On 14 May, the world?s largest home-improvement retailer Home Depot (HD:NYSE) is set to release its first-quarter earnings. The firm, which has a market value of over $330 billion and operates more than 2,300 stores in the US, Canada and Mexico, is expected to report EPS (earnings per share) of $3.60 on revenue of $36.65 billion.While this will be a step up from the previous quarter, it represents

From pop groups, TV shows, cars, home appliances, electronics and smartphones, South Korean brands have for years been familiar to global consumers. Millions of homes are filled with Smartphones and TVs made by Samsung Electronics (005930:KRX) and LG Electronics (006657:KRX), cars made by Hyundai Motor (005380:KRX) and Kia (000270:KRX), while microchips made by Hynix (000660:KRX) power these gadge

Having started the year betting on up to half-a-dozen interest rate cuts, then having to undo those bets as stronger-than-expected US economic data and Fed comments pointed at the possibility of one or even no cut in rates this year, investors? heads have been in a spin for the last few weeks.Cue the return on 3 May of the ?Goldilocks? scenario, where the US economy turns out to be moderating so i

One of the most compelling reasons for investing through a Junior ISA is to help provide your offspring with the necessary funds to leave university without the burden of onerous debts.If you invested the whole allowance of £9,000 every year from birth until your child reached 18 they would inherit a pot worth £229,000 based on an annual return of 4.5% and with charges of 0.75% factored in. Best

Markets were sunny at the time of London?s closing bell on Friday, with investors across the pond enthused by renewed hopes for a Federal Reserve interest rate cut.The FTSE 100 index closed up 41.34 points, 0.5%, at 8,213.49. The FTSE 250 ended up 112.21 points, 0.6%, at 20,164.54, and the AIM All-Share closed up 3.42 points, 0.5%, at 771.53.Over the course of the week, they were up 0.9%, 1.7%, an

Global RevPar up 2.6%More than 6,200 rooms opened in Q12024 share buyback 30% completeShares in Intercontinental Hotels (IHG) fell over 3% to £76.36 on Friday after the global hotels operator reported low single-digit growth in global RevPar (revenue per available room) for the first quarter of 2024.This performance was below expectations and dragged on shares in IHG, which have rallied 37% over

It was another topsy-turvy week for US markets buffeted by macro data which revealed stronger than expected wage growth on Tuesday (30 Apr) after the employment cost index rose 1.2% compared with 1% expected by economists.Labour costs increased 4.2% year on year in the first quarter, a similar pace to the prior quarter which gives the Fed little wriggle room to cut interest rates anytime soon. Fed

Whitbread (WTB) £31.76Loss to date: 8.5%When we initially recommended buying Premier Inn owner Whitbread (WTB) last summer our thesis was the shares were too cheap given the firm?s prospects and the renaissance in travel in general.Throw in an element of self-help, such as the sale of certain low-yielding assets, and we expected the market to come to its senses and re-rate the company?s shares.WH

London Stocks finished down on Tuesday, despite rallies from Whitbread and HSBC, as Wall Street was in the red ahead of the Fed?s major interest rate decision this week.The FTSE 100 index closed down 2.90 points at 8,144.13. The FTSE 250 ended down 119.40 points, 0.6%, at 19,965.39, and the AIM All-Share closed down 2.59 points, 0.3%, at 760.74.The Cboe UK 100 ended down 0.1% at 813.44, the Cboe U

Further £150 million buyback£150 million of cost savings plannedShares down 16% year-to-datePremier Inn-owner Whitbread (WTB) pleased investors with news of an extension to its buyback programme and a new cost-saving initiative as its full-year profit undershot market estimates.After languishing around the £30 level to begin with, the shares slowly climbed 110p or 3.5% to £31.50 by late mornin

First quarter sales and profit beat expectationsStrategy update scheduled for 21 MayFull year outlook confirmedShares in AstraZeneca (AZN) surged 5% to £119.3 closing in on a new 52-week high after first quarter revenue and earnings eclipsed market expectations and the pharmaceutical company reiterated full year guidance.After a few months of consolidation, the shares are back to winning ways and

Investors in Carex and Imperial Leather maker PZ Cussons (PZC) must be wringing their hands as they see the firm?s share price disappearing slowly down the plughole.Year-to-date the stock has lost over 40% of its value, while over one year it is down 53% and last week the price hit its lowest level in more than two decades.The root cause of the problem seems to be challenges in Nigeria where the n

With the S&P 500 index having made more than 20 new highs this year, questions are being asked over the sustainability of the rally and the earnings growth which appears to be driving it.Given the market gains have been led by technology ? by way of which, Shares noticed the market cap of Microsoft (MSFT:NASDAQ) now eclipses that of the entire UK stock market ? comparisons with the bubble of 2000

Microsoft (MSFT:NASDAQ)-backed cybersecurity firm Rubrik (RBRK:NYSE) plans to raise up to $750 million as it becomes the latest company to unveil plans for an IPO (initial public offering) in the US. The roster of companies planning to go public is starting to fill out after two years of relative drought following recent successes by social media platform Reddit (RDDT:NYSE) and semiconductor conn

Investor sentiment improved in London on Thursday afternoon, following words from the Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell which helped soothe market concern over the US interest rate trajectory.While Powell?s remarked did not make the timing of interest rate cuts any clearer, he did affirm they will happen if the US economy continues to move as expected.The FTSE 100 index added 32.56 points, 0.4%,

The London Tunnels is a major new heritage and cultural experience in central London.The company intends to apply for admission on a major stock exchange, as part of its plans to extensively restore, adaptively reuse and bring back to life the Kingsway Exchange Tunnels, near Holborn, originally built in the early 1940s, and designed to shelter 8,000 people during the London blitz.In collaboration

It has been a busy time for shareholders in Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust (SMT), but it has been a fruitful time too with the shares hitting new 12-month highs in March.First, the board announced it would buy back at least £1 billion worth of shares in order to help narrow the discount to NAV (net asset value).Then, Delaware-based Elliott Advisors revealed it had taken a 5% stake in the trus

We begin this article with the cautionary tale of former high-flying cloud telephony and conferencing firm LoopUp (LOOP:AIM).At the beginning of March, the firm dropped a bombshell on investors by announcing the board had unanimously decided that canceling its listing on AIM and raising money from a handful of private backers was ?in the best interests of the group and our shareholders?.The stock

We are weeks away from the end of the tax year and inevitably there is plenty of focus on ISAs ? whether that relates opening an account or using up existing allowances.In all the hoo-hah it?s easy to lose sight of just what a compelling vehicle this is for investors. Whatever you are investing for, whether it?s the cost of the kids? education, to supplement your income in retirement or to fund ho

Leisure business London Tunnels is expected to float on the AIM market sometime around the middle of the year. The company is majority owned by Angus Murray who is the brains behind plans to turn London?s tunnels into a tourist attraction, which showcases the story of the London Blitz.In October 1940 the UK government decided to build a system of deep shelters linked to existing tube stations inte