Dovish remarks from Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey helped to boost the FTSE 100's housebuilders on Thursday at midday, while grocers rose following a strong interim showing from Tesco.The FTSE 100 index was up 21.96, 0.3%, at 8,312.82. The FTSE 250 was down 18.71 points, 0.1%, at 20,765.07, and the AIM All-Share was down 0.26 of a point at 734.04.The Cboe UK 100 was up 0.2% at 831.77, the

Acquisition accretive to earningsShares placed at a discountSmaller REITs struggle to surviveThe divergence in fortunes between large listed commercial property companies and some of the smaller players was thrown into relief today with the announcement by British Land (BLND) it had raised capital for a large retail acquisition on the same day two small REITs (real estate investment trusts) reveal

Supermarket Income REIT (SUPR) 76pGain to date: 0%We suggested investing in the company in late March on the basis income was rising due to strong sales at supermarkets and the shares were yielding 8% with the dividend fully covered by earnings.While zero returns isn't quite what we'd hoped for, in the meantime investors have received two interim payments of 1.515p per share, one in mid-May and on

Prime minister Keir Starmer and chancellor Rachel Reeves have made no bones about making 'painful' decisions in order to stabilise public finances and grow the economy, so investors are right to be nervous over what might be included in the Labour party's first Budget since 2009 at the end of this month.Top of the list of investor concerns is that rather than raising income tax, national insurance

It's been a bleak September for AI (artificial intelligence) super computer manufacturer Super Micro Computer (SMCI:NASDAQ), a popular stock with retail investors. First targeted by Nathan Anderson's short selling firm Hindenburg Research at the end of August, it is now reportedly facing a Department of Justice probe. A prosecutor in the US attorney's office in San Francisco has asked for informat

I am drawing a final salary pension and the state pension. Very soon, the total of these will take me over £100,000 in annual income when I will start to lose my annual personal allowance of £12,570 and my effective tax rate will be 60%. I have minimised other income outside of ISAs, i.e. dividends from shares and interest from savings. So, I am looking at ways to stay below £100,000. From read

Stock prices in London were mostly lower but the FTSE 100 was held up by rising oil prices following Iran's attack on Israel, as investors await US unemployment data.The FTSE 100 index was up 6.31 points, or 0.1%, at 8,282.58. The FTSE 250 was down 147.04 points, or 0.7%, at 20,767.66, and the AIM All-Share was down 2.58 points, or 0.4%, at 734.22.The Cboe UK 100 was up slightly at 828.88, the Cbo

Retailer posts record first-half resultsOrganic growth across key regionsNike woes and FX headwinds hit stockDespite dashing in with record first-half results which demonstrated demand for tracksuits and trainers remains robust, shares in JD Sports Fashion (JD.) cheapened 5.4% to 141.5p as investors fretted over poor news from its biggest brand partner Nike (NKE:NYSE) overnight.Currency headwinds

London's FTSE 100 was in the green on Wednesday morning while the FTSE 250 was down a notch, as the market was cautious of repercussions of further conflict in the Middle East.The FTSE 100 index opened up 28.91 points, or 0.3%, at 8,305.56. The FTSE 250 was down just 0.13 points at 20,914.57, and the AIM All-Share was up 0.60 points, or 0.1%, at 737.40.The Cboe UK 100 was up 0.4% at 831.60, the Cb

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 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.

Latest offer pitched at 780pMarks REA's fourth attemptDeadline expires at 5pm todayHousing portal Rightmove (RMV) offered a firm rebuttal to the fourth ? and as it stands final ? takeover offer from Australian group REA Group (REA:ASX) saying it still 'materially undervalued' the business and its future prospects.Rightmove shares dipped 52p or 8% to 616p against REA's offer of more than 780p in ca

Stock prices in London opened lower on a busy Monday, as the UK's gross domestic product climbed by less than previously anticipated in the second quarter of the year.The FTSE 100 index opened down 13.45 points, or 0.2%, at 8,306.50. The FTSE 250 was down 117.28 points, or 0.6%, at 21,123.28, and the AIM All-Share was up 0.68 points, or 0.1%, at 746.33.The Cboe UK 100 was down 0.1% at 831.73, the

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 (

The investment trust sector is in celebratory mood after the Labour government and the FCA (Financial Conduct Authority) announced (19 September) they will exempt London-listed investment trusts from the EU's PRIIPs (Packaged Retail and Insurance-based Investment Products regulation) and Mifid directives that forced them to double-count their costs.Onerous and misleading disclosure requirements ha

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

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

According to data from the US International Trade Administration China became the largest global market for e-commerce in 2021 with revenue of $1.5 trillion, overtaking the US itself. Also according to the government agency, the country accounts for 50% of the world's web-based transactions. Factors like the widespread adoption of mobile phones and the internet, a rising middle class and urban pop

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'