London’s FTSE 100 was up 0.4% to 7,051.64 by midday on Friday with sterling also higher despite weaker than expected UK GDP growth. Growth of 0.1% in July compared to a consensus estimate of 0.6%, inhibited by the proliferation of the Delta variant that prevented many workers from being able to participate in the labour market. Significantly the largest sector of the British economy, the ...

The FTSE 100 index was 0.35% higher at 7,048.96 in early trading despite the release of official statistics indicating that Britain’s economic growth in July was significant below expectations. Growth of 0.1% in July compared to a consensus estimate of 0.6%. Growth was inhibited by the proliferation of the Delta variant that prevented many workers for being able to participate in the labour ...

This is the final part of our three-part series on the FTSE 250. Read our introduction here and catch up on the growth versus value debate in part two here. In this last part of our mini-series on the FTSE 250 we take a look at some of the higher quality stocks that inhabit the UK’s mid-cap universe. We will discuss some of the companies that demonstrate real financial strength and balance ...

UK stocks nudged higher in early trading on Tuesday as firmer commodity prices boosted mining and oil plays. By 8.40 am, the FTSE 100 index was up 0.2% at 7,121.2 points, while the FTSE 250 traded 0.4% to the good at 23,836.5 points. Major movers included mining titan BHP (BHP), which added 1.3% to £23.37, as well as oil giant BP (BP.), bid up 0.8% to 297.3p. Investor sentiment was ...

London’s FTSE 100 finished Friday’s session 1.8% lower at 6,407.5 points after the worst week for markets since October. Wall Street opened in the red, the US market extending its run of losses as the GameStop saga continued. Investors have been rattled by traders on Reddit buying stocks such as GameStop in coordinated attacks against short sellers, while concerns over vaccine ...

London’s FTSE 100 edged 8.6 points higher to 7,549.4 on Thursday with investors in cautious mood ahead of the holiday season and the Bank of England’s interest rate decision at midday, with no change to the cost of borrowing anticipated. Markets seemed to shrug their shoulders following the impeachment of Donald Trump, who became only the third President in US history to be ...

London’s FTSE 100 cheapened the best part of 30 points to 7,065 on Tuesday, despite remarks from Donald Trump that the US and China would ‘very shortly’ resume trade talks. A rare bout of strength in the pound served to weigh on UK stocks that earn in US dollars, explaining the share price declines seen at Carnival (CCL) and Ferguson (FERG). Flexible office space supplier IWG ...

Following a patchy start to the week, the fabulous FTSE 100 has subsequently managed to keep its chin up and trades 19.3 points higher on Friday at 7,703.2 with a helping hand from consumer goods colossus Unilever (ULVR), bid up 74p to £44.05. Lloyd’s of London insurer Beazley (BEZ) cheapens 11.4% to 493.8p after reporting a slump in first half pre-tax profit to $57.5m ...

One of the most unfortunate certainties of life is that it ends. Fortunately pharmaceutical firms are working on life-saving treatments to improve our quality of life and hopefully extend it. Investing in the pharma sector can be rewarding if a company develops the next big blockbuster drug but this journey is filled with risks, as we explain later. In this article we explore how investors ...

The FTSE 100 is up 19 points to 7,554.13 in early trading as the leading index continues its momentum from yesterday. There is optimism that President Trump’s tax reform may actually become law, which helped to boost US markets last night and have a positive effect on markets in other parts of the world. Online price comparison site Gocompare.com (GOCO) gains 6.3% to 105.3p on news its ...

What’s the secret of a fund’s success? Using data from the industry body AIC (Association of Investment Companies) we have identified and canvassed the views of the people running the investment trusts which have performed best for investors in 2015. We quiz them on what’s gone right and how they are positioning themselves for 2016. We also include VCTs (venture capital trusts) which fall ...