London?s FTSE 100 traded solidly higher at the start of the second quarter, boosted by oil majors and gold miners, ahead of UK data shortly.The FTSE 100 index opened up 48.35 points, 0.6%, at 8,000.97. The FTSE 250 was up 75.55 points, 0.4%, at 19,960.28, and the AIM All-Share was up 3.78 points, 0.5%, at 747.04.The Cboe UK 100 was up 0.5% at 800.00, the Cboe UK 250 was up 0.3% at 17,393.65, and t

AG Barr (BAG) 550pGain to date: 13.5%We flagged Scottish soft drinks maker AG Barr (BAG) in August 2023 arguing the company was not being given sufficient credit by the market for its sales momentum. We highlighted the strength of its portfolio of brands including Irn-Bru and Rubicon.WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO SINCE WE SAID TO BUY?We were on the money when we flagged ?the scope for further upgrades? as

A wall of money is going into building out the green infrastructure required to facilitate the global energy transition. This starts with electrifying power generation all the way through to transmitting and storing this energy before it is eventually consumed.At the same time, indebted governments are increasingly looking to private companies to help solve the global water challenge.Water is an e

A 21% discount to NAV (net asset value) Middlefield Canadian Income Trust (MCT) presents exciting potential upside for investors. Focused on generating high income from great Canadian businesses, this trust has faced a headwind from rising rates and has posted a negative one-year share price total return of 12.6%.However, the fund has returned 32.4% over five years and managers Dean Orrico and Rob

One indicator of value is the dividend yield. A high yield is typically telling you two things - either the market knows a company is struggling and the dividend is under threat, or the share price is too low and the dividend is safe.We think the latter is the case for FTSE 100 diversified mining group Rio Tinto (RIO) and on that basis we think investors should invest now.Berenberg has done some n

Legendary American broadcaster Edward R. Murrow is known for many pungent epithets, but one of this column's favourites is, 'Anyone who isn't confused really doesn't understand the situation.' Right now, investors feel confused because stock, bond, currency and commodity markets are giving out different signals. They cannot all be right.Equities are pricing in a return to the Goldilocks economy of

Stock prices in London ended lower on Monday, despite a strong start to the day, in the absence of fresh direction from Wall Street and as the initial boost of stimulus news in China faded.The FTSE 100 index closed down 11.78 points, 0.2%, at 7,452.76. The FTSE 250 ended down 12.76 points, 0.1%, at 18,524.14 and the AIM All-Share closed down 0.1%, or 0.84 points, at 740.59.The Cboe UK 100 ended do

Construction equipment rental specialist Ashtead (AHT) has setitself quite a high bar when it comes to its first-quarter earnings report on 5 September.The firm has beaten revenue forecasts in nine out of the last 10 quarters. Moreover, the comparison with the same quarter last year is a tough one as rental revenue was up 26% to just over $2 billion and adjusted pre-tax profit was up 29% to $555 m

Stocks in Europe closed lower on Thursday, as investors digest interest rate hikes from both the European Central Bank and the US Federal Reserve.The FTSE 100 index closed down 85.73 points, or 1.1% at 7,702.64 on Thursday. The FTSE 250 ended down 120.69 points, or 0.6%, at 19,244.91. The AIM All-Share closed down 3.30 points, or 0.4%, at 824.98.The Cboe UK 100 ended down 1.0% at 770.87, the Cboe

It has been a mixed start to 2023 for the mining industry, one of the few remaining sectors where the London stock market still has many of the world's biggest names.A reopening of the Chinese economy helped drive a rally in miners of industrial metals in the first weeks of the new year before concerns about recession began to weigh more heavily. On the flipside the precious metals space has come

The boom and bust of Neil Woodford's fund management career showed that star fund managers are not invincible and that a better solution might be to have two or three managers making investment decisions as a team rather than rely on one person.But what if that team consisted of 15 people? That is the situation with Swiss asset management firm 2Xideas, which has taken the view that one person alon

Watches of Switzerland Watches investors are looking for another robust update from the specialist retailerA third quarter update (9 February) from Watches of Switzerland (WOSG) provides a window to see if the luxury watch retailer continued to trade positively over Christmas and New Year. On 14 December the Rolex-to-Breitling purveyor, which benefits from pricing power and longstanding brand part

Avid Premier League football fans can't fail to have noticed the promotion of popular Monster Energy drinks on stadium advertising hoardings.The Monster Energy logo, a vibrant green 'M' composed of three lines on a field of black which suggests it was created by the claws of a monster ripping through the can, continually pops up pitch-side. The campaign is likely to add extra sales fizz in a perio

In 2022 there was a 'white gold' rush as lithium prices soared thanks to huge Chinese demand. The chemical element is a key component in the manufacture of batteries for electric vehicles and the storage of energy generated by renewable sources. China is at the forefront of battery production.Many analysts are forecasting a decline in lithium prices, but several executives have told Shares they ar

London share prices were lower at midday on Tuesday, with the FTSE 100 weighed down by mining and oil shares due to concern about demand from China.The large-cap index was down 18.76 points, 0.2%, at 7,841.31. The FTSE 250 was down 43.76 points, or 0.2% at 20,038.57. The AIM All-Share was down just 0.05 of a point at 861.54.The Cboe UK 100 was down 0.3% at 784.42, the Cboe UK 250 was down 0.3% at

- Rio warns of disruption in China from Covid surge- Confirms 2023 production guidance- Analyst expects 'significant earnings growth for Rio after this year'As fourth quarter GDP figures revealed the toll Covid restrictions have taken on the Chinese economy, mining outfit Rio Tinto (RIO) has suggested the current reopening could lead to short-term disruption given surging Covid cases.In its produc

THIS IS AN ADVERTISING FEATUREGlobal commitments to net zero are changing the landscape for commodities, says Olivia Markham, Co-Manager of the BlackRock World Mining Trust plc. This creates a strong backdrop for the year ahead. Capital at risk. The value of investments and the income from them can fall as well as rise and are not guaranteed. Investors may not get back the amount originally inves

A solid start to the third-quarter US earnings season helped stocks to make decent progress over the past week.However, concerns about the impact of tightening by the US Federal Reserve continue to linger in the background and helped to temper some of the optimism. Jobless claims came in lower than expected to suggest the labour market remains pretty tight.While downbeat expectations meant compani

Sports retailer JD Sports Fashion (JD.) has sought to draw a line under the acrimonious departure of its former boss Peter Cowgill as it agreed terms on a £5.5 million pay package.Cowgill will get £3.5 million in return for not joining or advising any rivals for a two-year period or taking any key staff from JD, and he will receive a further £2 million for providing consulting services to the n

Various FTSE 100 companies appear to have discovered the secret to income alchemy by still producing dividend gold in the face of mounting economic pressures.Half a dozen stocks in the UK blue chip stock market index are currently luring investors with double-digit dividend yields. Another 35 are forecast to pay shareholders more than FTSE 100's 4.2% average yield.While many dividend-paying shares