AstraZeneca CEO buys 20,000 sharesTravis Perkins CEO buys 249, 218 sharesASOS director buys £430,135 sharesPascal Soriot, CEO of pharmaceutical firm AstraZeneca (AZN) has bought 20,000 shares at £102 for a total value of £2.04 million on 15 November.Soriot's purchase comes after the pharmaceutical giant delivered earnings ahead of consensus forecasts and raised its outlook on 14 November.Over t

A dividend is quite simply a portion of a company's earnings distributed to its investors.In the UK most companies pay two ordinary dividends per year, one at the half-way stage (the interim or first-half dividend) and one at the end of the year (the final dividend). Some UK firms pay quarterly dividends.Sometimes, companies will decide to pay a special dividend on a one-off basis if their earning

The FTSE 100 made a bright start on Thursday, looking to break a four-day losing run, supported by well received earnings.The advance in London follows weak trading on Wall Street, where pre-US election and interest rate nerves hit stocks.The FTSE 100 index traded up 55.66 points, 0.7%, at 8,314.30. The FTSE 250 was up 25.76 points, or 0.1%, at 20,855.69, and the AIM All-Share added 1.40 points, 0

Q3 like-for-likes down 9.7%But signs of sales stabilisation'Significant' online gainsTopps Tiles' (TPT) shares slid 4.2% to a 52-week low of 39p after the UK's leading tile specialist reported a 9.7% plunge in third quarter like-for-like sales as 'challenging' market conditions persisted.The share price reaction might have been harsher had Topps not stressed that sales stabilised through the quart

This feature explores spin-offs or de-mergers, looking at the rationale for them and how they have performed, and asks if they can be a promising hunting ground for investors.One of the UK?s largest recent spin-offs was GSK?s (GSK) demerger of its consumer healthcare division in 2022.GSK reportedly rebuffed a £50 billion offer from personal goods giant Unilever (ULVR) to buy the division, named H

Like-for-like sales trend worsensProfits to be second-half weightedLiberum halves FY24 estimatesLike-for-like sales tumbled 11.3% in the second quarter at Topps Tiles (TPT) amid persistently subdued demand in the UK RMI (repair, maintenance and improvement) market, especially for bigger-ticket projects.Shares in the UK?s market-leading tile retailer cheapened 3% to 42.7p on a warning first-half pr

There was interesting market reaction to the recent decision (5 March) by builders merchant Travis Perkins (TPK) to slash its dividend by a whopping 58%.At first the stock was down a little but it quickly rebounded and actually began trading higher as the day progressed. Now it?s important to add some context, the shares had dropped by a quarter over the last 12 months and a cut was widely expecte

Shares in hundreds of UK and US-listed companies have not fully recovered since the Covid-19 pandemic triggered a global stock market crash in February 2020, even though most major market indices are now trading above that level.According to SharePad data, 196 stocks in the FTSE 350 and 149 stocks in the S&P 500 are still trading below the day before markets crashed four years ago (21 February 202

New-build and RMI markets sluggishPrice deflation blamed for downgrade Brickmaker Forterra also warnsFTSE 250 builders' merchant Travis Perkins (TPK) issued a downbeat third quarter trading update and warned profit for the full year would be below its previous guidance.The shares, which had already lost 14% of their value this year as of yesterday's close, dropped as much as 15% to 685p at the mar

Second half and full year to disappointWeak consumer confidence blamedFocus on Travis Perkins tomorrowBuilding materials group Marshalls (MSLH) delivered another bleak assessment of the UK market and warned its full-year results would be below previous expectations, sending its shares down as much as 10% to 248p. Shares in builders' merchant Travis Perkins (TPK), which is due to report inte

June's larger-than-expected half percentage point interest rate rise has pushed the FTSE 100 index back into negative territory for the year and triggered fears of recession among investors and market observers.Moreover, there seems little doubt the UK central bank will raise rates again at its August meeting, the only question being by how much.'It now appears that interest rates may go higher th

SIG downgrades full year profit to lower end of market expectationsImplies 12% lower profit as demand weakensUncertain timing of recoveryBuilding materials group SIG (SHI) lowered full year guidance for underlying operating profit to the lower end of current market expectations implying a 12% downgrade.The shares fell roughly in line with the downgrade dropping by a tenth to 31p taking the loss ov

The outlook for UK house buyers is about to get tougher after the average cost of two-year fixed mortgages crept back above 6% this week, according to data group Moneyfacts.It is the highest level since last December in the wake of the disastrous mini-Budget last autumn when two-year fixed rates reached 6.65%.It is not just buyers who are suffering. The Resolution Foundation, a think tank, estimat

The UK's largest supplier of building materials, Travis Perkins (TPK) downgraded full year adjusted operating profit guidance by 12% on Friday flagging the negative impact of higher interest rates and weaker consumer confidence on its end-market.The shares made a new six-month low after falling 5% to 823p, taking them 20% below the highs in February when there was growing optimism the housing mark

- Closure of 19 branches and job losses impact 2022 profit- Management expects further market weakness in 2023- Resilient performance anticipatedBuilding materials distributer Travis Perkins (TPK) reported a 16% fall in full year adjusted operating profit to £295 million despite sales increasing 9% to £4.9 billion as the firm cut costs amid a weakening market.Both sales and profit were below mar

The common factor across the latest trading updates from the big housebuilders is they are all forecasting fewer completions and land purchases this year.That could spell trouble for the various trades which support the new-build home industry, from legal services to building materials and equipment hire to fitted kitchens and bathrooms.With mortgage costs soaring after repeated interest rate incr

- Dutch paint giant blames destocking in Europe- Companies raising prices at the expense of volumes- Travis Perkins reports signs of slowdownIn its third-quarter trading update, Dutch coatings and paint maker Akzo Nobel (AKZA:AMS), which owns well-known brands such as Dulux, Hammerite and Cuprinol, withdrew its profit guidance for the year due to the 'ongoing deterioration in the macro-economic en

Recent trading updates from various builders' merchants and building supplies companies suggest homeowners are no longer spending as freely on 'doing up the house' as they were during the pandemic.When everyone was cooped up at home in the first half of 2020 with cash to spare and DIY stores were classed as 'essential' and were therefore allowed to open, spending on home improvement sky-rocketed e

- Third quarter sales down 16% - Marshalls stock falls 28%- News will worry shareholders in other DIY chainsPatio and paving firm Marshalls (MSLH) reported a sharp decline in sales to the home renovation and DIY market in the three months to September as consumers slammed on the brakes ahead of the hike in household fuel bills this month.It is a warning that should make investors in several other

One of the UK market's biggest corporate splits in years is about to happen, with GSK (GSK) demerging its consumer healthcare business called Haleon. The latter should become a FTSE 100 company and give investors exposure to some of the best-known brands in toothpaste, painkillers and more.This article will give you the essential details on Haleon and its prospects. But if you're still unsure what