As we approach the end of the year it is an opportune moment to shine a light on some of this year's least-loved stocks.Rather than look at the stocks which have lost the most, we have collected together those trading at or near their lows for the year along with those with the fewest friends in the analyst community and those which the hedge fund community thinks are outright shorts.If we first t

Metro Bank executives snap up sharesAscential CEO sells 300,000 sharesDarktrace CEO sells 100,000 sharesDaniel Frumkin, chief executive of Metro Bank (MTRO),bought 5,833,333 shares for a total value of £1,750,000 in this week's capital raise by the 'challenger' financial.Chief financial officer James Hopkins subscribed for 200,000 shares for a total value of £60,000 in the same placing.Metro Ban

Shareholders support equity raiseBond restructuring due ?shortly?Cost-saving target increasedAs the old saying goes, what doesn?t kill you makes you stronger, and investors in Metro Bank (MTRO) cheered the news the company had not only secured a financial lifeline via a share placing but had raised its cost-cutting target in order to keep it on a firmer footing in the future.The shares, which have

Financial services group Metro Bank (MTRO) has survived another crisis after agreeing a £925 million rescue package yet question marks remain about its future.Metro Bank was the highest profile of the challenger banks which emerged in the wake of the financial crisis promising to shake up high street and commercial banking.In theory, because they were not saddled with crisis-ridden balance sheets

Biggest shareholder to own more than 50% of bankEquity and bond holders face painShares jump in value by a quarterShares in financially-challenged lender Metro Bank (MTRO) jumped 25% to 57p after the firm announced it had secured an agreement for a significant cash injection including £150 million of new equity capital.Investors chased the stock higher in the hope today's news will secure its imm

Over 30% wiped off market value Bank admits it is considering optionsShares put on 'negative watch' this weekShares in challenger lender Metro Bank (MTRO) plunged more than 30% to a new all-time low of 34p in early trading after a press report suggested the company was looking to raise as much as £600 million in fresh funding.That compares with a market capitalization as of last night of just £8

- Lack of surprises and upgrades disappoints- Shares drift after update- Metro Bank and OSB Group rallyAfter solid gains for Barclays (BARC) and HSBC (HSBA) and a loss for shares in NatWest Group (NWG), investors were eyeing the first-quarter update from the UK's largest lender Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) to complete the picture.In the event, the results were mostly as expected and without an upgr

Traders who took a punt on 'challenger' lender Metro Bank (MTRO) at 70p in October last year, just ahead of its third-quarter trading update, will be high-fiving themselves this week.With a fortnight to go before it reports full-year earnings on 2 March, the shares have more than doubled in price and show no signs of slowing their advance thanks to steadily rising revenue and margin forecasts.With

Major UK share indices managed to hold on to earlier gains and finished Wednesday's trading session in positive territory.This was despite continuing concerns surrounding the potential economic impact of the Omicron coronavirus variant, and disappointment surrounding the latest UK third quarter gross domestic figure print.The FTSE 100 Index and the FTSE 250 Index ended the session 0.61% and 1.14%

Major UK share indexes traded in positive territory at lunchtime on Wednesday despite GDP growth disappointment and ongoing Omicron concerns.The UK economy saw growth of 1.1% versus the 1.3% expected in the third quarter to 30 September 2021. 'The disappointing figures on the UK economy were before the Omicron wave hit, so there will be some concern that they represent the calm before the storm an

Disappointing UK growth figures put a spanner in the works for the FTSE 100 in early trade on Wednesday, defying expectations that Tuesday's rally would continue. The benchmark index around 0.3% to 7,277.92 but the falls remain marginal, so far.Gross domestic product in the world's fifth-biggest economy increased 1.1% in the third quarter to the end of September, weaker than a preliminary estimate

FTSE 100 falls accelerated through the afternoon session despite a firm start on Wall Street, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq trading higher. Reports that the US and China could release some of their strategic oil reserves appear to have taken their toll, and despite a recovery in the price of Brent crude, up 0.7% at $80.87 a barrel, both BP (BP.) and Royal Dutch Shell (RDSB) posted near 2% declines t

The FTSE 100 remains entrenched in the red at lunchtime on Thursday as investors were spooked by reports that the US and China could release some of their strategic oil reserves.West Texas Intermediate is off 0.45% while Brent crude fell 0.32% to $80.02 a barrel. These worries saw both BP (BP.) and Royal Dutch Shell (RDSB) among the biggest FTSE 100 fallers, off around 2% a piece at 335.95p and £

The FTSE 100 slipped lower on Thursday, as miners declined and investors digested news Royal Dutch Shell (RDSB) could be hit with an exit tax in the Netherlands ahead of its move to relocating its headquarters to the UK.Early on, the blue chip benchmark traded 0.22% lower at 7,275.32 points, not helped by rising inflation as this raised the likelihood of a pre-Christmas rate rise, thereby boosting

London's FTSE 100 finished 0.43% higher at 7,279.91 points on Thursday after the Bank of England confounded market expectations by keeping interest rates on hold, while still warning a hike is coming soon.Banks were the big casualties with Barclays (BARC), Lloyds (LLOY), NatWest (NWG) and HSBC (HSBA) all marked lower as hopes they would see an increase in lending margins were dashed, for the time

UK shares opened on the front foot on Thursday in line with other global equity markets after the US Federal Reserve presented a dovish message to investors.Fed chair Jerome Powell said the central bank would start to taper back its asset purchases as signalled but added it was nowhere near the point of raising interest rates. US markets rallied in response and overnight trading in Asia followed s

London's FTSE 100 finished Wednesday's trading session 0.3% to the good at 6,963.67 points, albeit off intra-day highs, as investors awaited the latest meeting of the US Federal Reserve as well as updates from Apple and Facebook.Across the pond in the US, the benchmark S&P 500 traded slightly higher at 4,190.46 points by 4.30pm UK time.The UK's blue chip benchmark was buoyed by positive corporate

Shares in the UK's largest mortgage lender Lloyds Bank (LLOY) rose 4.4% to 45.5p after the bank posted first quarter pre-tax earnings well ahead of market expectations. The bank also raised full year profitability guidance, prompting analysts to revisit their spreadsheets.Underlying pre-tax profits for the group were £2.07 billion against consensus forecasts of just over £1 billion, helped by be

With the major UK banks due to report their first quarter results in the next couple of weeks, we believe the rally in the sector which began last autumn has staying power based on valuation grounds.However, this is only a sector to trade short-term and we would be wary of brokers pushing an overly bullish narrative.WHAT TO EXPECTThe reporting season starts with HSBC (HSBA) on 27 April, followed b

The FTSE 100 endured a bumpy ride on Wednesday, reversing morning declines to finish the day higher as optimism gathered on ending lockdown restrictions in the coming weeks and that the summer tourist season may be saved if the planned timetable is met.Fears of a return of meaningful inflation pushing interest rates higher had weighed on investors early on, with the strong pound also hitting expor