Full-year results from Greggs (GRG) on 5 March painted a picture of a company doing so well in its domestic territory that one has to ask when it might export the successful business model abroad.Greggs? profits and market share are growing, it is investing in manufacturing and distribution expansion, and shareholders are getting a special dividend. While the company is confident it can add at lea

London stocks closed up on Friday, as consumer confidence reached a two-year high and the Federal Reserve appeared more likely to consider cutting rates.The FTSE 100 index closed up 105.36 points, 1.4%, at 7,635.09. The FTSE 250 ended up 114.92 points, 0.6%, at 19,338.02, and the AIM All-Share closed up 2.60 points, 0.4%, at 750.70.The Cboe UK 100 ended up 1.4% at 763.67, the Cboe UK 250 closed up

Strong UK travel demand boosts revenuesOn track to open 110 new stores in 2024High street like-for-like sales drop 3%Retailer WH Smith (SMWH) said brisk trading at railway stations and airports helped boost group travel revenues by 16% in constant currencies for the 20 week period to 20 January 2024.Overall revenues grew 8% on a reported basis and 9% in constant currencies. While the company said

European equities went into Friday afternoon on the up, with measures to support China?s property sector and a forecast-defying final-quarter for luxury goods juggernaut LVMH lifting the mood.Focus in the afternoon will be on the Federal Reserve?s favoured US inflation gauge. A cooler than expected reading could swing the pendulum back in favour of a March rate cut.The FTSE 100 index was up 92.54

In this third part of our investor survey, we asked some of the UK?s leading fund managers which sectors or stocks they thought were the most promising for 2024.The responses were as varied as they were thought-provoking, with only a couple of managers singling out technology stocks.As before we would like to thank all those who took part for sharing their views, and we hope readers enjoy them. WH

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

Trust returns to long-run outperformance trendBenchmark-beating 17.6% returnUK mid-caps cheaper than large-capsJean Roche-run investment trust Schroder UK Mid Cap Fund (SCP) returned to form in style over the year ended 30 September 2023, delivering a net asset value total return of 17.6% versus the disappointing 30% decline in the previous year.This beat the 13.6% total return from the benchmark

First half PBT up 180%Full year guidance raised againOutstanding vaping performanceShares in Supreme (SUP:AIM) surged 16% higher to 127.5p after the fast-moving consumer products distributor delivered another significant profit upgrade for the year to March 2024 amid continued growth across all divisions in the third quarter-to-date.A leading e-cigarette and vaping market name known for its 88vape

Inflationary pressures playing to Card Factory's strengthsProfit to be 'materially ahead' of guidanceClintons' problems positive for Card Factory's competitive positionValue-for-money greetings cards and gifts retailer Card Factory (CARD) has cheered investors with yet another earnings upgrade as the cost-of-living crisis continues to drive cash-strapped shoppers to its stores.Following a strong f

NAV (net asset value) up by 18.5%Outperforms company's benchmark return of 15%Increases interim dividend of 5.5p by 10%Schroder UK Mid Cap's (SCP) net asset value for the six months ending 31 March rose by 18.5%, 'comfortably' outperforming the company's benchmark, the FTSE 250 ex Investment Trusts Index, which returned 15% over the same period.The company attributed the rise to successful stock

Modest improvement in full-year expectations as travel division reboundsRevenue up 23% in 13 weeks to 27 MayCompany 'excited' about growth opportunities in North AmericaA slight improvement in the outlook for retailer WH Smith (SMWH) belies a difficult consumer backdrop and reflects the reality its true growth engine - the travel division - is back firing on all cylinders.Up 1.1% to £15.45, arres

Despite inflationary pressures and a cost-of-living crisis that is squeezing consumers' real disposable income, shares in household name retailers with nationwide physical store footprints have rallied hard since the back end of 2022.They include British retail institution Marks & Spencer (MKS), variety goods discounter B&M (BME), cut-price greeting cards seller Card Factory (CARD), athleisure spe

Contrasting fortunes for 888 and Entain shareholders ahead of big updatesWilliam Hill's £19 million fine for gambling protection failures adds to compliance issues at new owner, 888Online gambling and gaming company 888 Holdings (888) will release full year results and a first quarter trading update on 14 April while larger peer Entain (ENT) will give a first quarter trading update on 18 April.In

An under-the-radar constituent of the IA UK Equity Income sector that is delivering stellar returns despite difficult market conditions is VT Tyndall Real Income Fund (BYX0D61). Small at £18.9 million of assets, it is big on ambition under the stewardship of manager Simon Murphy and competitive on cost, with a lowly annual management charge of 0.35%.Murphy took over the fund right before the pand

There have been some notable dividend increases in recent weeks from well-known companies on the stock market including a 31% hike from advertising group WPP (WPP) while banking giant HSBC (HSBA) raised its ordinary dividend by 28% on top of comments that it might pay a special dividend once the sale of its Canadian business has completed.Even more impressively, mining services company Weir Group

Finally, everyone is talking about UK stocks. The spotlight is back on the country after the UK's FTSE 100 was one of the few major indices globally to record positive returns in 2022 and this year it has broken through the 8,000 level and hit a new record high. Hopefully, this will lead to the return of foreign investors who have shunned the UK since the Brexit vote in 2016.Investors can either b

- 20-week sales jump 41% led by travel- Sales almost flat on pre-Covid levels- Recovery could trigger spin-off speculationHigh street and travel retailer WH Smith (SMWH) delivered an upbeat trading update for the 20 weeks to 14 January celebrating a recovery in global travel and the award of new tenders.The shares, which have rallied more than 40% from their mid-October lows just above £11, edged

Next (NXT), Greggs (GRG) and B&M (BME) will kick off the post-Christmas retail reporting season on 5 January when all three companies issue trading updates.They will reveal whether consumers were busy doing last-minute festive shopping or staying at home during the early to mid-part of December, a period characterised by snow, ice and freezing temperatures.Clothing retailers are likely to have see

UK equities have had a healthy bounce in the past month with the FTSE 100 index advancing 7.6% and the FTSE 250 rallying 16% since 12 October.The reasons for the sudden about-turn are two-fold - the normalisation of UK government bond yields after they spiked following the political upheaval of the summer and disastrous mini-Budget in September, and generally better-than-expected corporate earning

- Retailer reinstates the dividend- Group now trading ahead of 2019 levels- North America profits set to eclipse UK high street earningsShares in WH Smith (SMWH) rallied 3% to £13.26 after the books, stationery and snacks seller reported a swing back into profit for the year to August 2022 and reinstated the dividend following a Covid-induced pause in the payout.The resilient FTSE 250 shopkeeper