This year, Apple (AAPL:NASDAQ) shares have fallen nearly 9%. If that doesn?t sound like a big deal, consider that for the world?s second most valuable company it means the loss of something like $230 billion. That?s the equivalent of an entire PepsiCo (PEP:NASDAQ), or Shell (SHEL) ? the UK?s current largest company ? plus a British American Tobacco (BATS) thrown in.On a one-year view, the stock ha

The new tax year often brings a raft of changes that impact people?s pay, investments and savings ? and this year is no different. Here we list the big changes affecting people?s finances from next month.1. Capital Gains Tax breaks cut again?From April the tax-free allowance for capital gains tax (CGT) will be cut in half, from the current £6,000 down to just £3,000. It means the tax-free amount

Stock prices in London rose around midday Monday, including the FTSE 250, despite shares of Marshalls shedding due to a profit dive.The FTSE 100 index was up 21.69 points, 0.3%, at 7,749.11. The FTSE 250 was up 33.85 points, 0.2%, at 19,546.76, and the AIM All-Share was down 1.29 points, 0.2%, at 737.02.The Cboe UK 100 was up 0.2% at 775.52, the Cboe UK 250 was up 0.4% at 16,968.64, and the Cboe S

The end of the tax year is coming down the track fast and that means there are only weeks remaining to make full use of your £20,000 annual ISA allowance.Even if you are some way off this maximum limit or haven?t invested through an ISA at all in 2023/24, the rapidly approaching deadline is a good spur to look at the possibility of making money from the financial markets.Two weeks ago we ran an a

The end of the tax year is fast approaching and with it the opportunity to maximise your £20,000 ISA allowance for the year.In this article we have identified six names from a list of some of the most consistent funds and fund managers in the UK which could be a good fit for your tax wrapper. While we have aimed for a balance across different investment styles and asset classes this is not intend

London?s FTSE 100 went into the afternoon flat, with trade lacking conviction ahead of Wednesday?s main event, the Federal Reserve decision.US monetary policymakers are expected to wrap-up their two-day meeting with a hold to interest rates later.Before the decision is announced, there is a US jobs report from ADP at 1315 GMT, a precursor to Friday?s nonfarms. Elsewhere, the economic calendar has

Full year guidance downgradedDemand slows in retail businessReturning accessories to growth a ?key priority?Britons are famously devoted to their pets but a profit warning from Pets at Home (PETS) demonstrates there are limits to the sums they will spend on their furry friends.Shares in the UK pet care leader softened 2% to 287.5p after it said third quarter sales ?didn?t quite hit? anticipated le

Shares in US data centre hardware outfit Super Micro Computer (SMCI:NASDAQ) have extended their remarkable gains over the last 12 months to 491% as the company flagged an exceptional second quarter performance (19 January).Revenue for the three-month period to 31 December is expected to total between $3.6 billion and $3.65 billion, well in excess of previous guidance of $2.7 billion to $2.9 billio

Mega-cap tech stocks drove the bulk of US stock market gains in 2023, but can the so-called ?Magnificent Seven? repeat the trick in 2024?While the odds seem stacked against a re-run of last year?s blistering capital returns over the next 12 months, Shares believes that the ?Magnificent Seven? will continue to beat S&P 500 rivals and top index averages. If you want high-quality growth in your portf

After shedding all of this year's gains during an autumn retreat, the US dollar, as benchmarked by the trade-weighted DXY basket, or 'Dixie' index, stands no higher now than it did in spring 2022. Investors must assess why the globe's reserve currency is sliding, whether those trends will continue and what would be the potential implications for investment portfolios should the greenback continue

According to Charlie Munger, Warren Buffett's highly respected colleague and co-manager of Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.B:NYSE), 'All intelligent investing is value investing, acquiring more than you are paying for.'Or, as Howard Marks of Oaktree Capital Management puts it, 'It's not what you buy, it's what you pay, and success in investing doesn't come from buying good things but from buying things we

I am in my 30s and each year I've seen the triple lock policy means that the state pension goes up by quite large amount - often by more than my salary. I'm not against the state pension going up, but I wonder if I will ever see the benefit that those in their 60s and 70s are seeing now. How long will this policy be guaranteed for? And is the system likely to be hugely different by the time I reti

I'm disillusioned in my desk job and considering a career change. Obviously pensions are only one consideration but I was wondering which careers give the best options? It's pretty clear that it's the public sector jobs that come out on top, but what are the ultimate 'best' schemes out there?AnonymousTom Selby, AJ Bell Head of Retirement Policy, says:There are broadly two types of workplace pensio

Wall Street closed out August in decent fashion, although some of the momentum was taken out of the recent rally by a mixed reading on US inflation.The Core PCE index - closely followed by the Federal Reserve when making interest rate decisions - was roughly in line with forecasts but, nonetheless, showed a slight tick higher year-on-year.August as a whole represented the first monthly back step f

Stock prices in London were a mixed bag on Thursday at midday, with the FTSE 100 edging lower, as jitters were evident before the US Federal Reserve's latest print of its preferred inflation measure, the personal consumption expenditures index.'The markets are so data driven right now, aping the stance adopted by central bankers, and it feels like a worse than expected reading could extinguish the

THIS IS AN ADVERTISING FEATUREKristy Fong, Investment Manager, abrdn New India Investment Trust plcAmid the evolving geopolitical dynamics between China and the US, India is in a sweet spot to gain from this ongoing power tussle between the two largest economies in the world. This includes not just economic benefits as some investors and companies start to turn lukewarm on China but also political

Following our look at Microsoft (MSFT:NASDAQ), this is the second instalment in the Shares mini-series aimed at arming readers with an easy-to-use five step framework which can be applied to most popular types of company.Hopefully the structure we've provided will allow you to quickly assess if a stock looks right for you, with built-in rest-stops at each stage where you can decide to hop off for

A tricky week for US stocks ended on a brighter note as some dovish messaging from US Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell helped lift technology stocks.While Powell suggested the Fed was not done yet with rate hikes in testimony before US lawmakers he did at least suggest he and his colleagues would proceed with caution. Financial markets are largely pricing in a 25 basis point hike at the conclus

Cautious full year 2024 outlook sends shares lower in after marketFlat to low single digit growth expectedPrioritising cost reductions and transformation plansShares in air freight and delivery giant FedEx (FDX:NYSE) dropped 3% in after hours trading after giving a disappointing outlook despite beating fourth quarter earnings estimates.The cautious outlook calls for 'flattish' revenue and full yea

- H1 profits slightly ahead of expectations- Earnings pegged back by margin pressures- Solid growth in stores and onlineShares in Shoe Zone (SHOE:AIM) fell 12% to 212.5p after the value footwear retailer reported a 17.4% plunge in first-half profits as inflationary pressures crimped margins.Reflecting current consumer uncertainty ahead of the important summer and back to school selling periods, Sh