Companies with large defined benefit pension deficits have been warned by The Pensions Regulator that dividends might have been to put on hold if they are under financial pressure amid efforts to recover from the pandemic. Less than 200 pension schemes have asked to reduce or postpone their deficit contributions since April last year. However, with the Government looking to wind down its ...

Investors drove shares in BT (BT.A) nearly 4% higher in early trade after news broke that Altice, the telecoms group founded by French billionaire Patrick Drahi, has taken a 12.1% stake in the UK telco. Altice is an established name in the telecoms space and the purchase of a 12% holding in BT is a significant move, matching the stake already held by Deutsche Telekom. But any hopes that ...

UK stocks edged higher in opening trade on Thursday as investors wait for the European Central Bank’s policy meeting and US inflation data later in the day for cues on whether global central banks could start tightening monetary policy. The UK’s benchmark FTSE 100 index gained 0.18% to 7,093.59, while the midcap FTSE 250 index was down 0.27% to 22,697.95. The relatively subdued start ...

A lot of company bosses like to talk a good game about their company’s growth prospects and future potential, but not as many necessarily tend to put their money where their mouth is. A number of company bosses over the past week appear to have done just that, including Philip Jansen, the chief executive of telecom giant BT (BT.A). The executive invested more than £2 million to buy 1.25 ...

After more than a decade of domination for growth stocks, global markets are finally seeing a shift into value. This in turn has benefited funds pursuing a value investing style. Growth performed relatively well through the initial course of the pandemic with technology stocks leading the way, but the key catalyst for the long-awaited rotation into value was ‘Pfizer Monday’ on 9 November ...

London’s FTSE 100 fell 2.1% to 6,855.4 points on Thursday following a sell-off in the US overnight as well as a tough session in Asia. Across the pond, the Dow Jones index closed nearly 2% lower to post its worst performance since January after a surge in inflation in April spooked markets. UK investors offloaded shares in oil producers and miners, perhaps taking profit in areas that have ...

UK stocks dropped on Wednesday as investors awaited news from the latest US Federal Reserve meeting for clues on its future interest rate policy after recent market worries over rising inflation. Both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 indices traded lower, adding to the selling pressure on the FTSE where gains in financials were offset by weakness in mining and energy shares. At the close the ...

UK stocks dropped on Wednesday as gains in financials were offset by weakness in mining and energy shares. At midday the FTSE 100 index of leading shares was down 35 points or 0.5% to 6,768 points. Overnight trading in Asia was quiet with the Nikkei 225 and SE Composite indices slightly down. Investors are awaiting news from the latest US Federal Reserve meeting later today for clues on ...

UK telco BT (BT.A) shot to the top of the FTSE 100 leaderboard after securing vital new UK mobile spectrum for its 5G rollout strategy. The stock jumped more than 5% in early trading to 150.42p after the company said its EE mobile business had won 80MHz of 5G spectrum following an Ofcom auction. BT splashed out a total of £452 million on the extra spectrum, about a third of the approximate ...

London’s FTSE 100 finished Monday’s session 1.3% to the good at 6,719.13 points thanks to improving investor sentiment in the US, where worries over the US stimulus programme, inflation and resulting volatility in the bond market appeared to be easing. PEARSON HOLDS DIVIDEND STEADY DESPITE EARNINGS DROP Educational publisher Pearson (PSON) rose 6.4% to 808.8p as it posted a rise in ...

London’s FTSE 100, well known for being full of banks, miners and oil companies, traded 0.2% higher at 6,644.30 by Monday lunchtime amid volatility in the oil price after attacks on Saudi Arabian facilities over the weekend and continuing nervousness about inflation. The blue chip benchmark had risen at the open after Brent crude oil jumped to over $70 per barrel for the first time in 14 ...

The UK’s leading FTSE 100 index, well known for being full of banks, miners and oil companies, made a strong start on Monday after being buoyed by a rising oil price. The index rose 0.62% to 6,672 shortly after the market opened, which came after Brent crude oil jumped to over $70 per barrel for the first time in 14 months following a drone attack on a key oil site in Saudi Arabia, the ...

The FTSE 100 experienced some fairly wild swings in afternoon trading on Wednesday following the Budget, with a mixed reaction to announcements including the extension of furlough and support for businesses, as well as continued relief on stamp duty and a plan to raise corporate tax to 25%. Having initially rallied over 1% in morning trade before falling back to trade just 0.2% higher after the ...

Investors have reacted in a mixed fashion to the Budget after Chancellor Rishi Sunak pledged to extend furlough and support for businesses, continue relief on stamp duty and refrain from raising income tax. The blue-chip FTSE 100 was trading 0.6% higher at 6,654 shortly after the Chancellor’s speech, losing half of the gains seen at the market open, while the more domestically focused FTSE ...

There are many options for an investor wanting to put their money to work right around the world. Even if you’ve narrowed it down and decided to go for an investment trust instead of an open-ended active fund or a passive exchange-traded fund (ETF), choosing the trust for you can still seem a daunting task, particularly when there are 15 of them in the Association of Investment ...

The digital payments space is booming and not just because of lockdown. We are all buying more stuff online, and that requires safe and easy ways to pay. A forecast-thumping fourth quarter for industry leader Paypal earlier this month saw its stock jump to new all-time highs.  Cambridge-based Bango (BGO:AIM) is much smaller but well worth a look. It runs a direct carrier billing ...

UK stocks fell into the red by lunchtime on Thursday after the Bank of England maintained interest rates at 0.1%, which came as a host of corporate updates got an increasingly negative reception. The UK’s benchmark FTSE 100 index fell 0.35% to 6,485, while the midcap FTSE 250 index gave up earlier gains to trade almost flat at 20,732. GROWTH WORRIES HIT UNILEVER Consumer goods giant ...

UK shares opened higher on Thursday as positive earnings boosted hopes of an economic recovery, with investors looking to Bank of England's policy meeting later in the day. The BoE’s Monetary Polity Committee is widely expected to maintain base interest rates at the current 0.1%, great for mortgage borrowers and businesses looking to invest, but not so good for high street banks and ...

A trio of recently floated small caps have seen their shares perform extremely well since IPO, confirmation that new issues with compelling growth narratives can deliver impressive rapid-fire returns. Swiss-based environmentally-minded materials company HeiQ (HEIQ) debuted on the Main Market on 7 December following a £60 million raise at 112p and has more than doubled to 240.3p on excitement ...

Mobile payments firm Bango (BGO:AIM) is to team up with BT (BT.A) to help power the telecoms giant’s bundled subscription services. Subscriptions are seen as a key tool for BT to deliver a range of third-party products and services to its customers and open-up greater entertainment and commerce opportunities for it. BT has the UK’s largest fixed-line and mobile customer base across its ...