Fund outperforms benchmark in 2023Dividend increases by 7% to 7.65pShares sit at 13% discount to NAVMid- and small-cap UK growth investor Mercantile Investment Trust (MRC) outperformed its benchmark in the year to 31 January, delivering a net asset total return of 4.5% and total shareholder returns of 6.1%.The dividend was increased by 7% for the year to 7.65p per share, comfortably covered by rev

No-one could accuse the CMA (Competition and Markets Authority) of sitting on its hands, least of all this year.As well as investigating several high-profile mergers ? including this month alone Aviva (AV.)/AIG Life, SpreadEx/Sporting Image, RedBird IMI/Telegraph Media Group, Pharmacy2U/Lloyds Direct and Hitachi/Thales ? the regulator has been busy looking into pricing in the funeral market (again

Revenues fall 20% Profits down over 40%Company cooperating with CMAShares in Taylor Wimpey (TW.) were down over 3% to 135p in morning trading as the UK housebuilder said pre-tax profit had fallen 42.8% to £473.8 million for the year to 31 December compared to £827.9 million in the same year ago period.The company?s share price performance today contrasts with a 10% gain over the past year.

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

Deal creates UK?s biggest housebuilderBarratt paying a 27% premium on paperBoth firms report improving sentimentThe housebuilding sector received a major confidence boost with the news Barratt Developments (BDEV) had agreed to acquire smaller rival Redrow (RDW) to create the UK?s largest quoted developer.Redrow shares jumped 13% to 678p, followed by Crest Nicholson (CRST), possibly the most-touted

Prices are turning positive againLower mortgage rates helpingActivity seen picking up this yearHousebuilders and housing-related stocks got a lift going into the Bank of England?s monetary policy meeting thanks to a positive read on the property market from the latest Nationwide house price survey.Shares in Barratt Developments (BDEV), Crest Nicholson (CRST), Persimmon (PSN), Redrow (RDW), Rightmo

Gains across the sector year-to-dateSome stocks trading at new highsEyes on Berkeley Group this weekEven though the most recent results from housebuilders such as Barratt Developments (BDEV) and Bellway (BWY) were resolutely downbeat, the firms? share prices have been on the charge since the middle of October as investors have bet on the Bank of England continuing to hold interest rates at their c

Firm lowers sales and earnings forecastsReservations fall as cancellations riseChains breaking on mortgage availabilityHigh-end housebuilder Redrow (RDW) issued a surprisingly downbeat trading statement ahead of today's AGM (annual general meeting) citing a slowdown in reservations since it issued its full-year results in September.The shares, which had been enjoying a strong run over the last for

Revenue almost flat despite lower volumesStrong demand for affordable housingOutlook assumes weak sales rate continuesInvestors in house builder Redrow (RDW) will be breathing a sigh of relief after the firm posted resilient results for the past year, including an almost-flat dividend, and reinstated its financial guidance for the current year.The shares moved up 3% to 488p, roughly in the middle

Inflation rises at slowest pace this yearBonds and interest-rate sensitive stocks chased higherBank rates still set to go up next monthShares in downtrodden housebuilders and property companies were chased higher after the latest inflation data for June came in below expectations, raising hopes the Bank of England might slow the pace of interest rate increases.Leading the FTSE 100 higher were Pers

The UK's largest supplier of building materials, Travis Perkins (TPK) downgraded full year adjusted operating profit guidance by 12% on Friday flagging the negative impact of higher interest rates and weaker consumer confidence on its end-market.The shares made a new six-month low after falling 5% to 823p, taking them 20% below the highs in February when there was growing optimism the housing mark

With consumer prices hitting a 40-year high, more investors are searching for high-income instruments to try to offset the impact of inflation on their cash. The danger with picking individual stocks just for their income is high yields are usually indicative of some underlying problem with the business and are not sustainable.The iShares UK Dividend ETF (IUKD) takes much of the legwork out of hun

- Firms report sharp drop in reservations- Both decide to scale back their growth plans- First-time buyers pausing purchasesThe most recent trading updates from two of the UK's smaller listed house builders, Crest Nicholson (CRST) and Redrow (RDW), reinforce the message from the larger firms that homebuyer interest has waned significantly in the weeks since the calamitous 'mini-budget' in Septembe

- Developer posts record profit but flags slowdown- Volumes, prices and margins seen falling this year- Sector lags the broader stock market on widespread share sellingShares in leading housebuilders bucked the firmer stock market trend after developer Bellway (BWY) revealed demand for new homes had 'moderated' since August and cut its sales target for this year.Bellway shares slipped 1% to £18.0

- New prime minister set to cut property transaction tax, says report- UK housebuilder stocks rally hard on likely juiced housing market- Plan called 'cynical' by some expertsUK housebuilders rallied on Wednesday (21 Sep) in response to a report that Friday's mini-budget may contain plans to cut stamp duty. According to The Times, prime minister Liz Truss will announce the move to drive economic g

- Sales and earnings top 2019 levels- Target customers 'more financially resilient'- 2024 estimates nudged higherPremium housebuilder Redrow (RDW) posted revenue and earnings above 2019's previous record for the year to the start of July and unveiled a 31% increase in the full-year dividend.The firm also raised its medium-term forecasts for earnings per share, dividend per share and return on capi

Mid-cap companies have always attracted investors. Seen as large enough to compete on a global scale, but not so big that their capacity for growth is capped, like many FTSE 100 stocks, an increasing number of investors spend time researching stocks on the FTSE 250 index, or simply buy the index through the handful of inexpensive targeted ETF tracker funds that are available.While many investors m

Sandeep Chadha, chief executive of Supreme (SUP:AIM), the AIM listed batteries, lighting and vaping company bought 500,000 shares at a price of 83.2p for a consideration of £416,800.Following this share purchase Chadha owns 57.1% of the group's current issued share capital.On 5 July Supreme warned that revenues and underlying earnings were likely to be below last year and below previous market ex

Shares in some of the housebuilders are finally showing signs of life after a poor first quarter caused by concerns over the potential cost of fixing cladding on high-rise blocks.In January, the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities announced it wanted developers to contribute £4 billion to a new fund to remediate what it called life-critical safety issues on buildings over 11 metr

Shares in the major housebuilders traded higher after positive results and an increase in earnings guidance from their smaller rivals Redrow (RDW) and MJ Gleeson (GLE), bringing some relief to beleaguered shareholders.Redrow shares gained 2% to 637p after issuing new forecasts for its 2024 financial year while MJ Gleeson shares were 1% higher at 733p after the firm said results for the year to thi