- All-Swiss deal saves bank from failing- Equity investors put ahead of some bondholders- Bank stocks sink on funding worriesBanking stocks across Europe fell again despite an emergency deal over the weekend to rescue ailing Swiss lender Credit Suisse (CSGN:SWX).At 9.30am, the European banking index was down 5% with shares in German lender Deutsche Bank (DBK:ETR) down 8%, Commerzbank (CBK:ETR) dow

Wall Street witnessed a frightening sell-off this week as the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SIVB:NASDAQ) and Signature Bank (SBNY:NASDAQ), the second and third biggest bank failures in US history, was followed more problems at Credit Suisse (CSGN:SWX) and First Republic (FRC:NYSE).No wonder investors were left fearing another systemic financial collapse like in 2008. For now, there is little ev

- US bank saved by regulators- UK arm rescued by HSBC- Depositors in both banks safeBanking regulators in the US and the UK moved swiftly over the weekend to limit the potential fall-out from the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SIVB:NASDAQ) and Silvergate Capital (SI:NYSE) last week.SVB held deposits belonging to half of all venture-backed startups in the US, according to Bloomberg, and on Friday

- Top dividend yields offer double current bond yield- Glencore tops list at 9.3% yield- Banks see global sell-off sparked by Silicon Valley Bank troubleWith UK interest rates at 4% compared with close to zero a year ago, and 10-and 2-year bonds yielding around 3.7%, investors have more opportunities for locking in a decent income.Higher rates have made shares less attractive, after all if investo

- Problems at two US lenders spark panic- Risk of contagion looks minimal for now- UK banks well-capitalised and well-regulatedUK banking stocks were marked down by 5% or more heading into the weekend as investors fled the sector after the US banking sector suffered its worst one-day fall since 2020.Shares in global lender HSBC (HSBA) were the worst performers in the FTSE 100, losing 5.5% to 588p,

US markets were rocked on Thursday as Silicon Valley Bank shares collapsed 60%. Officially SVB Financial (SIVB:NASDAQ), it has become synonymous with lending to high-risk technology start-ups, many of which are increasingly desperate for cash as venture capital funding has dried up.This has led to pressure on Silicon Bank's liquidity and vast bond sales, forcing it to go cap in hand to investors f

Shares in specialist recruitment firm Robert Walters (RWA) gained 11% to 405p, continuing their recent recovery, after it published a solid first quarter trading update which showed it was managing the coronavirus crisis well.Net fee income for the three months to 31 March was down 11% with fees in its two largest geographies, Asia Pacific and Europe ex-UK, down just 5% and 3% respectively.GLOBAL

For many investors, the value of their portfolios and the share prices of the stocks within it will - if they choose correctly - rise gradually and steadily over time. Bouts of volatility are to be expected and there might be the occasional sharp drop or quick swing upwards after good or bad news.But sometimes shares can soar. A company with a new innovation or a business brought back from the bri

A contrarian investor can be categorised as someone who does the opposite to everyone else. In general, they are looking to buy shares when no one else is interested in a certain stock; and sell when a stock is racing ahead and everyone is buying it with no thought to valuation or risk.Knowing what to buy or sell isn't always simple. You shouldn't just buy the shares which have fallen the most; or

Struggling marketing services company St Ives (SIV) has pleased the market after hinting that trading is starting to get better following a difficult period for the company.Its share price is up by 26.7% to 47.5p after saying the first four months to the end of May delivered a 'much improved performance'.The company's core strategic marketing division is seeing like-for-like revenue growth of 7% c

British house builder Bellway (BWY) says demand for its homes did not slow in the run-up to a 8 June general election, bucking a trend which generally sees some buyers put off purchases ahead of the uncertainty of a vote. The trading update covering the 1 February to 4 June period saw a 13% increase in the reservations to 221 per week. Shares in the house builder increase 3.4% on Wednesday to £29

Fancy doubling your money in a year by investing in an exciting stock? Sounds great, doesn't it? It's harder than you think, but certainly not impossible.Over the past 12 months, robotic process automation specialist Blue Prism (PRSM:AIM) is up by 439%; online musical equipment retailer Gear4Music (GFM:AIM) has increased by 341%; and computer games service group Keywords Studios (KWS:AIM) is tradi

Investors tempted to take advantage of a 70% share price dive in printer and marketing services play St Ives (SIV) over the past year should beware further nasty surprises. We believe the company could cut or suspend its dividend when it reports half year results on 7 March.The company issued its third profit warning in a year on 8 February when it revealed the loss of a contract to produce monoch

We're excited about the prospects for marketing company Jaywing (JWNG:AIM) amid growing demand for data analysis.One in 10 people working at Jaywing are data scientists, namely statisticians, computer scientists or mathematicians.Jaywing helps companies to understand what the public is saying about them on social media like Twitter.It can match online behaviour such as buying goods to what people

Collapsing growth rates in a key digital marketing division at St Ives (SIV) wiped out a third of the company's market value in one trading session today.St Ives chief executive Matt Armitage said in a trading statement that growth in its digital and data unit Strategic Marketing was flat in the six months to 27 January.Organic growth in the division was 9% during St Ives' last financial year and

Shares in the FTSE 100 index are 0.2% lower at 7,235 with interest rates in focus ahead of European Central Bank (ECB) chief Mario Draghi's press conference later today.Gains on bank stocks, which typically benefit from rising yields, are being offset by losses on utilities, whose share prices generally fall when interest rates are rising.That indicates traders expect Draghi to continue to play do

Takeovers are back on the agenda for the UK stock market. We aren't surprised, given favourable conditions for M&A (mergers and acquisitions) have been in place for some time.The cost of borrowing is low; sterling devaluation makes British companies a more attractive proposition to overseas buyers; and volatile conditions in certain sectors have left some decent businesses in a vulnerable position

Managers and board room teams have, hopefully, a lot of knowledge about the businesses they run or oversee on behalf of shareholders.At the top of their respective industries, most senior staff at public companies will have worked through numerous economic and stock market cycles. They understand probably better than anyone else the key drivers of profitability within their business sector, what c

Nascent digital marketing firm Be Heard (BHRD:AIM) has spied a gap in the market. Led by its experienced executive chairman Peter Scott, the company is aiming to plough a furrow between the likes of WPP (WPP) and Omnicom (OMC:NYSE) at the top and smaller digital marketers lacking in scale at the bottom.Be Heard is itself still in the latter category, after joining AIM in November 2015 through a re

A positive trading update, heavy director dealing and a material contract win for a division at the centre of an April profit warning are all good reasons to revisit St Ives (SIV) after the shares almost halved year-to-date.While the stock has rallied from lows of 71p early in July it trades at just over five times earnings and, if St Ives is able to overcome recent weakness in some of its digital