UK bank stocks have done well this year, thanks to expectations of lower interest rates and a mortgage market which is heating up. Shares in Barclays (BARC) are up 22%, while NatWest [NWG) shares are up 32% and Lloyds (LLOY) are up 40%. One of the best-performing stocks of 2025 is sub-prime lender Vanquis Banking Group (VANQ) ? previously known as Provident Financial ? which at the time of...

Investment trust Polar Capital Global Financials Trust (PCFT) is offering shareholders an easy exit at a premium to the current share price, cutting fees and boosting its commitment to future dividends in sweeping changes. The investment trust has launched a tender offer of its issued share capital (excluding treasury shares), providing investors with an opportunity to fully exit at a price...

According to the latest Dividend Monitor report from Computershare, which looks after the share registers of 900 companies, total UK corporate dividend payments fell 4.6% or £700 million in the first quarter of this year to £14 billion. The decline was mainly due to lower one-off special dividends and a handful of large cuts from firms such as Burberry (BRBY) and Vodafone (VOD), which halved...

After a strong performance across the board in 2024, this year has been slightly less uniform for the UK's Big Four high-street banks. First to report was global bank HSBC (HSBA), which put in a good showing with underlying revenue and earnings increasing thanks mainly to its Asia-based wealth management operations, although its trading desks also made hay during the market turmoil. The group...

Operating profit well above estimates Operating cost ratio tumbles vs 2024 Full-year income forecast increased As the last of the Big Four UK banks to report earnings each quarter, NatWest (NWG) turned out to be the best with profit beating expectations and the board raising its full-year top-line forecast to the top of the range of estimates. The shares jumped as much as 22p or 4.6% at the...

TM Redwheel UK Equity Income Fund (BG34293) 124p Assets: £501 million Managed by the duo of Ian Lance and Nick Purves, the TM Redwheel UK Equity Income Fund (BG342C6) is the spiritual successor to the pair's former five-star-rated income fund which they ran at Schroders (SDR) more than 15 years ago. With a similar brief, to generate income and capital growth in excess of the FTSE All Share...

Quarterly earnings beat forecasts Investment bank outperforms Full-year profit outlook raised Like its rivals HSBC (HSBA) and Societe Generale (GLE:EPA), UK lender Barclays (BARC) enjoyed a strong first quarter thanks to the increased volatility in stock and bond markets which powered gains in its investment banking business. Barclays shares, which have gained more than 45% in the last year...

Why is it that investors find it easier to keep buying when markets are going up rather than down? The goal of an investor should be to get the best price possible, yet emotions often get in the way. A rising market makes it feel as if everything is going to work out fine. An investor might think markets will keep rising and everything they buy will appreciate in value. In contrast, a falling...

Markets around the world have reacted with palpable relief to two major decisions by the Trump administration. First, on 9 April, reciprocal tariffs (except on China) were delayed for 90 days ? which proved the catalyst for the third-largest daily gain for US stocks since the Second World War. Many observers pegged the U-turn on movements in government bond yields which revealed declining...

UK stocks posted their biggest gains since the pandemic on Thursday after the US paused new reciprocal tariffs, as investors welcomed a break from recent volatility and easing price pressures in the US. The FTSE 100 index closed up 233.77 points, 3.0%, at 7,913.25. The FTSE 250 ended 626.77 points higher, 3.5%, at 18,517.41. The AIM All-Share advanced 17.96 points, 2.9%, at 644.97. The Cboe UK...

Defensives hold up in sell-offNew appetite for growth stocksBanks unable to shake off lossesAs the dust settles from the three-day 'Liberation Day'-inspired sell-off, the list of winners and losers makes for interesting reading.Not everything which held up during the market meltdown is being sold off, and not everything which racked up big losses is rebounding, unlike in previous recoveries,...

FTSE 100 down more than 3% at 7,763.65 Defensive and utilities stocks hold steady Entain and Taylor Wimpey 'winners' UK housebuilder Taylor Wimpey (TW.) and gambling firm Entain (ENT) bucked the trend by falling less than the blue-chip FTSE 100 index. Taylor Wimpey and other housebuilders were perhaps anticipating the possibility of the Bank of England cutting interest rates this year as a...

European banking and mining stocks bore the brunt of the selloff in morning trading on Friday (4 April) as China announced 34% retaliatory tariffs on US imports, sparking fears of a global trade war.UK banks Barclays (BARC), NatWest (NWG), Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) were some of the biggest fallers ? down 9.12%, 8.99% and 7.32% respectively on the day and global mining companies Glencore...

So far this year shares in banking group Lloyds (LLOY) have closed the gap which opened up between it and peers like Barclays (BARC) and NatWest (NWG) in 2024.That the stock has advanced year-to-date is even more impressive when you consider the company has significant exposure to the ongoing motor finance mis-selling scandal.While this remains a source of uncertainty, elsewhere the business...

2024 revenue and earnings beat2025 outlook in line with forecasts£1 billion also meets estimatesAs the first bank to report earnings, there was a great deal of focus on what Barclays (BARC) would say about 2024 and the outlook for 2025, and although it more or less met market forecasts for last year, the lack of upgrades to current-year forecasts left investors feeling flat.The shares, which...

There may be a sense of poignancy when Europe's biggest bank HSBC (HSBA) reports full-year earnings next week as for several hundred staff it will be the last call.At the end of January, the company informed managers in its UK, European and US corporate advisory and equity underwriting teams it was closing down operations as it finally gave up chasing a place at investment banking's top...

Next week sees the start of the UK fourth-quarter reporting season proper, with the big banks kicking off proceedings as usual.First up is Barclays (BARC), which has been in the news for all the wrong reasons recently with its online payments system seeming to have failed miserably around the end of the tax year just as its chief executive is reckoned to be in line for a whopping salary...

Law Debenture Corporation (LWDB) 899pMarket cap: £1.19 billionFinancial markets have been rocked by the twists and turns of the tariff situation created by US president Donald Trump, which threatens to turn into a full-blown trade war. This has spooked investors since it could result in higher inflation and halt further interest rate cuts, which is likely to be negative for equities and could...

In just the first 20 days of 2025 the FTSE 100 index of blue-chip stocks has equaled its gains for the entirety of 2024, in the process closing at an all-time high of 8,505 points on 17 January.A better-than-expected inflation report for December together with weaker-than-expected retail sales for the same month appeared to open the door to faster Bank of England rate cuts, pushing the index...

Stock prices in London closed lower on Monday, as Canal+ shares slumped on their first day of London trading and Entain fell as it faces an Australian investigation.The FTSE 100 index closed down 38.28 points, 0.5%, at 8,262.05. The FTSE 250 ended 76.12 points lower, 0.4%, at 20,813.03, and the AIM All-Share gave back 3.87 points, 0.5%, at 729.49.The Cboe UK 100 ended down 0.5% at 828.87, the...