Markets generally appear to have been somewhat quieter over the past week and the same goes for director dealing, with a lower than normal number of noteworthy trades. But there have been some interesting transactions, one of which involves Michael Dobson, the outgoing chairman and former chief executive of FTSE 100 fund manager Schroders (SDR). Dobson sold over 17,000 shares at a price of ...

We’re pleased to welcome back Malcolm from Edinburgh who is sharing his experience as someone in retirement taking charge of their investments for the first time. After a year-and-a-half of taking responsibility for investing for retirement through my SIPP and Stocks and Shares ISA, matters are becoming clearer. There is no going on endless holidays and checking my portfolio once a ...

UK shares picked themselves up in early trade after a two-day plunge with leading stocks given a helping hand by a better than forecast first quarter GDP reading. The data showed the UK contracted by 1.5% in the lockdown-hit opening months to the year, compared to the 1.6% decline forecast. A stronger sign of recovery was news that the economy actually grew 2.1% in March, instead of the ...

Investors have reacted in a mixed fashion to the Budget after Chancellor Rishi Sunak pledged to extend furlough and support for businesses, continue relief on stamp duty and refrain from raising income tax. The blue-chip FTSE 100 was trading 0.6% higher at 6,654 shortly after the Chancellor’s speech, losing half of the gains seen at the market open, while the more domestically focused FTSE ...

UK stocks traded higher on Wednesday as mining stocks found favour thanks to a sharp rally in metals and commodity prices. In Asian trading the Shanghai Composite SE index surged 1.4% and Japan’s Nikkei 225 index gained 0.2%. Gold prices were 0.3% higher at $1,845 an ounce and Brent oil prices were slightly lower at $60.8 a barrel. At 12 pm the FTSE 100 was up 27 points or 0.4% t0 6,559 ...

UK stocks opened higher on Wednesday after a clutch of positive corporate results and dividend resumptions. In Asian trading the Shanghai Composite SE index surged 1.4% and Japan’s Nikkei 225 index gained 0.2%. Gold prices were 0.3% higher at $1,845 an ounce and Brent oil prices were slightly lower at $60.8 a barrel. At 08.45 am the FTSE 100 was 14 points higher at 6,546 ...

What a year. At the start of 2020 it was all about the political certainty in the UK delivered by the 2019 General Election but within a couple of months attention had turned to a nasty new virus emerging from China. In the circumstances the 4.8% total return from our picks was a solid effort, given they were selected for a reality which was entirely overturned by the ...

Investors seem to be warming to the idea of an eleventh-hour Brexit deal if the performance of domestically focused stocks and a strong pound prove to be a good guide to future events. Shares in Housebuilders Vistry (VTY) and Redrow (RDW) and Crest Nicholson (CRST) gained 4.5%, 3.5% and 5% respectively while home improvements company Travis Perkins (TPK) was also perky on Wednesday, gaining ...

We’re pleased to welcome back Malcolm from Edinburgh who is sharing his experience as someone in retirement taking charge of their investments for the first time. Having explained out how he set up his first portfolio Malcolm turns to how he is managing his investments. In an earlier column I explained my attempts at managing new investments in a SIPP and ISA pension fund. I detailed ...

A reassuring trading update ahead of today’s AGM helped shares in housebuilder Redrow (RDW) to gain 2.8% to 453.2p. The company continues to expect to reinstate dividend payments at the half year stage and to be cash positive for the remainder of the financial year, according to the statement covering the 18-week period ending 30 October. HUGE CASH PILE The update, which will be ...

UK stocks erased their early gains to end lower on Wednesday as investors awaited an update from the US Federal Reserve due after the market close regarding the outlook for the US economy. At 4.35pm the benchmark FTSE 100 index was down 7 points at 6,078, led lower by supermarket groups Sainsbury (SBRY) and Tesco (TSCO) and engineers Melrose (MRO) and Roll-Royce (RR.). The FTSE 250 mid-cap ...

Shares in housebuilder Redrow (RDW) fell 1.8% to 448.2p as its results revealed a Covid-19 impact on margins and impairments linked to a reorganisation of its London business. Pre-tax profit for the year to 30 June dropped to £140 million from £406 million as revenue fell 37% to £1.34 billion. The company swung from a net cash balance of £124 million to a net debt position of £126 ...

UK stocks tracked sideways in early trading on Wednesday as investors awaited an update from the Federal Reserve about the outlook for the US economy. At 8.39, the FTSE 100 was ever so slightly lower, off 0.15% at 6,096.30 points. E-commerce company The Hut (THG), the Manchester-based owner of the Lookfantastic website, surged 27% higher to 635p, having priced its IPO at 500p, as conditional ...

Shares in housebuilder Persimmon (PSN) rallied 5.1% to £27.46 after it boosted recovery hopes in the sector, restoring its dividend following an ‘excellent start’ to the second half of the year. The FTSE 100 stalwart said better than expected demand for its homes had allowed it to reinstate the payout it had suspended in late March, with investors set to receive 40p per share. House ...

The decision by chancellor Rishi Sunak to temporarily waive stamp duty on the purchase of homes up to the value of £500,000 in England and Northern Ireland until the end of March 2021 has reignited the housing market after months of hibernation caused by the coronavirus. Since the announcement on 8 July, shares in the housebuilders have mostly beaten the FTSE All-Share index with gains of ...

Chancellor’s Rishi Sunak’s Summer Statement – described as a mini-budget in some quarters – delivered more or less what had been expected. In the absence of any big surprises the FTSE 100 delivered a bit of a shrug to the announcement, remaining subdued down 0.4% at 6,167.61, and sterling was unchanged against the dollar. Following a wave of job losses being announced across ...

In the previous part of this series we defined what a share was, how you can generate a return by investing in them and how this return can be made up both of dividends and capital gains. In this article we turn to the menu from which you can pick shares. After all, shares come in different sizes, shapes and flavours just like the dishes you choose in a restaurant or from a takeaway ...

Redrow (RDW) 439.7p Loss to date: -39.7% Original entry point: Buy at 729.54p, 19 December 2019 Our confidence in housebuilder Redrow (RDW) as a winning stock for 2020, originally buoyed by greater certainty on the UK’s political situation, has been badly undermined by the coronavirus crisis. The latest update from the company (30 Jun) laid bare the impact that the pandemic has ...

Shares in Deeside-based housebuilder Redrow (RDW) shed 5% to 441p on higher than average volume in early trading after the firm warned that profits for the year to 28 June would be ‘substantially’ below last year. As well as the obvious impact of the pandemic on sales and completions, the builder is scaling back its London operations and focusing on its higher-margin regional businesses ...

London’s FTSE fell 30.5 points or 0.49% to 6,195.3 on Tuesday as fears of a resurgence of COVID-19 cases were reinforced by new lockdown measures, notably in the UK city of Leicester. Also weighing on sentiment was the news that the UK’s first quarter GDP reading has been revised lower. In corporate news, Royal Dutch Shell (RDSB) slipped 1.8% to £12.48 as the oil giant warned that it ...