The publication of full-year results by the big four UK high-street banks is imminent and there will inevitably be a good deal of scrutiny of their margins and provisions for bad loans.If last week?s update from Virgin Money UK (VMUK) is any guide, net interest margins should be fairly steady although that will depend on how keen the major players have been to expand their loan books.Virgin itself

London stock prices were mixed early Tuesday after a similarly indecisive session in New York and weakness in Asia, as US politicians continue to fight over terms for raising the federal government debt limit.The FTSE 100 index opened down 10.12 points, 0.1%, at 7,760.87. The FTSE 250 was up 12.74 points, 0.1%, at 19,286.08, and the AIM All-Share was up 0.47 of a point, 0.1%, at 808.68.The Cboe UK

One of the outstanding long-run performers in the Investment Association's UK All Companies sector is Jupiter UK Special Situations (B4KL9F8), the £2.1 billion fund managed by Jupiter Asset Management.Adorned with a five-star Morningstar rating and a Gold Morningstar analyst rating, the fund is ranked first quartile over one, three, five and 10 years, and year-to-date.It is managed by the highly-

The prosaically named Canadian Natural Resources (CNQ:TSX) generates lots of cash which underpins a generous and progressive dividend policy and it provides investors with exposure to some of the highest quality oil assets in the world.The company has increased its dividend for 23 consecutive years, despite intervening volatility in commodity prices. A recently updated policy says it will allocate

European stock markets on Wednesday were caught between an economic report from the eurozone that was considered too strong and data from China seen as too weak.The FTSE 100 index was down 8.20 points, 0.1%, at 7,513.19 at midday. The FTSE 250 was down 83.57 points, 0.4%, at 19,016.51 and the AIM All-Share was down 5.74 points, 0.7%, at 834.45.The Cboe UK 100 was down 0.3% at 751.63, the Cboe UK 2

Positive and negative news from China left share prices in London frozen early Wednesday, while concerns about global demand sent the price of oil below $80 a barrel.The FTSE 100 index opened down 1.76 points at 7,519.63. The FTSE 250 was down 18.62 points at 19,081.46 and the AIM All-Share was down 2.85 points, 0.3%, at 837.34.The Cboe UK 100 was marginally lower at 753.40, the Cboe UK 250 was do

The market regards hedge fund Brevan Howard as one of the leading global macro absolute return investment managers.Absolute return specialists aim to deliver a positive return to investors regardless of whether markets are rising or falling. They often own a mix of bonds and stocks as well as other asset classes and sometimes look to benefit from the value of assets falling as well as rising (a sh

Special situation funds should, in theory, be busy making new investments in the current market environment. Their strategy includes finding unloved stocks which could either bounce back thanks to corporate self-help measures or the market eventually spots hidden value within a business which then attracts more buyers for the shares.Given how so many stocks have slumped in value this year - many f

-Rapid Covid-19 test gets UK approval -Saliva-based Covid-19 test launches across EEA-UK application submittedInternational specialist diagnostics company Novacyt (NCYT:AIM) has become one of the first companies to launch a saliva-based rapid antigen self-test after receiving a CE mark. This means it can be marketed across all 30 EEA countries. (European Economic Area)The test provides diagnosis o

- UK approval granted for COV19-ID test kit- Fastest test on the market- Commercial progress outside the UKPoint-of-care molecular diagnostics company Genedrive (GDR:AIM) has received approval from the UK Medicines and Healthcare Products regulatory authority for its COV19-ID kit to be marketed and sold in the UK.Under CTDA (Coronavirus Test Device Approvals) regulations introduced in July 2021 Ge

Every now and then it's useful to step back and look at your investment process to see what's working and what isn't working. Here are four good habits which we think investors should try to adopt.1. STAY FOCUSEDOne of the most common mistakes investors make is to spread their bets too thinly across too many companies or funds in the belief that they are creating an 'all-weather portfolio'.Modern

Despite healthy double-digit gains in 2021, driven by successful vaccination rollouts and recovering economies, major stock markets around the world appear to have stalled since early May.London's FTSE 100, the Standard and Poors 500, Japan's Nikkei 225 the Nasdaq 100 indices have failed so far to push on from recent highs.The exception is emerging markets with Brazil's Bovespa index up 6%, while

There was some relief for shareholders in specialist diagnostics group Novacyt (NCYT:AIM) on Wednesday after its shares gained 6% to 725p following an update on its research and development (R&D) activities. The shares have dropped 42% over the last month.Today's update shows that in addition to maximizing the Covid-19 testing opportunity, Novacyt is delivering on its strategy to become a sustaina

From a human standpoint, 2020 has proved a shocker of a year, with the unforeseen pandemic wreaking havoc on health and the associated lockdowns precipitating a global economic downturn that may take years to battle back from.Yet paradoxically, 2020 has been anything but negative from a markets perspective, with equity indices roiled by the onset of the crisis then recovering strongly with a boost

Shares in Sensyne Health (SENS:AIM) advanced 5% to 135p on Monday after the clinical development company announced its CVm-Health+ app is to be used by the University of Oxford in a study evaluating the feasibility of new point-of-care tests for regular asymptomatic testing.The iOS and Android app will provide users with study information and training materials as well as recording health stats an

UK stocks continued their losing run on Monday with pub and restaurant operators among the biggest decliners as Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Saturday effectively placed the UK under house arrest with new restrictions aimed at halting the alarming rise in coronavirus infections.The measures, set be implemented on Thursday, are a little less draconian than those in place over the spring and early

1. A trend witnessed in several countries globally, the daily number of Covid-19 cases in India started to increase in late-August as the country continued to ease quarantine restrictions and economic activity began to gradually normalise. A silver lining is that these countries - including India - have not seen a corresponding jump in mortalities, reflecting improved treatments and wider testing

Shares in pubs operator JD Wetherspoon (JDW) cheapened 3.1% to 898p on Monday as investors digested news of a 22.5% year-on-year plunge in sales last Saturday.Citing the weekend sales slump, pugnacious chairman Tim Martin (pictured below) lashed out at the press for what he claimed were 'negative views' about the risk pubs pose to exacerbating the spread of Covid-19.In today's update, JD Wetherspo

Public sector service companies such as Serco (SRP) have had something of an historic image problem. As governments around the world sought to procure more services for less money, corners were inevitably cut resulting in some high-profile failings.Security firm G4S (GFS) made the headlines in 2012 after it bungled a £238 million government contract to provide security for the London Olympics.Ser

UK stocks got off to a strong start on Friday as lingering fears of a no-deal Brexit kept the pound under pressure, assisting exporters.The pound slumped by around half a US cent after Bank of England policy committee member Michael Saunders indicated that UK interest rates may be cut due to Brexit uncertainty.At 8:48am, the benchmark FTSE 100 index was up 66.62 points, or 0.9%, at 7.417.70.Marine