European equities were largely lower on Monday afternoon, with the FTSE 100 the worst of the bunch, as focus turns to key inflation readings from the US and China this week.Investors are looking for US inflation to cool, which would solidify Federal Reserve interest rate cut expectations. For China, however, inflation heating up would suggest that the Asian nation?s economy is beginning to fire. T

Budget food-on-the-go outfit Greggs (GRG) reports it third quarter trading update on 3 October.The company's affordable food options have helped bake some resilience into its demand profile despite pressured household budgets. It continues to roll out new sites as well as keeping some existing sites open for longer to capture trade throughout the day.Greggs has set a target to open 150 net new sto

It has been a mixed start to 2023 for the mining industry, one of the few remaining sectors where the London stock market still has many of the world's biggest names.A reopening of the Chinese economy helped drive a rally in miners of industrial metals in the first weeks of the new year before concerns about recession began to weigh more heavily. On the flipside the precious metals space has come

It's been a tricky 2022 for global stock markets and that's made life hard for ordinary and professional investors alike. In this feature several leading fund managers explain what worked out for them over the course of the year and what went wrong.James Harries - Securities Trust of Scotland (STS)What worked?At Troy (Securities Trust of Scotland's investment manager) we seek companies that genera

- CMO warns of slowing growth and downgrades earnings guidance- Broker more than halves 2022 pre-tax profit forecast- Warning leaves shares 60% below issue priceOnline building materials retailer CMO (CMO:AIM) has warned of slowing growth amid weakening home improvement and DIY spend as well as margins pressure caused by higher freight and product purchasing costs.The disappointing news sent share

In light of the implications of the unfolding tragedy in Ukraine, the global growth outlook has dimmed, which means now more than ever, portfolios should be as diversified by asset class as possible to in order to maximise returns relative to risk.Higher risk assets they may be, yet 'micro caps', the London stock market's smallest quoted companies should form at least a portion of a well-diversifi

One of the very few positive effects of last year's pandemic was an increase in consumers spending on the repair, maintenance and improvement of their flats and houses.Having been confined indoors for months at a time, it didn't take long for people to set about redecorating and adding more indoor or outdoor space so they could live and work remotely more comfortably.That led to an explosion in pr

The benchmark FTSE 100 toiled throughout the day to close lower with Wall Street failing to enliven investors.The blue-chip index finished 0.9% down at 7,100.88, with mid-caps also on the backfoot. The FTSE 250 lost 0.55% to 22,895.36.US shares failed to lift spirits, the Dow down 350 points, about 1%, to 34,436 at midday in New York. The Nasdaq started higher but has since fallen to a 57 point de

The benchmark FTSE 100 continued to drag its heals in early afternoon trading with little indication that the US open at 2.30pm UK time will enliven investors.At 12.30pm, the blue-chip index was trading 0.2% lower at 7,151.37, with mid-caps also struggling for momentum. The FTSE 250 drifted 0.1% down at a fraction over the 23,000 mark.US shares are set to open mostly lower after the long weekend 4

UK stocks were marginally lower on Tuesday as higher oil prices and a rally in the pound unnerved investors. At 8.30am the FTSE 100 index was down 10 points or 0.1% at 7,155 points with weakness in real estate and financial stocks offsetting gains in retailers and energy producers.Oil prices spiked as the OPEC+ cartel failed to agree on a deal to increase production. Brent crude futures topped $77

UK stocks built on their gains on Thursday after the Bank of England kept interest rates close to zero while noting inflation was likely to top its 2% expectation but only 'temporarily'.The nine members of the Monetary Policy Committee voted unanimously to keep rates on hold, while the vote to maintain its £875 billion bond-buying programme was nodded through by eight votes to one.At 4.30pm the b

UK stocks continued their advance on Thursday after the Bank of England kept interest rates close to zero while noting inflation was likely to top its 2% expectation but only 'temporarily'.The nine members of the Monetary Policy Committee voted unanimously to keep rates on hold, while the vote to maintain its £875 billion bond-buying programme was nodded through by eight votes to one.By 12.30pm t

Online-only building materials retailer CMO plans to list shares on AIM in early July to tap the boom in home improvement projects that has boosted the likes of Kingfisher (KGF), Wickes (WIX) and Travis Perkins (TPK).While there is limited fundraising and valuation target details available yet the stunning AIM debut of online bathroom products retailer Victorian Plumbing (VIC:AIM) demonstrates tha

The UK's major shares made a quiet start to trading on Thursday with investors happy to sit tight ahead of the Bank of England's monthly interest rate call, due at 11am this morning.The Bank of England is expected to leave benchmark interest rates unchanged, but investors will look for hints of inflation pressures, which broke above the central bank's 2% target in May. Investors increasingly want

Commodities, which cover everything from oil to copper to corn, play a central role in our lives. They fuel the cars we drive, line the cables which keep us online and some are in the meals we eat.Investing in this space used to be the preserve of the professionals but several developments, most notably the emergence of exchange-traded funds (ETFs), have enabled ordinary investors to get in on the

Having suffered operational problems for some time, Gem Diamonds (GEMD) has been busy upgrading its equipment and realigning its mining towards higher-value, higher-grade ore. This process will benefit the group in the future and is a key reason behind our 'buy' rating on the stock in this week's issue of Shares, alongside rising diamond prices. Sadly, this preparatory work will have a negative im