Shares in Hilton Food (HFG) fattened up 1% to £17.76 on Thursday after the red meat and fish packing specialist confirmed it continues to benefit from consumers eating out less often due to the pandemic. Despite the uncertainties being created by the global Covid crisis, broker Shore Capital believes its full year estimates could prove conservative and sees scope for upgrades from Hilton Food ...

Markets in the US and Europe moved lower on Thursday as technology-led declines continued on disappointment at the US Federal Reserve’s pledge to keep rates low for an extended period. In the UK, the Bank of England echoed the Fed by keeping interest rates near zero and warning of an ‘unusually uncertain’ recovery ahead. The FTSE 100 ended the session 0.47% lower at 6,049.92, sentiment ...

The FTSE 100 slipped lower on Thursday following the Federal Reserve’s announcement last night that it was likely to keep interest rates near zero for several years while the global economy recovers from Covid-19. At 11.25, the blue chip benchmark was 50.4 points, or 0.83%, lower at 6,028.11. Fed chair Jerome Powell said the central bank would ‘maintain an accommodative stance of ...

UK shares tracked declines on Asian stock markets in early trade on Thursday as the lack of new stimulus measures by the US Federal Reserve left investors disappointed ahead of a Bank of England policy meeting. The benchmark FTSE 100 and the mid-cap FTSE 250 were both sharply lower in opening deals with banks, miners and automakers leading the declines. The FTSE 100 was off by around ...

David Smith, fund manager of Henderson High Income Trust (HHI), argues the lockdown losers that dragged on performance in the half to June will emerge from the Covid-19 crisis in ‘a strong position relative to their competition’. And despite having been through a period of dividend suspensions, deferrals and cuts, Henderson High Income forecasts an increase in the 2020 total ...

The FTSE 100 got off to a slow start on Thursday, falling 0.7% to 6,022 over concerns about a new spike in coronavirus cases. The World Health Organisation warned yesterday that the pandemic is far from over, as the largest daily rise in global cases was reported in the last 24 hours. Asian stock markets were down, with China’s Shanghai Composite down 0.55%, the Hang Seng in Hong Kong ...

Food prices are likely to go up as a result of pressure on the food supply chain linked to the coronavirus pandemic. Companies who can get food products to the consumer, either manufacturers supplying retailers or supermarkets being able to provide adequate stocks, could be winners from an investment perspective. We’ll discuss the situation in this article along with two stock ideas to play ...

Despite the wider stock market’s recovery still leaving it some way below its pre-crisis levels, some stocks in the FTSE 350 have hit record highs over the past month, especially in the healthcare and food sectors. The largest company to hit this milestone is pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca (AZN), which recently £86.27 as it agreed to manufacture and distribute a coronavirus vaccine being ...

London’s FTSE 100 made substantial gains in early trading on Tuesday, bid up 165.73 points or 2.97% to 5,748.12 amid continued hopes that the spread of coronavirus may be levelling out in major hotspots in Europe and the US. Embattled Cineworld (CINE) rallied 17.3% to 46.45p after the cinema operator suspended dividends in a bid to strengthen liquidity, having shuttered all its cinemas ...

Investing is about putting your money to work in the markets over a long period. So while markets are presently experiencing large share price movements up and down, it is important to look beyond the current volatility and continue to feed money into your investment account. As well as remaining invested through periods of volatility the looming end of the tax year provides an opportunity to ...

UK stocks opened substantially higher on Wednesday, with the FTSE 100 up 212.3 points at 5,658.32 early on, after US lawmakers reached agreement on a $2trn stimulus package to buffer the world’s biggest economy from the still-spreading coronavirus. Housebuilder Persimmon (PSN) perked up 3.7% to £17.55 even after it scrapped one planned dividend payment and postponed another as it braces for ...

Although vegan diets have existed for thousands of years, practiced by many societies for religious and health reasons, veganism is now one of the fastest growing trends in the food industry. Hundreds of thousands of people in the UK are taking part in this month’s ‘Veganuary’ challenge in a bid to benefit health and wellbeing while simultaneously combating climate change. Veganism’s ...

Smaller companies in the UK have been an unloved asset class since the 2016 Brexit vote, yet sentiment has recently started to improve. One savvy way to profit from this situation is to buy Montanaro UK Smaller Companies Investment Trust (MTU). Despite a recent advance in the share price, the trust remains good value trading on a 7.9% discount to the value of its underlying assets. It also ...

Backing companies where directors have ‘skin in the game’ can potentially be a decent strategy for investing. After all, company directors know the state of their business better than anyone. Many investors like to keep a keen eye out for those that are buying and selling and often follow their lead in and out of those companies. Every Thursday, Shares will roundup the biggest ...

London’s FTSE 100 shed 20.1 points to trade at 7,215.7 early on Tuesday. Markets were mixed as Chinese shares slipped on the back of weak producer price data and investors lost their appetite for the pharma, tobacco and utilities sectors. On the currency markets, the pound eased back against the dollar, falling 0.16% to $1.236. In corporate news, Galliford Try (GFRD) galloped 15.6% higher to ...

The FTSE 100 starts a smidge higher on Wednesday at 7,203.64 with gains in the mining sector offset by weak utilities. Sterling is fairly steady ahead of a series of votes by MPs later to try and find a consensus on Brexit. Ailing department store Debenhams (DEB) jumps 52% after Mike Ashley’s Sports Direct (SPD) proposes a takeover bid worth £61.4m. Sports Direct rose 0.4%. The deal would be ...

If you believe some parts of the media, we are all becoming health-obsessed vegetarians and vegans, people who are shunning red meat staples such as beef, lamb and pork in increasing numbers. Yet latest results from consumer foods supplier Hilton Food (HFG) suggest a different story, one that implies our collective appetite for protein-packed meats remains voracious. TASTY PROGRESS ...

UK telecoms group BT (BT.A) soars to the top of the FTSE 100 leader board in early trade on Thursday after unveiling a big rise in profits. Pre-tax profits at BT jumped 24% to £1.34bn in the half year to 30 September despite revenue slipping 2% to £11.6bn. Higher profits were driven by customers opting for more expensive smartphones at mobile network EE and restructuring-related cost ...

Last year (2017) saw a record-breaking £46bn of cash invested into UK funds, almost 600% more than in 2016 when initial fears about the UK’s decision to leave the EU caused investors to pull money out of funds in droves.  It’s easy to see why funds are popular as you get exposure to lots of different assets through a single product.  Unfortunately, knowing which fund to pick can be ...

Fears have arisen over a shortage of carbon dioxide production in Europe, which could have trading implications for a number of stock market-listed food and beverage names, whose beer, fizzy drink and barbecue-related sales could end up falling flat over the summer. A shortage of CO2 among some of the largest suppliers in north-western Europe has emerged, endangering an expected boost to beer ...