Stock prices in London opened in the red on Monday, despite a favourable inflation reading from China, as investors nervously await Tuesday?s US data.While a hotter-than-forecast Chinese consumer price index print reassured, stock market investors will be hoping the US data shows inflation is cooling, however.The FTSE 100 index fell 3.85 points, 0.1%, to 7,655.89. The FTSE 250 was down only 9.60 p

A big question facing growth-oriented investors is whether the popular investment style can regain its mojo and get back to winning ways in a world of high interest rates.Despite a strong recent rally which has seen the technology heavy Nasdaq Composite rise 14% over the last six months, growth stocks have struggled relative to value over the last three years.The arrival of Pfizer?s (PFE:NYSE) Cov

The AI boom continues to drive stunning revenue growth for Nvidia (NVDA:NASDAQ), which smashed already-elevated earnings expectations, but the firm issued a veiled threat that US restrictions on selling advanced chips to China may come at a cost.Nvidia clocked adjusted earnings per share of $4.02 on revenue of $18.12 billion in the third quarter (to 31 October), a sharp beat versus consensus estim

On 10 September, US President Joe Biden signed a series of historic deals with Vietnam involving plane orders, semi-conductor design centres, the digital economy and human rights.The rapprochement between two countries which were once so bitterly opposed was far more than symbolic and could mark a turning point both for foreign direct investment and for investors in Vietnam's stock market.Under th

Soft trading amid regulatory headwindsUS joint venture BetMGM sales seen top of guidanceFull-year profit guidance reiteratedGlobal sports betting group Entain (ENT) gave a veiled warning on Monday after saying current trading was softer than anticipated, but maintained its full-year profit guidance.Investors got the message, with the shares rooted to the bottom of the FTSE 100 dropping 7% to 990p.

- First-half sales up on prices and order backlog- Net weekly reservations improve in January- New dividend policy suggests earnings may fallLeading UK housebuilder Barratt Developments (BDEV) posted an upbeat first-half trading update but hinted full-year earnings could be lower than last year due to the 'challenging trading conditions' it faces going forward.The shares gained 1.8% to 468p as inv

The Vietnamese market still looks an attractive destination for investment despite the risks hovering around the wider region.International investors in Asia-Pacific and emerging markets in general have been put on high alert after widespread civil unrest in Sri Lanka which culminated in the resignation of the president and prime minister.The island nation has faced months of protests about the st

On 13 April Tesco (TSCO), the UK's largest supermarket chain by market share, is set to release its results for the year to the end of February 2022.There is likely to be more attention on the outlook for the current year rather than on what happened last year.Consensus forecasts compiled by the company are for revenue including fuel sales to reach £61.2 billion, an increase of 5.7% compared with

The old adage is that you should never let a good crisis go to waste and this mantra seems to be being taken seriously by activist investors as we emerge from the worst of the pandemic.Several big UK companies have activists either circling them or they are already on the shareholder register making demands of management. In this article we look at eight different activist situations and give our

Engineering consultancy Ricardo (RCDO) hopes to raise around £29.3 million of fresh funding as its struggles to cope with the slump in automotive and industrial sector demand during the Covid pandemic.The cash call will hand the company greater flexibility to invest in the business in the weeks and months ahead and manage its balance sheet debt.Struck at 333p per new share, the fundraising implie

Surely every investor loves a bargain and in various ways all investors think of themselves as value investors. Sadly, what's been working for investors since the great financial crisis of 2008 is more akin to quality and growth investing. This strategy focuses on the potential growth and quality of a business and less on valuation.Value managers don't shun growth, but they focus more on the price

Shares in DIY retailer Kingfisher (KGF) cheapened 5.3% to 197.8p as disappointing third quarter figures showed no immediate signs of improvement in its UK or French businesses.Recently appointed chief executive officer Thierry Garnier has diagnosed some of the home improvement giant's problems, but a soft outlook statement sent the shares tumbling again, leaving Kingfisher at risk of being turfed

Vietnam has witnessed volatile stock market swings of late, yet risk-tolerant investors seeking exposure to a rapidly growing economy should not rule out putting money to work in Vietnam.Gross domestic product (GDP) expanded by 7.1% in 2018, powered by positive demographics with a population of around 95m and an emerging middle class.The market consensus is for GDP to grow between 6.5% and 6.7% in

Water is an essential resource for life - no one can live without it. Beyond its basic functions of sustaining life, water is also a precious commodity. Its supply is limited and global challenges such as population growth, urbanisation and climate change are putting existing water resources under increased stress.The global issue of water access is a two-fold problem: safe drinking water is hard

Package holidays firm TUI (TUI) is firmly on the back foot in early trade on Thursday after the company warned of a €35m hit to profits this year as foreign currencies move against it.The news comes alongside third quarters figures showing a 7.5% fall in underlying earnings, sending the stock sliding close on 10% to £14.33. That makes TUI the biggest loser across a fairly weak FTSE 100, the

The leisure sector is arguably the unsung saviour of the high street and other retail destinations. Companies offering attractions and experiences such as gyms and bowling are helping to fill vacant shops and bring back the energy which attracts consumers.They are acting as very important tenants for shopping malls and similar retail destinations, helping to drive footfall which effectively brings

Stockbroker Numis Securities' review of the first half of 2018 for equity-focused investment trusts fits the pattern of the wider markets through the period.It is very much a tale of two halves. In the first quarter trusts struggled amid a big setback for global stocks before a strong recovery in the second half.Numis notes UK shares were among the top performers in this recovery with the FTSE Al

There's a major business shake-up underway at Rolls-Royce (RR.) as the FTSE 100 aero-engineer confirms that it will cut 4,600 jobs as part of a plan to simplify its business and save £400m a year by the end of 2020.Those hoped-for streamlined costs go down well with investors, sending the stock more than 3% higher in early trade on Thursday to 854p, topping the FTSE 100 leader board.Rolls' CEO Wa

After rallying through most of 2017, popular cryptocurrencies have firmly fallen out of bed. For example, bitcoin soared to record highs of $20,089 just before Christmas and has since fallen by 44.5% to $11,154.The decline has been widespread across the cryptocurrency ecosystem with every one of the top 10 cryptocurrencies, by market value, showing steep declines over recent weeks. This group incl

Investors want to know what's going to happen to the economy and the stock market now Prime Minister Theresa May has started the official process of taking the UK out of the EU.While it is hard to know exactly how the markets will move, it is possible to make a few assumptions.In a nutshell, the market is more likely to react to progress reports on trade negotiations and exit terms than the mere t