Over the past six months United Airlines (UAL:NASDAQ) shares have gained over 45% as the US airline managed to shrug off negative news concerning delayed deliveries and canceled flights related to safety issues at aircraft maker Boeing (BA:NYSE).On the day of its first quarter results (16 April) United Airlines shares gained nearly 20% at one point hitting the $50 mark as the US airline upgraded g

This feature explores spin-offs or de-mergers, looking at the rationale for them and how they have performed, and asks if they can be a promising hunting ground for investors.One of the UK?s largest recent spin-offs was GSK?s (GSK) demerger of its consumer healthcare division in 2022.GSK reportedly rebuffed a £50 billion offer from personal goods giant Unilever (ULVR) to buy the division, named H

As investors gear up for the latest earnings season, stubbornly resistant inflation continues to dominant the mood music on US markets. After Wednesday?s (10 Apr) hotter-than-expected CPI data and the FOMC minutes, analysts at investment banks Citi, UBS, and Goldman Sachs all said they don?t see the Federal Reserve cutting rates in June, a blow to hopes that the interest rates down cycle will get

Many investors had high hopes going into 2024. The market?s robust first-quarter rally still managed to surprise them. Resilient corporate profits, enthusiasm around AI and hopes that the Fed will cut rates have given investors plenty of reasons to keep on buying and keep buying they have in the run-in to Easter.Everything from stocks to bitcoin to gold have marched to new records in the first qua

International Consolidated Airlines (IAG) 162pMarket cap: £7.98 billionUnloved by investors during the pandemic British Airways owner International Consolidated Airlines (IAG) has experienced a revival of fortunes due to strong consumer demand and holidaymakers paying higher ticket prices. Despite the ongoing cost-of-living crisis ? people are still prioritising holidays.In a recent full year tra

Diploma acquires US-based specialty fasteners businessExpected to be 8% accretive to earnings in first yearStructural growth market with high marginsValue-added specialist distribution business Diploma (DPLM) topped the FTSE gainers on Wednesday, gaining 12% to a record high after investors welcomed the proposed acquisition of Peerless Aerospace Fastener for $300 million (circa £236 million).Over

Major US indices notched-up further all-time highs this week on dovish comments from Fed chair Jay Powell in the press conference following the central bank?s decision to leave interest rates unchanged.The Fed?s summary of economic projections sees stronger economic growth and stickier inflation, but it still anticipates a couple of rate cuts later in the year.The small-cap, economically sensitive

There is a new term for the US market doing the rounds in financial circles ? move over ?Goldilocks?, stocks are now ?Teflon?.In other words, even if the economic news is bad ? such as the latest US inflation data, which topped analysts? forecasts ? it doesn?t stick because stocks are only going up, and whereas investors used to fear a sell-off their greatest worry right now is not being in the ma

Stocks in London were predominantly lower at midday on Monday, as investors remained cautious ahead of a busy week of monetary policy decisions and economic data.The FTSE 100 index was down 33.74 points, 0.4%, at 7,648.76. The FTSE 250 was down 81.03 points, 0.4%, at 19,273.35, and the AIM All-Share was up 0.12 of a point at 741.43.The Cboe UK 100 was down 0.5% at 766.27, the Cboe UK 250 was down

2023 pre-tax profit hits £1.26 billionShares up 227% over the past yearFree cash flow guidance tops estimatesShares in Rolls Royce (RR.) gained over 8% to 358p in morning trading as the aircraft maker saw operating profit more than double to £1.6 billion in 2023 compared with £652 million the previous year.Statutory net cash flow from operating activities was £2.5 billion, £1 billion higher y

Winter bookings above expectationsPre-tax profit guidance raisedShares up 11% year-to-dateShares in Jet2 (JET2:AIM) were up nearly 5% to £13.88 as the airline and package holiday provider said winter 2023/24 forward bookings were up by 17% for both flight-only and package holiday products for the year ending 31 March 2024.The company also slightly raised its outlook for group pre-tax profit (befo

Routes suffer due to Israel-Hamas warGTF engine troubles continueShares down 35% over the past yearShares in Wizz Air (WIZZ) were down over 6% to £19.06 in morning trading as the European budget carrier reported a loss for the three months ending 31 December 2023.Its net loss for the period of ?105.4 million compares with a profit of ?33.4 million in the same year-ago period. The airline had to c

Most of us will be aware of the need to plan for our retirement, however far or otherwise we might have got with doing so. After all, when we stop working we all still want to enjoy a decent quality of life. In this article we will explore how much money you will need and the level of pension pot required to achieve it as well as providing some investment ideas for people at the start of the proce

Spirit Airlines jumps nearly 20% on deal blocker appeal hopesDiscount flyers hoping to overturn Federal Court rulingSpirit is fast running out of optionsIf US budget flyer Spirit Airlines (SAVE:NYSE) is going down, it?s going down fighting. Shares in the cash-strapped company jumped nearly 20% overnight after lodging an appeal against the Federal Court ruling that blocked its takeover by rival dis

Bets that the Federal Reserve will start cutting interest rates as early as March are starting to look optimistic after stronger-than-expected US jobs numbers over the past week, pushing up bond yields and leaving equity investors pondering what to do next.In a shortened working week, thanks to the Martin Luther King Day holiday (15 Jan), major US equity markets ended pretty much where they starte

In a slightly choppy week for Wall Street, as December?s inflation reading came in ahead of expectations at 3.4%, US stocks were ultimately dragged higher by the big tech firms which powered the markets in 2023.Positive comments from Nvidia (NVDA:NASDAQ) chief financial officer Collette Kress and news of three new graphics chips helped propel the company to double-digit gains for the week.Cyber se

European equities were largely lower on Monday afternoon, with the FTSE 100 the worst of the bunch, as focus turns to key inflation readings from the US and China this week.Investors are looking for US inflation to cool, which would solidify Federal Reserve interest rate cut expectations. For China, however, inflation heating up would suggest that the Asian nation?s economy is beginning to fire. T

The US has been one of the most prosperous regions for investors over the past decade or so, with its stock market offering access to a range of exciting companies taking on the world. Investors are right to have large exposure to the US but they need to keep an eye on valuations.The Nasdaq 100 trades on 28 times forward earnings and the S&P 500 trades on 20 times forward earnings, according to da

Conflict is always an unhappy subject, but it remains an area of real focus across the globe. Cross-border collisions of ideology, hegemony, raw materials, and even survival, mean national budgets reach astronomical levels, especially in the US, by far the world's largest military spender.In 2022, global military budgets hit an all-time high of $2.2 trillion, according to data released by the Stoc

Some largely dovish words from US monetary policymakers supported equities, giving stocks in New York a decent start and sending shares in Europe to session highs before the close, though the dollar suffered.The pound edged to only ever-so-slightly below the $1.27 mark, while the euro topped $1.10.The comments from the Federal Reserve cemented the notion that the central bank has enacted its last