The UK Government’s wage subsidy scheme is due to end in October, a deadline that could spark a fresh wave of corporate redundancies and financial stress. For investors, this means taking action to ensure their stock portfolios are culled of potential financial basket cases and focused on quality companies that are stable, robust, and most likely to sustain shareholder returns through future ...

UK markets finished in the red on Thursday as a batch of blue-chip firms traded ex-dividend and investors fretted over resurgent Brexit fears and an October end to the furlough scheme. Coming off a strong run, the pause for breath occurred despite an impressive jobless claims report out of the US, with initial jobless claims dropping below one million for the first time since March. The FTSE ...

UK markets were lower on Thursday as a batch of blue-chip firms traded ex-dividend, while National Express (NEX) slumped after reporting a pre-tax loss for the first half of the year. Elsewhere in the world, the number of coronavirus deaths in India has topped 47,000, making it the fourth worst country globally, while New Zealand has recorded another 13 new infections, forcing Auckland into ...

The 100 FTSE fell 0.9% to 6,222.52 in early trading on Thursday as investors weighed up the impact of weak economic data seen yesterday and today’s corporate updates. A number of stocks going ex-dividend, as always happens on a Thursday, was also a big contributor to the fall, with the likes of pharma giants AstraZeneca (AZN) and GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and oil majors BP (BP.) and Royal Dutch ...

UK stocks lost almost all of their gains in an afternoon trading session dominated by a weak start of Wall Street as profit takers moved in. US stocks turned lower as investors assessed data showing an unexpected rise in jobless claims versus a slate of solid earnings from the likes of Tesla and Twitter. The S&P 500 Index looked set to halt a four-day advance, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq ...

UK stocks continued their bright start in early afternoon trading on Thursday as investors looked beyond rising diplomatic tensions between the US and China. Chinese authorities called Washington’s order to close its consulate in Houston, Texas ‘political provocation’ after China had been accused by US officials of the widespread stealing of intellectual property. Despite being one of ...

UK stocks opened higher on Thursday as investors put aside concerns surrounding renewed diplomatic tensions between the US and China. The US has ordered China to close its consulate in Houston, Texas, after accusing it of stealing intellectual property. Beijing called the move a ‘political provocation’. Despite being one of the most significant developments in the ongoing diplomatic ...

After a strong bounce back in share prices over the past two months, a number of directors appear to have taken advantage. Two of the most notable transactions come from FTSE 100 companies Croda International (CRDA) and Rentokil Initial (RTO). CRODA CEO SELLS AFTER SHARES GAIN 20% SINCE APRIL Steve Foots, chief executive of chemicals giant Croda, this week sold 27,243 shares for £50.12 ...

Oil and gas giant BP (BP.) has shown there are still some dividend payers on the FTSE 100 after committing to a $2bn payout despite reporting a $4.37bn loss for the first three months  of 2020. Increasing numbers of companies are cutting dividends as more and more look to preserve cash to survive the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic, but there still some like BP which have ...

UK stocks were mixed in early trading despite a positive session on Wall Street and a rebound in oil prices. The FTSE 100 index traded down 0.1% at 5,765 points while the FTSE 250 index of medium-sized stocks gained 0.9% to 15,727. Weighing on the main index was food and household goods giant Unilever (ULVR) which lost 5.5% to £40.11 after it reported flat sales of €12.4bn in the first ...

On 24 February stock markets finally seemed to hit the panic button on the coronavirus with the FTSE 100 hitting its lowest level since early December and the Dow Jones index in the US enduring its worst day in two years. WHAT TRIGGERED THE MARKET SELL-OFF? The catalyst for the big sell-off in global equities was news of significant outbreaks in Italy and Iran which seemingly had no direct ...

Shares in chemical giant Croda International (CRDA) dropped 4.3% to £47.08 as it missed annual profit expectations after being hit by the US-China trade war. In its full year results to 31 December 2019, Croda reported adjusted pre-tax profit of £322.1m, down 2.8% from the year before and less than the £327.4m the market had been expecting. Adjusted sales dipped 0.2% to £1.265bn, basic ...

The measure of calm that descended on London markets in early trade on Tuesday failed to last with UK shares diving into the red again by late morning. At 11.40m, the benchmark FTSE 100 had slumped 0.8% to 7,100.49, while the FTSE 250 falgged by a similar margin at 20,951. This followed Monday’s huge sell-off and heavy falls in Far East stock markets overnight. Shares in Japan fell ...

Fallen star fund manager Neil Woodford’s one-time flagship fund Woodford Equity Income is now returning its depleted capital to investors. The first payment of cash to investors is expected to be on or around 30 January, representing about 70% of the fund’s current value. If you feel royally let down by Woodford and want a better fund generating income, help is at hand. Rather than ...

Anniversaries are often a time to pause and reflect and as this publication enters its third decade we felt it would be an excellent excuse to take a look back at the best performing UK stocks from the last 20 years of our existence. The table below shows the top 10 performers which are currently constituents of the FTSE 350 index. In this article we examine each of these names in turn and ...

Shares in chemicals firm Croda (CRDA) slumped nearly 5% to £45.94 as the US/China trade dispute jammed up sales in its Personal Care division, leading to a decline in half year profits. That makes Croda the day's biggest faller among FTSE 100 companies. Croda reported a 2.7% fall in pre-tax profit to £166.2m for the six months to 30 June with earnings per share showing a similar reverse ...

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 ...

The chemicals sector has historically been a very good place to invest with significant share price gains over the past decade and occasionally generous dividends. Unfortunately momentum has stalled in parts of the sector over the past six months amid concerns about a global economic slowdown and how that could feed into weaker demand for chemical products. There have also been some concerns ...

Chemicals firm Croda (CRDA) has missed earnings expectations, sending its share price down 2.9% to £49.14. Fourth quarter sales growth of 1% was lower than the 1.7% expected by investment bank UBS. There has been a notable slowdown in growth from Croda’s Personal Care division, which specialises in ingredients used in skincare and haircare products. The division delivered 3.2% sales ...

The FTSE 100 starts Tuesday on the back foot as reports of a delay to Brexit help lift the pound. A big chunk of the sales generated by constituents of the index comes from overseas. Stronger sterling means they carry less weight in relative terms. Early on the FTSE is down 0.9% to 7,121.51. Miner Fresnillo (FRES) slumps 8.8% to 890.3p as it reports a sharp decline in annual profits as record ...