Unless they own shares in investment trusts, most readers probably will not have heard of the phrase 'continuation vote', and there is a chance a good many who do own investment trusts may be unfamiliar with them too.However, as the recent ups and (mostly) downs at music royalty fund Hipgnosis Songs Fund (SONG) have demonstrated, continuation votes can be literally a make-or-break event for trusts

Robert Rhea's outline of a bull market in his tome, The Dow Theory, which dates back to 1932, still seems relevant today. He said: 'There are three principal phases of a bull market: the first is represented by reviving confidence in the future of business; the second is the response of stock prices to the known improvement in corporate earnings, and the third is the period when speculation is ram

After Monday's Martin Luther King day market holiday, US stocks resumed their downward trajectory on Tuesday extending last week's losses. By mid-afternoon the S&P 500 index was 1.8% lower and the technology-heavy Nasdaq 100 index was 2.1% lower.The negative sentiment was exacerbated by a further rise in the yield on the benchmark 10 year Treasury note, which reached 1.843%, its highest level sinc

The major UK equity indices continued to encounter selling pressure at lunchtime on Tuesday, with investors taking the opportunity to lock-in recent gains as bond yields rose, with 10-year Gilts hitting a three-month high.The benchmark FTSE 100 closed Monday at its highest since January 2020, and the index has risen 5.2% in the past month.At midday, the FTSE 100 was trading 0.5% lower at 7569.55 a

Major UK shares are under heavy selling pressure in early trading on Tuesday as traders dial down recent optimism, with shares of consumer firms and precious metals' miners leading the decline, while improving employment conditions in the UK and rising US Treasury yields signalled growing bets of tighter monetary policies.At 9.20am, the benchmark FTSE 100 is down 0.8% at 7,549.57 after the release

UK stocks regained some of their earlier losses on Thursday but closed in the red as the debate around the potential economic damage caused by Omicron intensified.US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen weighed in on the debate by saying the new variant could slow the global economy and cause significant problems.Meanwhile oil prices rallied around 1.5% after the OPEC+ oil producers' cartel said they w

UK stocks remained in deep negative territory at midday Thursday as investment sentiment continued to suffer from worries over the Omicron variant and US central bank plans to increase its pace of tapering. Investors were also watching energy prices ahead of a meeting of OPEC+ oil producers, which it is hoped will lead to an increase in supplies after the U.S. and others released crude from their

The latest index review by FTSE Russell, part of the London Stock Exchange Group (LSE), sees cybersecurity firm Darktrace (DARK) relegated from the top flight less than two months after it was promoted due to the de-listing of supermarket group Wm Morrison following its acquisition by private equity.Darktrace shares have had a rollercoaster ride since the firm's hotly-anticipated initial public of

UK stocks dropped in early trading after a selloff in overseas markets following the first case of the Omicron variant in the U.S. and a warning from technology firm Apple that demand for its latest iPhone had weakened.Meanwhile, investors were also watching energy prices ahead of an meeting of OPEC+ oil producers, which it is hoped will lead to an increase in supplies after the U.S. and others re

A combination of factors including sagging US consumer confidence, a spate of downgrades to China's economic growth forecasts and renewed inflationary concerns weighed on UK stocks towards the end of Tuesday's trading session.The FTSE 100 Index closed 0.4% lower at 7031 and the FTSE 250 Index finished the session 1.6% lower at 23,233 points.Economists have cut their growth forecasts for the Chines

Fears that inflationary pressures will be more persistent than originally anticipated, coupled with concerns regarding the winding up of the UK furlough scheme weighed on both the FTSE 100 and FTSE 250 Indexes during lunchtime trading.At midday the former had slipped by 0.4% to 7031 while the latter had given up 1.6% to 23,233 points. The recent rally in crude oil prices has reignited concerns tha

UK stocks dropped at the open on Tuesday as the fuel crisis sweeping the country showed no signs of easing. To make matters worse, Brent crude oil prices surged to a three-year high over $80 per barrel, pushing up prices at the pump, and UK and European natural gas price hit new records.By 8.45am the FTSE 100 index was down 30 points or 0.4% to 7,035 points as weakness in miners and industrials ou