London?s FTSE 100 hit another record high on Friday, rounding off a strong week with another gain, despite a robust US inflation reading threatening to spoil the party.The FTSE 100 index added 60.97 points, 0.8%, at 8,139.83. It is its best closing level ever, and it earlier hit a record intraday high of 8,146.75.The FTSE 250 was up 222.18 points, 1.1%, at 19,824.16, and the AIM All-Share rose 2.1

Interest rates are expected to stay higher for longer to combat the sticky inflation which remains a threat to investors? hard-earned wealth and purchasing power. During periods of high inflation, it is crucial to invest in companies that possess pricing power, because these firms can pass on increased costs to customers, enabling them to maintain profit margins and generate the robust cash flows

London?s FTSE 100 achieved a record close on Monday, as sabre-rattling in the Middle East began to die down, while the pound struggled on renewed hope that the Bank of England is taming UK inflation.Among individual shares, there was some M&A impetus for Tyman and Hipgnosis Songs Fund. A bullish broker note lifted some UK high street and grocer stalwarts, though model train maker Hornby went off t

If you had £10,000 to invest in a single fund, which would you choose ? one of the most popular with retail investors for more than a decade, or a relative new kid on the block with a similar asset allocation approach?In a manner of speaking, it is what billionaire City grandee Michael Spencer challenged formidable money man and Fundsmith Equity (B41YBW7) founder Terry Smith at the end of 2023, t

THIS IS AN ADVERTISING FEATURE Abby Glennie and Amanda Yeaman, managers of abrdn UK Smaller Companies Growth TrustThe long-awaited turnaround in smaller companies is unlikely to happen just because shares are lowly-valuedHowever, an improving economic and interest rate backdrop could spark renewed interest in the sectorM&A activity is also providing support for the smaller companies sectorInvest

Microsoft (MSFT:NASDAQ)-backed cybersecurity firm Rubrik (RBRK:NYSE) plans to raise up to $750 million as it becomes the latest company to unveil plans for an IPO (initial public offering) in the US. The roster of companies planning to go public is starting to fill out after two years of relative drought following recent successes by social media platform Reddit (RDDT:NYSE) and semiconductor conn

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

Our portfolio of picks for 2024 is off to a solid start in what proved an uneven first quarter for the stock market as a whole.Our return of 9% is comfortably ahead of our FTSE All-Share benchmark at 3.9%. It?s a tale of feast and famine, however, with half of our selections achieving double-digit gains while 40% are in the red.THE BIG WINNERSAt the end of 2023, shares in biotech specialist Purete

Multi-billion dollar subsidised investment agreed in ArizonaNew plant will make world?s most advanced AI chipsNvidia believed to be TSMC?s biggest customerShares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (2330:TPE) surged to a record high on 9 April 2024 after the world?s largest contract chipmaker unveiled plans for a new chip fabrication plant in the US state of Arizona as part of the Biden

Stocks in London started the week on the front foot, picking up strength as Monday?s trading session wore on, to post healthy gains by the close.Gold hit a new high before fading, airlines and miners were in demand, while Entain prospered on bid speculation.The FTSE 100 index closed up 32.31 points, 0.4%, at 7,943.47. The FTSE 250 ended up 128.64 points, 0.7%, at 19,854.58, and the AIM All-Share c

The shrinking UK stock market is a worry for fund managers and has wider implications for the UK as a listing venue as well as the UK?s economic growth, say analysts at Peel Hunt.This article explores the so-called de-equitisation of the UK stock market, or plainly put the substitution of debt for equity via share buybacks and cash acquisitions.More than 45 companies exited the UK market in 2023 d

Mercadolibre (MELI:NASDAQ) $1,528.95Market cap: $77.5 billionReaders that have come across MercadoLibre (MELI:NASDAQ) before will likely be familiar with the badge some pin on it ? the ?Amazon (AMZN:NASDAQ) of Latin America?. And just like its US peer, the Uruguay-based business has spent the past couple of decades emerging as one of the region?s ecommerce leaders.It may have started out as a mark

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

The world of fantasy is clearly having a moment. The rise of ?romantasy? authors like Sarah J Maas, who has been a big part of UK publishing outfit Bloomsbury?s (BMY) recent success, have taken the genre out of its previous male-dominated realm to a whole new audience.Bloomsbury?s surging sales and the ongoing phenomenon that is Games Workshop (GAW) are two examples on the UK market which show the

THIS IS AN ADVERTISING FEATURE Rhys DaviesFund Manager, InvescoMy job as manager of Invesco Bond Income Plus Ltd (BIPS) is to supply income to enable the investment trust?s board to pay dividends to shareholders.The income comes from a portfolio of bonds. If we think of the portfolio as the income engine, then higher coupons¹ and higher yields over the past two years have allowed us to refue

THIS IS AN ADVERTISING FEATURE An equity income option to suit all tastesEquity income offers a breadth of investment options, depending on the regionThe UK is an option for recovery, Asia for growth, and the US for diversificationEquity income strategies may have a tailwind from falling interest ratesThere remains considerable debate over when and by how much interest rates could fall this year.

Record profits deliveredFY25 guidance reiteratedOverseas developments exciteShares in Next (NXT) rallied 5.4% to an all-time high of £89.66 on Thursday after the fashion and homeware retailer reported forecast-beating results for the year to January 2024 and reiterated its full year 2025 guidance.Investors? spirits were buoyed by comments from chief executive Simon Wolfson, described as a ?retail

Stock prices in London opened higher on Thursday, ahead of a flash UK PMI reading and the next interest rate decision by the Bank of England.Stocks on Wall Street got a boost on Wednesday, after the US Federal Reserve was surprisingly dovish and left its three rate cuts unchanged from the December dot plot.Eyes now turn onto the Bank of England which will announce its own interest rate decision at

Getting on the housing ladder is the top priority for many young people, but with both house prices and mortgage rates rising it can be an increasingly hard-to-reach goal. However, using a Lifetime ISA can supercharge your savings and get you closer to your house-buying dream.The average house price in the UK is £285,000 today according to the Land Registry?s UK house price index, meaning that so

This column is being written just before the next meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee on 20 March and the working premise is that chair Jay Powell and his colleagues at the US Federal Reserve will leave the headline interest rate unchanged at 5.50%. If that does not turn out to the case then readers can immediately turn over the page, not least to spare the writer?s blushes.That caveat as