Blue-chip stocks in Europe and New York struggled on Friday, though there was some impetus from a surge in the gold price, while base metals also shone.That gave a lift to mining stocks in London, though the FTSE 100 still ended lower, making a weekly loss.The FTSE 100 index ended down 18.39 points, 0.2%, at 8,420.26. The FTSE 250 closed down 72.94 points, 0.4%, at 20,749.90, and the AIM All-Share

Stocks in London and Europe were down at midday on Friday, following a steady eurozone inflation reading from Eurostat for April, with Land Securities and GSK among the largest fallers on the FTSE 100.The FTSE 100 index was down 31.84 points, 0.4%, at 8,406.81. The FTSE 250 was down 117.22 points, 0.6%, at 20,705.62, and the AIM All-Share was down 0.98 of a point, 0.1%, at 791.52.The Cboe UK 100 w

Full-year revenue and profit beatAdministrations increase 22%Positive outlookBusiness advisory specialist FRP Advisory (FRP:AIM) has revealed full-year revenue to the end of April grew 23% and profit increased 37%, both ahead of market expectations, sending the shares up by a tenth to 142.1p.Today's gain lifts the shares back into positive territory for the year to date and means they are up 27% o

Balfour Beatty CEO sells sharesCarr's director snaps up stockVictrex CFO buys after first-half resultsLeo Quinn, chief executive of construction group Balfour Beatty (BBY), sold 189,921 shares at 384p for a total value of £730,423 on 16 May.Quinn's move could be seen as 'cashing in' on good news after Balfour Beatty shares have gained over 9% year-to-date. The FTSE 250 company recently said it co

Record annual salesAsia Pacific slowdown hits Q4 revenuesNicolas Bos named as CEOSales at Swiss luxury watches-to-jewellery retailer Compagnie Financière Richemont (CFR:SWX), typically known as Richemont, slowed in the fourth quarter of the year to March 2024 amid softening demand for high-end goods in the Asia Pacific region.However, shares in the Cartier-to-Montblanc owner rose 5% to 144

Blue-chip stocks in Europe ended lower on Thursday, with a handful of ex-dividend shares hurting the FTSE 100, though there was bullishness in New York, as major benchmarks across the Atlantic hit record highs.The mood in New York was supported by retailer Walmart's first-quarter earnings beat and outlook raise.The FTSE 100 index edged down 7.15 points, 0.1%, at 8,438.65. The FTSE 250 added 47.21

Stocks in London and Europe on Thursday failed to share in Wall Street?s Wednesday triumph, with easyJet and Sage dragging down the FTSE 100 despite a rally at BT.The FTSE 100 index was down 23.84 points, 0.3%, at 8,421.96. The FTSE 250 was down 13.91 points, 0.1%, at 20,761.72, and the AIM All-Share was up 0.98 of a point, 0.1%, at 792.59.The Cboe UK 100 was down 0.2% at 841.60, the Cboe UK 250 w

EasyJet CFO Kenton Jarvis to become CEOJarvis joined EasyJet in February 2021Outgoing CEO Johan Lundgren to leave early 2025Shares in EasyJet (EZJ) were down more than 5% to 498p as investors reacted to the announcement that the low-budget airline's CEO Johan Lundgren is stepping down after seven years in the role.Kenton Jarvis, board member and chief financial officer will takeover from Lundgren

Shares leap on trading updateSales improve in final quarterChief executive expresses optimismWatches of Switzerland?s (WOSG) shares surged 11% to 374.5p on a reassuring fourth-quarter update in which chief executive Brian Duffy said the high-end watch and jewellery retailer entered the new financial year with ?cautious optimism?.This followed a strong finish to the year to 28 April 2024, with four

The FTSE 100 started poorly on Thursday, despite Wednesday?s record closes across the pond, as Sage Group and easyJet offset a boost from BT.The FTSE 100 index opened down 31.09 points, 0.4%, at 8,414.71. The FTSE 250 was up 34.30 points, 0.2%, at 20,809.93, and the AIM All-Share was up 0.2 of a point at 791.81.The Cboe UK 100 was down 0.3% at 840.90, the Cboe UK 250 was up 0.3% at 18,152.47, and

Discounts and premiums to NAV (net asset value), which is the value of all the investments an investment trust holds minus any debt or loans, are among the trust universe?s unique quirks and can confuse novice investors. At the moment the vast majority of trusts trade at a discount.Annabel Brodie-Smith, the AIC?s (Association of Investment Companies) communications director, says: ?Only around 20

The American financial markets writer and publisher Jim Grant once observed that: ?Successful investing is having everyone agree with you ?. Later.? This makes perfect sense, as it distils the concept of going against the crowd to buy cheaply and then sell expensively to lock in the gain and the initial thesis is now the consensus view and thus reflected in the valuation.However, this column does

Caledonia Investments (CLDN)Price: £35.18Market cap: £1.92 billionAmid all the talk of the UK market being full of ?hidden gems?, we think Caledonia Investments (CLDN) could be one of the best examples of ?hidden value? in the mid-cap FTSE 250 index.The global multi-asset investment company tends not to get much air-time, but Shares caught up with chief executive Mat Masters and finance director

This year has been a struggle for Intel (INTC:NASDAQ) ? investors don?t seem to be buying the optimism the chip firm has spun around its PC and data centre business, while it has thus far failed miserably when it comes to convincing the market it hasn?t missed the AI (artificial intelligence) boat.Data from Sharepad shows Intel is the second-worst performer on the S&P 500 in 2024, down nearly 40%

If we took a straw poll of readers and asked which country has the world?s biggest sovereign wealth fund, the chances are Saudi Arabia and Singapore would come high up the list if not at the top.In fact, the largest is Norway?s Government Pension Fund Global which has a value of more than $1.6 trillion.When the country discovered large offshore oil fields at the end of the 1960s, the government de

One of the factors undoubtedly helping lift the UK stock market to new highs this year is an upturn in M&A (merger and acquisition) activity.According to Dealogic, the value of UK takeovers so far in 2024 is more than $78 billion, the highest level since 2018, as overseas buyers in particular home in on the undervaluation of the market.?The UK has become structurally very attractive for M&A. There

If a person retires before state pension age, and their only taxable income is from a SIPP, how much can they withdraw a year tax free by taking a lump sum and some income before any income tax is due?What are the advantages or disadvantages of taking a tax-free lump sum like this as opposed to taking the full tax-free lump sum in one go?DaveRachel Vahey, AJ Bell Head of Public Policy, says:From

3i Infrastructure (3IN) 342.5pGain to date: 8.7% When we recommended buying into private equity firm 3i Infrastructure (3IN) last summer at 315p we flagged the undervaluation of its portfolio, as shown by the sale of Dutch waste treatment and recycling firm Attero for more than 30% above its most recent valuation and 2.7 times the purchase price.We stuck with our call even when the shares dipped t

This is the first in a series of articles focused on the fundamentals of investing. Don?t worry if you are relatively new to investing because the series starts at the very beginning and explains what investing is, how it works and is intended to provide a useful framework for thinking about investing.The series is not exclusively for beginners and later on it will include more advanced features s

Copper is already one of the most important materials underpinning human civilisation, and the energy transition is only likely to see demand for the industrial metal build in the years to come.Limits and pressures on supply and this growing demand profile are already seeing copper prices mount a charge and recent M&A activity ? with BHP?s (BHP) unsuccessful (for now) attempt to take over Anglo Am