A classic example of a superb business with staying power, The Coca-Cola Company (KO:NYSE) is blessed with iconic brands spearheaded by Coca-Cola or ?Coke?, the world?s most recognised soft drink synonymous with its red cans.Coca-Cola?s brands resonate with consumers around the world, making the New York-listed group?s products the beverage of choice for billions when at home or on the move.Powerf

Annual underlying revenue up 13% to £732.7 millionRiver Cruise and Travel returns to profitStrong customer base of 9.6 millionShares in Saga (SAGA) were marginally higher this morning as the over 50s travel and insurance company reported a 146% rise in underlying pre-tax profit to £38.2 million for the year ending 31 January 2024 lifted by forward bookings from their cruise and travel businesses

London?s FTSE 100 opened sharply lower on Tuesday, as US interest rate worries and geopolitical tensions continued to cast a dark cloud over equity markets.Only Mondi traded higher, with even packaging peer DS Smith falling despite agreeing to a takeover from International Paper, the latest twist in a takeover saga that also involved Mondi. Mondi is yet to respond to the development.The FTSE 100 i

Stocks in London were higher on midday Friday with miners, housebuilders and oil majors rising amid news that the UK is exiting a mild and short recession.The FTSE 100 index was up 96.05 points, 1.2%, at 8,019.85. The FTSE 250 was up 125.41 points, 0.6%, at 19,912.28, and the AIM All-Share was up 2.87 points, 0.4%, at 761.70.The Cboe UK 100 was up 1.3% at 802.07, the Cboe UK 250 was up 0.6% at 17,

The cruise industry is enjoying an unprecedented boom with around 35.7 million passengers expected to book a trip this year, up from 31.5 million in 2023 and 6% more than the number of passengers who set sail in 2019 according to the CLIA (Cruise Lines International Association).Going on a cruise holiday is slowly become a more popular alternative then jumping on a plane or a high-speed train to E

US-listed large-caps shone last year with shares in mega-caps, and the ?Magnificent Seven? in particular, surging higher. However, this outperformance only widened the valuation gap between US large and small-caps and left shares in the latter cohort languishing at the low end of historical valuations.Over one and five years, the Russell 2000 index of US small-cap stocks is up 14.6% and 30.5% at t

Investor sentiment improved in London on Thursday afternoon, following words from the Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell which helped soothe market concern over the US interest rate trajectory.While Powell?s remarked did not make the timing of interest rate cuts any clearer, he did affirm they will happen if the US economy continues to move as expected.The FTSE 100 index added 32.56 points, 0.4%,

Warren Buffett?s antipathy toward gold as an investment is well known, thanks in part to a speech the Sage of Omaha gave at Harvard in 1998. Buffett acidly asserted that: ?Gold gets dug out of the ground in Africa, or someplace. Then we melt it down, dig another hole, bury it again and pay people to stand around guarding it. It has no utility. Anyone watching from Mars would be scratching their he

By his own admission, Nick Train, manager of Finsbury Growth & Income (FGT), isn?t one for nostalgia, whether that is reflecting on past glories or the ?melancholy fact? as he puts it that the popular investment trust has underperformed the FTSE All-Share index for the last three years.Moving into 2024, the trust has again lagged the benchmark with a share price return of -1.9% in January against

AG Barr (BAG) 550pGain to date: 13.5%We flagged Scottish soft drinks maker AG Barr (BAG) in August 2023 arguing the company was not being given sufficient credit by the market for its sales momentum. We highlighted the strength of its portfolio of brands including Irn-Bru and Rubicon.WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO SINCE WE SAID TO BUY?We were on the money when we flagged ?the scope for further upgrades? as

Stocks in London fell after the Bank of England left interest rates unchanged but played down hopes of a cut in the near-term.The FTSE 100 index closed down 8.41 points, 0.1%, at 7,622.16. The FTSE 250 ended down 226.79 points, 1.2%, at 19,131.16, and the AIM All-Share closed down 2.05 points, 0.3%, at 752.70.The Cboe UK 100 ended down 0.3% at 761.66, the Cboe UK 250 closed down 1.4% at 16,594.23,

Profit guidance upgraded againBrands have positive momentumEuan Sutherland to succeed Roger WhiteOne of Shares running Great Ideas selections, Irn-Bru-to-Rubicon drinks maker AG Barr (BAG) served up another full-year profit upgrade which sent the shares up 1.5% to a 52-week high of 576p.The beverages business behind iconic Scottish tipple Irn-Bru as well as take home cocktail offering FUNKIN and c

Shares rally on wind-down proposalWholly-owned assets to be sold later this yearShareholder distributions unclearShares in Digital 9 Infrastructure (DG19) rallied 13% to 27.8p after the board proposed a managed wind-down of the digital infrastructure investor?s wholly-owned assets following a strategic review.The news gives shareholders some hope that the deep discount to net asset value may be na

The FTSE 100 was up at the open on Friday, beating other indices in early morning trade thanks to a boost from oil majors and positive data from the US.The FTSE 100 index opened up 59.70, up 0.8%, at 7,589.43. The FTSE 250 was down 15.69 points, 0.1%, at 19,207.41, and the AIM All-Share was down 0.52 of a point, 0.1%, at 747.58.The Cboe UK 100 was up 0.8% at 758.53, the Cboe UK 250 was slightly lo

Stocks in London opened in the green on Monday, following Wall Street gains at the end of last week.The FTSE 100 index opened up 31.36 points, 0.4%, at 7,493.29. The FTSE 250 was up 138.44 points, 0.7%, at 19,009.85, and the AIM All-Share was up 1.87 points, 0.3%, at 737.70.The Cboe UK 100 was up 0.5% at 749.15, the Cboe UK 250 was up 0.9% at 16,445.67, and the Cboe Small Companies was up 0.1% at

An investor blessed with Nostradamus-like predictive powers who put money to work with Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.B:NYSE) in 1964 and held the shares until 2022 would have enjoyed a gargantuan overall gain of 3,787,464% in terms of per share market value, leaving the stellar 24,708% return from the S&P 500 index with dividends included for dust.Under the direction of legendary investor Warren Buffett

It has been an up and down year for the UK stock market but some names have really shone over the course of the last 12 months. In this article we go through the market cap ranks to identify the best performing large-, mid- and small-cap stocks in 2023.£5 billion+ market capWhile Nvidia (NVDA:NASDAQ) has dominated headlines globally as excitement around AI (artificial intelligence) helped drive i

Global markets saw lacklustre trading on Black Friday, as sterling jumped higher compared to the dollar.The FTSE 100 index closed up 4.62 points, 0.1%, at 7,488.20. The FTSE 250 ended down 22.73 points, 0.1%, at 18,458.10, and the AIM All-Share closed down 1.18 points, or 0.2%, at 716.90. Over the past week they are down 0.2%, 0.6% and 0.4%, respectively.The Cboe UK 100 ended up slightly at 747.65

Stock prices in London were down midday on Black Friday despite UK consumer confidence slightly improving albeit still being in negative territory, after a quiet Thanksgiving holiday.The FTSE 100 index was down 13.35 points, 0.2%, at 7,470.23. The FTSE 250 was down 8.92 points at 18,471.91, and the AIM All-Share was down 0.36 of a point, 0.1%, at 717.72.The Cboe UK 100 was down 0.3% at 745.50, the

Stocks headed lower in London on Friday morning, following quiet post-Thanksgiving trade, as the key Black Friday retail period gets underway.The FTSE 100 index opened down 28.39 points, 0.4%, at 7,455.19. The FTSE 250 was down 27.60 points, 0.2%, at 18,453.23, and the AIM All-Share was down 1.45 points, 0.2%, at 716.63.The Cboe UK 100 was down 0.4% at 744.41, the Cboe UK 250 was down 0.1% at 15,9