Followers of Bitcoin will have been closely watching the latest ?halving event? in the cryptocurrency which took place on 19 April.For the fourth time, the number of new Bitcoin entering the market has been slashed by cutting the rewards earned by Bitcoin miners by 50%.Mining Bitcoin involves using powerful computers to solve extremely complicated mathematical problems in order to verify transacti

Deal priced at 21% premiumPurchase is earnings-accretiveUS now 40% of group revenueJD Sports Fashion (JD.) was one of the top gainers in the FTSE, gaining 7% to 126.1p as investors sensed a win-win outcome following the acquisition of US rival Hibbett (HIBB:NASDAQ) for $1.1 billion (£899 million) in cash.The proposed transaction values Hibbett at $87.5 per share, equating to a 21% premium to its

Confected or not the recent round of international football fixtures was coloured by outrage over two major kit makers. With Nike (NKE:NYSE) in the firing line thanks to its ?playful? update of the St George?s Cross on the latest England jersey.For its part Adidas (ADS:ETR) was caught up in controversy over Die Mannschaft switching allegiance to its aforementioned US rival, ending a 77-year associ

Major US indices notched-up further all-time highs this week on dovish comments from Fed chair Jay Powell in the press conference following the central bank?s decision to leave interest rates unchanged.The Fed?s summary of economic projections sees stronger economic growth and stickier inflation, but it still anticipates a couple of rate cuts later in the year.The small-cap, economically sensitive

Burberry (BRBY) £12.94Market cap: £4.6 billionSlowing luxury demand and two profit warnings in three months have left Burberry (BRBY) firmly out of fashion with investors. Shares in the British luxury brand have lost around 50% and 30% of their value over one and five years respectively. Given the old stock market adage about profit warnings coming in threes, Shares concedes there is some dange

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

Footwear firm saw ?softer? festive salesUSA business still challengedRelief as guidance reiteratedIconic British footwear brand Dr. Martens (DOCS) was in demand on Thursday, shares in the FTSE 250 retailer booted 7% higher to 80.7p after it swerved another profit warning despite a difficult Christmas for purveyors of bigger ticket items.The Camden Town-headquartered company saw softer December sal

Birkenstock (BIRK:NYSE) tripped over itself on Wall Street last week, with the shares falling by as much as 14% at the opening bell before stabilising after the German shoemaker delivered a mixed earnings report for the fourth quarter of 2023 and a muted outlook for 2024.The stock slid as the European footwear brand forecast 18% revenue growth for 2024 and EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, de

Next kicks off festive reporting seasonScope for upbeat news from B&MPotential Christmas winners include CurrysRetail bellwether Next (NXT) kicks off the post-Christmas reporting season on 4 January followed by discounters B&M European Value Retail (BME) and Shoe Zone (SHOE:AIM) on 9 January.Investors will be eager to learn if the sector benefited from some last-minute festive shopping when all th

Iconic British footwear brand Dr. Martens (DOCS) has been a disappointing investment since coming to the market in early 2021, with the shares losing around 75% of their value after delivering four profit warnings in the past year.The investment case is straightforward - either the self-inflicted operational issues are fixed by the current management, or the business will be taken over by an oppor

Swashbuckling gains were clocked up in November as investors bet that falling inflation, a firm jobs market, and mostly better than expected corporate earnings bode well for the US economy into 2024.The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 1.8% over the past week, and while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite rose more modestly, it?s still been a hell of a month for US stocks. The Dow Jones Industrial

Weaker-than-expected Q3 salesUS consumer backdrop deterioratesDr. Martens pulls FY25 guidanceInvestors put the boot into Dr. Martens (DOCS) after the iconic footwear brand downgraded its year-to-March 2024 EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) guidance once again and withdrew previous guidance for high single digit sales growth in full year 2025.The shares slumped m

Even casual observers might have spotted the records being smashed in long distance races by athletes wearing Nike (NKE:NYSE) running shoes. The latest of which saw Kelvin Kiptum come within 35 seconds of the two-hour barrier at the Chicago Marathonas he set a new all-time best for the distance on 10 October.What you may not know is a UK small cap has had a key role to play in the technology behin

Strong second-half salesRecord profits generatedGuidance upgraded yet againShares in Shoe Zone (SHOE:AIM) rallied 8.2% to 230p after the budget footwear retailer said adjusted pre-tax profit for the year to 30 September 2023 was expected to be 'not less than £16 million'.That implies growth of more than 43% on last year's £11.2 million and is 18.7% ahead of broker Zeus Capital's £13.5 million f

After a concerted sell-off last month, stocks started October on the front foot with a string of gains taking the S&P 500 index back up 2.8% over the past five days.The rally was led by familiar mega-cap technology names, with Alphabet (GOOG:NASDAQ) up 3.2%, Amazon.com (AMZN:NASDAQ) up 5.1%, Apple (AAPL:NASDAQ) up 3.3%, Microsoft (MSFT:NASDAQ) up 3.7% and Nvidia (NVDA:NASDAQ) up 5.1%.Despite an in

It was an up and down week for US stocks as investors contended with the hangover created by the higher rates for longer message coming out of the Federal Reserve at its latest meeting. Easing oil prices supported a recovery later in the week, even if crude remains above $90 per barrel, as the retreat helped dial down fears about a big resurgence in inflationary pressures.Renewable energy speciali

The cost-of-living crisis has left many of us wrestling with tight budgets. Difficult choices have had to be made and people have had to do without, not just things they want but also things they need.Amidst that backdrop retail crime has risen considerably with thefts up by 27% across 10 of the UK's largest cities and even higher in some according to figures from the British Retail Consortium.It'

Dividend cut as retailer prioritises profits rebuildFinance director to step downPost-Covid online performance disappointsShares in The Works (WRKS) tumbled almost 10% to 29.4p as delayed results for the year ended 30 April 2023 revealed a near-40% pre-tax profits plunge and the value retailer cut its recently-restored dividend.Investors were also rattled as the retailer revealed that finance dire

Riding the wave of frenzied interest in artificial intelligence and its potential to provide the next catalyst for growth, Salesforce (CRM:NYSE) stock has been hot this year, up more than 50% to date.But maybe Wall Street is getting a little too upbeat, at least in the short-term, with some analysts urging investors to cool their heels. Adopting and integrating Generative AI into its various produ

Although the latest UK inflation figures are easy off, the cost-of-living crisis is still alive and kicking, as food, energy and petrol costs remain stubbornly high.This is bad news for consumers but good news for some companies who are benefiting from the doom and gloom on the high street and in households. Here are 10 names doing well.Shoe ZoneFootwear retailer Shoe Zone (SHOE:AIM) sells shoes a