Stocks in London were higher at midday Tuesday, as the UK manufacturing sector continued to outperform its peers in France and Germany.The FTSE 100 index was up 26.97 points, or 0.3%, at 8,264.19. The FTSE 250 was up 18.02 points, or 0.1%, at 21,071.21, and the AIM All-Share was down 0.48 points, or 0.1%, at 739.95.The Cboe UK 100 was up 0.4% at 827.69, the Cboe UK 250 was up 0.2% at 18,539.63, an

On track to open between 140 and 160 net new shopsFull year outcome unchanged from previous guidanceCompany-managed shop like-for-like sales up 5%Shares in Greggs (GRG) were down more than 3% to £30.07 as investors expressed mild dissatisfaction with the UK bakery chain's third-quarter trading update.Reporting a 10.6% rise in total sales for the 13 weeks to 28 September, and 12.7% year-to-date, t

Stock prices in London opened mixed on Tuesday morning, with the FTSE 100 higher but other indices down on a data-heavy day dominated by purchasing managers' indices.The FTSE 100 index opened up 15.28 points, or 0.2%, at 8,252.14. The FTSE 250 was down 20.05 points, or 0.1%, at 21,033.14, and the AIM All-Share was down slightly at 740.33.The Cboe UK 100 was up 0.2% at 826.21, the Cboe UK 250 was d

Stocks in London retreated on Monday, after downgrades to the UK's economic growth estimates, while automotive weakness continued.The FTSE 100 index ended down 83.81 points, 1.0%, at 8,236.95. The FTSE 250 closed 187.37 points lower, 0.9%, at 21,053.19, and the AIM All-Share shed 5.22 points, 0.7%, at 740.43.The Cboe UK 100 ended 1.0% lower at 824.66 on Monday. The Cboe UK 250 fell 1.0% to 18,506.

Stock prices in London remained in the red at midday on Monday after data showed UK's economy grew milder than expected in the second quarter, while China continued its stimulus efforts.The FTSE 100 index was down 64.56 points, or 0.8%, at 8,256.20. The FTSE 250 was down 227.22 points, or 1.1%, at 21,013.34, and the AIM All-Share was down 3.66 points, or 0.5%, at 741.99.The Cboe UK 100 was down 0.

Stocks in London closed in the green on Friday, as Chinese stimulus measures continued to give equities a boost.The FTSE 100 index ended up 35.85 points, 0.4%, at 8,320.76. The FTSE 250 closed up 230.12 points, 1.1%, at 21,240.56, and the AIM All-Share added 4.00 points, 0.5%, at 745.65.For the week, the FTSE 100 rose 1.1%, the FTSE 250 added 2.0%. The AIM was unmoved from this time last week.The

European stocks were in the green at Friday midday after a slew of fiscal stimulus measures from China, and as investors await key US inflation data which is crucial in the Federal Reserve's interest rate decisions.The core personal consumption index remains traders' main focus going into Friday afternoon, and is expected to remain unchanged at 0.2% on a monthly basis with a small annual uptick fr

Trading ahead of forecastsHalf-year seen up on 2023Full-year profit top end of rangeFood producer Cranswick (CWK) has once again seen trading top expectations due to strong demand leading it to raise its half-year and full-year earnings guidance.The shares leapt 280p or 6% to £49.95 taking them not only to the top of the FTSE 250 leader board but to an all-time high. ONWARDS AND UPWARDSCra

It's another strong end to a firm week for US markets with the S&P 500 hitting a new record following the release of upbeat US economic data.The Cassandra's have been talking down the US economy for a while, but a slate of fresh data supported a solid economy, easing fears that perhaps the Federal Reserve is cutting rates aggressively because of a potential slowdown.The S&P 500 closed at a record

Stocks in London closed higher on Thursday, as China's ongoing stimulus measures continued to buoy risk sentiment.Miners continued to rise, while luxury retail also moved higher again, boosting the CAC 40 in Paris. Travel stocks joined in on the rally, after a bullish update from a US peer.Share price falls for oil majors kept a lid on the FTSE 100's progress, however.The FTSE 100 index closed up

Stock prices in Europe were in the green on Thursday as investors awaited several US data prints and remarks from Fed Chair Jerome Powell.The People's Bank of China 'has 'thrown the proverbial kitchen sink at the economy', Pepperstone's Michael Brown said.'Fresh from big stimulus measures earlier in the week, all eyes remained focused on China amid talk that Beijing might inject up to ¥1 tril

Stocks in Europe opened higher on a busy Thursday filled with economic readings from the US and Europe as well as comments from US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.The US data today will be followed on Friday by the Fed's preferred inflation gauge of core personal consumption expenditures.'The global economy is settling into a newfound stability and central banks can continue to cautiously cut

The new UK Government has made it perfectly clear that the Budget on 30 October is going to involve some tough decisions that will affect people's finances. While much of the media speculation has focused on how capital gains tax might evolve, inheritance tax (IHT) is also a potential target for big changes such as abolishing tax relief on owning certain AIM-quoted shares.The Institute for Fiscal

We start the review on a positive note with the news of two small-cap IPOs (initial public offers), one in the healthcare space and one in the red-hot AI (artificial intelligence) space.Having sold its governance, risk and compliance software business to private equity earlier this year and returned £225 million to shareholders via a buyback and special dividend, business services group Marlowe (

With just over a month to go until the US presidential elections, Shares takes stock of where the two candidates stand in the polls and what the implications of a Democrat or Republican victory would mean for investors.There is no question the televised debate earlier this month was negative for Donald Trump, to the extent he refused to schedule a re-match.Yet, despite his poor performance, voting

1. Chinese e-commerce: Recent data has confirmed that China is experiencing prolonged softer demand. This has resulted in rising competition. This is especially noticeable in China's e-commerce firms, which have reported mixed earnings for the most recent quarter. Despite this, our China e-commerce research analyst is keeping a positive view on selected e-commerce companies. In his view, some of t

Making a virtue out of necessity is the hallmark of a skilled communicator, and that certainly applies to US Federal Reserve chair Jay Powell after markets seemingly embraced his decision to start the rate-cutting cycle with an unusually large half a percentage point cut on 18 September.The benchmark S&P 500 index soared to its 33rd new all-time high of the year while the Dow Jones Industrial Aver

If you pick up a newspaper this month, you are almost guaranteed to read about the taxes the new chancellor is planning to hike, or the tax reliefs she is looking to axe. But one set of tax reliefs we know is here to stay are those supporting venture capital trusts.The Treasury has just confirmed the VCT scheme will now run until at least 2035 in order to support small British businesses. Many inv

There are two political events in the remainder of 2024 on either side of the Atlantic to which investors need to pay full attention.The first of these is Labour's first Budget for 14 years on 30 October, with chancellor Rachel Reeves giving few clues to the details in her speech to the party conference on 23 September.Previous references to 'hard decisions' and those with the 'broadest shoulders'

During my working life, I have only ever had a single income stream, so tax has just been simple(ish) PAYE.However, that is about to change. I currently get an income from a defined benefit pension, then next year I will also get the state pension, then I will also start drawing-down income from my SIPP. I've already taken all the tax-free lump sums.How can PAYE handle this? Do I get a tax code fo