Stocks in Europe returned some of the prior day's gains on Friday, as sentiment took a knock from gloomy updates from FedEx and Mercedes.The FTSE 100 index was down 40.78 points, 0.5%, at 8,287.94, above early lows. The FTSE 250 slid 199.96 points, 0.9%, at 20,962.75, and the AIM All-Share eased 1.27 points, 0.2%, at 746.81.The Cboe UK 100 fell 0.5% to 829.89, the Cboe UK 250 dipped 1.0% to 18,479

Stock prices in Europe were in the red on Friday morning, despite the upbeat mood in New York after the Federal Reserve's 50 basis point rate cut earlier this week.The FTSE 100 index fell 36.33 points, 0.4%, at 8,292.39. The index is up around 0.2% so far this week. The FTSE 250 shed 86.37 points, 0.4%, at 21,076.34, and the AIM All-Share slipped 1.29 points, 0.2%, at 746.79.The Cboe UK 100 fell 0

With little fanfare, shares in British Airways and Iberia owner International Consolidated Airlines Group (IAG) have climbed 25% over the last two months to hit a new 12-month high of 200p. In a surprise turn of events, the firm announced at the beginning of August it had terminated its agreement to buy the remaining 80% of Air Europa on the basis 'it would not be in the best interests of sharehol

'Magnificent Seven' earnings are behind us and Oracle (ORCL:NASDAQ) is one of just a handful of S&P 500 stocks still to report. There could be fireworks when it does on 9 September.While AI (artificial intelligence) excitement dominates the headlines Oracle has been quietly going about its own AI transformation, with vigorous expansion into cloud services a strategic move that provides customers w

Entain (ENT) 630.4pMarket Cap: £4.13 billionInvesting in the gambling sector may not be everybody's cup of tea but we believe embattled sports betting and gambling firm Entain (ENT) has become so unloved and neglected that the upside potential now comfortably outweighs the downside risks. With several activist investors on the share register pushing for change, rumours of private equity interes

It's said there are only two certainties in life ? death and taxes ? and as it stands the world is steadily getting older, with not enough births or young people coming through to offset the increasing ranks of the middle-aged and old-aged.Moreover, according to the United Nations' latest World Populations Prospects study which came out earlier this year, the global population is likely to peak th

Lululemon Athletica (LULU:NASDAQ) $260.3Market cap: $31.2 billionA 50% year-to-date drawdown at Canadian athleisure company Lululemon Athletica (LULU:NASDAQ) presents a buying opportunity for investors who love to snap up quality merchandise at a discount.Until recently, Lululemon, which sells clothing and footwear for yoga, running and training, was a stock market darling admired for its record

On 1 August the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee made a 5-4 decision to kickstart its rate-cutting cycle. A 25 basis point reduction in the base rate to 5% marking The Old Lady of Threadneedle Street's first cut since March 2020.This means cash savings rates are heading in one direction, down. And the lower-than-expected jump in UK inflation reported on 14 August only boosted market exp

Gaming Realms(GMR:AIM) 39.93pGain to date: 26.4%We flagged AIM-listed games distributor Gaming Realms (GMR:AIM) as an underappreciated growth story on 25 April with the company projected to more than double pre-tax profit over the next three years. Pleasingly, the market appears to be recognising that potential.WHAT HAS HAPPENED SINCE WE SAID TO BUY?The company delivered a robust first-half tra

Starbucks soars on Mr Fixit appointmentWalmart impressesVictoria's not so secret new CEOWorries about a widespread US bear market or recession have proved short-lived and tech stocks have been the real winners over the past week on Wall Street with investors piling back in to names they know and trust. Think Nvidia (NVDA:NASDAQ), Micron Technology (MU:NASDAQ), Broadcom (AVGO:NASDAQ), who have led

Cambridge-based Raspberry Pi (RPI), the designer and maker of low-cost computing equipment, announced the release this week of Pico 2, a new single-board computer built on RP2350, its new secure microcontroller platform.The new microcontroller offers faster processors, more memory, better interfacing and new security features, and like its predecessor professional customers will be able to integra

Stock markets across the globe have just emerged from a short, sharp shock, with the sell-off on 5 August one of the worst days in years as investors mull the frightening thought that the US economy is slowing and could be sent spinning into recession.Combined with the impact of the unwinding in the yen 'carry trade' discussed in this explainer and some stretched valuations and you had the recipe

US business is boomingFull year guidance raisedFanDuel winning market shareShares in Flutter Entertainment (FLTR) flew 10.5% higher to £161.90 in London on Wednesday as UK investors got their first chance to react to the online sports betting giant's better-than-expected second-quarter results and raised full-year guidance, which sent the stock up 8% after-hours in the US yesterday.The gaming ope

Aviva (AV.) 464pMarket cap: £12.9 billionThere's a gambit insurance salespeople use which goes something like: if you had a machine in the shed which printed £70,000 a year of genuine £20 notes, how much would you insure it for? The customer usually gives a high figure, say in the region of £500,000.The salesperson then counters, so shouldn't you insure your homes' chief breadwinner for the sa

Future (FUTR) £10.42Market cap: £1.17 billionDespite some recent economic jitters, we think the current valuation at media group Future (FUTR) undervalues the company's strengths as it gets stuck into its GAS (growth acceleration strategy).Based on consensus forecasts for 2025 the company trades on a price to earnings ratio of just 7.7 times. The current strategy hopes to deliver mid-single digi

Stock prices stumbled in London on Monday, echoing the risk-averse mood of global equities peers.European investors did not have to look far to find reasons to be cautious, as Friday's sell-off persisted into the new week.The FTSE 100 index closed down 166.48 points, 2.0%, at 8,008.23. The FTSE 250 dropped 589.61 points, 2.8%, at 20,236.74, and the AIM All-Share closed down 22.65 points, 2.9%, at

The price of gold has a reputation for going through spurts. Over the past five years it has jumped, then pulled back, and then jumped again, on repeat. This year has seen a strong rally for the precious metal price, leading investors to ask if there is more to come.At $2,424 per ounce, gold returned 17.4% year-to-date which is more than three times as much as the FTSE 100's 5.5% performance. It i

Shares in embattled Ladbrokes and Coral owner Entain (ENT) plunged by almost a tenth on Monday (29 July), plumbing new four-year lows after the gambling giant's US joint-venture partner BetMGM said it expected to deploy 'greater than expected' marketing in iGaming the back half of the year.This means the business, currently the third-largest US gambling company by revenue, is now expected to post

Stocks in London ran out of steam by the end of Monday, with focus on the trio of major central bank meetings this week, and the UK chancellor's latest update on the '£22 billion black hole' in the country's finances.The FTSE 100 index closed up 6.64 points, 0.1%, at 8,292.35. The FTSE 250 ended down 104.23, 0.5%, at 21,252.07, and the AIM All-Share closed down 2.35 points, 0.3%, at 777.32.The bl

It has been a very mixed week for US stocks as the big tech names which had led indices to fresh records in 2024 were on the retreat.The catalyst for the sell-off was concern about AI and, notably, Alphabet's (GOOG:NASDAQ) plans to spend heavily in this area without much indication of when this investment might pay off.Notably, outside of tech it was a happier picture for Wall Street with the Russ