After almost closing at a new high in early April, the UK?s blue-chip FTSE 100 has finally made it into the ranks of indices hitting new all-time highs thanks to a 4.5% gain since the start of January.On 22 April the index reached its highest ever close and on 23 April it moved through its previous intra-day high.The UK clearly isn?t in the same league as the US, where the S&P 500 has notched up n

Standard Chartered Bank director sells £9.64 million sharesBAE Systems chair buys £180,779 sharesDarktrace CEO offloads over £700,000 sharesSimon Cooper, CEO corporate, commercial, and institutional banking, and Europe & Americas of Asian-focused Standard Chartered Bank (STAN) has sold 1,482,343 shares at 650p for a total value of £9.64 million on 14 March.The bank said last week that Cooper i

Total revenue and other income up 13.8% to $1.2 billionPre-tax profit up 21.5%Strong passenger and capacity growthKazakhstan-based airline Air Astana (AIRA) reported a 21.5% increase in pre-tax profit to $68.7 million for the 12 months ending 31 December 2023.The company reported total revenue of $1.2 billion, up 13.8% on the prior year as passenger numbers increased 10.1% to a record 8.1 million.

One of the most popular investment trusts with AJ Bell?s ISA millionaires, City of London (CTY) is a favourite with investors seeking long-term income and capital growth and a gateway to large international companies.However, while the long-run performance record is strong, Curtis? cautious approach means the fund can underperform in some market conditions. On a 10-year share price total return ba

Defence giant increases dividend by 11%Full year revenue up 9% to £23.07 billionOrder book up £9.1 billionShares in BAE Systems (BA.) fell over 3% to £12.11 in morning trading despite the defence giant reporting a 9% increase in revenue to £23.07 billion for the year ending 31 December.Full year sales were up 9% to £25.28 billion, and the company also announced a 11% increase in dividend to 3

It has been a stellar two years for defence business BAE Systems (BA.), among the very best periods in the company?s history. The war in Ukraine and other tensions around the world have acted as a spur for global governments to invest in their military capability and BAE has positioned itself in the right areas to take advantage.This has been rewarded by the market and means there is little margin

According to London Stock Exchange data there were just 23 IPOs (initial public offerings) in total on the UK market in 2023, only slightly more than half the number the preceding year and the lowest since the exchange started publishing records in 1995.For the first time since the financial crisis just one company joined the market in the fourth quarter, and that was a new listing rather than an

There were several trends in the UK stock market this year which, if you managed to identify them, served you well.Most obviously, although it may not have seemed it at the index level, large-cap stocks generally performed better than small- and mid-caps, although for the lucky few the small-cap space has been rife with takeover activity.In terms of sectors, aerospace and defence topped the FTSE 3

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

Equity income trusts in demandCity of London most boughtScottish Mortgage, Finsbury Growth & Income divide opinionWith conflict in the Middle East and Ukraine creating uncertainty, and investors grappling with cost-of-living pressures as falling inflation is expected to be a drawn-out process, dependable income trusts have proved popular on the AJ Bell platform over the past month.At the same time

Saving for the future is not always front of mind for most people which is understandable given the cost-of-living crisis and the need to balance household budgets.This is a shame because the sooner an investor can get started the better their chances are of building a decent nest egg. In this article we show how you can go from a starting point of investing £200 per month, building up your contr

Strong order intake maintained with circa £10 billion bookedShare buyback programme ongoingShare price up 80% since February 2022As governments struggle to quell conflicts around the globe, defence spending looks a safe bet, and BAE Systems (BA.) is winning contracts in this perilous climate.The defence firm flagged order intake worth more than £30 billion booked year-to-date, so while the share

It is a hard fact that a more unstable world is typically a driver of orders and ultimately revenue, profit and cash flow for defence companies.Investors will therefore be watching the tenor of BAE Systems' (BA.) third quarter trading update closely on 13 November now the world is facing up to conflict in the Middle East as well as confronting a grinding war in Ukraine.Since the Russian invasion i

European equities were lower heading into Monday afternoon, though the FTSE 100 was down only marginally, as investors consider where to go from here after a softer US jobs report aided risk sentiment towards the back end of last week.The data put some wind in the pound's sails, and currency trade was where the fireworks were on Monday afternoon. Sterling topped $1.24, while the euro might have $1

£1.5 billion share buyback confirmedJefferies estimates sales of $2.2 billion for Ball in 2023Deal is worth $4.7 billion, net of $750 million tax benefitsShares in BAE Systems (BA.) fell over 3% in morning trading to 967p after the defence firm said it was buying US spacecraft company Ball Aerospace.The share price decline could be due to investors' concerns over how defence giant BAE Systems is

Stocks in Europe were rocked by Fitch lowering its US rating on Wednesday, evoking memories of S&P doing the same almost 12 years ago to the day.Stocks suffered then, and they similarly struggled now. Barely a handful of London's 100-strong flagship large-cap benchmark were on the up, with BAE Systems among those shielded by the fallout after it boosted guidance.'There is a saying that when the US

Revenue rises by 13% to £11 billionEBIT guidance raised by 200 bps to 6% to 8%New £1.5 billion share buyback programmeShares in BAE Systems (BA.), one of the world's leading defence firms, gained over 5% to 985p in early morning trading as the company reported a positive set of first half results lifted by the ongoing crisis in Ukraine and a 'strong order intake.'Underlying earnings before inter

19,000 people forced to leave their homes in RhodesEasyJet shares down over 3% in early tradingAirlines begin rescue mission from Greek islandsAirline stocks fell across the board in morning trading amid a flurry of flight cancellations and the start of a widespread rescue operation of holidaymakers from the Greek wildfires in Corfu and Rhodes.EasyJet (EZJ) and Jet2(JET2) both lost 3% or so at 459

London's FTSE 100 was on the up in afternoon dealings, with markets in a demonstrably more risk-on at the end of the week, while the pound spiked to a one-year-high.Friday's gains have so far not been enough to put equities in positive territory for the week. The mood in markets has been tetchy after central bank decisions in the US and eurozone. Focus later will be on the US nonfarm payrolls repo

London share prices had a bright start on Friday, as markets close out a mostly negative week filled with company earnings and central bank decisions, including interest rate hikes in the US, EU and Australia.While Wall Street closed lower on Thursday, Apple earnings after the New York close provided some better news leading into the European day.Ahead on Friday is the US nonfarm payrolls report f