Fund outperforms benchmark in 2023Dividend increases by 7% to 7.65pShares sit at 13% discount to NAVMid- and small-cap UK growth investor Mercantile Investment Trust (MRC) outperformed its benchmark in the year to 31 January, delivering a net asset total return of 4.5% and total shareholder returns of 6.1%.The dividend was increased by 7% for the year to 7.65p per share, comfortably covered by rev

Former publishing industry professional John is in his 50s and has been investing for decades, starting at a very early age.John became an investor in his late teens and has started devoting more time to it over the last 20 years. He has always had an interest in markets, even when he was a young boy of seven or eight.A CHILDHOOD INTEREST IN STOCK MARKET SUCCESSES AND FAILURESHe says: ?I read the

Q4 same store sales growth impacted by Middle East conflictFull year profit up 18%Growth guidance reiteratedFast food giant McDonald?s (MCD:NYSE) shares fell 4% in US trading after fourth quarter same store sales growth missed Street estimates due to conflict in the Middle East.The company said Middle Eastern sales were impacted by boycotts after its Israeli licensee offered discounts for soldiers

Investors will be looking forward to tucking into fourth-quarter results from fast-food giant McDonald?s (MCD:NYSE) on 5 February to see whether despite higher interest rates US consumers are still hungry for its value-for-money offering.?It's hard to see McDonald's not winning in any consumer environment,? says Wedbush analyst Nick Setyan, while Andy Barish at Jefferies named the stock a top pick

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 benef

Midwich director Fenby adds to his portfolioBodycote non-executive director snaps up 10,000 sharesWise CFO sells over £211,000 sharesStephen Fenby group managing director at Midwich (MIDW:AIM), the global specialist audio visual distributor to the trade market, has bought 50,000 shares at 376p for a total value of £187,885 on 30 October 2023.Following this transaction, Fenby and 'persons closely

Persistent inflation and higher interest rates are squeezing disposable incomes. In this scenario there is logic in investors putting their cash behind companies which make premium products which confer pricing power or sell affordable luxuries which help consumers to socialise or unwind at the end of the working day.One sector that enjoys both these attributes is Beverages, the domain of soft dri

A consumer boycott of Anheuser-Busch Inbev's (BUD:NYSE) Bud Light brand following a backlash over its social media promotion with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney appears to have benefited smaller rival Constellation Brands (STZ:NYSE).Constellation's Modelo Especial Mexican lager brand has reapedthe rewards from the fallout, having leapfrogged Bud Light to become the top-selling US beer brand

Higher prices set to dominate Tesco's first-quarter earnings updateBargain-hunting and promotions means margins could be lowerSupermarket giant Tesco (TSCO) is due to report its results for the period from March to May on 16 June, with analysts expecting higher prices to be the main driver of sales while volumes and average basket sizes are likely to have fallen.This is against a first quarter of

Relief as shares stage recovery rallyQ1 revenues and earnings beat 'The Street'Toned down Q2 growth still sees 11% increase year-on-yearInvestors might well have been nervous ahead of latest earnings from arts and crafts consumer platform Etsy (ETSY:NASDAQ). These were the first quarterly figures since a report (17 Feb) by short seller Citron Research that alleged the company is 'one of the larges

- Shares fall despite sales and earnings beat and raise- Investors see outlook as overly cautious- Company confident baby powder lawsuits near settlementDespite beating analysts' first quarter sales and earnings forecasts and raising full year earnings guidance, healthcare bellwether Johnson & Johnson (J&J:NYSE) saw its shares fall by as much as 3% on lowered medium-term sales guidance for its pha

Whenever there is a poll of the greatest books on the stock market, it is a fair bet that Reminiscences of a Stock Operator by Edwin Lefèvre will feature high on the list.In its centenary year, Shares asks whether the book deserves its reputation and if it offers any useful lessons for investors today.The 'Reminiscences' are the first-hand accounts of a fictional trader called Larry Livings

A turbulent year for markets is brewing amid rising geopolitical tensions, stubbornly high inflation and interest rate hikes by central banks which have precipitated a fresh banking crisis.Given this uncertain backdrop, tilting portfolios towards stocks with defensive characteristics seems an eminently sensible strategy and one overlooked consumer staples name to consider is Keurig Dr Pepper (KDP:

- Stock down nearly 10% on pre-report $142 price- Citron Research claims Etsy one of world's 'largest counterfeiting platforms'- Cybersecurity firm Darktrace recently a short selling attack targetArts and crafts consumer platform Etsy (ETSY:NASDAQ) has come under a short selling attack, accused of flogging hooky goods on a scale that would make Del Boy and Rodders blush.Shares in Brooklyn-based Et

- 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

- Provides mission-critical tools to enterprises- Growing total addressable market- 40% share price upside, say analystsAnalysts at US investment bank Oppenheimer are telling clients that Datadog (DDOG:NASDAQ) should be a core long-term holding despite near-term risks to growth stocks.Datadog won't be a familiar name to many but it holds promise of being a good boy for investors. The $24 billion M

THIS IS AN ADVERTISING FEATUREAfter significant weakness earlier in 2022, both onshore and offshore Chinese equity markets have recently bounced back strongly.In the period from the end of April to July 22, the Shanghai A-share Index outperformed the S&P 500 Index by 11% and the MSCI Emerging Markets Index by 15%. This rebound came after Chinese equities had underperformed for much of the previous

- Shares indicated up as much as 12%, sparking Nasdaq rally- Sales beat forecasts although earnings miss- Third quarter guidance tops market forecastsShares in US retail and web services giant Amazon.com (AMZN:NASDAQ) leapt as much as 12% in pre-market trading on Wall Street after the firm posted higher than expected sales for the second quarter.The outlook for the third quarter was also better th

- Sportswear giant delivers better than expected Q4 earnings- NIKE Direct sales up 11%- Forecasts Q1 sales flat to slightly upSportswear goliath Nike (NKE:NYSE) posted better than expected fourth quarter sales and earnings despite the impact of supply chain disruptions and lockdowns in China, its most profitable market.The Oregon-based athletic apparel leader also flagged that consumer demand has

Robert Rhea's outline of a bull market in his tome, The Dow Theory, which dates back to 1932, still seems relevant today. He said: 'There are three principal phases of a bull market: the first is represented by reviving confidence in the future of business; the second is the response of stock prices to the known improvement in corporate earnings, and the third is the period when speculation is ram