London’s FTSE 100 finished in positive territory on Friday, even as Brexit talks revealed few signs of a breakthrough and new lockdowns to combat climbing coronavirus cases weighed on sentiment. Prime Minister Boris Johnson caused jitters by stating that talks with the EU are ‘over’ and it is time for Britain to ‘get ready’ for no-deal, though markets were boosted by Pfizer’s plans ...

London’s FTSE 100 rebounded strongly on Friday as a bit of optimism over Brexit returned, with the EU stating it is willing to continue negotiations, although new lockdowns to combat climbing coronavirus cases kept a lid on gains. At 11.40 am, the blue chip benchmark was up 1.28% at 5,907.01. SERCO SOARS ON UPGRADED GUIDANCE The biggest riser was services group Serco (SRP), soaring ...

Shares in outsourcing firm Serco (SRP), which have had a torrid few months after its decision to withhold dividends and its test and trace system came in for widespread criticism, surged 13% to 133.6p as the company released an unscheduled trading update, raising its full year sales and earnings targets. Thanks to strong revenue growth in the third quarter and continued cost control, the firm ...

The FTSE 100 rebounded strongly after yesterday’s major losses as a big fall in the pound helped exporters. As coronavirus cases continue to climb investors rushed to the relative safe haven of the US dollar, helping companies which report in dollars, while the pound also took a hit following reports suggesting Prime Minister Boris Johnson could walk away from talks with the EU over a ...

Surely every investor loves a bargain and in various ways all investors think of themselves as value investors. Sadly, what’s been working for investors since the great financial crisis of 2008 is more akin to quality and growth investing. This strategy focuses on the potential growth and quality of a business and less on valuation. Value managers don’t shun growth, but they focus more on ...

Public sector service companies such as Serco (SRP) have had something of an historic image problem. As governments around the world sought to procure more services for less money, corners were inevitably cut resulting in some high-profile failings. Security firm G4S (GFS) made the headlines in 2012 after it bungled a £238 million government contract to provide security for the London ...

The FTSE 100 continued its decline throughout Thursday morning, falling below the 6,000 mark as investor hopes of a V-shaped economic recovery were dampened by the Bank of England. The central bank said the British economy would not recover its end-2019 size until the end of next year, later than its earlier estimate of a recovery by the second half of 2021. In its policy decision, the ...

Shares in outsourcer Serco (SRP) dropped 11% to 150p despite the firm posting ‘exceptionally strong’ results for the first half and maintaining its full year revenue and earnings targets. It seems investors were disappointed with the board’s decision to prioritise repaying deferred taxes over paying the 2019 dividend and any interim dividend for this year. SOLID PERFORMANCE Revenues ...

UK stock markets fell sharply in opening trading on Thursday after the Bank of England forecast a slower-than-expected rebound from the Covid-19 pandemic, while Glencore’s (GLEN) dividend cut and several heavy hitters going ex-dividend dragged on markets. The benchmark FTSE 100 dropped nearly 1.5% in early trading to 6,018.33 as investors retreated from equities, following a weak end to the ...

Many companies have withdrawn earnings guidance in recent months, leaving investors guessing as to how much money these businesses might be expected to earn. The way share prices have performed in general since March’s market low implies expectations are quite optimistic. We’re now getting the first signs of companies reinstating guidance and this trend could accelerate as we go into the ...

Shares in outsourcer Serco (SRP) surged 16% to 155p after the firm reinstated its full year earnings guidance in an unscheduled trading update. The company brought forward its closed period update ‘as a consequence of the board reviewing the latest management forecasts and determining that it is in a position to reinstate guidance for the 2020 financial year.’ The stock exchange ...

London markets rose for the second day on the bounce on Wednesday as investors continued to see the positives in a post-coronavirus economic recovery. The UK’s benchmark FTSE 100 rallied 0.9% in early trading to 6,299.31, following Tuesday’s biggest gains in a month , thanks to robust US economic data and positive results from a UK drug trial in reducing Covid-19 death rates. Scientists ...

If you’ve recently retired, congratulations. After a lifetime of work, you can finally enjoy the fruits of your labour, including that pension pot which has been building up month after month, year after year, waiting for just this moment. Historically most of us would have used this sum of money to purchase an annuity, offering a guaranteed income through the course of our ...

The FTSE 100 has recorded one of its biggest ever one-day drops after plunging a staggering 9% shortly after the market open on Monday. The UK's benchmark index fell a whopping 600 points to 5,919, after oil plunged an incredible 30%. After Saudi Arabia launched a price war over the weekend, following the collapse of its oil-cutting alliance with Russia, the price of crude has dropped to ...

Resurgent government outsourcer Serco (SRP) pleased the market on Wednesday with a strong set of full year results and the reinstatement of the dividend for the first time since 2014. The shares, which have outperformed the market over the last year, added another 0.8% to 152p while the FTSE continued to struggle with coronavirus fears knocking consumer stocks lower. POSITIVE PROGRESS ...

UK stocks continued their downward slide on Wednesday as the coronovirus spread further in Europe and the Middle East and a US solider become infected with the disease. The FTSE 100 fell 53.3 points to 6,964.59 early on, making it the sixth day straight of declines for the UK benchmark index. The FTSE 250 followed the blue chips into negative territory, shedding 192 points to ...

Shares in outsourcing firms Capita (CPI), G4S (GFS) and Serco (SRP) are among the biggest gainers following the landslide Conservative election victory. Not only has the threat of a Labour government evaporated, taking with it the prospect of a ban on outsourcing deals, the new administration is set to increase public spending next year to spur growth. Shares in Capita touched a 12-month ...

UK equity rallied strongly in early trade on Friday as investors welcome the removal of several key risks that have been hanging over the stock market, sparking the pound to post its biggest gain against the dollar in two and a half years, with £1 worth $1.34. The market now has more confidence that Prime Minister Boris Johnson should be able to pass a Brexit deal and for the UK to formally ...

The FTSE 100 opened somewhat higher this morning as the UK public goes to the polls, with markets tentatively optimistic of a Conservative victory. However, trading volumes were said to be low, and shortly after trading started, the UK’s benchmark index was up 0.25%, or 17.56 points, to 7,233.81. POUND AND POWER PRICE HITS JOHN LAING A big mover this morning was infrastructure investor ...

The basic principle of value investing is buying stocks on low valuations and waiting for them to re-rate. Warren Buffett calls it buying a dollar of earnings for 50 cents, or in the case of UK stocks buying £1 of assets for 50p. In theory this makes a lot of sense; in practice, it’s far from simple and in today’s market not a lot of stocks sell for 50p on the pound. Value investing has ...