Just over five years ago the stock market began to react in earnest to news of the Covid pandemic.The sell-off was short and sharp, with a modest recovery from the lows in the spring followed by sharper gains in November 2020 after AstraZeneca (AZN) made a vaccine breakthrough.However, a large number of UK stocks are still trading below the levels they were at by the close of trading on 21...

Acquisition accretive to earningsShares placed at a discountSmaller REITs struggle to surviveThe divergence in fortunes between large listed commercial property companies and some of the smaller players was thrown into relief today with the announcement by British Land (BLND) it had raised capital for a large retail acquisition on the same day two small REITs (real estate investment trusts)...

There have been a couple of bits of retail news over the last few weeks that bear real consideration. The first was that Swedish 'flat pack' maestro Ikea was taking over a massive shopping centre in the heart of Brighton and the second that after 137 years of calling, beauty products seller Avon is setting up shop in the UK.By themselves they might not raise much of an eyebrow amongst...

There was a telling piece of information in the latest trading update from UK property investor British Land (BLND). Faced with a situation where Facebook-owner Meta Platforms (META:NASDAQ) had decided break its lease on 1 Triton Square on British Land's Regent's Place 'campus' (at a cost to the social media giant of £149 million), the latter felt confident enough to reject Meta's offer of an...

London?s FTSE 100 extended its win streak to three days on Wednesday, on the back of more favourable inflation data, this time from the UK, possibly bringing forward the tantalising prospect of interest rate cuts.Gains for stocks in London were largely broad-based. Interest rate sensitive sectors such as housebuilding property investment shone. Banks, whose net interest margins were once the...

First half earnings increaseOffice and retail market healthyFirm happy with earnings consensusRetail park and office investor British Land (BLND) is the latest REIT (real estate investment trust) to surprise the market with a positive trading update, in a further sign the UK commercial property market is in good health.The shares added as much as 5% to 329p, continuing their recovery from the...

Jefferies cuts stocks to 'hold' or 'sell'Analysts see 'recession' in officesMorgan Stanley takes a more positive viewShares in four of the UK's biggest property companies fell after analysts at investment bank Jefferies cut their recommendations on the basis office rents in the capital are headed for recession.British Land (BLND) shares eased 1.9% to 320p, Derwent London (DLN) shares were 1.6%...

Share prices were on the rise in Europe on Thursday, while gold was sharply lower, amid a risk-on atmosphere following the passage by the US House of Representatives of a bill that will allow Washington to avoid a disastrous debt default.The FTSE 100 index opened up 39.34 points, 0.5%, at 7,485.48. The FTSE 250 was up 44.51 points, 0.2%, at 18,767.41, and the AIM All-Share was up 1.82 points,...

As investors in the property sector will know, REITs or real estate investment trusts have been one of the worst parts of the market as interest rates expectations have climbed in recent weeks.Since the middle of September, the average REIT has lost more than 20% with some racking up losses of nearly 30% regardless of whether they are specialist or generalist and regardless of the quality of...

On Monday, the ONS (Office for National Statistics) released its latest labour market survey which asked if hybrid working was still a 'thing' now that all Covid restrictions have been lifted.The survey confirms that hybrid working is in fact here to stay, and suggests companies and commercial landlords are going to have to make it more appealing if they want to attract workers back to the...

If you'd been keeping an eye on news from the UK commercial property market, you might be forgiven for thinking the sector was a complete basket case.Bankrupt retailers have left gaping holes on the high street, while office occupancy has been decimated by the pandemic.Meanwhile many open-ended commercial property funds suspended trading for over a year, with some ultimately shutting their...

Our latest review of the best and worst earnings revisions across the FTSE 350 throws up a few surprises in terms of sectors and individual stocks, particularly in the light of their relative performance.There are three distinct clusters of winners, split between investment, real estate and consumer discretionary companies.Among the investment companies, Molten Ventures (GROW) - previously...

Leading UK shares edged higher on what is expected to be a relatively quiet day, given that US markets are closed for the Thanksgiving holiday, with ex-dividend stocks acting as a brake on larger gains.At 9.00am, the benchmark FTSE 100 was 7.5 points or 0.1% at 7,294.13 despite worries about further lockdowns in Europe, particularly Germany, and the continuing pricing pressures which are...

London's major stocks opened modestly lower as the inflation genie continues to work its way out of the bottle, although banks defied the gravitational pull.At 9am, the benchmark FTSE 100 was 0.13% down at 7,317.61 after UK inflation rose to its highest in almost a decade. But there was plenty of demand for bank stocks, seen as benefitting from an increasingly likely rise in interest rates,...

Retail has been at war with itself for at least the past decade as old-style bricks and mortar businesses tried to keep up with the new kids on the online block. Big names like BHS and Toys R Us vanished from high streets and retail parks, others like New Look underwent brutal CVAs, which is a way for companies in distress to pay off their debts over a fixed period of time.Established...

London's FTSE 100 finished Thursday's trading session 0.35% lower at 7,124.98 points as Wall Street endured a slow start and bomb attacks at Kabul airport in Afghanistan rattled investors.Earlier in the day, the blue chip benchmark was grounded by ongoing Covid concerns and fears of a tapering of support for the global economy ahead of the Jackson Hole summit of central bankers.By 4.30pm UK...

The FTSE 100 traded 0.3% lower at 7,128.39 points on Thursday as investors grappled with Covid concerns as well as fears of a tapering of support for the global economy ahead of the Jackson Hole summit of central bankers.The high-flying FTSE 250 was flat at 23,979.4 points, with the market's second-liners pausing for breath after their stunning recent run.CORPORATE NEWSIn corporate news,...

Equity markets retreated across Europe and parts of Asia on Thursday as investors remained cautious ahead of the US Federal Reserve's annual get-together on Friday where all eyes will be on guidance for when economic stimulus will be tapered. The ongoing spread of Covid infections also continues to act as a dark cloud for investors.The FTSE 100 index fell 0.7% to 7,102, Germany's Dax dropped...

From shadowy enigma to the full glare of public markets, Darktrace (DARK) has emerged as one of the world's most innovative cyber security companies. This is a born in Britain technology success story and one that unusually chose to list in the UK rather than the US Nasdaq stock market.Darktrace's share price jumped more than 40% on its stock market debut in April 2021, albeit the starting...

The FTSE 100 struggled for direction on Tuesday as inflation levels continued to accelerate in the US, with the blue chip benchmark ending the session pretty much flat at 7,124.72 points.By 4.30pm UK time the S&P 500 index in the US was up 0.1% at 4,390.52.The CPI print of 0.9% for June was very much stronger than expectations of a 0.5% advance, leaving the Federal Reserve's repeated...