Shares gain 3% in morning tradingNew debt facility of £25 million replaces previous with HSBCOn track to meet full year 2024 expectationsShares in Begbies Traynor (BEG:AIM) gained over 3% to 113p as the insolvency specialist said trading for the third quarter ending 31 January 2024 was ?in line? with the outlook stated at the time of their half year results in December 2023.The current range of a

The end of the tax year is fast approaching and with it the opportunity to maximise your £20,000 ISA allowance for the year.In this article we have identified six names from a list of some of the most consistent funds and fund managers in the UK which could be a good fit for your tax wrapper. While we have aimed for a balance across different investment styles and asset classes this is not intend

Annual profit surges on higher ratesFurther $2 billion share buybackChina provision a negative surpriseShareholders in HSBC (HSBA) will be feeling frustrated after the global bank posted its best-ever annual profit and extended its share buyback yet its stock price slumped on an unexpected non-cash charge for its holding in a Chinese lender.After trading 3% lower in the Hong Kong session, the shar

The publication of full-year results by the big four UK high-street banks is imminent and there will inevitably be a good deal of scrutiny of their margins and provisions for bad loans.If last week?s update from Virgin Money UK (VMUK) is any guide, net interest margins should be fairly steady although that will depend on how keen the major players have been to expand their loan books.Virgin itself

Lock up restrictions expire next monthEarly investors could look to cash-in on near-200% rally since IPOAI is fuelling enormous growth excitementArm?s (ARM:NASDAQ) shares surged again overnight, extending last week?s rally as investors continue to cheer the chipmaker?s better-than-expected third-quarter earnings and its exciting potential as an emerging power play on AI (artificial intelligence).T

While it may have been choppy seas for growth investors last year, for those with an income strategy it was plainer sailing with regular dividend payments for the FTSE All-Share excluding investment trusts growing by more than 5% to over £88 billion according to the latest Dividend Monitor report from financial services company Computershare.The firm?s latest quarterly report reveals some interes

US dominates global equity market scaleUK?s 2.9% ranks 6th largestChina?s growth puts it 3rd behind EUGlobal equity markets have nearly tripled in size since 2003, climbing to $109 trillion in total market capitalisation. This is based on data from the World Federation of Exchanges (WFE) and the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA).Over the last several decades, the growth

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

Melrose director offloads nearly £280,000 sharesShaftesbury Capital director snaps up 50,000 sharesVianet director splashes out after HSBC fundingDavid Lis, non-executive director at Melrose Industries (MRO) sold 30,000 shares at 541p for the total value of £162,400 on 16 November.The sale comes a day after Lis sold 21,400 shares at 542p for the total value of £115,914 on 15 November.The dispos

When it came to their third-quarter earnings updates, none of the UK's 'Big Four' high-street lenders could be said to have covered themselves in glory.Shares in Barclays (BARC), HSBC (HSBA), Lloyds (LLOY) and NatWest (NWG) all declined on the day of their results, regardless of whether they were better, in line, or below forecasts.While none of them explicitly warned on revenue or earnings, there

When a stock price makes a new 52-week high or low it is usually a sign of a strong trend. Going against the flow at these times is fraught with danger for investors betting for a sudden change in direction.That is because share prices tend to overshoot. Behavioural scientists have shown that investors overreact to bad news and underreact to good news.When bad news comes investors often sell for e

Third-quarter profit misses forecastsCost guidance also disappointsShare buyback bigger than hopedAs the last of the 'Big Four' UK banks to report, HSBC's (HSBA) third-quarter earnings update turned out to be something of a damp squib with earnings missing forecasts but the shares moving sideways rather than down on news of yet another buyback.After initially dipping 5p then rallying 15p, by late

Provisions for China business sink profitsBoard sticks to full-year targets£1.8 billion of market value erasedInvestors rounded on Asia- and Africa-focused bank Standard Chartered (STAN) after it missed earnings expectations for the third quarter due to provisions in China and a higher UK tax rate.The shares fell as much as 18% to a new six-month low of 588p shortly after the open, although they

If you started your investing journey at any point in the dozen or so years prior to the global pandemic, today's challenges will look very strange to you. The decade or more market environment of low inflation and ultra-low borrowing costs was a fertile framework for growth investing, yet the reopening of the world post-Covid has cooked up a toxic stew of wealth-sapping inflation and rising inter

As usual with the US quarterly earnings season, the 'Big Four' banks have kicked off proceedings giving us an insight into the health of consumers and businesses and the state of the financial markets.First out of the blocks was JPMorgan Chase (JPM:NYSE), the world's largest bank by market value ($430 billion) and generally a bellwether for the US economy.Third-quarter revenue rose 22% to $39.9 bi

Sky-high interest rates and unruly inflation make the future direction of the economy more uncertain than usual. It is certainly no time to be complacent.Against such a tough backdrop now is a good time for investors to take stock and consider if the income they expect from dividends in their portfolios are safe.Investors are often attracted to the highest yields, but this can indicate markets do

It's not often the UK stock market gets to blow its own trumpet but in September the FTSE 100 was the best-performing major global index, gaining 2.3%, while Germany's Dax lost 3%, the S&P500 lost 4% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 ended the month 4.5% lower.Key drivers of international weakness were the continued rise in bond yields, which is particularly negative for the valuation of growth compan

Shares rebound after weak showing earlier this yearResults slightly ahead of forecastsNew strategic targets impressShares in Asia and Africa-focused insurer Prudential (PRU) topped the FTSE 100 leader board with a gain of 4% to £10.26 after the firm posted better-than-expected first half results and revealed some of the key points of newly-installed chief executive Anil Wadhwani's strategic plan.

HSBC CEO awarded over £300,000 sharesBritish American Tobacco non-exec buys £200,000 sharesAviva CEO takes a punt on future performanceNoel Quinn, chief executive of banking giant HSBC (HSBA), has been awarded 51,435 shares at 584p for a total value of £300,329, while finance director George Elhedery has been awarded 32,827 shares at 584p for a total value of £191,676 on 23 August 2023.The sha

As this is the last instalment in our five step stock analysis series (and we would encourage you to go back and read parts one, two and three, we've decided to do something a bit different and examine a bank. This means using different measures of profitability, returns and valuation.To analyse a bank, you need to understand what it does, how it uses its balance sheet to make money and the qualit