In this third part of our investor survey, we asked some of the UK?s leading fund managers which sectors or stocks they thought were the most promising for 2024.The responses were as varied as they were thought-provoking, with only a couple of managers singling out technology stocks.As before we would like to thank all those who took part for sharing their views, and we hope readers enjoy them. WH

Shares surge 37% on all-cash private equity takeoverPrice action implies investors expect higher offerAnalysts believe bid undervalues groupShares in Wagamama owner Restaurant Group (RTN) leapt 37% on Thursday after the board unanimously recommended an all-cash 65p per share offer from private equity giant Apollo Global Management.The shares briefly traded above the agreed offer price suggesting i

Self-storage and private rental markets strongFirms all investing for future growthValuations yet to respond due to high ratesWhile shares in UK property stocks are stuck in the doldrums due to rising interest rates, the latest announcements from a leading self-storage firm and a pair of property rental groups suggest it is very much 'business as usual'.A GROWING MARKETIn its first-quarter trading

The financial watchdog has just launched a consultation on introducing a new core investment advice service to the market. The basic idea is that reducing regulation around this form of simplified advice will result in lower fees, and so more consumers choosing to invest rather than being stuck in cash.The issue is that fully fledged, holistic advice currently costs around 1% to 3% of the investme

- £120 million debt refinancing reduces group cost of debt to 3.4%- Year to date shares down 26.9%- Recessionary fears impact investor sentiment despite strong pipelineShares in FTSE 250 listed self storage company Big Yellow Group (BYG) edged 1.1% higher to 1248p following news that it has refinanced its £120 million debt facility with M&G for a seven-year term expiring in 2029.The current fina

If you'd been keeping an eye on news from the UK commercial property market, you might be forgiven for thinking the sector was a complete basket case.Bankrupt retailers have left gaping holes on the high street, while office occupancy has been decimated by the pandemic.Meanwhile many open-ended commercial property funds suspended trading for over a year, with some ultimately shutting their doors p

When Joe Biden told Americans on Thursday (9 December) that the cost of goods and energy was starting to ease, but this 'wouldn't necessarily be reflected' in Friday's CPI inflation data, he wasn't joking. Inflation hit an almost four-decade high 6.8% in November, up sharply on October's 6.2%, leaving investors with plenty to chew over.This was in-line with the consensus and, thankfully for market

Our latest review of the best and worst earnings revisions across the FTSE 350 throws up a few surprises in terms of sectors and individual stocks, particularly in the light of their relative performance.There are three distinct clusters of winners, split between investment, real estate and consumer discretionary companies.Among the investment companies, Molten Ventures (GROW) - previously known a

The most significant director deals over the last week have been in the sell column. Top of the list is a transaction involving the chairman of self-storage provider Big Yellow (BYG) Nicholas Veitch through his wife Catherine Veitch.In two separate transactions on 27 August and 2 September she sold £3.8 million and £1.7 million worth of shares respectively, leaving the chair's family with 6.4 mi

Interestingly, the biggest insider deals of the past fortnight have all been sales rather than purchases, which may or may not be telling us something about the mood in the market.The chairman and chief executive of Potters Bar-based social care housing specialist Caretech (CTH:AIM) each sold 750,000 shares at 620p at the start of August, netting £9.3 million between them.The sale, which comes ah

We're now halfway through the year, and it's been a good six months for stock market investors, with the FTSE 100 returning 11% and the S&P 500 returning 14% in pounds and pence.But the real standout performer has been the UK Smaller Companies market, which has returned around 20% in the past six months alone.So far this year the FTSE Small Cap index has repeatedly set new record highs, and now si

On a largely uninspiring day for global equity markets, London's FTSE 100 ended modestly lower after trading broadly flat for much of the day.Sterling strength weighed on the overseas earnings dominated index, with the blue chip benchmark closing down 0.3% at 7,029.79, while the more domestically focused FTSE 250 finished 0.2% lower at 22,438.90.Reopening names were in demand, among them the likes

London's FTSE 100 was struggling for direction by midday on Tuesday, down a modest 0.01% to 7,050.78 points after UK public borrowing figures came in lower than expected, although the FTSE 250 edged 0.08% higher to 22,502 points.Government borrowing hit £31.7 billion in April, official data shows, and while this was the second highest amount on record it was lower than the same month last year as

UK stocks continued their winning streak on Tuesday, extending their gains after figures showed Government borrowing came in less than expected last month amid growing optimism over the recovery of public finances.Government borrowing hit £31.7 billion in April, official data shows, and while this was the second highest amount on record it was lower than the same month last year as parts of the e

London's FTSE 100 ended Wednesday's session broadly flat, closing 0.13% lower at 6,745.5 points. The blue chip benchmark recovered losses from earlier in the day as stocks opened higher in the US ahead of a House of Representatives debate on an impeachment of US president Donald Trump.Companies served up a mixed bag of updates, among them food delivery company Just Eat Takeaway.com (JET), which fe

London's FTSE 100 was broadly flat by midday on Wednesday, off a mere 0.2% at 6739.7 points as investors weighed vaccine optimism with lockdown fallout fears, while companies released a mixed bag of updates.Among them was food delivery company Just Eat Takeaway.com (JET), which fell 4.1% to £86.98 despite expecting annual revenue growth of more than 50% after reporting a 57% rise in order growth

The FTSE 100 edged somewhat higher on Wednesday morning as investors weighed vaccine optimism with lockdown fallout fears, while a number of companies released a mixed bag of updates.Helping the index was a higher oil price, with Brent Crude above $57 per barrel after a fall in US stockpiles, another output cut from Saudi Arabia, and economic optimism out of China, leading BP (BP.) 1.97% higher to

The blue-chip FTSE 100 index closed in the red on Tuesday as the pound strengthened on hopes a Brexit trade deal can still be achieved.Despite Prime Minister Boris Johnson playing down the chances of a deal, many analysts and market commentators think an agreement could still be done by the end of the week. The pound rose 0.4% against the dollar and euro.The UK's benchmark index, which is full of

The UK's benchmark FTSE 100 index reversed earlier gains to drop sharply into negative territory shortly before midday, down 0.4% to 6,507.94 amid some strength in the pound on raised Brexit hopes and weakness in banking and pharmaceutical stocks.In doing so it underperformed more buoyant markets elsewhere in Europe, with Germany's DAX up 0.68% and France's CAC 40 rising 0.28%.It comes as the EU h

UK stocks held onto early gains on Monday to close up 0.7% to 5,944 points.UK and European shares followed US markets higher on comments from the White House that US president Donald Trump continued to improve overnight and is ready to leave hospital and return to work.At the Conservative party conference Chancellor Rishi Sunak said he envisaged hard choices ahead as he warned about the need to ge