Vistry Group (VTY) 588pMarket cap: £1.95 billionWe have held off from recommending any of the housebuilders over the last year as despite plenty of attractive valuations it was clear the whole sector was in a downgrade cycle.That cycle now seems to be over, for Vistry (VTY) at least. The company was forced to warn on profits three times in quick succession last quarter, including one announcement

Quantum computing has been setting the investment world on fire in recent months, and late last year, a handful of specialist stocks hit escape velocity.Between mid-November and the start of January, companies like Rigetti Computing (RGTI:NASDAQ) and D-Wave Quantum (QBTS:NYSE), two of the most traded stocks among AJ Bell platform users, saw their share prices surge 1,400% and 600% respectively.Hea

AJ Bell's Money Matters campaign is designed to help every woman feel good investing, whatever their age.We've put together a series of articles which breaks down some of the financial pressures you are likely to face as you step into the different decades of your life and provide you with some tools to help you navigate that journey.This article focuses in on your 30s, and thinking back, for me,

Digital business set to outperform says Panmure LiberumDue to report full year results on 4 MarchYear-to-date shares up 7%Shares in Reach (RCH) soared 25% to 90p in early morning trading as the newspaper publisher said it expects to deliver results ahead of current market expectations for the full year.Back in October 2024 the publisher said it was confident in delivering full-year guidance due to

The FTSE 100 reached a new all-time high on Friday, with stocks comfortably in the green at midday, after sound fourth quarter growth data from China, which beat the consensus.The FTSE 100 index was up 99.25 points, 1.2%, at 8,491.24. It had earlier reached a new intra-day high of 8,496.42.The FTSE 250 was 36.40 points higher, 0.2%, at 20,564.10, and the AIM All-Share advanced 1.87 points, 0.3%, a

Out of nowhere the market for weight loss drugs has become one of the most exciting investment themes in the last two years, rivalling investor enthusiasm for AI.There is good reason for the excitement. Rod Wong, managing partner at RTW Biotech Opportunities (RTW) fund describes the development of obesity drugs as the biggest ever financial opportunity in healthcare.That is because obesity is the

The FTSE 100 underperformed against its peers in Paris and Frankfurt on Monday morning, just as PMI data from France, Germany and the eurozone are coming in, with UK data set to follow.The FTSE 100 index opened down 17.45 points, 0.2%, at 8,206.53. The FTSE 250 was up 36.75 points, 0.2%, at 20,628.15, and the AIM All-Share was up 1.42 points, 0.2%, at 726.82.The Cboe UK 100 was down 0.3% at 822.51

Second quarter better than feared Sales down in North America, ChinaTurnaround more marathon than sprintFollowing an initial bounce in after-hours trading on Wall Street stoked by better-than-feared second-quarter results (19 December), Nike's (NKE:NYSE) shares stumbled to trade roughly flat on the realisation the sportswear firm's turnaround will take longer than expected.There was also disappoin

Let's not beat around the bush, January is an awful month. You've just spent a packet on Christmas, your favourite clothes are inexplicably tight, and your efforts to work off a little holiday weight in the gym are hampered by everyone else trying to do exactly the same thing.It's against this backdrop of seasonal wretchedness that HMRC stations its deadline for filling in a tax return, just in ca

UK takeovers moved up a gear in 2024 as predators targeted bigger companies. The average value of deals was £1.07 billion, nearly three times higher than the £390 million average in 2023. In total, there were £49 billion worth of recommended bids versus £17.2 billion last year.A bounty of unloved or underappreciated companies were swept off their feet, signalling the UK market as being 'on sal

Second-quarter results (19 December) from Nike [NKE:NYSE) will give Wall Street analysts a first opportunity to hear from new CEO Elliott Hill, tasked with turning round the world's biggest sportswear company's fortunes.Shares in the struggling sneakers-to-soccer balls titan, which recently withdrew full year 2025 guidance amidst a major restructuring, have shed a third of their value in the past

Some of the most successful businesses of our time (and all time in fairness) are effective monopolies (or perhaps part of a duopoly or triopoly) with such dominant market positions they are able to enjoy significant pricing power and generate above-average margins and returns on investment.This type of situation can be overturned in two main ways: either competition emerges, attracted by the retu

Pets at Home CEO buys nearly £100,000 sharesPod Point CFO snaps up £50,400 sharesForesight Solar Fund directors buyLyssa McGowan, CEO of pet food-to-veterinary services group Pets at Home (PETS) has bought 42,294 shares at 236p for a total value of £99,999 on 29 November.Pets at Home's shares recently plunged to a two-year low after it downgraded profit guidance for the year to March 2025.McGow

London's FTSE 100 traded in the green around midday on Monday amid fresh optimism for a growth boost for the world's second-largest economy.The FTSE 100 index traded up 33.66 points, 0.4%, at 8,342.27. The FTSE 250 was down 35.97 points, 0.2%, at 21,023.03, and the AIM All-Share was up 1.82 points, 0.3%, at 740.04.The Cboe UK 100 was 0.4% higher at 837.61, the Cboe UK 250 was down 0.1% at 18,523.0

With US stocks trading close to all-time highs, valuations looking stretched and one of the narrowest markets on record, this could be an opportune moment to consider adding some defensive qualities to your portfolio through capital preservation funds and trusts.These products aim to protect your capital during periods of heightened volatility and equity market drawdowns as well as growing capital

Spare a thought for Laszlo Hanyecz. You may not have heard of him, but in 2010 he spent 10,000 Bitcoins on two pizzas, in one of the first ever 'real world' crypto transactions. The market value of those Bitcoins is now $950 million. Hanyecz is pretty stoic about it, but deep down he must know that no amount of melted cheese can make up for the vast fortune he might have had. Hanyecz, a computer p

Enterprise software giant sees stock jump to all-time highAI-powered AgentForce shows early promiseStrong Q4 and 2025 in store, believe analystsOutside of a handful of obvious candidates - Microsoft (MSFT:NASDAQ), for example ? AI hasn't yet really woken the growth beast for applications firms, but that could be changing at Salesforce (CRM:NYSE).The customer relationship management gorilla talked

Indices in London ended the session in the green on a mixed day for retailers on Black Friday as US equities pushed higher in a shortened trading session.The FTSE 100 index rose 6.08 points, 0.1%, at 8,287.30. The FTSE 250 climbed 8.79 points, at 20,771.57, and the AIM All-Share firmed 1.58 points, 0.2%, at 732.49.For the week, the FTSE 100 rose 0.3%, the FTSE 250 advanced 0.9% and the AIM All-Sha

A global enterprise applications gorilla, Salesforce (CRM:NYSE) has spent 2024 (and 2023) trying to rebuild profit margins after activist investor StarboardValue started kicking up a stink. Net profit margins had sunk to low single digits during the pandemic, which might be understandable, but why were they not recovering, was StarboardValue's reasonable question.It seems to have done the trick, w

European equities shrugged off a poor UK retail sales reading, tepid German data and underwhelming purchasing managers' index surveys from the continent to push higher on Friday.Rising global tensions remained a theme, keeping oil prices at lofty territory.The FTSE 100 index added 55.41 points, 0.7%, at 8,204.68. The FTSE 250 rose 120.58 points, 0.6%, at 20,470.50, and the AIM All-Share rose 3.92