Another year of above-average returns58th consecutive year of dividend growthLower annual feesThe popular City of London (CTY) investment trust delivered another year of outperformance and dividend growth, marking 58 consecutive years of increases, the longest record in the AIC's (Association of Investment Companies) list of Dividend Heroes.The shares traded down 1.65p or 0.37% to 439.9p, but are

Third-quarter sales miss forecastsCosts running above budgetShares slump to new year-lowFor investors in pest control and hygiene group Rentokil (RTO) this will be a day to forget after the firm released an unscheduled trading update warning profits would be lower than expected due to lower sales and higher costs.The shares were roiled, dropping 85p or almost 18% to a new 12-month low of 390p mark

Stocks in London were higher at midday Monday, as investors sighed relief from a weeks of ups and downs, ahead of unemployment data from the UK and key inflation data from the US.The FTSE 100 index was up 37.76 points, 0.5%, at 8,205.86. The FTSE 250 was up 55.52 points, 0.3%, at 20,680.70, and the AIM All-Share was up 1.82 points, 0.2%, at 768.06.The Cboe UK 100 was up 0.4% at 819.96, the Cboe UK

24.5% stake bought from Altice UKBT a minority shareholder in Bharti AirtelShares up 20% over past yearBT (BT.A) shares rose over 6% to 139p in morning trading as investors welcomed the news leading Indian business group Bharti Global has bought a 24.5% stake in the telecoms giant from Altice UK.Altice UK is part of French billionaire Patrick Drahi's telecommunications group Altice, which accordin

With the UK economy seemingly headed for a 'soft landing' and interest rates set to fall at some point this year, more adventurous investors will be looking to add a little more risk to their portfolios.Given the UK market, and the mid-cap space in particular, is widely acknowledged to be cheap, the passive option would be to buy a mid-cap ETF (exchange-traded fund) such as the iShares FTSE 250 (M

Jansen reportedly plotting takeoverConsolidation opportunity in fragmented US marketTurnaround potential at TerminixPest control and hygiene giant Rentokil Initial (RTO) topped the FTSE 100 leader board on Monday, with shares in the 'royal rat-catcher' scurrying 10% higher to 492.6p following weekend reports it is a bid target for private equity.According to The Times, former BT (BT.A) CEO Philip

Is BT (BT.A) finally worth owning? For years it has been a complete dog of a stock and despite spinning back through our archives, Shares struggled to find the last time we had anything positive to say about the company or its shares.Yet suddenly in May 2024, the stock jumped, chalking up rough 30% gains within days and now at roughly 138p. 'There is a surge of energy running through BT after the

The FTSE 100 started poorly on Thursday, despite Wednesday?s record closes across the pond, as Sage Group and easyJet offset a boost from BT.The FTSE 100 index opened down 31.09 points, 0.4%, at 8,414.71. The FTSE 250 was up 34.30 points, 0.2%, at 20,809.93, and the AIM All-Share was up 0.2 of a point at 791.81.The Cboe UK 100 was down 0.3% at 840.90, the Cboe UK 250 was up 0.3% at 18,152.47, and

BT CEO snaps up 400,000 sharesGSK CEO offloads £2.3 million sharesPoolbeg Pharma chairman ups his stakeAllison Kirkby CEO of BT (BT.A) has bought 400,000 shares at 107p for a total value of £428,000 on 20 February.The move comes as the telecoms giant announced that it was offloading its iconic ?BT Tower? in London?s Fitzrovia to MCR for £275 million.The company announced Kirkby?s appointment la

Stocks in London were down at the close on Tuesday, amid disappointing manufacturing data from both the US and the UK.The FTSE 100 index closed down 11.72 points, 0.2%, at 7,721.52. The FTSE 250 ended down 177.83 points, 0.9%, at 19,511.80, and the AIM All-Share closed down 1.77 points, or 0.2%, at 761.55.The Cboe UK 100 ended down 0.3% at 770.31, the Cboe UK 250 closed down 1.2% at 16,966.88, and

BT finance chief sells £200,000 worth of stockMcBride non-exec buys £32,000PayPoint CEO buys £231,000BT FINANCE CHIEF SELLSSimon Lowth, chief financial officer of BT (BT.A), offloaded £200,000 worth of shares in the UK telco on 13 December.Vodafone (VOD) and BT shares fell this week following news the telecoms regulator has proposed banning inflation-linked price rises in the middle of custome

When music streaming platform Spotify's (SPOT:NYSE) announcement of a return to profitability was immediately followed by plans for further job cuts - its share price jumped more than 7%.There's nothing investors like more than hearing an executive team has their fingers wrapped tightly around a company's' purse strings.Costs have become a major issue over the past year and even as inflation cools

Predators continue to swoop on the UK stock market's undervalued prey and a number of consumer-facing firms have drawn bids or flagged takeover interest since Shares addressed the mergers and acquisitions theme on 16 November.High-profile targets include Hotel Chocolat (HOTC:AIM), City Pub Group (CPC:AIM) and Musicmagpie (MMAG:AIM), and given the lowly valuations currently ascribed to UK consumer

BT and Aurelius circling MusicmagpieRedde Northgate/Halfords merger talks rumouredAnalyst sees some logic in proposed tie-upsPotential bids for two unloved stocks have come out of the blue and from unexpected suitors to boot, as the UK takeover machine continues to whir.Shares in Musicmagpie (MMAG:AIM) fluttered 30% higher to 25p after the refurbished electronics seller confirmed it is in early st

Stock has jumped 23% in a week to all-time recordQ3 earnings smash forecasts with more to come in Q4AI tech in data centres helping drive booming demandInvestors have been racing to buy shares in Arista Networks (ANET:NYSE) more than any other US stock this week. The stock has jumped 23% in the past few days, taking the share price to an all-time $211.68 high, which means the valuation has increas

According to Charlie Munger, Warren Buffett's highly respected colleague and co-manager of Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.B:NYSE), 'All intelligent investing is value investing, acquiring more than you are paying for.'Or, as Howard Marks of Oaktree Capital Management puts it, 'It's not what you buy, it's what you pay, and success in investing doesn't come from buying good things but from buying things we

Sky-high interest rates and unruly inflation make the future direction of the economy more uncertain than usual. It is certainly no time to be complacent.Against such a tough backdrop now is a good time for investors to take stock and consider if the income they expect from dividends in their portfolios are safe.Investors are often attracted to the highest yields, but this can indicate markets do

Most investors don't buy small caps through an index, it's much more of a stock picker's playing field. This is why opportunities can be spotted even in the face of lacklustre performance overall.While fund managers have been calling the turn for smaller companies all year with little success, Shares believes it has uncovered a good investment opportunity to buy into a fantastic 'made in the UK' t

Stock falls 5% to 74.54p, lowest since 1996Long-mooted Three UK tie-up will create Britain's biggest operatorVodafone is FTSE 100's second worst one and three-month performerMobile network Vodafone (VOD) is getting hammered again, which comes as no surprise, since the stock has gone ex-dividend today. The share price is -5% at 74.54p. Even so, shares in the company have been the FTSE 100's second

There is no hotter area to invest in today than artificial intelligence, or AI as it is commonly known. Ever since OpenAI's ChatGPT took the world by storm, investors have been racing to find winners from this explosive trend.Corporate leaders, meanwhile, have been scrambling to prove to investors that they are harnessing the technology to drive revenue growth, improve operational efficiency, and