Food ingredients business Tate & Lyle's (TATE) recent third-quarter update (21 February) saw an 11% decline in its Food & Beverage Solutions business as it was hit by a mixture of customer destocking and weaker consumer demand. Foreign exchange headwinds are also having a negative impact, while contracts for 2024 have been more competitive due to softer demand.Berenberg analyst Samantha Derbyshire

Aviva CEO Amanda Blanc buys over 10,000 sharesInchcape CEO Nigel Stein makes the most of strong resultsLikewise CEO offloads £2.5 million sharesAmanda Blanc, CEO of Aviva (AV.) has bought 10,597 shares at 474p for a total value of £50,241 along with her husband Kenneth Blanc who has bought 17,121 shares at 468p for a total value of £80,242 on 7 March.The purchases come after the insurance giant

Investors in mobile operator Vodafone (VOD) will be keen to hear at next week?s third-quarter trading update (5 February) whether a deal for its Italian business is in the offing.Swiss operator Swisscom (SCMN:SWX) and French firm Iliad have both expressed an interest, with Iliad valuing Vodafone Italia at a cool ?10.5 billion including debt.This follows news last month of the first successful test

The London market was starting the second half of 2023 in a positive mood, after gains by Asian equities earlier Monday and a higher close on Wall Street on Friday.Focus on Monday was a series of purchasing managers' index readings, with factory activity in Japan, German and the eurozone all shrinking in June and growth slowing in China.Trading activity is likely to be limited in the first half of

Stocks finished higher in London on Thursday, as evidence of better-than-expected growth for the US economy offered hope against the threat of an impending recession.The FTSE 100 index closed up 16.24 points, or 0.2% at 7,761.11 on Thursday. The FTSE 250 ended up 111.47 points, or 0.6%, at 19,915.51. The AIM All-Share closed up 4.63 points, or 0.5%, at 865.41.The Cboe UK 100 ended up 0.2% at 775.9

London share prices were firm at midday on Thursday, with investor sentiment supported by positive news from China, while the first estimate of US gross domestic product growth in the final quarter of 2022 is due in the early afternoon.'Today's main market focus is the first estimate of US Q4 GDP. It is forecast to show a second successive quarter of growth after the decline in the first half of l

An indication that China is finally winning its battle against Covid-19 gave stock markets a lift on Thursday, while private equity investor 3i led the FTSE 100 after reporting a strong rise in net asset value.The London large-cap index opened up 19.81 points, 0.3%, at 7,764.68. The FTSE 250 was up 124.66 points, 0.6%, at 19,928.70, and the AIM All-Share was up 4.07 points, 0.5%, at 864.85.The Cbo

In a year when just 27% of actively managed funds outperformed their benchmark, the US Nasdaq index delivered a 33% loss, the FTSE 250 index fell 22% and the FTSE All-World index dropped 20%, Shares' stock portfolio for 2022 also disappointed.A year ago, we were aware that Russia might invade Ukraine but underestimated what such a move would have on inflation and interest rates, which in turn caus

When supermarket giant Tesco (TSCO) posted its first quarter trading update, chief executive Ken Murphy made a reference to 'changing customer behaviour as a result of the inflationary environment'.His comment reverberated through the market, unsettling investors who had come to rely on the grocery sector as dull but dependable - after all, whatever else is happening in the world, we all must eat.

It's been a challenging first half of the year for investors with so many stocks falling in value. Our annual stock pick selection features a few bright spots, yet the portfolio is still in negative territory. We can only hope for a much better second-half, though the outlook is far from encouraging.Since we published the portfolio on 23 December 2021, we've seen a 14.5% loss versus a 3.8% decline

Despite the best efforts of quite a few holdings, our 'stocks for 2022' portfolio is lagging the FTSE All-Share index since being launched in late December 2021. We're up 2.4% versus a 3.2% gain from the benchmark.Nevertheless, to be in positive territory is a good achievement given how volatile the first three months of the year have been for stock markets, and the FTSE All-Share index has benefi

Shares in Tate & Lyle (TATE) ticked up 2.6% to 738p after the food and drink ingredients firm announced the acquisition of prebiotic dietary fibre business Quantum from China-listed ChemPartner.Tate & Lyle said the $237 million acquisition will strengthen its position as a leading player in the rapidly growing global dietary fibres market.The deal will also expand its presence in China and Asia an

TATE & LYLE (TATE) 747.4pGain to date: 14.9%Original entry point: Buy at 650.6p, 23 December 2021One of our key stock selections for 2022, shares in Tate & Lyle (TATE) are up 14.9% since we flagged the global sweeteners group's attractions and they spiked on news (11 Feb) of excellent third quarter trading and reassurance that input and energy cost inflation has been recovered through pricing cont

It was a weak end to an otherwise stronger week for London markets, as the prospect of a higher interest rate hike from the US Federal Reserve spooked investors, in spite of positive trading from British American Tobacco and Tate & Lyle.The CAC 40 in Paris saw the worst of the declines in Europe, closing down 1.3%, but London's FTSE 100 and the blue-chip DAX 40 in Frankfurt came off session lows i

Shares in food producer Tate & Lyle (TATE) ticked up 8% to 744.2p on Friday after the international sweeteners specialist reported a near-20% surge in core business revenues for the third quarter to December 2021.The FTSE 250 firm assured the market it remains on track to split into two businesses by the end of March 2022 and said that the current year performance of the continuing business is now

Stock prices were lower and the dollar higher early Friday, after a hotter-than-expected US inflation reading increased expectations for aggressive policy tightening by the Federal Reserve.The FTSE 100 index was down 40.64 points, or 0.5%, at 7,631.76 early Friday. The mid-cap FTSE 250 index was down 175.93 points, or 0.8%, at 22,031.82. The AIM All-Share index was down 6.71 points, or 0.6%, at 1,

Stock prices in London ended higher on Thursday, shrugging off hot inflation data from the US, with Informa lifting the blue-chip index on an agreed unit sale and share buyback.Figures from the Department of Labor showed the US consumer price index registered 7.5% in January, picking up steam from a rise of 7% in December. The latest annual inflation rate was the highest since February of 1982 and

Investors have an opportunity to buy Tate & Lyle (TATE) at an approximate 50% discount to ingredients peers. The FTSE 250 constituent's imminent sale of a controlling stake in its North American Primary Products business will create a higher quality, 'new' Tate & Lyle with superior growth prospects which should drive a material rerating of a misunderstood stock.Tate & Lyle is a global provider of

Accsys TechnologiesAccsys (AXS:AIM) is a global leader in sustainable wood technology and sells its products into the construction and building materials industries in the UK, Europe, North America and Asia through timber distributors.Its Accoya wood product is both sustainable and high-performing, with a 50-year guarantee, which makes it an ideal replacement for man-made, carbon-polluting alterna

The cost of living in the UK rose at its fastest pace since 2008 in November, surging 5.1% and adding to Bank of England pressure to raise interest rates.The Office for National Statistics reported on Wednesday (15 December) that consumer prices increased far faster than analyst predictions of 4.7%, and up from 4.2% in October.The monthly rate of inflation rose 0.7%, compared with a fall of 0.1% i