Heavy truck demand weakened further in Q3Surging power costs a headwindBut Castings could be over the worstCastings' (CGS) shares came under heavy selling pressure after the iron casting-to-machining firm focused on the European heavy truck market warned full-year profits will be 'substantially below' market expectations.The Walsall-headquartered group pinned the blame on plunging demand for...

UK stocks fell sharply in early trading on a combination of weak commodity prices, which hammered mining stocks, and growing worries that the delta variant and its impact on businesses could knock the global recovery off course.Sentiment wasn't helped by a late sell-off in US markets on the latest Fed minutes which did nothing to dispel fears that the central bank's easy money policy could...

London's FTSE 100 closed 0.17% higher to 7,184.95 on Wednesday as attention turns to the latest decision on interest rates from the US Federal Reserve later in the day.On Wall Street markets were somewhat less optimistic with the S&P 500, Dow Jones and tech-heavy Nasdaq all trading flat in morning trading stateside.All eyes will be on the US central bank as it finishes its two-day meeting,...

London's FTSE 100 edged 0.1% higher to 7,179.76 just before midday on Wednesday as attention turns to the latest decision on interest rates from the US Federal Reserve later in the day.All eyes will be on the US central bank as it finishes its two-day meeting, with some analysts predicting it will bring forward its projections for its first post-pandemic interest rate rise by a year to...

London's FTSE 100 edged 0.25% higher to 7,190.61 points early on Wednesday as investors waited the latest decision on interest rates from the US Federal Reserve and the market took news of another sharp jump in inflation in its stride.UK CPI rose by 2.1% in May on an annual basis, ahead of consensus expectations of 1.8% and coming in higher than the 1.5% rate in April, though investors were...

UK stocks ended a busy week in reflective mood after a big jump in Covid-19 cases was reported yesterday and European policymakers sounded a cautious note on the economic outlook going into year-end.At the close on Friday the FTSE 100 was down 22 points or 0.4% at 6,316 points. Domestic stocks such as banks and house builders gained while overseas earners including energy stocks fell as the...

UK stocks retreated on Friday after a big jump in Covid-19 cases was reported yesterday and European policymakers sounded a cautious note on the economic outlook going into year-end.At midday the FTSE 100 was down 27 points or 0.4% at 6,312 points. Domestic stocks such as banks and house builders gained while overseas earners including energy stocks fell as the pound continued to strengthen...

UK stocks retreated on Friday after a big jump in Covid-19 cases was reported yesterday with the FTSE 100 down 0.6% at 6,300 points. A stronger pound dragged down exporters and weaker oil put pressure on energy stocks.The pound was 0.5% higher against the US dollar at $1.31 and Brent crude prices were 1.4% lower at $40.5 per barrel. Gold prices nudged-up 0.2% to $1.880 an ounce.Overnight...

Retirement can be a liberating experience as finishing work gives you the freedom to enjoy life, learn new skills and embrace a wide range of hobbies.This can come at a cost as individuals may need to have saved hard through their working lives to ensure they have adequate savings and enough income to fund their desired lifestyle in older age.James from Sussex knows all about this challenge as...

On a quiet day heading into the weekend the FTSE 100 is broadly flat in early trades at 7,458.48FTSE 250 support services company Capita (CPI) is down 1.4% to 496.25p after agreeing to pay a further £66m to settle with the FCA over the Connaught Income Series 1 Fund. The fund went into liquidation in 2012 and Capita settled in 2016 for £18.5m.However, the FCA decided that Capita Financial...

On balance we believe global stock markets will have a good year in 2017 despite plenty of big political events which could cause bouts of volatility.Economic data is positive in the US, Eurozone and China in particular and corporate earnings are forecast to improve over the coming year. Investment bank Morgan Stanley believes the latter point should drive outperformance from value stocks and...

A strong track record backed up by a 20% market share in the UK's castings market - as well as exposure to a solid European commercial vehicle market - are all bullish factors for engineer Castings (CGS) in the years ahead.The kicker for investors is the potential to pick up the stock on a lowly valuation as markets fret about a margin squeeze following what are likely to prove to be one-off...