Stocks in Europe took a hit on Thursday, with eyes on US economic data due out this afternoon and on Friday.The FTSE 100 index traded down 59.21 points, or 0.7%, at 8,094.48. The FTSE 250 was down 224.81 points, 1.1%, at 20,726.03, while the AIM All-Share fell 7.50 points, 1.0%, at 769.14.The Cboe UK 100 was down 0.7% at 807.67, the Cboe UK 250 dropped 1.2% to 18,129.36, and the Cboe Small Compani

There has never been a better time to be an income investor in UK equities, as payouts for the period from April to June hit an all-time quarterly record of £36.7 billion according to the latest Dividend Monitor from Computershare.Most of the increase was thanks to one-off special dividends, leaving the underlying growth rate at just 1%, but for those clipping the coupons or reinvesting the incom

Last week, investors were given a reminder that stocks can go down as well as up, as the disclaimer says, but also what goes up, i.e. central bank interest rates, doesn't necessarily come down as quickly as they might like.The European Central Bank's rate-setting meeting was a case in point ? despite a clearly-weakening economic backdrop, the bank held rates steady but as Ann-Katrin Petersen of th

London's stocks were shaky going into Wednesday afternoon, despite data showing a pick up in UK private sector growth.Amongst individual stocks, easyJet was flying after it said it is on track to deliver another 'record-breaking summer'.The FTSE 100 index traded 13.83 points lower, or 0.2%, at 8,154.04. The FTSE 250 was down 58.02 points, 0.3%, at 21,033.47, while the AIM All-Share was down 1.34 p

European stocks opened lower on Wednesday, as underwhelming results from US tech titans Alphabet and Tesla, and French luxury goods retailer LVMH, dented the mood.Still, the FTSE 100 index traded down 38.31 points, or 0.5%, at 8,129.06. The FTSE 250 was down 41.30 points, 0.2%, at 21,050.19, while the AIM All-Share was down 1.24 points, 0.2%, at 778.93.The Cboe UK 100 was down 0.4% at 811.48, the

Revenue growing by 10%Contract wins up over 80%Operating margin to riseFacilities management group Mitie (MTO) delivered a pleasing first-quarter trading update showing double-digit revenue growth and a solid order book thanks to new contract wins.The shares eased 1.7p or 1.4% to 121p, having notched up gains of 25% year-to-date, as the overall market got off to a soggy start. BIG WINS WITH

Stocks in London made a soggy start on Tuesday, with miners dragging the blue-chip FTSE 100 lower, although Compass bucked the weaker trend.The FTSE 100 index traded down 30.93 points, or 0.4%, at 8,167.85. The FTSE 250 was down 25.12 points, 0.1%, at 21,113.56, while the AIM All-Share was down 1.55 points, 0.2%, at 781.69.The Cboe UK 100 was down 0.4% at 815.65, the Cboe UK 250 was 0.2% lower at

European markets ended in the red on Friday, after the fallout from a global IT outage sapped risk appetite.The FTSE 100 index ended down 49.17 points, 0.6%, at 8,155.72. The FTSE 250 ended down 166.48 points, or 0.8%, at 21,067.68, and the AIM All-Share fell 3.54 points, 0.5%, at 784.13.For the week, the FTSE 100 fell 1.2%, the FTSE 250 shed 0.6% and the AIM gave back 0.3%.The Cboe UK 100 ended d

Stocks in London ended higher on Thursday, with promising updates sending retailers Frasers and Dunelm higher, while in mainland Europe, the European Central Bank took centre-stage as it opted to leave rates unmoved.The conviction remains that the ECB will cut at its September meeting, however. In the UK, signs of a softer labour market aided Bank of England rate cut expectations.The FTSE 100 inde

Hot on the heels of the UK election and the float of Raspberry Pi (RPI) comes another highly-anticipated UK IPO (initial public offering), this time on AIM.Rosebank Industries (ROSE:AIM) placed 20 million shares at 250p last week raising £50 million, yet as it stands the company has no assets, revenue or profits ? instead it is a holding company set up to buy, improve and sell other companies.If

Funds can often be in vogue with investors thanks to a big-name manager or a past reputation, but just how well-earned is the popularity of the UK's most popular funds and investment trusts?In this article we've taken a look at the performance of a select group of funds which regularly feature among the most bought and most widely-held in the market to judge whether they are truly delivering the g

GYM Group (GYM) 137.8pMarket Cap: £219.8 millionShares in low-cost, no-contract gym operator The Gym Group (GYM) are languishing 55% below pre-pandemic levels despite the firm seeing a recovery in site profitability and growing its estate by 40% since 2019.In recent months the business has got itself back in shape and appears to be building strong growth momentum with like-for-like sales up 9%

A major development in retail investing in recent years is the increased availability of vehicles which simply look to track the performance of a market. Thanks to their low cost, these passive funds have proved very popular and drawn money away from actively managed funds, where a professional stock picker makes the investment decisions.In this article we flesh out what active and passive investi

UK government customer pays £21.4 millionRecord revenue of £202.5 million up 11%Cohort shares are up 54% year-to-dateShares in Cohort (CHRT:AIM) were up 4% to 859p in morning trading as the defence specialist said its subsidiary MCL (Marlborough Communications) has been awarded two orders with a total value of £21.4 million by a government customer.In addition, last month the firm's EID subsidi

Stocks in Europe were mostly lower on Wednesday morning, ahead of a eurozone consumer price inflation reading and the King's Speech.The FTSE 100 index opened down 10.32 points, or 0.1%, at 8,155.17. The FTSE 250 was down 55.59 points, or 0.3%, at 21,159.81, and the AIM All-Share was up 0.71 points, or 0.1%, at 787.79.The Cboe UK 100 was down 0.2% at 813.97, the Cboe UK 250 was down 0.1% at 18,451.

Stocks in London ended lower on Tuesday, as mining stocks, water utilities and Burberry weighed down the large-cap FTSE 100.The FTSE 100 index ended down 18.06 points, 0.2%, at 8,164.90. The FTSE 250 added 24.27 points, 0.1%, at 21,213.79, and the AIM All-Share rose 1.50 points, 0.2%, at 786.98.The Cboe UK 100 ended down 0.1% at 815.66, the Cboe UK 250 rose 0.2% at 18,466.14, and the Cboe Small Co

First quarter sales up 2.4%On track to open 45 UK storesNew stores performing wellShares in B&M European Value Retail (BME) gained more than 4% on Tuesday topping the FTSE 100 leaderboard after the discount variety retailer revealed less worse than feared first quarter like-for-like trading in the UK.B&M UK like-for-like sales for the 13 weeks to the end of June declined 3.5% after adjusting for t

Warning of potential first-half lossFY25 dividends suspendedNew chief executive appointedLuxury group Burberry (BRBY) posted another disappointing trading update, saying the market weakness it had experienced in the fourth quarter of its financial year to the end of March had continued into July meaning it needed to take drastic action to deliver a second-half improvement.As well as suspending its

First half pre-tax profit up 13.6%On track to deliver another record yearFirst half dividend up 16.2%Instant service equipment company ME Group International (MEGP) said it was on track to deliver another record year after reporting a strong first half which saw double-digit profit growth.The shares gained around 1% to 183.4p taking the gains for the year to 47%, comfortably ahead of the 8% gain i

Equities in Europe rose on Friday, with the growing conviction that the Federal Reserve will cut rates soon lifting the mood, and not even hotter US data and some mixed bank earnings denting enthusiasm.The FTSE 100 index rose 29.57 points, 0.4%, at 8,252.91. The FTSE 250 added 13.98 points, 0.1%, at 21,202.89, and the AIM All-Share closed up 4.64 points, 0.6%, at 786.17.The FTSE 100 made a weekly