All divisions profitable in first halfFull year operating profit upgradedNet debt significantly reducedOne of 2023?s best share price performers, private-label cleaning products maker McBride (MCB), has upgraded earnings guidance again as the cost-of-living squeeze continues to stoke demand for its affordable products, news that sent the stock up 16% to 85.2p in early dealings on Tuesday.Having re

BT finance chief sells £200,000 worth of stockMcBride non-exec buys £32,000PayPoint CEO buys £231,000BT FINANCE CHIEF SELLSSimon Lowth, chief financial officer of BT (BT.A), offloaded £200,000 worth of shares in the UK telco on 13 December.Vodafone (VOD) and BT shares fell this week following news the telecoms regulator has proposed banning inflation-linked price rises in the middle of custome

It has been an up and down year for the UK stock market but some names have really shone over the course of the last 12 months. In this article we go through the market cap ranks to identify the best performing large-, mid- and small-cap stocks in 2023.£5 billion+ market capWhile Nvidia (NVDA:NASDAQ) has dominated headlines globally as excitement around AI (artificial intelligence) helped drive i

The GfK consumer confidence index fell nine points from minus 21 to minus 30 in October amid a slowing jobs market and the uncertainty engendered by the Middle East conflict which have dampened the Christmas spending outlook.This consumer squeeze was in evidence in the quarterly volume declines reported by FTSE 100 consumer goods giants Unilever (ULVR) and Reckitt Benckiser (RKT).Unilever delivere

Q1 earnings ahead of forecastsPrivate label growth of 10.8%But inflationary pressures persistPrivate-label cleaning products maker McBride (MCB) has delivered another earnings upgrade as the cost-of-living crisis continues to drive demand for its budget laundry detergents, dishwasher liquids and surface cleaners.In an unscheduled update that sent the shares 22% higher to 39.75p, taking year-to-dat

Sales and earnings guidance upgradedInflationary pressures easingWolfson concedes Next was 'overly cautious'Retail bellwether Next (NXT) has upgraded its full-year profit guidance for the third time in four months following a better-than-expected first half sales performance delivered in the face of an ongoing cost-of-living crisis.Shares in the FTSE 100 retailer rose 2.5% to £72.86 on the positi

Earnings guidance downgradedWeak trading in Poland and FranceNew £300 million buyback announcedHome improvement retailer Kingfisher (KGF) was the FTSE 100's biggest faller on Tuesday, shares in the DIY products purveyor plunging 7% to 219.9p. The drop came after cutting its annual profit outlook amid poor trading from its Polish operations and a lacklustre turn in France, where consumer confidenc

Retailer Next (NXT) has managed to eke out an impressive 20% share price gain in 2023 despite all the pressures on household budgets as it has continued to deliver sector-leading performance.Investors will be hoping for more of the same when it posts first-half results on 21 September. These numbers will have wider resonance as Next is seen as a bellwether for the retail sector. Unlike some of its

Q1 sales decline less bad than fearedUS progress impressesRetailer returning to normalised growth ratesRolex, Breitling and TAG Heuer timepiece seller Watches of Switzerland's (WOSG) sales growth turned negative in the first quarter to 30 July 2023 as the luxury retailer lapped tough comparatives and suffered a 15% slump in high-end jewellery sales.So why did the shares tick up 3.2% to 702.5p toda

Although the latest UK inflation figures are easy off, the cost-of-living crisis is still alive and kicking, as food, energy and petrol costs remain stubbornly high.This is bad news for consumers but good news for some companies who are benefiting from the doom and gloom on the high street and in households. Here are 10 names doing well.Shoe ZoneFootwear retailer Shoe Zone (SHOE:AIM) sells shoes a

First-half results from Howden Joinery (HWDN) on 20 July will reveal the impact a slowdown in the housing market is having on its trading.The trade kitchen supplier last updated in the spring, with a trading statement covering the 16-week period to 15 April. Like-for-like revenue was flat on the same period a year earlier in the UK business once you accounted for the impact of an additional sales

European equities ended higher on Friday, with the DAX 40 in Frankfurt hitting a record level earlier in the day.Shares cooled from their highs, however, as the European trading session drew to a close as poor developments in US debt ceiling talks soured market mood. Sentiment was also more uncertain in New York.Shortly before the European close, news emerged that a Republican negotiator walked ou

London stock investors were taking heart as the week drew to a close from a positive reading on UK consumer confidence, together with indications that a deal to raise the US debt ceiling may be near.Somewhat undermining the positive mood was a series of hawkish remarks by US Fed policy makers, putting the expected pause in rate hikes in doubt.The FTSE 100 index was up 29.11 points, or 0.4%, at 7,7

Share prices opened higher in Europe on Friday, following mostly positive trading in the US and Asia on the hint of a solution to the political impasse over the US debt limit.In London, the FTSE 100 index was up 20.17 points, 0.2%, at 7,762.47. The FTSE 250 was up 17.63 points, 0.1%, at 19,315.88, and the AIM All-Share was up 0.49 of a point at 810.43.The Cboe UK 100 was up 0.2% at 775.80, the Cbo

NAV down 17.8%No further investment in IPOsShares down 13% year-to-dateScottish Mortgage Trust (SMT) reported a 33.5% fall in its share price and a 17.8% fall in net asset value (NAV) compared to a 0.9% fall in the FTSE All-World Index for the 12 months to 31 March 2023.In stark contrast, over the last 10 years, Scottish Mortgage's NAV has increased by 432% compared to a 181% increase in the FTSE

The managers of Scottish Mortgage Trust (SMT) Tom Slater and Lawrence Burns are in full blown apology mode after a recent boardroom spat which saw its chair of 14 years Fiona McBain step down (21 March) with senior independent director Justin Dowley taking over.'We are very sorry to the shareholders; it's not helpful to anybody seeing the trust in the headlines. My experience of the board of Scott

Fiona McBain, chair of popular investment trust Scottish Mortgage (SMT), is stepping down after a boardroom row over corporate governance exploded into the public arena.In a board update (21 March), Baillie Gifford's flagship fund said senior independent director Justin Dowley will succeed McBain as chair as a result of 'succession planning', though her exit has clearly been hastened by a bust-up

All eyes on earnings and dividends as housebuilders report next monthInvestors will be hoping activity picks up and payouts are at least maintainedAfter analysts at Deutsche Bank recently cut their recommendations on four leading housebuilders, investors will be keen to hear from Persimmon (PSN) and Taylor Wimpey (TW.).Persimmon, which reports full-year earnings on 1 March, revealed in November it

Rising interest rates designed to cool inflation are squeezing consumers' disposable incomes around the globe with spending on big ticket and discretionary items coming under pressure.Yet spending on everyday necessities, mass daily-use items that billions employ every day, is holding up rather well. That's good news for the makers of mundane products which consumers trust and depend upon; think t

An emergency intervention by the Bank of England - signalling a monetary policy u-turn - calmed investor fears on Wednesday, sending equity markets higher.The central bank announced it will be temporarily buying long-dated UK bonds.The BoE said the purpose of the 'purchases will be to restore orderly market conditions' after UK government bonds were significantly affected by 'repricing'. The purch