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

With rate cuts now in the rear-view mirror, and with the US market trading at an all-time price high at the end of last week, attention is likely to turn to corporate earnings to make sure we aren't overpaying for stocks at this point.Forecasts for S&P 500 earnings have been gently drifting down all year, which is perfectly normal as analysts routinely start the year on too optimistic a note and e

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

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

AJ Bell's Money Matters campaign was launched three years ago with the aim of helping women navigate the massive gender investment gap.This is the first in a series of articles looking at the particular challenges women face at different stages in their financial lives.You might think that by the time you reach your 70s most of your life's financial decisions are behind you, but actually this deca

Anniversaries are often an opportunity to take stock so the Shares team has had a look at the best performing shares, funds and investment trusts since the magazine's first issue in September 1999.Read on to discover the identity of the top performers and find out names we think will continue to impress in the years to come and those where we think the good times might be over. But first, Ian Conw

If you've been tuned out of the political narrative over the summer, you might not have heard the government is facing a £22 billion black hole in its finances and a 'painful' Budget lies ahead. Then again, if you've got a smart phone, you're probably up to speed.There is plenty of speculation flying around about the taxes Labour are going to hike, especially after Keir Starmer said the heaviest

A study by think tank New Financial has revealed UK funds have a significantly lower absolute and relative allocation to domestic listed and unlisted stocks than almost any of their global peers.The report, by William Wright and James Thornhill, concludes UK pension funds could increase their allocation to the UK market by 50% to 100% and still be comfortably in line with both their international

European markets were slightly higher during midday trade on Wednesday, as investors braced for a key US inflation reading.The FTSE 100 index edged up 5.21 points, 0.1%, at 8,211.19. The FTSE 250 was up just 10.14 points at 20,666.28, and the AIM All-Share was down 3.93 points, 0.5%, at 739.93.The Cboe UK 100 was flat at 821.80, the Cboe UK 250 up 0.2% to 18,227.15, but the Cboe Small Companies wa

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

Stock prices were lower in London at midday Wednesday as UK retail sales continued to fall in August, and while investors awaited second quarter earnings from tech firm Nvidia.The FTSE 100 index was down 9.17 points, or 0.1%, at 8,336.29. The FTSE 250 was down 36.43 points, or 0.2%, at 21,125.64, and the AIM All-Share was down 5.92 points, or 0.8%, at 773.26.The Cboe UK 100 was down 0.1% at 834.18

I am 59 and have a deferred defined benefit pension. I currently work as a consultant and bill my clients through a limited company; the company pays my monthly salary and the company makes contributions to my personal SIPP.If I decided to start drawing my defined benefit pension and continue to work as a consultant as I am doing now, could both me and my limited company continue to make contribut

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

I have a SIPP and am currently 65 years old.If I die before the age of 75, I believe the holdings can be passed on to my wife (without any tax problems). If I die over 75, what happens when I pass holdings to my wife?Would my wife need a SIPP with the same provider so that the holdings could be placed in her name? Would she be taxed?Finally, when my wife passes, can the holdings be passed onto our

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

The FTSE 100 closed in the red on Thursday, but outperformed its European peers, after the Bank of England cut interest rates for the first time in over four years.The FTSE 100 index closed down 84.62 points, 1.0%, at 8,283.36. The FTSE 250 ended down 141.48 points, 0.7%, at 21,459.23, and the AIM All-Share closed down 3.94 points, 0.5%, at 783.08.The Cboe UK 100 ended down 1.0% at 826.39, the Cbo

AJ Bell's latest Manager versus Machine report paints an alarming picture for active managers, who are struggling to beat tracker funds on performance and are losing hands down when it comes to attracting investors' money.The report looks at the performance of active funds across seven key equity sectors and compares them to the average passive fund in each sector (see table). Only 35% of active e

Leafing through the second-half outlooks and thought pieces, Shares was struck by a piece not from one of the serried ranks of Wall Street or Square Mile analysts but by a strategist at Boston-based MFS Investment Managers.Portfolio manager and global investment strategist Robert M. Almeida, Jr suggests investors are too wrapped in the timing and size of Federal Reserve rate cuts and should be loo

It has been a very mixed week for US stocks as the big tech names which had led indices to fresh records in 2024 were on the retreat.The catalyst for the sell-off was concern about AI and, notably, Alphabet's (GOOG:NASDAQ) plans to spend heavily in this area without much indication of when this investment might pay off.Notably, outside of tech it was a happier picture for Wall Street with the Russ

Stock prices in London were in the green at midday, as investors awaited the next interest rate call from the European Central Bank, while UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer hosted leaders from across Europe at a summit.The FTSE 100 index was up 59.33 points, or 0.7%, at 8,246.78. The FTSE 250 was up 151.37 points, or 0.7%, at 21,244.71, and the AIM All-Share was up 2.77 points, or 0.4%, at 789.57.The