Shares in London inched down at Tuesday's closing, as investors were cautious over the upcoming UK inflation print on Wednesday morning.The FTSE 100 index closed down 19.17 points, or 0.3% at 7,569.31 on Tuesday. The FTSE 250 ended down 108.13 points, or 0.6%, at 18,746.16. The AIM All-Share closed down 4.35 points, or 0.6%, at 785.18.The Cboe UK 100 ended down 0.3% at 754.62, the Cboe UK 250 clos

The collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and the latest round of strife to engulf Credit Suisse (CSGN:SWX), forced into a union with UBS (UBS:SWX), are once more putting the spotlight on monetary policy and begging the question of whether central banks may already be running it too tightly, as they hike interest rates and seek to shrink their balance sheets through quantitative tightening or QT for sho

All eyes on earnings and dividends as housebuilders report next monthInvestors will be hoping activity picks up and payouts are at least maintainedAfter analysts at Deutsche Bank recently cut their recommendations on four leading housebuilders, investors will be keen to hear from Persimmon (PSN) and Taylor Wimpey (TW.).Persimmon, which reports full-year earnings on 1 March, revealed in November it

London's FTSE 100 made a fast start to the new year, thought it was shaping up to be a slower day in New York, with stocks there falling after the first hurdle following a poor US PMI reading.Housebuilders led the way among London blue-chips, though leisure stocks fell as the sector deals with rail strike action at the start of the year. Elsewhere, Cineworld was in focus again, and AIM-listed GENi

- Shares down 99% from pre-Covid highs- No plan to sell off individual assets- Shareholders warned they could lose everythingThe latest update from Cineworld (CINE) did nothing to lift investor spirits heading into the new year.Shares in the movie-theatre operator initially dropped as much as 23% to a new intra-day low of 2.8p before recovering to 3.4p after the firm denied media talk of individua

London shares rose strongly at the start of the new year, but the pound dropped against the dollar, as rail strikes threatened the UK economy and weak economic data from China raised concerns about global demand.The FTSE 100 index opened up 133.78 points, 1.8%, at 7,585.52. The FTSE 250 was up 295.61 points, 1.6%, at 19,148.61, and the AIM All-Share was up 7.28 points, 0.9%, at 838.61.The Cboe UK

- Retail traders changing tack as cost of living bites- Once popular meme stock stars have plunged this year- GameStop has lost more than half of 2021 peaksSo-called 'meme' stocks, such as GameStop (GME:NYSE), AMC Entertainment (AMC:NYSE) and Bed Bath & Beyond (BBBY:NASDAQ), are becoming 'pump and dump' bets as retail traders react to record high inflation and a possible recession, claims one anal

When AMC Entertainment (AMC:NYSE) reported second quarter earnings a few weeks back (4 August) it's better-than-expected revenues and lower losses were not the only surprise for investors. Chief executive Adam Aron also unveiled plans to issue new preferred stock. This may have left many ordinary shareholders baffled.What is preferred stock, who gets them, and what the wider implications for the A

Shareholders in cinema operator Cineworld (CINE) face an uncertain future as the company confirms it may enter Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the US.The best outcome if it goes down this route is, in its own words, 'very significant dilution' for existing investors as the company faces a testing combination of weaker trading and an extremely stretched balance sheet.This is reflected in a share price whi

The summertime blues are nowhere to be seen. Share and bond prices are advancing, and oil and commodity prices are ebbing to help take the edge off inflationary concerns and permit markets to convince themselves that central banks are planning a policy pivot, in the form of interest rate cuts, sometime in 2023.This all seems at odds with a world where inflation still stands at 40-year highs, econo

Investors gave a big thumbs up to the latest US inflation figures which were below expectations, triggering a big rally on Wall Street and putting the Nasdaq index back in bull territory.The US consumer price index advanced by 8.5% year-on-year in July versus forecasts of 8.7%. Investors took this as a positive sign that pressures on consumers and businesses could soon start to ease.The Nasdaq jum

Investors have started chasing up shares of former 'meme' stocks and companies whose shares have been heavily shorted by hedge funds.Since the start of August, shares in cinema operator AMC Entertainment (AMC:NYSE) have rallied more than 65% to almost $24 after languishing below $15 for most of the preceding three months.A study in the Wall Street Journal showing a shift in consumer spending back

A widely advertised rate hike from the Federal Reserve did nothing to knock US stocks off course, in fact quite the opposite as they chalked up strong gains.Guidance from the Fed on future rate hikes initially spooked investors but then provoked a more positive response on the reckoning that the central bank's stance would help bring inflation under control.Supporting sentiment were hopes a peace

It will come as no surprise that in a week when the price of a barrel of WTI (West Texas Intermediate) crude oil jumped $20 to $115, investors were busy chasing up energy stocks.The week's top S&P 500 performer was Occidental Petroleum, up 28.7% for a year-to-date gain of near enough 65%. APA was also a big winner with gains of 13% for the week.Defence stocks were in vogue, not unreasonably, with

The market is typically focused when it comes to natural resources on oil, gold and copper and potentially iron ore but focusing exclusively on these areas would mean missing some big movements in other commodities of late.Aluminium has reached its highest level in a decade and European natural gas prices recently hit all-time highs, with uranium surging and lithium prices also higher amid a mixtu

Being in the teeth of summer holidays season was has always led to low volume and limited corporate news and the UK's major stocks seem to be set adrift in early trading on Wednesday with no real concerted direction. That investors may be keeping their powder dry ahead of the latest Federal Reserve pronouncements at this week's Jackson Hole get-together only added to the subdued mood.At 9.30am, th

Movie theatre chain and 'meme' stock AMC Entertainment smashed second quarter revenue expectations after flinging the doors open to its hundreds of cinemas following the pandemic lockdown.The New York-listed company reported that all of its 593 domestic US theatres were open, as of 30 June, with another 335, or 95%, of its international outlets following relaxations of lockdown restrictions.AMC sa

The boom in the so-called 'meme stocks' AMC Entertainment, Gamestop and Blackberry first seen in January and February 2021 looks like it could be repeating itself.Shares in all three have rallied since the last week of May and are once again closing in on peaks reached at the end of January after being targeted once more by retail investors on the WallStreetBets forum on social media network Reddi

Major UK shares edged higher in early trading but gains modest as investors take a breather. The benchmark FTSE 100 inched less than four points higher, or 0.04%, to 7,079.25, while the mid-cap FTSE 250 was equally unenthusiastic, up a miniscule 0.08% at 22,925.64.With little on the economic agenda apart from US job openings and trade figures, investors are keeping their powder dry until the US in

UK stocks closed slightly higher on Monday, as gains in house builders were offset by weakness in mining shares. In the US, meme stocks were back in vogue with cinema group AMC gaining 18% while Blackberry and Gamestop added 8% and 7% respectively.At the close the FTSE 100 index of leading shares was up 0.1% at 7,077 points.COMPANY NEWSOffice property owner IWG revealed that the anticipated recove