Advertising slump hits TV broadcasterDigital revenue for streaming hub ITVX up 29%Shore Capital analyst is 'reassured'Free-to-air broadcaster ITV (ITV) saw its shares fall nearly 5% to 73p in morning trading as it issued cautious guidance for the second quarter of 2023.For the first quarter of the year it reported a 7% fall in advertising revenue to £776 million for the three months to 31 March 2

Net ticket sales up 72%Shrugs of UK rail strikes last yearCirca 200 million train tickets sold across EuropeShares in Trainline (TRN) were up nearly 15% to 278p in morning trading as the ticketing platform said that the travel recovery was well under way post pandemic.Trainline reported a 72% rise in net ticket sales of £4.3 billion for the year ending 28 February 2023.Jody Ford, CEO of Trainline

The less than happy story of football clubs on the stock market has a new chapter as Manchester United (MANU:NYSE) might be put up for sale by its controversial owners, the Glazer family.Casual observers might be surprised to learn that such a significant global brand from the world's most popular sport is valued by the market at just £3.5 billion - for context that's roughly comparable with hous

UK stocks traded higher on Wednesday after free-to-air broadcaster ITV (ITV) and retailer Marks & Spencer (MKS) both reported upbeat earnings results.At midday the FTSE 100 traded 29 points or 0.4% higher at 7,303 points early on, while the FTSE 250 firmed 0.35% to 23,448.93.China continued to offer evidence of mounting inflationary pressures as factory gate prices saw their biggest increase since

UK stocks opened higher on Wednesday after free-to-air broadcaster ITV (ITV) and retailer Marks & Spencer (MKS) both reported upbeat earnings results ahead of the release of crucial US inflation data later in the day.The FTSE 100 traded 0.36% higher at 7,299.87 points early on, while the FTSE 250 firmed 0.35% to 23,448.93.China continued to offer evidence of mounting inflationary pressures as fact

Shares in home safety products company FireAngel SafetyTech (FA.:AIM) shot up 80% to 26p on Wednesday after signing a significant partnership to develop a new generation of smoke alarm.The partner is a German energy and efficiency supplier to the real estate sector which provides services to around 12 million apartments worldwide.FireAngel has agreed to supply the partner with a new 10-year connec

Specialist building products firm Kingspan (KGP) is under scrutiny for the role of one of its insulation products in the 2017 Grenfell Tower fire which claimed the lives of 72 people.Directors in the company are being questioned at an inquiry into the tragedy and since it made its first submission to the hearings on 5 November the shares have lost more than 10% of their value to trade at €72.

London's FTSE 100 opened stronger on Wednesday, up 53 points at 6,120.72 early on as optimism that economies were recovering from the COVID-19 crisis offset concerns about rising political tensions in Hong Kong that have soured US-Sino relations.Wealth manager St James's Place (STJ) improved 4.7% to 917.8p on news it had boosted funds under management during April, with management also 'encouraged

The pros and cons of portfolios with only a small number of holdings have come under the spotlight after ratings company Morningstar downgraded LF Lindsell Train UK Equity (B18B9X7) from Gold to Bronze. Among the reasons cited was the higher levels of stock-specific risk than most peers created by the fund's portfolio being concentrated on just 23 stocks.The counterpoint to Morningstar's concerns,

Building materials firm CRH (CRH) has delivered record first half results showing a 42% jump in profits.For the six months ended 30 June, pre-tax profit jumped to €707m from €497m a year earlier and revenue increased 11% to €13.2bn.Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) climbed 36% to €1.54bn.Despite this impressive growth the shares have remained

London's FTSE 100 firms 37.4 points to 7,272 on Friday, boosted by miners which are up on hopes that the US and China are making progress with trade talks. Continued strength with oil prices is also giving the blue chip benchmark support with both BP (BP.) and Royal Dutch Shell (RDSA) ticking higher.Drugs giant AstraZeneca (AZN) cheapens 4.2% to £62.21, despite inking a $6.9bn agreement with Daii

Macroeconomic uncertainties, the return of volatility and political turmoil suggest diversification will prove a key investment watchword in 2019.One way in which investors can diversify portfolios is by allocating funds to UK micro caps, often agile and fast-growing minnows offering better value relative to larger caps; they fly under the radar of big institutional investors and are generally les

On the Friday before the Royal Wedding and the FA Cup Final, the grocers' tills turned over a princely £415m as supermarkets profited from hot weather and the 'Meghan Markle effect'.This is on the say-so of Kantar Worldpanel, whose latest grocery share figures for the 12 weeks ending 20 May showed strong overall growth, up 2.7% year-on-year, as recent major events twinned with warm weather prompt

Financial services software supplier Microgen (MCGN) has agreed the £9.7m purchase of RevStream. It is a California-based enterprise revenue management software designer with more than half its revenues earned on a recurring contracts basis. Microgen is paying £9.7m in a cash and shares deal.This fits neatly for the UK company. Microgen operates two divisions; Aptitude Software and Financial Sys

UEFA has blown the starting whistle on the next bidding round for broadcast rights for Champions League football, according to reports. This will have massive implications for UK telco BT (BT.A) and its share price.Word on the street suggests that the formal bidding process will start in March 2017, just weeks after BT announced that it will start charging its broadband customers for football cove

Kingspan (KGP) €17.75Gain to date: 34.4%Previous Shares view: Buy at €13.18 on 21 Aug 2014A bold acquisition strategy which should see the group continue expanding beyond its UK and Irish core markets makes Kingspan (KGP) a compelling opportunity for investors looking for diversified exposure to the construction sector.County Cavan-based Kingspan - a market leader in high performance ins

Positive second-quarter read across from peers like Travis Perkins (TPK) and SIG (SHI) make a compelling investment case for Dublin-based insulation specialist Kingspan (KGP) ahead of interims on 26 August. Meanwhile, the acquisition of Pactiv's US building insulation business announced on 18 August further adds to the potential for the half-year figures to please.The interims are likely to build

Troubled mother and baby products retailer Mothercare (MTC) falls 4.1% to 179.13p on reports it has been forced to renegotiate bank loan terms a mere seven months after refinancing. The embattled high street brand, currently guided by interim chief executive officer Mark Newton-Jones, rocked the market with a severe profit warning in January. Responding to the media speculation, Mothercare says it

In the eight months since the Ogo well offshore Nigeria was declared a discovery the asset's 30% owner Lekoil (LEK:AIM) has advanced 74% to 69p. The small cap may have helped unearth one of the biggest West African resource finds for many years.Lekoil's stellar run is at odds with the performance of the wider sector, with the FTSE Aim Oil & Gas segment falling 19% in the last 12 months. We identif

The £4.9 billion cap distributor of Costa coffee cups-to-construction safety helmets Bunzl (BNZL) rises 3% to £15.27 after better-than-expected results. It has revealed a 17% rise in pre-tax profit to £372.2 million. Its 2013 full-year resultsalso include a 15% rise in the dividend and there's news of two acquisitions in Germany and the Czech Republic, the former taking Bunzl into the country's