As we approach the end of the year it is an opportune moment to shine a light on some of this year's least-loved stocks.Rather than look at the stocks which have lost the most, we have collected together those trading at or near their lows for the year along with those with the fewest friends in the analyst community and those which the hedge fund community thinks are outright shorts.If we first t

Shares slide as much as 25%Auditor's opinion revealed in annual reportVictoria imposed 'Limitation of scope'Shares in carpet and flooring firm Victoria (VCP:AIM) have taken a beating just days after releasing its audited results for the year to the start of April.Following a weak opening, down 4%, the shares continued to slide during the morning session to trade as much as 25% lower at 411.5p from

Institutional investors continue to bet against consumer-facing companies, despite the International Monetary Fund predicting that advanced economies including the UK could return to ultra-low interest rates once inflation is tamed.The IMF argues recent increases in interest rates are likely to prove temporary. When inflation is brought back under control, it says central banks are likely to ease

- Discount to net asset value remains an issue- Board dismisses option of limited 'exit opportunity'- Managed wind-down 'a sensible option' says analystInvestment company VPC Specialty Lending (VSL), which specialises in asset-backed lending to growing companies, has surprised the market with a proposal to wind down the business and return capital to shareholders due to its failure to reduce the d

Given the poor recent performance of many investment trusts compared with the FTSE 100 index - which has held up relatively well this year and which investors can access via a tracker fund for a few basis points - the age-old issue of fees has reared its head again.The big question for investors in investment trusts which carry a high OCF (ongoing charge fee) is should they stick with them when th

UK equity markets managed to push ahead on Wednesday as new figures showed economic expansion.Both the FTSE 100 and FTSE 250 finished the session in positive territory by 0.27% and 1% respectively.The latest figures from the Office of National Statistics revealed that GDP is estimated to have grown by 0.4% in August.The rebound was predominately driven by the services industry, particularly travel

The FTSE 100 and FTSE 250 encountered divergent fortunes during early afternoon trading on Wednesday. At lunchtime the former was trading 0.09% lower at 7,124.13, whilst the latter edged 0.95% higher to 22,661.63.The latest figures from the Office of National Statistics (ONS), revealed that gross domestic product (GDP) is estimated to have grown by 0.4% in August.The rebound was predominately driv

Inflation, supply chain issues and soaring fuel prices have dominated UK market chatter for months but on Wednesday investors were obsessed by THG (THG).The online beauty and health products seller, also known as The Hut Group, continued to fall on after a torrid Tuesday during which it saw its share price lose more than a third of its value. A presentation to analysts and key investors designed t

UK stocks made modest gains on Tuesday, clawing back some of Monday's losses as bargain hunters looked to take advantage of the biggest correction in shares since early January.In the US, the economically sensitive Russell 2000 index traded 2.5% higher and US bond yields rose while technology stocks lagged.IBM jumped after reporting strong second quarter results, trading up 3% while investors awai

UK stocks had given back a lot of the earlier gains at midday on Tuesday but remained in positive territory as investors attempted to balance reopening optimism with an accompanying surge in coronavirus infections.At 12pm, the benchmark FTSE 100 index was up 0.3% at 6,863 points, stabilising somewhat after registering heavy losses on Monday when it closed down 2.3%.CORPORATE DEVELOPMENTSIn corpora

UK stocks rose in early trading on Tuesday, paring some of Monday's steep losses, as investors attempted to balance reopening optimism with an accompanying surge in coronavirus infections.At 8.30, the benchmark FTSE 100 index was up 1.2% at 6,923.64 points, having closed 2.3% lower on Monday, or so-called Freedom Day.Leading the charge were miners, oil producers and banks, all sectors highly lever

London's leading shares ended the day higher but eased from intra-day peaks as sterling weakness and bumper May manufacturing numbers were marginally offset by rising eurozone inflation data.The benchmark FTSE 100 closed Tuesday up 0.8%, at 7,080.46, while the FTSE 250 made similar gains to end the day at an all-time 22,874.99 high.Inflation in the eurozone rose to 2% last month with prices pushed

London's leading shares built on early gains through the morning session on Tuesday, rallying on sterling weakness and bumper UK manufacturing numbers for May.The IHS Markit/CIPS UK Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index rose to 65.6 in May from 60.9 in April. While a little lower than the preliminary 'flash' reading of 66.1, it still marked the highest since the survey started in 1992 and sends

London's FTSE 100 opened higher on the first trading day of June, buoyed by resources plays as global recovery hopes drove further rises in commodities prices.By 8.30 am, the benchmark FTSE 100 index was up 0.5% at 7,057.54 points with mining giants BHP (BHP), Glencore (GLEN) and Rio Tinto (RIO) leading blue chip gains, rising 2.8% to £21.83, 2.7% to 330p and 3.4% to £62.67 respectively.News of

London's FTSE 100 plunged deeply into the red by close on Tuesday, reversing significant earlier gains as concerns over a global chip shortage sparked a tech sell-off in the US.The global shortage of semiconductors has put pressure on tech and carmaker stocks, which are leading the falls. The UK's benchmark index fell back below 7,000 to close 0.67% lower to 6,923.In the US the tech-heavy Nasdaq i

London's FTSE 100 gained 0.82% by lunchtime on Tuesday to reach 7,026.99, jumping back above the psychologically important 7,000 level as investors looked to the reopening and holidays starting again.Travel stocks in particular have been buoyed on hopes of EU tourism opening up again next month, with British Airways owner International Consolidated Airlines (IAG) gaining 2.8% to 208.5p, while budg

UK stocks got off to a firm start to trading following the holiday-extended weekend with economically sensitive sectors, including miners, travel and energy, driving gains.The benchmark FTSE 100 opened around 0.6% higher, pushing back above the 7,000 market at 7,011.80 with Fresnillio's (FRES) near 3.5% at 851.4p leading the index. Travel and leisure companies also saw firm demand as Brits await t

UK stocks ended Monday's session in the red as the reopening of shops and pubs across the UK failed to generate much of a market reaction.Caution prevailed as many investors decided to hold off on any big decisions as first quarter earnings season picks up pace in the US.'UK markets have remained pretty subdued as they seemed to have priced in today's lockdown easing exuberance,' explained Danni H

London's FTSE 100 ended Wednesday's session broadly flat, closing 0.13% lower at 6,745.5 points. The blue chip benchmark recovered losses from earlier in the day as stocks opened higher in the US ahead of a House of Representatives debate on an impeachment of US president Donald Trump.Companies served up a mixed bag of updates, among them food delivery company Just Eat Takeaway.com (JET), which fe

London's FTSE 100 was broadly flat by midday on Wednesday, off a mere 0.2% at 6739.7 points as investors weighed vaccine optimism with lockdown fallout fears, while companies released a mixed bag of updates.Among them was food delivery company Just Eat Takeaway.com (JET), which fell 4.1% to £86.98 despite expecting annual revenue growth of more than 50% after reporting a 57% rise in order growth