BT Group (BT.A)

Low cost, instant to trade and easy to understand – it’s no wonder that exchange-traded funds are becoming increasingly popular with investors. Also known as ETFs or trackers, these low-cost investments are designed to mimic the performance of a given stock market or sector. But as ETFs have grown in popularity and assets under management have swelled, so too has the array of different ...

You may find it odd to celebrate the start of the new tax year as 6 April often brings rising taxes and falling benefits. However, the one thing in investors’ favour is that the ISA allowance clock is reset. It means you can invest up to £20,000 over the coming tax year and not pay any tax or capital gains on investments inside the wrapper. The start of the new tax is often one of the ...

While the performance of the FTSE 100, FTSE 250 and FTSE All-Share tends to dominate the headlines, it can be useful to take a more nuanced approach and focus on the performance of individual sectors within these headline indices. The tables show the five best and five worst performing sectors in the FTSE 350 index (a composite of the large cap FTSE 100 and mid cap FTSE 250) so far this ...

UK water industry stocks are rallying in early trade on Thursday after the three UK listed firms – Severn Trent (SVT), United Utilities (UU.) and Pennon (PNN) – see their business plans win watchdog approval. That sends sector share prices rallying having removed a hefty unknown for investors, led by the 1.5% rise at United Utilities to 832p, the UK’s largest water company. The ...

New dad Aaron has a clear plan which he hopes will result in a comfortable life for his family. He wants to buy a house in around five years’ time, retire aged 60 and have sufficient money invested so that, based on projections, he and his partner won’t have to contribute any more cash into long-term savings by the time they are 50. Engaged to be married and recently celebrating the ...

The origins of the share ownership in the UK can tell us a plenty about how the stock market operates today and what exactly a ‘share’ is. The trade of stocks and shares in London began at the end of the 17th century with the need to finance two great voyages – the Muscovy Company’s attempt to reach China via the White Sea north of Russia and the East India company’s exploration of ...

UK telecoms group BT (BT.A) soars to the top of the FTSE 100 leader board in early trade on Thursday after unveiling a big rise in profits. Pre-tax profits at BT jumped 24% to £1.34bn in the half year to 30 September despite revenue slipping 2% to £11.6bn. Higher profits were driven by customers opting for more expensive smartphones at mobile network EE and restructuring-related cost ...

Imagine starting a new job and being told you are expected to invest 300% of your basic salary in company shares. That’s exactly what’s happened with the new chief executive (CEO) of BT (BT.A), Philip Jansen. He has already committed to investing £2m of his own money by late November, plus he is being granted nearly £1m of BT shares as compensation for having to forfeit stock on leaving ...

Worldpay (WPY) £67.95 Loss to date: 9.1% Original entry point: Buy at £74.72, 13 September 2018 a couple of new developments have emerged since we added payment processing firm Worldpay (WPY) to our Great Ideas portfolio in September, although the weak performance of the shares is probably more closely linked to wider market volatility. Co-chief executive Philip Jansen has been hired ...

UK shares face further selling pressure after big declines were posted on Wall Street overnight as investors become increasingly worried about rising volatility and macro data. The FTSE 100 slumps more than 50 points in early trade on Thursday, sinking further below the 7,000 mark at 6,906.94. There is little in the way of corporate news to stem to negative mood with a big share sell-offs at ad ...

For investors feeling a little jaded after a trying year for UK equities, Mark Barnett provides some welcome optimism for value hunters. The Invesco fund manager who runs both Perpetual Income & Growth Investment Trust (PLI) and Edinburgh Investment Trust (EDIN) sees plenty of opportunity in the UK stock market across both the large cap universe and their mid-cap peers. ‘It’s got to ...

Sometimes financial terms can seem intimidating to the uninitiated. Take bond proxies, for example. There are several different definitions of this term, which has become increasingly popular in recent years, but essentially these are companies which are seen as ‘defensive’ thanks to a reliable earnings stream, predictable cash flow and strong and growing dividends. As they offered a ...

Isle of Man communications network incumbent Manx Telecom (MANX:AIM) plans to launch a specialist mobile communications service specifically designed for the approximately 11m Brits that struggle with hearing difficulties. Analysts are confident this could provide the company with a valuable growth lever for what is otherwise a largely mature, yet highly cash generative company. The ...

Package holidays firm TUI (TUI) is firmly on the back foot in early trade on Thursday after the company warned of a €35m hit to profits this year as foreign currencies move against it. The news comes alongside third quarters figures showing a 7.5% fall in underlying earnings, sending the stock sliding close on 10% to £14.33. That makes TUI the biggest loser across a fairly weak FTSE 100, the ...

Coming just three days after detailed price cuts were announced for its telecoms infrastructure backbone Openreach, BT’s (BT.A) largely in-line first quarter results are not terribly surprising. That the share price is rallying today – up 3.5% to 232.8p, the third biggest riser among FTSE 100 blue-chips on Friday – is perhaps a sign of relief that there are no particularly nasty ...

The FTSE opens on the front foot on Friday as fears of trade wars subside and all eyes turn to the second quarter US GDP reading. The meeting on Wednesday between US president Donald Trump and European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker has been seen by some as diffusing the trade tariff rhetoric somewhat. Telecommunications firm BT (BT.A) gains 3.7% after reporting a rise in first ...

See 19 July 2018 issue of Shares for part one of this feature: ‘The big decision: take profits or run your winners?’ Deciding when to pocket profits after an investment has done well is one thing but knowing when to cut your losses when things go wrong is an even more difficult dilemma. Share prices and stock markets go up and down all day every day and the reasons for the ...

Broadband and calls supplier TalkTalk (TALK) is firmly backed by investors in early trade on Tuesday, the stock rallying around 6% to 116.7p, after the company lays out a promising trading update. The embattled company has been gripped by an intense price war with big rivals like BT (BT.A), Sky (SKY) and Virgin and has faced other issues, but news today that it has added 80,000 ...

Global commerce is increasingly shifting to online and smartphone applications and we anticipate IMImobile (IMO:AIM) will be a long-run digital economy winner. The multi-channel customer engagement, marketing and commerce specialist is separated from its rivals thanks to a superior track record of consistency. It has racked up growth in revenues, earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and ...

The FTSE is down by 0.78% to 7,644 ahead of the G7 meeting with the world’s seven largest economies and fears an impending trade war may dominate the agenda. Asset manager Standard Life Aberdeen (SLA) slips 3.7% to 350.7p as UK bank Lloyds (LLOY) sells its entire stake in the firm, which was a not insignificant 3.3% and worth £344m. Tensions between the two companies had been high since the ...