Revenue and earnings beat Street estimatesStrongest revenue growth in two yearsFirst ever dividend announcedShares in Alphabet (GOOG:NASDAQ) are set to open at a new all-time high after the Google parent reported strong double-digit first quarter revenue growth, and bested Wall Street profit estimates. The internet search giant also announced it would pay its first ever dividend.Pre-market data ha

Revenue and profit top forecastsAnalysts hold back on upgradesShares climb in line with rivalsWith Barclays (BARC) and Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) having already posted first-quarter results and seen their shares rally in response, the onus was on NatWest Group (NWG) not to let the side down and the bank duly delivered a positive update with earnings a touch above estimates despite a weak year-on-

London?s blue-chips remained in demand, pushing to new highs, with investors hoping US inflation data later does not derail the optimistic mood.In the FTSE 100, ConvaTec was an outlier, after Peel Hunt downgraded the firm?s investment rating. On the other side of the index was NatWest, with a set of well received results.The FTSE 100 index was up 35.73 points, 0.4%, at 8,114.59. The FTSE 250 was u

Investors bought in London at the open on Friday, with news led by Anglo American rejecting BHP?s £31.1 billion takeover offer and Darktrace accepting a $5 billion private equity takeover offer.The FTSE 100 index opened up 42.14 points, 0.5%, at 8,121.00. The FTSE 250 was up 151.94 points, 0.8%, at 19,753.92, and the AIM All-Share was up 2.41 points, 0.3%, at 755.53.The Cboe UK 100 was up 0.6% at

London?s FTSE 100 pushed higher on Thursday, leaving peers on the continent and beyond in its wake, on share price rises for heavyweights AstraZeneca, Barclays and Unilever, as well as M&A impetus for Anglo American.Trade was underwhelming elsewhere, however, as equities struggled following a red-hot US inflation reading, which was coupled with numbers showing a slowdown in growth.The FTSE 100 ind

Second-quarter guidance disappointsAI spending plans spook investors$200 billion wiped off market valueSocial media and technology outfit Meta Platforms (META:NASDAQ) saw its recent share price momentum stall in a big way overnight as investors fretted its ?year of efficiency? in 2023 would give way to a period or profligacy.At one point more than $200 billion had been wiped off the company?s valu

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

Net interest income fallsInvestment bank slipsBuyback target confirmedHigh-street lender Barclays (BARC) reported a drop in first-quarter pre-tax profit due to a combination of weaker net interest income and lower income from its investment bank, but the results were slightly ahead of market expectations.The shares gained as much as 9p or 4.5% to 200p, their highest level in over a year, as the fi

Followers of Bitcoin will have been closely watching the latest ?halving event? in the cryptocurrency which took place on 19 April.For the fourth time, the number of new Bitcoin entering the market has been slashed by cutting the rewards earned by Bitcoin miners by 50%.Mining Bitcoin involves using powerful computers to solve extremely complicated mathematical problems in order to verify transacti

Dr. Martens (DOCS) 72.1pLoss to date: 21.6%In mid-December 2023 we said the knock-down share price of iconic footwear brand Dr. Martens (DOCS) was too tempting to resist despite the company delivering four profit warnings.Our rationale was simple ? either the self-inflicted operational issues would be fixed by the current management or the business would be taken over by an opportunistic predator

Gaming Realms (GMR:AIM) 31.6pMarket cap: £93.4 millionFor the uninitiated, Gaming Realms (GMR:AIM) is a leading business-to-business licensor and distributor of games to the regulated gaming market.The company owns the IP (intellectual property) to the Slingo brand, one of the most popular formats of games played online.As the name suggests the format is a mash-up of slots and bingo. The game in

The persistently high interest rate environment means companies are under pressure to cut costs and jobs are an obvious target. While they can cut their workforce through redundancies or slash the wage bill through shorter or fewer shifts, others might already be operating with a skeleton crew and cannot pare back any further.It is against this scenario that higher wages are adding to companies? p

Interest rates are expected to stay higher for longer to combat the sticky inflation which remains a threat to investors? hard-earned wealth and purchasing power. During periods of high inflation, it is crucial to invest in companies that possess pricing power, because these firms can pass on increased costs to customers, enabling them to maintain profit margins and generate the robust cash flows

Every time anyone in the UK puts money into a pension, a deal is struck. The government adds tax relief to the contribution, and the quid pro quo is you have to lock that money away for retirement. Hence why you can only access a pension after the age of 55, rising to 57 from 2028.The idea is that if you?ve got your own funds to live on in retirement, you won?t fall back on the benefits system and

Xtrackers IE Physical Gold ETC Securities (XGDU) $35.61Assets: £2.43 billionIt may have beaten a hasty retreat from recent record highs as concerns about an escalating conflict in the Middle East have eased but gold prices are still forecast in many quarters to make further gains from here.For investors concerned about geopolitical and economic risk, as inflation shows signs of being more entrenc

Over the past six months United Airlines (UAL:NASDAQ) shares have gained over 45% as the US airline managed to shrug off negative news concerning delayed deliveries and canceled flights related to safety issues at aircraft maker Boeing (BA:NYSE).On the day of its first quarter results (16 April) United Airlines shares gained nearly 20% at one point hitting the $50 mark as the US airline upgraded g

With shares in UK high-street bellwether Next (NXT) trading close to all-time highs above £90 despite the recent pull-back in markets, there is a fair bit riding on its upcoming first-quarter trading update (1 May).When it posted full-year results in late March, the firm said it had been ?a long time since we started a year in a more positive frame of mind? after a better-than-expected performanc

Chip stocks are coming under pressure from investors made nervous by hints of weakening demand during the first half of 2024. During the past week or so there have been warnings from industry bellwethers from Europe and the Far East, dampening enthusiasm just as earnings season gets going in earnest.On 22 April Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSM:NYSE), or simply TSMC, the world?s bigg

This feature explores spin-offs or de-mergers, looking at the rationale for them and how they have performed, and asks if they can be a promising hunting ground for investors.One of the UK?s largest recent spin-offs was GSK?s (GSK) demerger of its consumer healthcare division in 2022.GSK reportedly rebuffed a £50 billion offer from personal goods giant Unilever (ULVR) to buy the division, named H

There was a general wringing of hands on 19 April over the latest monthly retail sales figures published by the ONS (Office for National Statistics) which showed the volume of goods bought flatlined from February to March rather than increasing by 0.3% as expected.However, when measured on an annual basis rather than a month-on-month basis ? which to our mind seems a much fairer comparison ? volum