The unveiling of a new British ISA helped give domestic stocks a modest lift after its announcement in the Budget.The £5,000 limit on the new tax wrapper, which can only be invested in UK assets, will be in addition to the existing £20,000 ISA allowance.The key test will be whether this provides a meaningful boost in terms of flows into UK equities and helps improve what has been a very difficul

The FTSE 100 fell into the red in afternoon trade, as housebuilding stocks fell again, while Imperial Brands slid on a report that the UK government is sizing up a tax on vaping products.Mainland European equities ended higher, meanwhile, though stocks in New York were mixed on underwhelming US data.The FTSE 100 index ended down 1.28 points at 7,683.02. The FTSE 250 rose 36.74 points, 0.2%, at 19,

December like-for-like sales up 15.2%, year to date 8.4% aheadFull year outcome expected to be inline with expectationsWages and energy costs remain key challenge across the industryPubs group JD Wetherspoon (JDW) continued its slow and steady recovery from the pandemic putting up a good festive performance as like-for-like sales increased 15.2% in December compared with 8.8% for the market.For th

Robust trading continued in Q1Record Christmas day salesPBT to be towards top end of expectationsAll Bar One-to-Toby Carvery owner Mitchells & Butlers (MAB) expects pre-tax profits for the year to September 2024 will come in towards the top end of consensus estimates after sales picked up over Christmas with a boost from the return of work parties and festive gatherings.The pubs company, whose bra

Nasdaq ends 2023 with best performance in 20 yearsS&P 500 ends the year up 24%Goldman Sachs predicts 8% rise in S&P 500US markets are expected to start 2024 on a positive note on 2 January after closing on Christmas Day and New Year?s Day only.The tech-heavy Nasdaq ended the year with one of its best performances in two decades ? up 44% to sit at the 15,011 mark as of 29 December 2023, and the S&P

The UK hospitality sector has been one of the biggest casualties of the pandemic and the slowest to rebound.Enforced closures during lockdowns, surging energy, labour and commodity prices post pandemic and ongoing train strikes mean hospitality has faced more than its fair share of obstacles over the last three years.The extra challenges mean hospitality has been slower than other sectors to regai

It has been an up and down year for the UK stock market but some names have really shone over the course of the last 12 months. In this article we go through the market cap ranks to identify the best performing large-, mid- and small-cap stocks in 2023.£5 billion+ market capWhile Nvidia (NVDA:NASDAQ) has dominated headlines globally as excitement around AI (artificial intelligence) helped drive i

Full year sales and profit ahead of expectationsStrong like-for-like sales growth continues after year-endCost headwinds expected to fall in year aheadNobody likes a flat beer but that sums up the market?s reaction to Mitchells & Butlers? (MAB) better than expected full year results after the shares retreated almost 7% to 226.6p.Still, even after today?s fall the shares are 56% higher than where t

Private equity firm Apollo succeeding with its takeover of Restaurant Group (RTN) would represent a major turning point for the UK stock market. It would mean investors could no longer access a high street-focused casual dining chain operator on the London Stock Exchange of any scale.Restaurant Group's primary asset is Wagamama, a 165-strong nationwide chain offering Asian-style food. Investing in

Given the positive summer trading updates from UK hospitality firms such as JD Wetherspoon (JDW), Marston's (MARS) and Mitchells & Butler (MAB), expectations are fairly high for Beefeater, Brewers' Fayre and Premier Inn owner Whitbread (WTB) when it reports first-half earnings on 18 October.In the first quarter to the start of June, Premier Inn accommodation sales were up 18% on last year while Re

Like-for-like sales acceleratingCosts 'at low end of range'Hospitality operators upbeatAll Bar One owner Mitchells & Butler (MAB) pleased the market with its final update for the year to 23 Sept which showed sales up over 10% on a total basis thanks to a strong second half.The shares gained as much as 3.7% in early trading to 222.6p before settling back to 218.2p for a gain of 1.7%, while shares i

Best performing stocks in the first half include lots of consumer-facing namesMarks & Spencer, Rolls Royce and Aston Martin Lagonda make the listRecovery plays among the top 10The flagship index for the UK stock market, the FTSE 100, may not have kept pace with global peers at the halfway point of 2023 but some stocks in the broader FTSE 350 have really impressed.The 10 best performers on the inde

UK investors will be well aware of the lopsided performance of the US stock market in recent months, with a handful of stocks accounting for almost the entire index gains so far this year.However, a similar phenomenon is occurring right under our noses with most of the gains in the FTSE 100 and FTSE 250 down to the outperformance of some of their larger stocks.This concentration on a select few te

Shares in pubs group Mitchells & Butlers (MAB) are up 90% from their October 2022 lows which is roughly where they found support during the pandemic induced sell-off in March 2020.That may sound impressive, but the shares need to double again to reach their pre-Covid level of 415p. The hospitality sector was not only severely clobbered by lockdowns but also severely impacted by the subsequent rapi

- Wetherspoons yet to fully recover from Covid- Rail strikes and bad weather crimped recent sales- Chairman Tim Martin remains 'cautiously optimistic'Shares in iconic pubs chain JD Wetherspoon (JDW) weakened 2.3% to 468p despite the hard-pressed company serving up the news first half like-for-like sales were strongly ahead of last year's Omicron-marred festive period.Unfortunately, Wetherspoon's s

- Consumer spending squeeze and rail strikes hit hospitality sales- Profit warning triggers 5% earnings downgrade- C&C continues to generate strong free cash flowShares in C&C (CCR) were the biggest FTSE 250 losers on Friday, falling 10.5% to 164.6p after the Dublin-headquartered drinks business served up news of disappointing trading in December.C&C pinned the blame for subdued Christmas sales on

- Strong Christmas trading against easy comps- Continued like-for-like growth- Focus on driving cost efficienciesPubs group Mitchell's & Butlers (MAB) saw strong trading over Christmas with like-for-like sales up 19% as they lapped the prior Covid-impacted periodAgainst a more meaningful pre-pandemic comparison in 2019, like-for-like sales grew 8.5% in the last five weeks to 7 January despite the

Football's World Cup and a boost to hospitality spend normally go together like, well beer and football, but this year's tournament is a bit different.And while the market often prices in the impact of a major football tournament ahead of time, a winter World Cup has left investors somewhat on the back foot when it comes to predicting exactly how the chips are going to fall for the sector this Chr

- Return to full-year profit- Sales back above pre-Covid levels - Cost inflation of 10-12% expected in current yearPubs, bars and restaurants group Mitchells & Butlers (MAB) achieved a significant milestone with its latest full year results showing sales back above pre-Covid levels.The market was certainly impressed by the numbers, and by news that like-for-like sales were up 6.5% in the first 10

- Like-for-like sales 3% ahead of pre-pandemic- Encouraging trading ahead of World Cup- Energy costs hedged Pubs and hotels group Marston's (MARS) said like-for-like sales grew 3% in the last 10-weeks to 1 October, 3% ahead of 2019 and 4% up on last year, driving a 4% increase in the shares to 37.4p.The company highlighted continuing recovery from the pandemic with 'encouraging' customer demand wh