We’re pleased to welcome back Malcolm from Edinburgh who is sharing his experience as someone in retirement taking charge of their investments for the first time. After a year-and-a-half of taking responsibility for investing for retirement through my SIPP and Stocks and Shares ISA, matters are becoming clearer. There is no going on endless holidays and checking my portfolio once a ...

North Yorkshire-based Drax (DRX) is the UK’s largest single source renewable energy company, supplying around a tenth of the UK’s energy needs. It is playing a key role in helping the country reach its goal of becoming net carbon neutral by 2050. Drax has transitioned from a traditional coal and gas-fired energy supplier into 100% biomass, utilising wood pellets. The company ended ...

UK shares traded higher on Wednesday following yesterday’s sharp fall, helped by gains in oil shares with Royal Dutch Shell (RDSB) and BP (BP) gaining just over 2% each. The pound was steady despite a 0.7% jump in consumer price inflation for March, lifted by higher fuel prices which reflect the large falls seen last year at the start of the pandemic. Sterling was 0.2% lower against the US ...

Energy company Drax (DRX) said its power generation business had seen a good operating performance in the first quarter of 2021 driven by a volatile power market. The shares drifted 0.8% lower to 417.2p. Intermittent power supplied by renewable energy creates a more volatile energy market which benefits the company’s pumped storage project Cruachan. Adam Forsyth, analyst at Longspur ...

UK shares opened higher on Wednesday following yesterday’s sharp fall, helped by gains in oil shares with Royal Dutch Shell (RDSB) and BP (BP) gaining just over 2% each. The pound was steady despite a 0.7% jump in consumer price inflation for March, lifted by higher fuel prices which reflect the large falls seen last year at the start of the pandemic. Sterling was 0.2% lower against the US ...

The FTSE 100 finished lower after modest gains earlier in the session on Monday were eroded by weak mining and oil & gas sectors as commodity prices were generally softer. Brent crude futures fell while copper was down 0.3%, although still remained higher than $4/lb. The benchmark FTSE 100 closed 0.17% down at 6,749.70, in line with falls across major EU markets, as more European ...

A major shift in the business means now is an excellent time to buy small cap Hargreaves Services (HSP:AIM). The group delivers projects and services in the infrastructure, energy and property services, principally in the UK but also in South East Asia. Its main division, Distribution and Services, provides waste handling and logistics to various sectors together with specialist ...

UK stocks opened higher on Monday following rises on Asian exchanges and in the oil price, as the global Covid-19 vaccine rollout gained momentum and US lawmakers closed in on a stimulus deal. The benchmark FTSE 100 index was up 0.24% at 6,504.57 points early on, with BP (BP.) gaining 1.4% to 255.6p and Royal Dutch Shell (RDSB) up 0.4% to £13.51 after Brent crude prices hit $60 a ...

Monday 9 November saw things change for investors as the surge of enthusiasm associated with finding a vaccine for Covid-19 buoyed markets. For the first time in many months the vast majority of my 30 shares rose markedly. This did not trigger a notable increase in buying and selling on my behalf. I reduced my investment in two funds but little else. It was pleasing though to see that half my ...

Founder and chief executive of household appliance seller AO World (AO.), John Roberts, has upped his stake in the FTSE 250 firm after buying another £1.5 million worth of shares. Roberts, who set up AO in 2000, bought around 882,000 shares earlier this week at an average price of 168.9p each, and now holds a 22.8% stake. It comes after a strong period for the online retailer, which has ...

The FTSE 100 was 1% higher at 5,703 points as global stock markets took a breather after the wild swings in sentiment following the crash in oil prices earlier this week. Stocks in Asia were mixed as investors continued to worry about the pace at which global economies could open. The SEE composite closed up 0.6% while the Nikkei 225 was 0.7% lower. Brent crude traded 6% lower at $20.5 while ...

The shares of the UK’s leading attractions operator Merlin Entertainments (MERL) plunge more than 7% in early trade on Tuesday after revealing lacklustre trading at its Midway Attractions business. Midway Attractions runs some of Merlin's biggest brands, including Madame Tussauds, The London Eye, Sea Life and The Dungeons businesses. But like-for-like sales at Midway have declined 0.7% so far ...

Fancy mixer drinks supplier Fevertree Drinks (FEVR:AIM) storms more than 10% higher in early trade on Tuesday after indicating it will beat full year forecasts. Shares in the AIM favourite fizz 355p up to £38.10 on word that full year results will be ‘comfortably ahead’ of expectations, as the premium drinks maker reported a 35% jump in first half core earnings on the back of strong sales ...

More than three decades after founding the company Aidan Heavey is stepping down as chairman of oil business Tullow Oil (TLW). In July Heavey, 65, will hand over to former Drax (DRX) chief executive Dorothy Thompson. Heavey conceived the business in the mid-1980s in a town called Tullow within an hour’s drive of Dublin. He was discussing with a friend the existence of smaller oil fields in ...

On a busy day for corporate news the FTSE 100 climbs 0.3% to 7,309.63, boosted by strong trading on Wall Street overnight. Pay-TV firm Sky (SKY) gains 18.3% to £13.07 as it is subject to a £22.1bn cash bid from US media conglomerate Comcast, an offer which trumps the existing bid from Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox. The £12.50 per share offer also pits Comcast against Disney which is ...

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has given the all-clear for Tesco's (TSCO) takeover of grocery wholesale supplier Booker (BOK) after ruling the pair out as competitors. The CMA says ‘Tesco, as a retailer, and Booker, as a wholesaler, do not compete head-to-head in most of their activities.’ The decision was widely expected but it will leave many Tesco shareholders ...

It is a typical red flag when a company starts talking about second half weighted earnings. It’s basically City speak for ‘things haven’t gone quite as well as we hoped, but don’t panic, we can pick up the slack in the latter half of the year.’ This can leave companies facing a mountain to climb in terms of achieving forecast earnings. Sometimes companies can obtain the ...

Irish building materials firm CRH (CRH) tops the FTSE 100 leader board in early trade on an otherwise quiet Thursday as the group confirms pans to buy US cement maker Ash Grove Cement. The $3.5bn deal to expand CRH’s exposure to the North American market is widely well-received by investors, driving the share price more than 4% higher to £27.67. Read Shares exclusive take on the deal ...

The FTSE 100 is flat at 7,389 in early trading on 19 July with weakness in financial stocks offset by strength in drug and consumer goods firms. Power generation company Drax (DRX) sheds 6.5% to 322.9p as it records an £83m loss before tax for the six months to 30 June. Although the company’s total dividends grew to 4.9p per share compared to 2.1p at the same time last year, its net debt ...

Given the political, economic and regulatory uncertainties at large, it seems pretty reasonable that Telecom Plus (TEP) is picking balance sheet strength over short-term shareholder generosity. Opportunities and threats will likely emerge during the coming months and the multi-utility supplier will want the financial muscle to face them head on, so it has slashed the size of its planned share ...