The extent of the economic fallout from consumer self-isolation is becoming palpable with share prices in the retail, leisure and hospitality sectors falling sharply. However the enforced change in behaviour is having a positive impact in some areas. Dixons Carphone (DC.), AO World (AO.) and John Lewis have all talked about seeing an increase in demand for electrical goods including sales of ...

The Bank of England and the Treasury managed a one-two punch on 11 March as interest rates were cut by 50 basis points to a record low of 0.25% and hundreds of billions of pounds of new spending was announced. This did little to boost sentiment in the wider market as ongoing coronavirus fears and a sell-off in the US overshadowed the news, despite the provision of £30bn for coronavirus relief in ...

The FTSE 100 and sterling were relatively stable having already absorbed news of an emergency rate cut this morning as chancellor Rishi Sunak announced his first Budget. The direction of UK stocks seemed to take their cue instead from a significant sell-off in the US as gains made across the Atlantic yesterday were wiped out. However the massive increases in spending announced by ...

It is too early to call the coronavirus a pandemic but the Asian outbreak is still casting a pall over the mood of investors, who retrenched back into risk off mode on Thursday. Cases and deaths continue to rise, airlines are slashing flight schedules and factories in China have been extending holidays into February. The mood in the market is one of severe concern, and that is having ma severe ...

UK stocks opened flat in thin trading with little corporate news to influence prices. There was a sharp fall in sterling overnight however, sending the currency back to $1.29 or below its level ahead of the general election. The FTSE 100 index of leading stocks was almost unchanged at 7,621 with few obvious sector gainers or losers. The FTSE 250 index of mid-cap stocks was also unchanged at ...

UK equity rallied strongly in early trade on Friday as investors welcome the removal of several key risks that have been hanging over the stock market, sparking the pound to post its biggest gain against the dollar in two and a half years, with £1 worth $1.34. The market now has more confidence that Prime Minister Boris Johnson should be able to pass a Brexit deal and for the UK to formally ...

Investors continue to face obstacles in the search for income. In the past week alone, oil producer Tullow Oil (TLW) has suspended its dividend and troubled investment trust Hadrian’s Wall (HWSL) says its future dividend payments will depend on its ability to realise value from its portfolio. Vodafone (VOD), Centrica (CNA), Royal Mail (RMG) and Marks & Spencer (MKS) have cut their ...

If BT (BT.A) investors thought the dividend was a headache, they are probably nursing a migraine now. A pledge by Labour’s Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell last week to take BT’s broadband national infrastructure backbone Openreach into public hands really did come out of the blue. The market has been aware of Labour’s plans to renationalise various UK assets, energy and water ...

The search for reliable income remains a tough challenge for investors and unfortunately that quest is becoming even harder as corporate profit warnings rise, potentially leading to dividend cuts. The UK’s FTSE 100 index offers one of the highest yields in the world at 4.6% which is attractive relative to the poor returns you would get from cash in the bank. It is also more generous than ...

Labour has revealed a plan to nationalise Openreach, the infrastructure backbone of the UK’s communication network owned by BT (BT.A), as part of a pre-election plan to dish out free superfast broadband for all. This is a shock pledge since BT hadn’t believed it was on the Labour nationalisation hit list, which has included various utility industries, such as energy and water supply. It ...

London’s FTSE 100 firmed 18.3 points to 7,311 on Friday as investors latched onto White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow’s comment that current US/China negotiations are ‘very constructive’. This was enough to drive stock markets up across the UK, mainland Europe and most of Asia. Miners Rio Tinto (RIO), Glencore (GLEN) and Anglo American (AAL) led the charge on the FTSE, supported ...

According to the latest AJ Bell Dividend Dashboard report, the FTSE 100 is yielding 4.8%. However, the same research shows FTSE dividends are, on average, covered just 1.63 times by earnings which suggest investors need to investigate the sustainability of these payouts. For example, the housebuilding sector offers some of the largest yields on the FTSE 100 but cracks are starting to ...

Shares in BT (BT.A) plunged nearly 5% in early afternoon trading on Wednesday after Virgin Media agreed a five-year deal with rival Vodafone (VOD) to run its mobile virtual network operator service. The agreement will replace Virgin Media's current deal with BT and means Virgin Mobile services, including its 5G capability, will be hosted on the Vodafone network. The BT/Virgin deal expires in ...

After a bit of a Halloween shocker for the FTSE 100 on Thursday the index ended up trading down 1.9% for the month of October. This compared with gains of 5.4% for the Nikkei 225, 2% for the S&P 500 and 3.5% for Germany’s DAX index. As AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould observes: ‘The FTSE wasn’t helped by sterling’s best performance since the financial crisis as raised hopes ...

The Scottish Investment Trust (SCIN) is an independently managed global trust seeking to provide shareholders with longer-term capital appreciation and above-inflation annual dividend growth. Investing in undervalued, unfashionable companies that are ripe for improvement, at 824p ‘The Scottish’ trades on an 8% discount to net asset value (NAV) with scope to narrow in given a market rotation ...

If you are new to stock market investing you may still have heard of the FTSE 100. It frequently appears on TV news bulletins and in the papers, its relative direction up or down giving viewers/readers a steer as to how the UK economy is going and how optimistic, or not, investors feel about the nation’s prospects. By contrast, the FTSE 350 the has a very low profile and seldom gets a mention ...

UK telecoms giant BT (BT.A) has reported first quarter to 30 June results showing widespread declines in profit and cash flow and inevitable hikes in capital expenditure (capex). Revenue eased marginally from £5.72bn to £5.63bn (about 1.4% down) while adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) fell similarly to £1.96bn, having reported £1.98bn this time ...

UK telecoms giant BT (BT.A) appears to be softening up investors to a future cut to its £1.5bn a year dividend as it balances rising fibre roll-out investment. BT’s management estimate that it will cost an extra £400m to £600m a year to accelerate the roll-out of its fibre-to-the-premises network. There are several potential levers to pull to free up additional funding, including ...

Britain’s new prime minister will be announced on 23 July. Boris Johnson is widely considered to be the favourite and Jeremy Hunt the underdog. Whichever candidate wins they face a baptism of fire as the 31 October Brexit deadline looms large on the horizon. Johnson has made bold statements to the effect of Brexit or bust come Halloween. Hunt has been more circumspect, albeit playing to ...

UK stock markets opened higher on Friday morning as the G20 summit of the world’s most influential leaders kicks off in Japan. A softer tone from US president Donald Trump on his spats with China and Iran has helped to slightly ease market worries, and it’s hoped both Trump and Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping can come to an agreement to end their trade war. The FTSE 100 opened marginally ...