International drinks maker Diageo (DGE) says the year has started well but goes on to warn that currency market volatility is hurting sales and profits.The maker of Guinness and Smirnoff vodka tells investors that it expects sales to be reduced by £175m this year and operating profits to fall by £45m directly because of FX fluctuations. Last year to 30 June 2018 the company posted £12.2bn reven

European markets are off to a strong start on Valentine's Day, the FTSE 100 continuing to show resilience in the face of yesterday's high inflation figure and trading 42.2 points up at 7,210.2 early on.Distinctly unloved however is housebuilder-to-construction firm Galliford Try (GFRD), which slumps 14.8% lower to 841.5p despite posting robust half year results with its Linden Homes arm in fine fe

The once reliable infrastructure investment trust space has come under enormous pressure as investors panic over the collapse of Carillion (CLLN). There are very real fears that Carillion going to the wall could be the first in series of outsourcing failures.A big profit warning at Capita (CPI) has not helped to calm those fears in the interim.The Carillion episode has also sparked intense politic

The latest purchasing managers' index (PMI) data on the UK construction sector suggests the fall-out from the collapse of Carillion (CLLN) is having a negative impact.A reading of 50.2 in January implies negligible growth. Any figure above 50 means expansion while anything below this threshold means activity is slowing.PMI releases are seen as offering a good insight into current conditions as the

Management will be looking to draw a clear line between their charge and liquidated construction services business Carillion (CLLN) when Galliford Try (GFRD) reports its half year results on 14 February.Since the news of Carillion's collapse on 15 January, Galliford Try's shares have lost 18% of their value, with the group warning of a potential £30m to £40m cash outflow to complete a joint vent

Construction company Kier's (KIE) shares soared by 10.1% to £11.04 on 25 January as it made a reassuring statement to the market about the fallout from the collapse of Carillion (CLLN).It is worth putting the share price jump in the context of previous share price movements.Kier's shares had actually fallen from £11.47 to 955.5p between 16 and 23 January amid fears over its exposure to Carillion

Investors in construction company Kier (KIE) have been worrying about the fallout from the collapse of outsourcer Carillion (CLLN) for over a week now.Kier's trading statement has gone some way to reassure its investors judging by the 10.1% uplift in the share price to £10.54, topping the list of FTSE 250 risers.The company states it has traded in line with expectations in the six months to 31 De

The collapse of public sector contractor Carillion (CLLN) earlier in January 2018 made millions in profit for a handful of investment sceptics.Hedge funds and other sophisticated investors have coined it in through a process called short selling, or shorting. It involves placing a bet that a share price will fall. If the shares do decline in value, then the person shorting the stock makes a profit

Outsourcing companies have been thrust into the spotlight by the demise of Carillion (CLLN). The high profile corporate failure raises the question of whether this type of business can ever be a good investment.On the face of it, winning large, long-term contracts from a government should be great for revenue visibility.However, these companies operate on thin margins as strong competition has hel

The liquidation of construction services business Carillion (CLLN) is dominating the front pages and we discuss the fall-out in more depth in this week's Big News section of Shares.Clearly there are lessons to be learned about having private companies whose operations are so large and entwined with public services that they become 'too big to fail', but there are also important takeaways for inves

Support services company Carillion (CLLN) is being put into compulsory liquidation. What does this mean for the many companies Carillion had contracts with and is there an opportunity for rivals to pick up business?Broker Numis says that while the event is clearly bad news for the whole industry in the short term many suppliers have been able to mitigate this to some degree by adopting low exposur

Support services company Interserve (IRV) is being watched by Government officials following the collapse of its peer Carillion (CLLN). That news triggers a 4.3% decline in its share price to 115.8p.Carillion was forced into compulsory liquidation after racking up £900m net debt position and a £587m pension deficit. Its lenders were unwilling to extend the company any more funds nor was the Gove

The FTSE 100 opens slightly lower at 7,743.61 after the rally in US stocks appeared to lose steam overnight. Despite breaking through the 26,000 barrier in early trading the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed more than 10 points lower amid falling commodity prices.Specialist publisher and events business Informa (INF) is set to combine with rival UBM (UBM) in a £9bn deal. The latter, a constitue

Under fire support services firm Carillion (CLLN) has buckled under the strain, entering into compulsory liquidation. Trading in the company's shares is suspended on Monday as accountants move in to salvage any saleable assets.You can read what the implications will be for shareholders in Shares news story here.The shock waves reverberate across the the sector with tools hire business Speedy Hire

Shareholders in support services group Carillion (CLLN) are likely to have lost all their money on the stock after the business was placed into compulsory liquidation. It has struggled under the weight of significant debt and losing cash on key contracts.Talks with the Government and bankers at the weekend failed to result in a solution to save the business.Carillion had approximately £900m net d

Supermarket chain Morrison (MRW) gets the UK sector reporting off to a firm start as it reports solid growth during the Christmas period.Today's trading update, covering the 10 weeks to 7 January shows a decent 2.8% increase in like-for-like sales, excluding fuel. Trading was even better over the shorter six weeks to 7 January spell, with like-for-likes up 3.7%.This is going down well with investo

Early out of the blocks with a Christmas retail trading update is sometime sector bellwether Next (NXT), with festive good news for investors.There's also an investigation being launched into troubled building services firm Carillion (CLLN), while spreadbetting firm Plus500 (PLUS:AIM) has positive news.A STRONGER UK HIGH STREETBritish clothing retailer Next upped its full year profit forecast on W

On a curtailed trading day ahead of the Christmas break the FTSE 100 is losing some of the momentum which pushed it to a record high yesterday. A (marginal) victory for the separatist faction in Catalonian elections helping to give investors pause for thought and seeing the index dip just below the 7,600 mark.US-focused plumbing and heating products business Ferguson (FERG) continues to enjoy gain

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has given the all-clear for Tesco's (TSCO) takeover of grocery wholesale supplier Booker (BOK) after ruling the pair out as competitors.The CMA says 'Tesco, as a retailer, and Booker, as a wholesaler, do not compete head-to-head in most of their activities.'The decision was widely expected but it will leave many Tesco shareholders unhappy, worried about

The FTSE 100 is down 3.35 points to 7,497.11 as the market has all its attention on an expected US interest rate hike today.In corporate news, FTSE 100 travel agent TUI (TUI) ticks up 2.2% to £14.40 after posting a large rise in profits for its full year. Its net profits for the year are up 95.9% to €910.9m. The company's earnings per share have also increased by 123% to €1.36.FTSE 100