Investec Bank CEO sells shares as he readies for retirementDowlais CEO snaps up shares with a value just under £500,000 Beazley non-executive director sells £60,000 worth of sharesRichard Wainwright, CEO of the banking arm of Anglo-South African wealth management and international banking group Investec (INVP), sold two tranches of shares on the 19 June - 110,144 at 459p worth a total of £505,0

Deal sees veteran Pease bow outConsolidation gathering paceListed UK firms could be vulnerable to takeoversCompetition for customers and the need for economies of scale are driving another round of consolidation in the UK wealth management industry with the announcement this week of yet another deal.Yesterday it emerged that hedge fund Lansdowne Partners had agreed to acquire equities specialist C

Rathbones (RAT) £19.10Loss to date: 10%We recommended wealth management outfit Rathbones (RAT) in April 2022 as a read-across from RBC's £1.6 billion bid for UK asset manager Brewin Dolphin, but since then things have been extremely quiet on the UK corporate front.Financial firms in general have had a rough ride of late, and it is no reflection on Rathbones that its shares are 10% lower since we

- Rathbones pounces on smaller rival- All-share deal pitched as a merger- More consolidation may followWealth management group Rathbones (RAT) caught the market on the hop with the announcement of an all-share merger with the UK Wealth & Investment division of Anglo-African firm Investec (INVP).Shares in both companies gained on the news, with Investec rising 2.4% to 455p and Rathbones adding 2.3%

- Shares rise on encouraging earnings outlook- Both wealth management and specialist banking positioned for growth- Shares up 34% over last yearShares in specialist bank and wealth manager Investec (INVP) moved higher following the announcement of encouraging first half results.Management expects strong earnings for the first half of its financial year, despite tumultuous market conditions and con

Although many developed markets have hit a new all-time high in recent months, the FTSE 350 index of UK stocks still trades below the highs achieved in the middle of 2018.There are plenty of cheap shares on offer in this index. In this article we uncover stocks expected to consistently grow earnings over the next two years that trade at a price to earnings multiple below the market. This investmen

UK shares ended the week firmly in the red as markets got increasingly worried about rising coronavirus cases and the economy-damaging lockdowns that could potentially happen as a result.Health secretary Matt Hancock refused to rule out a second UK national lockdown in an interview with Sky News earlier today after the Financial Times reported that government-appointed experts had suggested a two-

UK shares were lower on Friday, despite an improvement in local retail sales, as mounting cases of Covid-19 in the UK and elsewhere in Europe stoked fears of more national lockdowns.Health secretary Matt Hancock refused to rule out a second UK national lockdown in an interview with Sky News after the Financial Times reported that government-appointed experts had suggested a two-week lockdown in Oc

UK stocks opened on the back foot on Friday with the FTSE 100 falling 0.5% to 6,017 points while the mid-cap FTSE 250 opened marginally lower.Mining shares were in demand with Fresnillo (FRES) one of the top gainers up 2% to £13.10, while International Consolidated Airlines Group (IAG) and Rolls Royce (RR.) were the biggest fallers losing more than 5% each.Banks were the main drag on the market f

Increasing hopes that the US and China will finally put their long-running trade dispute behind them gives investors a welcome lift as we begin a new trading week, but the ongoing lack of corporate news continues to act as a brake on hubris in the UK.In early deals the FTSE 100 remains largely directionless, drifting six points lower to 7,431.01, although FTSE 250 mid-caps are doing better, up aro

While Asian markets climbed overnight on hopes of new trade talks between the US and China, London's FTSE 100 firms just 9.7 points to 7,291 on Friday, a modest gain which is nowhere near strong enough for investors to become more optimistic about the direction of travel.In corporate news, specialist bank and fund manager Investec (INVP) sparks up 12.4% to 545p after announcing plans to hive off a

South Africa is the latest country to be closely watched by UK investors. A decent number of companies doing business in that part of the world have their shares traded on the London Stock Exchange.Cyril Ramaphosa was last week sworn in as the new president of South Africa, replacing Jacob Zuma who stepped down after pressure from the governing ANC party amid corruption allegations. Ramaphosa want

We have run the numbers to identify the best and worst FTSE 350 performers since the market sell-off started at the beginning of February.Financial technology business NEX (NEX) noted it would benefit from increased volatility (and US tax cuts) in a 1 February trading update. The company could see greater demand for its platforms as the financial markets become more actively traded.Delivery firm R

The UK stock market is experiencing a small rally following a stressful past few days. In mid-morning trade the FTSE 100 was trading 0.7% higher at 7,193.The FTSE 250 index was 1.2% higher at 19,502; and the FTSE AIM All-Share index was up by the same percentage at 1,025.More brave investors are now looking for opportunities to buy on the market dip.Let's now take a look at the best performing sto

Strong trading in Asia helped the FTSE 100 to a positive start to the week as investors await key central bank decisions in the coming days. In early trading the index of leading UK shares is up 0.5% to 7,432.84.Contractor Babcock (BAB) is the biggest riser on the FTSE 100 as it notes new accounting standards will have no material impact on the company. The shares are up 3.4% to 684p.Ten-pin bowli

Banking group Investec (INVP) looks primed to join the FTSE 100 at September's index reshuffle, according to our calculations and assuming no major changes to market values over the next week.Investec is expected to replace Provident Financial (PFG) whose share price collapsed earlier this week following another profit warning, dividend cancellation, chief executive departure and investigation by

Size matters. The UK's largest stocks are typically easy to buy and sell, hold dominant market positions, are often diversified across several different areas and typically generate plenty of cash which can be returned to shareholders through generous dividends.'Economies of scale' also make it cheaper for these market giants to buy in goods and services and allow them to manufacture their own pro

Investment trust Scottish Mortgage (SMT) could win promotion to the blue-chip FTSE 100 index at the end of March, potentially attracting a swathe of tracker funds to buy its shares.The flagship investment trust of manager Baillie Gifford, Scottish Mortgage is currently valued at £4.7bn, second only to investment bank Investec (INVP) in the queue to make the leap. This is substantially above the

Numerous directors of companies on the stock market have made investments worth more than £1m each over the past few weeks using their own money.Only three of the nine deals over the past fortnight have been directors buying shares; the rest have been sales.The purchases include TalkTalk Telecom (TALK) non-executive director Roger Taylor and Mitie (MTO) chief executive Phil Bentley. We don't rate

London's blue chip shares open modestly higher, up 0.1% at 6,756 in a busy day for corporate updates.Royal Mail (RMG) is among the bigger movers in the FTSE 100, down 2.7% to 485p, as first half results show revenue grew 1% and operating profit declined 5% to £320m. Chief executive Moya Greene upped a cost cutting target from £500m to £600m over the next three years.Infrastructure play Hill & S