Burberry and Diageo facing tariffs Vodafone executives buy en masse AO and M&S directors lighten up Encouragingly, it seems more directors of UK firms have been buying their companies' stock than selling over the last few weeks, supporting the thesis that UK equities are undervalued on a relative basis, even if the outlook for their businesses is somewhat clouded by tariff concerns. INSIDER...

Vodafone director buys 356,000 shares Future CFO buys 7,682 shares Beeks Financial CEO sells 260,000 shares Luka Mucic, chief financial officer at Vodafone (VOD) has bought 356,000 shares at 72p for a total value of £256,213 on 20 May. Mucic's move comes after the telecoms group announced details of a €500 million share buyback programme and said its full year 2025 results were in line...

According to the latest Dividend Monitor report from Computershare, which looks after the share registers of 900 companies, total UK corporate dividend payments fell 4.6% or £700 million in the first quarter of this year to £14 billion. The decline was mainly due to lower one-off special dividends and a handful of large cuts from firms such as Burberry (BRBY) and Vodafone (VOD), which halved...

European, UK and US central banks started cutting interest rates in June, August and September 2024, respectively, yet beady-eyed investors will have noticed that 10-year bond yields are higher today than they were then.The move higher in yields reflects increasing investor nervousness over high government budget deficits, sticky inflation and uncertainty caused by US trade tariffs.Those...

Q3 service revenue up 5.2%Germany declined by 6.4%Full-year guidance maintainedDespite revealing accelerating revenue growth in the third quarter and maintaining full-year guidance, shares in Vodafone (VOD) sank to the bottom of the FTSE 100, losing 7% to 65.7p over concerns of a worsening performance in Germany.The shares continue to lag the FTSE 100, having lost more than half their value...

Stock prices in Europe opened lower on Tuesday, amid low risk sentiment, as investors track developments in a US and China trade spat.The FTSE 100 index fell 57.72 points, 0.7%, at 8,525.84. The FTSE 250 shed 142.70 points, 0.7%, at 20,569.06. The AIM All-Share fell 1.40 points, 0.2%, at 710.73.The Cboe UK 100 was down 0.6% at 853.75, the Cboe UK 250 fell 0.7% at 17,968.56, and the Cboe Small...

The FTSE 100 index closed up on Thursday, with AstraZeneca shares rising on US FDA approval of its Imfinzi treatment.Also on Thursday, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer promised a 'relentless focus on delivering for working people' ahead of a major speech setting out targets to measure progress on his government's plans.AJ Bell's Danni Hewson noted: 'The prime minister today said that households...

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,...

Announcing a new share buyback programme has been one way to trigger a share price boost. The ease at which companies have made such capital allocation decisions has naturally caught the attention of politicians, thus buybacks are increasingly a target for tax collectors.Joe Biden has already pushed through a 1% tax on buybacks in the US and wants to raise that level to 4% if he gets a second...

Vodafone CFO buys sharesOutgoing Tristel boss sells sharesWeston family places AB Foods stakeLuka Mucic, chief financial officer of Newbury-based mobile network operator Vodafone (VOD), bought 510,000 shares at 76.15p for a total value of £388,365 on 4 June.Vodafone shares are down 1.1% year-to-date against a 5.6% gain for the FTSE 100.The purchase came less than a week after Vodafone...

Future dividend ?rebased? from 9 euro cents to 4.5 euro centsWriting has been on the wall for monthsShare price has spent more than a decade in declineNew broom management get one chance to sweep away previous aspirations and problems and reset market expectations. Chief executive Margherita Della Valle, appointed to the top Job at Vodafone (VOD) just over a year ago, has now laid out the...

London?s FTSE 100 rose on Thursday morning, despite doubts over the timing of US Federal Reserve interest rate cuts still lingering, while gold reached another record high.The FTSE 100 index opened up 18.52 points, 0.2%, at 7,955.96. The FTSE 250 was up 34.02 points, 0.2%, at 19,787.66, and the AIM All-Share was up 0.82 of a point, 0.1%, at 742.90.The Cboe UK 100 was up 0.3% at 795.53, the...

The ISA turns 25 on 6 April 2024 and few would argue that the tax-efficient savings wrapper has been anything other than a raging success story. Something like 22 million Brits have one, attracting somewhere over £700 billion of cash and stock market investments since 1999. In the coming 12-months, ISA investors will save an estimated £7 billion in tax.Hundreds of ISA millionaires are...

Vodafone chair buys 823,500 sharesZotefoams director buys £21,000 sharesTatton CEO sells £1.1 million sharesJean-Francois van Boxmeer, chair of telecoms giant Vodafone (VOD) has bought 823,500 shares at 69p for a total value of £568,215 on 28 March.This move comes after Vodafone CFO Luka Mucic also bought a substantial number of shares in the telecoms giant.Mucic snapped up 2,460,000 shares...

Italian business sold for ?8 billionDividend to halve from 2025, ?4 billion buybackReshaped business to focus on growth marketsSo-called win-win deals are often touted but rarely delivered, but Vodafone?s (VOD) sale of its Italian business to Swisscom (SCMN:SWX) appears to have pleased both sets of shareholders with shares in the former up 5% and the latter 2% ahead on the news.Swisscom...

Blue-chip European stocks were mixed on Friday morning, with a more robust than expected US producer price reading sapping some vigour out of equity markets, and focus now shifts to interest rate decisions from the Federal Reserve and Bank of England next week.The FTSE 100 index fell just 3.50 points to 7,739.65. The FTSE 250 climbed 43.09 points, 0.2%, to 19,529.10, and the AIM All-Share...

A rally in New York stocks on Friday has read across into stocks opening higher in London on Monday, following a strong US jobs report on Friday.The FTSE 100 index opened up 28.53 points, 0.4%, at 7,644.07. The FTSE 250 was up 39.08 points, 0.2%, at 19,211.72, and the AIM All-Share was up 0.90 of a point, 0.1%, at 755.07.The Cboe UK 100 was up 0.4% at 764.80, the Cboe UK 250 was up 0.3% at...

Investors in mobile operator Vodafone (VOD) will be keen to hear at next week?s third-quarter trading update (5 February) whether a deal for its Italian business is in the offing.Swiss operator Swisscom (SCMN:SWX) and French firm Iliad have both expressed an interest, with Iliad valuing Vodafone Italia at a cool ?10.5 billion including debt.This follows news last month of the first successful...

London stocks closed up on Friday, as consumer confidence reached a two-year high and the Federal Reserve appeared more likely to consider cutting rates.The FTSE 100 index closed up 105.36 points, 1.4%, at 7,635.09. The FTSE 250 ended up 114.92 points, 0.6%, at 19,338.02, and the AIM All-Share closed up 2.60 points, 0.4%, at 750.70.The Cboe UK 100 ended up 1.4% at 763.67, the Cboe UK 250...

European equities went into Friday afternoon on the up, with measures to support China?s property sector and a forecast-defying final-quarter for luxury goods juggernaut LVMH lifting the mood.Focus in the afternoon will be on the Federal Reserve?s favoured US inflation gauge. A cooler than expected reading could swing the pendulum back in favour of a March rate cut.The FTSE 100 index was up...