels.Consumers are undoubtedly still finding things hard after such a big price shock, but the worst now looks firmly

Stocks in London ended in the red on Wednesday, as the market eagerly awaited the earnings from chipmaker and AI-play Nvidia.The FTSE 100 index ended down just 1.61 points at 8,343.85. The FTSE 250 declined 95.20 points, or 0.5%, at 21,066.87, and the AIM All-Share closed down 8.88 points, or 1.1%, at 770.30.The Cboe UK 100 ended down 0.1% at 834.14, the Cboe UK 250 fell 0.4% at 18,566.65, and the

Luca Maestri been in role for a decadeNew CFO Parekh to take role up in early 2025Investors hoping for more of the same, not step changeChange at the top always brings some sort of uncertainty, particularly when an incumbent has been in place for years. This is where Apple (AAPL:NASDAQ) finds itself after shuffling its C-suite and appointing a new chief finance officer.Long-standing CFO Luca Maest

On the face of it #doomspending might seem fairly harmless, a new incarnation of what used to be called 'retail therapy'.Splashing out on nice stuff to give us a mood a lift when life is getting us down. But if you watch the videos, it's actually pretty bleak, all about a dawning financial hopelessness, a feeling that things previous generations took for granted like home ownership and retirement,

The death tax is dubbed Britain's most hated tax, but only around one in 20 estates pay it. Those numbers are rising, along with the amount of money HMRC is raking in each year. If you're concerned that your estate might have to pay inheritance tax (IHT) when you're gone, there are things you can do to reduce (or even eliminate) the amount it will pay. Here's seven tips to cut your bill. Step 1:

Gold prices remain within touching distance of the all-time highs of $2,510 set recently amid ongoing geopolitical tensions.The precious metal is up around 20% year-to-date outperforming most other asset classes. WHY HAS GOLD HIT NEW HIGHS It is not hard to see why investors have flocked to gold due to the crises in the Middle East, the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, worries about expected interest

On 1 August the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee made a 5-4 decision to kickstart its rate-cutting cycle. A 25 basis point reduction in the base rate to 5% marking The Old Lady of Threadneedle Street's first cut since March 2020.This means cash savings rates are heading in one direction, down. And the lower-than-expected jump in UK inflation reported on 14 August only boosted market exp

Drug gets US regulatory fast-trackSecond-phase trials planned for H2Significant need for new treatmentsGlobal biopharma company GSK (GSK) said it had received US Breakthrough Therapy Designation for its investigational antibody-drug to treat patients with extensive-stage small-cell lung cancer.GSK shares dipped 13p or 0.8% to £15.86 on a weak day for UK stocks generally. WHAT DOES IT MEAN?

Stocks in London retreated on Friday, though ended the week as a whole higher, while gold notched a new record and sterling gained strength.The FTSE 100 index closed down 35.94 points, 0.4%, at 8,311.41. The FTSE 250 ended down 45.25 points, 0.2%, at 21,048.91, and the AIM All-Share closed down 0.52 of a point, 0.1%, at 774.27.For the week, the FTSE 100 ended 1.8% higher, the FTSE 250 gained 2.1%

The FTSE 100 opened lower Friday morning despite a boost in retail sales in July, and underperforming against its counterparts in Paris and Frankfurt which traded higher.The FTSE 100 index opened just 3.93 points lower at 8,343.31. The FTSE 250 was down 14.52 points, or 0.1%, at 21,080.53, and the AIM All-Share was down 0.81 points, or 0.1%, at 773.98.The Cboe UK 100 was up 0.1% at 834.20, the Cbo

Stocks in London put in a subdued performance during midday trade on Thursday, as the market digested UK economic growth data.The FTSE 100 index was up 3.42 points at 8,284.22. The FTSE 250 was down 69.37 points, or 0.3%, at 20,882.92, and the AIM All-Share was down 1.12 points, or 0.2%, at 770.39.The Cboe UK 100 was up 0.1% at 828.00, the Cboe UK 250 was down 0.2% at 18,299.22, and the Cboe Small

ESG investors often find selecting a fund which meets their environmental and ethical preferences involves wading through an alphabet soup of acronyms and buzz words which provide little illumination as to how their investments are going to reflect ESG criteria in their investment portfolio. In a bid to help improve consumer communications, the financial regulator (the FCA) is introducing a series