Pearson (PSON)

The FTSE 100 starts Friday in a subdued state amid mixed corporate news and ahead of the release of US GDP data later. In early trading the index is down 23.68 points at 7,410.45. Lender Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) slumps 4.5% as it books a fall in first-quarter profit and delivers a soft warning on its annual guidance, a day after announcing chief executive Ross McEwan was leaving. Food ...

Having enjoyed a strong finish on Thursday amid a big slide in sterling, the FTSE 100 softens 54.3 points to 7,301 on Friday as news that the immediate cliff edge for Brexit is being postponed drives a recovery rally in the currency. This is hurting companies deriving a significant chunk of their sales in dollars such as Unilever (ULVR) and British American Tobacco (BATS). Pharmaceuticals ...

Shares in academic publisher Pearson (PSON) are down 1.2% to 872.8p in mid-morning, reversing earlier gains of more than 3%, as investors digest 2018 results. Today’s share price action replicates in microcosm what has happened to the stock of late. The company was one of the top FTSE 100 performers in 2018 as investors looked to a recovery in its fortunes after structural challenges had led ...

Investors have a couple of interesting takeovers to concentrate on in early trade on Friday as lender Provident Financial (PFG) and Cathedral City cheese maker Dairy Crest (DCG) recommend bids to shareholders. Provident, the £1.3bn business behind Vanquis credit cards, accepts a £1.3bn offer tabled subprime lending peer Non-Standard Finance (NSF). Interestingly, NSF was founded in 2014 by ...

The dip in academic publisher Pearson’s (PSON) share price despite news of the divestment of its structurally-challenged K12 US school textbook business could reflect the fact the deal does not represent the clean break the market is looking for. Pearson shares fall 0.7% to 913.8p as the $250m sale of K12 to Nexus Capital Management involves just $25m up front with the remainder being paid ...

The FTSE 100 starts the week on the back foot although it is still holding on to a position north of 7,200, down 0.37% at 7,210.16 in early trading. An uptick in the pound contributing to the weaker open. Consumer goods giant Reckitt Benckiser (RB.) reports a 65% drop in annual profit owing to one-off gains and expenses but underlying earnings are up as the company hit the top end of its sales ...

Price comparison is a competitive space, so it is little wonder that today’s results from Moneysupermarket.com (MONY) are being received so positively by the market. The shares are marked 5.5% higher to 329.7p as the company reports growth in revenue, earnings and the dividend. Drilling down a bit further the company’s two biggest verticals (or sectors) Insurance and Money, which ...

Fund manager Nick Train is regularly in the spotlight thanks to the popularity of funds run by his investment company Lindsell Train such as Finsbury Growth & Income Trust (FGT) which has outperformed the FTSE All-Share in nine of the past 10 years. Despite generating significant returns for investors, Train’s fame also makes him a target for certain individuals who are waiting for him ...

At just under 3,900, the FTSE 350 index stands about 10% below its mark of a year ago, which may depress some investors, especially those less experienced ones who did not experience the bear markets, of 2000 to 2003 and 2007 to 2009 or – going further back the Asian crisis of 1997-98 or the Black Monday crash of 1987. But it has still been possible to make healthy gains. Five stocks ...

Academic publisher Pearson (PSON) is down 6.7% to 911p, erasing some of the gains it has enjoyed over the last 12 months, as a trading update renews concerns about the structural problems facing the business. At first glance today’s year-end trading update looks fine, with adjusted profit bang in the middle of previous guidance (which stood at £520m to £560m) at £540m to ...

Despite Prime Minister Theresa May’s heavy Brexit vote defeat, the pound is holding firm and the UK-heavy FTSE 250 index trades 57.3 points higher at 18,487 on Wednesday. This perhaps reflects hopes we are going to get more time for negotiations, we’re less likely to have a hard Brexit or Brexit won’t happen at all. However, the EU has already said it isn’t going to negotiate further and ...

Were you lucky enough to own some or all of the elite group of funds which made money for investors in 2018? Only 22% of active fund managers across all types of funds delivered a return above zero this year, while a mere 36% of investment trusts delivered a positive return, according to analysis by AJ Bell. While life has clearly been tough, certain investment trusts stand out from the crowd ...

MARKET CAP: £1BN & ABOVE  OCADO +101% Shares in Ocado (OCDO) have doubled in value in 2018 as the company made progress with signing international contracts where it sets up large distribution centres to enable online grocery services. Building on a 2017 tie-up with France’s Groupe Casino, Ocado has this year signed deals with Canada’s Sobeys, Sweden’s ICA and most ...

The FTSE 100 is managing to consolidate the gains it managed yesterday, up 0.16% to 7,070.76 and comfortably above the key 7,000 barrier for now. After taking their cue from a solid US close, investors’ focus is likely to switch to Brexit and the EU summit in Brussels which gets underway later today. Online clothing retailer ASOS (ASC:AIM) bounces back in fine fashion this morning after being ...

The FTSE opens on the front foot on Friday as fears of trade wars subside and all eyes turn to the second quarter US GDP reading. The meeting on Wednesday between US president Donald Trump and European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker has been seen by some as diffusing the trade tariff rhetoric somewhat. Telecommunications firm BT (BT.A) gains 3.7% after reporting a rise in first ...

Fidelity Special Values’ (FSV) fund manager Alex Wright warns the UK stock market has hit its peak, arguing it is trading ‘around its long-term average’ with many stocks on peak margins. ‘I believe this constrains the ability of the overall market to continue to make above-average returns in the future, and leaves it more vulnerable to a shock,’ comments Wright. Global markets ...

A recovery in the share price of academic publisher Pearson (PSON) gathers pace after it posted a solid set of first quarter numbers. A 3.5% gain to 859.8p takes the advance from its 52-week nadir of 563p to more than 50%. At current levels the shares trade on a consensus 2018 price to earnings ratio of 17.2 times and yield 2.1%. Flagging a ‘good start’ to 2018, the company posts ...

The FTSE 100 recovers from Thursday’s decline, up 30 points to 7,532.21. This move was aided by a rally in Wall Street as Treasury yields retreated following some strong US economic data regarding trade and factory orders. Bank HSBC (HSBA) retreats 1.7% to 708.85p as it reveals first quarter pre-tax profits are down 4% to $4.8bn due to higher operating costs. The bank did report a revenue ...

Alex Wright, manager of Fidelity Special Values (FSV), believes banks and other financials 'still look very good value' and says some recent portfolio additions 'have a more defensive flavour', notably education business Pearson (PSON), which has 'strong recovery potential after several very difficult years.' Bid up 5p to 267p on today’s half year results, Fidelity Special Values is an ...

The UK’s leading index continues its losing trend on Friday, despite a better performance on Wall Street overnight as interest rate hike fears subside. A positive overnight session in Asia also fails to lift the FTSE 100 out of its slump, weakness compounded by some heavyweight constituents struggling today. Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) loses 4.4% to 269.6p despite posting its first ‘bottom ...