We would hesitate to call it a wave of consolidation - maybe a ripple would be more appropriate - but this year has seen a number of mergers among investment trusts.There is a long tail of sub-scale funds and trusts in the UK all desperate to attract more investors, but with the average discount to net asset value hitting 18% at the end of October, according to research from Winterflood Securities

June's larger-than-expected half percentage point interest rate rise has pushed the FTSE 100 index back into negative territory for the year and triggered fears of recession among investors and market observers.Moreover, there seems little doubt the UK central bank will raise rates again at its August meeting, the only question being by how much.'It now appears that interest rates may go higher th

Evidence of strength and price pressure in the UK services sector convinced investors that another interest rate hike is all but certain next month, sending share prices lower on Friday but doing nothing for the pound.The FTSE 100 index was up 8.85 points, or 0.1%, at 7,911.46 midday Friday. The FTSE 250 was up 3.52 points at 19,139.39, and the AIM All-Share was down 1.35 points, or 0.2%, at 827.8

Disappointing UK retail sales figures for last month and growing investor resignation to interest rate hikes next month combined to push down share prices early on Friday.The FTSE 100 index opened down 9.82 points, or 0.1%, at 7,892.79, entirely wiping out the small gain made on Thursday.The FTSE 250 was down 39.33 points, or 0.2%, at 19,096.54, and the AIM All-Share was down 1.63 points, or 0.2%,

Contrasting fortunes for 888 and Entain shareholders ahead of big updatesWilliam Hill's £19 million fine for gambling protection failures adds to compliance issues at new owner, 888Online gambling and gaming company 888 Holdings (888) will release full year results and a first quarter trading update on 14 April while larger peer Entain (ENT) will give a first quarter trading update on 18 April.In

Shares in social housing energy services provider Sureserve (SUR:AIM) surged more than 7% to 93p after the firm posted forecast-beating results for the year to last September.Slightly controversially, the board decided not to pay a dividend for the year in order to give it the fire power to keep investing for future returns.GROWING CONFIDENCEDespite a year of on-off lockdown restrictions, group re

The FTSE 100 finished 0.81% in the green at 7,551.72 points on Wednesday, building on Tuesday's rally despite US CPI inflation hitting 7% in December, a 40-year high.With markets already pricing in rate rises, investors took the US inflation print in their stride, though it would have been a different story if the figure had strayed above the 7% most analysts had been expecting.Global equities wer

An investment company for unique digital products, and set-up by the co-founders of cryptocurrency firm Argo Blockchain (ARGO), plans to float in London.NFT Investments said on Thursday that it hopes to raise around £10 million of growth funding from investors by floating on the niche Aquis Stock Exchange, the old Plus Markets platform. If the company gets all the cash it wants it will value the

The UK's benchmark FTSE 100 reversed early morning losses on Monday to rally strongly in late morning as investors shrugged-off geopolitical worries and soaring losses posted by HSBC (HSBA), the UK's largest listed bank.At 12.30pm, the FTSE 100 was trading more than 0.7% higher at 5,939.60, as technology, transport, personal goods and pharma offset weak banks.The mid-cap FTSE 250 also made gains,

UK stocks started the week in uncertain mood while gold prices touched an all-time high of $1,991 per ounce as investors weighed continued weakness in the US dollar and a collapse in real US bond yields.The dollar, which has lost 10% of its value against global currencies since the start of the pandemic, has come to reflect growing concern over the unchecked spread of the virus in the US and the p

The board of Brunner Investment Trust (BUT), managed by Allianz Global Investors, has announced that lead manager Lucy Macdonald has stepped down and Matthew Tillett, who has worked on the trust for several years, has taken over the lead role.Tillett will be supported by global manager Jeremy Kent and Marcus Morris-Eyton, a long-standing member of Allianz's European Growth team.The changes stem fr

In June Belvoir Lettings (BLV:AIM) secured a deal that will make it the largest lettings agency franchiser in the UK. The agreed acquisition of Goodwood GB will increase its homes under management by 17,000 to 54,000 and extend its network by 86 offices to 301.Belvoir bought residential lettings and sales agency franchiser Northwood GB (7 Jun) in a deal that could be worth £22 million. This is mo

London shares hit multi-month highs as the market opens up in the wake of yesterday's terror attacks in Brussels, which left about 34 dead and roughly 250 wounded. Leisure stocks enjoy an uptick as value hunters chime in, with risers otherwise a mixed bag but managing to offset a handful of damaging profit warnings.Pay-TV giant Sky (SKY) gains 2.8% to £10.42 as it takes a minority stake in indepe

Estate agency franchisor M Winkworth (WINK) climbs 3.7% to 141p as chief executive Dominic Agace highlights his confidence in the business by expanding his shareholding.Agace splashed out some £6,000 on 4,500 shares in the 90-branch business at 138p each. The deal takes his interest in Winkworth to 4.3%. This follows finance head Christopher Neoh buying 57,000 shares on December 1.Pre-tax profits

A rally from oil and mining stocks helps the FTSE 100 bounce 80.67 points higher to 6737.04 in early trade, though Royal Mail (RMG) reverses 2.4% to 408.1p as its complaints over unfair competition in its letter delivery markets are rebuffed by UK regulator Ofcom. The part-state owned group says it is unfair to expect it to distribute mail across the country at a single price, while competitors se

It has been a couple of months since we looked at the major stock market indices. With September seeing some impressive slides in some indices we are due a revisit of the bigger picture so that is the subject of this week's column.I have said this before but it bears repeating: in today's world of sophisticated charting packages; real-time prices on your mobile; 24 hour markets; rumours on social

The attractions of investing in a company that pays quarterly dividends are, for the income investor, undeniable. The range of London-listed securities offering such a steady stream of cash to shareholders is substantial. While the payment of quarterly dividends is not the norm on this side of the Atlantic, Shares has nevertheless identified a list of 61 vehicles that reward their shareholders fou

Hopes of a Santa rally are dashed as yesterday's rebound in the FTSE 100 proves to be a false dawn. The blue chip index slips back 35 points to 6,486. The final slug of mid and large cap stocks reporting financial results sees news from the retail sector and a handful of trading updates in the technology, service and healthcare industries.A surge in half-time profits triggers earnings upgrades for

Fashion-to-furnishings firm Laura Ashley (ALY) falls 14.3% to 22.5p on poor figures for the first half to 27 July. Blaming the impact of changeable weather on fashion and home furnishing sales, the small cap reports a £500,000 drop in taxable profits to £7.8 million on total sales down 5.6% to £137.3 million. Alarmingly, both like-for-like retail sales and e-commerce revenues went backwards. On

Residential estate agency franchise owner M Winkworth (WINK:AIM) rises 2.1% to 168.5p on a strong first-half performance fuelled by a recovering housing market.In the six months to July, sales improved 9.4% to £2 million compared to a year ago, producing a pre-tax profit reaching £600,000, up from £421,140.The cash generated from its operations almost doubled to £464,296, which led management