Total contract value $320 millionSpace base near the North PoleCritical work on energy networkOutsourcing and facilities management group Serco (SRP) scored another win with the US military in the form of a four-year contract to modernise a space base 750 miles inside the Arctic Circle for a cool $320 million.The shares, which fell sharply at the start of August after the firm posted a drop in fir

Stock prices in London opened in the green on Tuesday, as the UK unemployment rate fell against expectations while wage growth decelerated to its lowest level in two years.The FTSE 100 index opened up 33.29 points, or 0.4%, at 8,243.73. The FTSE 250 was up 17.80 points, or 0.1%, at 20,694.99, and the AIM All-Share was up 1.23 points, or 0.2%, at 768.22.The Cboe UK 100 was 0.3% at 822.50, the Cboe

The FTSE 100 shrugged off a subdued start to push higher at midday on Tuesday, although an underwhelming session for miners held back further gains.The FTSE 100 index traded 27.12 points higher, or 0.3%, at 8,225.90. The FTSE 250 was down 17.71 points, 0.1%, at 21,120.97, while the AIM All-Share was down 1.33 points, 0.2%, at 781.91.The Cboe UK 100 was up 0.3% at 821.39, the Cboe UK 250 was 0.2% l

Up to $2 billion impairment expectedBP sees earnings hit from lower refining marginsHunting upgrades guidance, Wood wins Shell contractBP (BP.) shares slid 3.6% to 457.6p on Tuesday after the energy producer warned it would book impairments of up to $2 billion in the second quarter of 2024 arising from plans to scale back refining operations in Germany which have been hit by rising energy costs an

New AI-powered products launchedServer computer refresh on horizonAnalysts see 35% upside to $180 target priceAnalysts at Bank of America have called Dell Technologies (DELL:NYSE) one of the firm's top investment ideas after adding the stock to their US 1 List.In a note to clients, Bank of America raised its target price for Dell shares to $180 from $130, citing a positive outlook for the company

Short-term concerns over slower growth in the US, where the consumer is feeling the inflationary pinch, and the potential negative long-term impact of anti-obesity drugs on demand for sugary snacks and drinks mean PepsiCo's (PEP:NASDAQ) shares have lacked fizz over the past year.As such, investors will be hoping the food and beverage giant can maintain full year 2024 guidance for 'at least' 4% org

Q4 revenue shy of expectationsFull year 2025 outlook loweredNorth America and digital sales disappointNike (NKE:NYSE) continues to look flat footed after warning investors to expect its slowest sales growth since 2010, barring the pandemic. Out of hours trading data shows the stock plunging nearly 14% to around $80, not half 2021's near-$180 dollar peaks. It may be the world's biggest sportswear c

After arch-rival Tesco (TSCO) released forecast-beating quarterly sales earlier this month, with strong like-for-like growth across its UK stores, all eyes are on the next trading update from Sainsbury's (SBRY) on 2 July to see whether it has managed to maintain its recent momentum.!function(){"use strict";window.addEventListener("message",(function(a){if(void 0!==a.data["datawrapper-height"]){var

Is BT (BT.A) finally worth owning? For years it has been a complete dog of a stock and despite spinning back through our archives, Shares struggled to find the last time we had anything positive to say about the company or its shares.Yet suddenly in May 2024, the stock jumped, chalking up rough 30% gains within days and now at roughly 138p. 'There is a surge of energy running through BT after the

Cybersecurity firm jumps 7% overnight on guidance hikeQ1 beat forecasts on top and bottom linesStock has now rallied nearly 35% year-to-dateInvestors knew the pressure was on Crowdstrike (CRWD:NASDAQ). The share prices of some of the industry's key players ? Fortinet (FTNT:NASDAQ), Cyberark Software (CYBR:NASDAQ), Cloudflare (NET:NYSE) among them - have limped through most of the calendar second q

Trust outperforms by 3% in first halfEuropean markets up nearly 15%Discount to NAV remains around 10%Co-managers of the Henderson European Focus Trust (HEFT), Tom O'Hara and John Bennett, conceded that it was more important to 'stay out of trouble' over the six months to the end of March as the FTSE World Europe (ex UK) index powered ahead by 14.9% on a total return basis.The trust delivered a 3%

£22.5 million takeover to accelerate growthVictoria Plum recently out of administrationDeal should drive future upgradesBathroom retailer Victorian Plumbing (VIC:AIM) has acquired loss-making arch-rival Victoria Plum as the taps-to-toilets seller looks to accelerate its growth in a competitive yet sizeable total addressable market.Shares in Victorian Plumbing rose 5.6% to 90.2p on news of the dea

Copper is already one of the most important materials underpinning human civilisation, and the energy transition is only likely to see demand for the industrial metal build in the years to come.Limits and pressures on supply and this growing demand profile are already seeing copper prices mount a charge and recent M&A activity ? with BHP's (BHP) unsuccessful (for now) attempt to take over Anglo Am

Retail bellwether Marks & Spencer (MKS) may need to deliver a modest 'beat' to the £679.8 million consensus pre-tax profit estimate, along with a reasonably confident outlook statement, when it serves up full-year results (22 May) if the foods-to-fashion giant is to sustain recent positive share price momentum.Led by CEO Stuart Machin, the FTSE 100 company's turnaround is gaining traction and Mar

The American financial markets writer and publisher Jim Grant once observed that: 'Successful investing is having everyone agree with you ?. Later.' This makes perfect sense, as it distils the concept of going against the crowd to buy cheaply and then sell expensively to lock in the gain and the initial thesis is now the consensus view and thus reflected in the valuation.However, this column does

Investors are feeling more chipper as the week comes towards its close after latest economic data left US markets largely happy with the macro outlook.Crashing recession avoided, interest rate cuts coming - it might not be quite the Goldilocks outcome hoped for but good enough. Thursday?s S&P 500 move higher left the crucial US index to close above the 5,200 level for the first time in a month and

In the last few weeks, the drumbeat of companies complaining about the lowly valuation of their shares and floating the idea of moving to the US market has grown steadily louder.First there was miner Glencore (GLEN), then oil major Shell (SHEL) started making noises and most recently online retailer Ocado (OCDO) has come under shareholder pressure to move its listing.What is significant is these a

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

Pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly (LLY:NYSE) is due to report first-quarter earnings before the market opens on 30 April. Wall Street is expecting EPS (earnings per share) of $2.54 which represents a 57% increase compared with the first quarter of 2023.All eyes will be on sales momentum in Lilly?s diabetes treatment Mounjaro and obesity treatment Zepbound following the latter?s launch in November 202

Stock prices in London closed up on Friday, but investors remained tentative as Israel carried out retaliatory strikes on Iran.The FTSE 100 index closed up 18.80 points, or 0.2%, at 7,895.85. The FTSE 250 ended down 59.37 points, 0.3%, at 19,391.30, and the AIM All-Share closed up 0.38 of a point, 0.1%, at 745.67.Across the week, they were down 1.3%, 1.7% and 1.4% respectively.The Cboe UK 100 ende