Second-quarter guidance disappointsAI spending plans spook investors$200 billion wiped off market valueSocial media and technology outfit Meta Platforms (META:NASDAQ) saw its recent share price momentum stall in a big way overnight as investors fretted its ?year of efficiency? in 2023 would give way to a period or profligacy.At one point more than $200 billion had been wiped off the company?s valu

There was a general wringing of hands on 19 April over the latest monthly retail sales figures published by the ONS (Office for National Statistics) which showed the volume of goods bought flatlined from February to March rather than increasing by 0.3% as expected.However, when measured on an annual basis rather than a month-on-month basis ? which to our mind seems a much fairer comparison ? volum

Margins beat across the boardInterim dividend raised sharplyFull-year outlook increasedGrocery-to-retail conglomerate Associated British Foods (ABF) delivered investors a double helping of good news with consensus-beating first-half results and a 46% increase in the interim dividend.In response the shares jumped 9% to £27.50, topping the FTSE 100 leader board and returning to their pre-pandemic p

Weak first-half sales priced inProfit seen ?significantly? higher New finance director appointedShares in ASOS (ASC) rallied 10% to 366.2p in early dealings after the online fast-fashion retailer maintained its full-year 2024 guidance and flagged progress in shifting its mountain of excess stock as chief executive Jose Calamonte?s turnaround plan gains traction.Nevertheless, the retailer?s transit

THIS IS AN ADVERTISING FEATURE US equities: time to diversifyFran Radano, Manager, The North American Income TrustThe ?Magnificent Seven? has dwindled to just two stocksInvestors need to ensure their US equity exposure is diversifiedThe new economic environment requires greater cautionInvestors may need to rethink their approach to the US stock market. After a decade where a handful of technolo

Audioboom have fallen 30% over the past yearWilson previously worked for AudioboomHarvey previously worked for SiriusXM and CBS RadioShares in Audioboom (BOOM: AIM) were up 4% to 260p in morning trading as the podcast specialist said it was hiring two key sales executives ?to expand the company?s revenue operations.?Molly Harvey, formerly of SiriusXM and CBS Radio, joins Audioboom as vice presiden

Positive late stage trail results for ImfinziFirst and only immunotherapy to demonstrate survival benefitImfinzi is Astra?s second biggest selling cancer drugPharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca (AZN) said a late-stage trial for its blockbuster lung cancer drug Imfinzi significantly improved overall survival and disease-free progression in patients with aggressive small cell lung cancer.Small cell lun

US stock markets took a turn for the worse after Minneapolis Fed president Neel Kashkari threw a cat among the pigeons by introducing the possibility of zero rate cuts this year.?If we continue to see inflation moving sideways, then that would make me question whether we need to do those rate cuts at all?, Kashkari told journalists. ?There's a lot of momentum in the economy right now.?That was evi

The shrinking UK stock market is a worry for fund managers and has wider implications for the UK as a listing venue as well as the UK?s economic growth, say analysts at Peel Hunt.This article explores the so-called de-equitisation of the UK stock market, or plainly put the substitution of debt for equity via share buybacks and cash acquisitions.More than 45 companies exited the UK market in 2023 d

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

European stocks closed lower on Tuesday, after the long Easter holiday weekend and a day full of economic data.The FTSE 100 index closed down 17.53 points, 0.2%, at 7,935.09. The FTSE 250 ended down 170.84 points, 0.9%, at 19,713.89, and the AIM All-Share closed down 0.86 of a point, 0.1%, at 742.40.The Cboe UK 100 ended down 0.3% at 793.40, the Cboe UK 250 closed down 1.1% at 17,147.56, and the C

Shares slump to all-time lowTakeover offer from founder Dunkerton unlikelyDiscounted rights issue on the cardsShares in beleaguered fashion chain Superdry (SDRY) slumped more than 50% to an all-time low of 14p today as investors finally got the chance to price in the barrage of bad news released after the market close on Thursday 28 March.Takeover hopes were dashed as the troubled jackets-to-hoodi

THIS IS AN ADVERTISING FEATURE An equity income option to suit all tastesEquity income offers a breadth of investment options, depending on the regionThe UK is an option for recovery, Asia for growth, and the US for diversificationEquity income strategies may have a tailwind from falling interest ratesThere remains considerable debate over when and by how much interest rates could fall this year.

$2 billion cash acquisition beefs-up cancer portfolioFusion has prostate cancer drug in mid-stage trialsCash consideration pitched at 126% premiumPharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca (AZN) has agreed to buy Nasdaq-listed Fusion Pharmaceuticals (FUSN:NASDAQ) for around $2 billion in cash to boost its cancer portfolio.The proposed deal is pitched at $21 per share, which is double the $10.64 closing pric

Indices in London were largely unmoved at the start of trading ahead of a batch of US data due on Thursday afternoon.Among individual shares making waves, however, Trainline jumped as it expects revenue growth to beat expectations. OSB Group tumbled on poorly-received earnings and a tepid outlook.The FTSE 100 index rose just 2.97 points to 7,775.14. The FTSE 250 climbed only 4.07 points to 19,567.

Semiconductors are the bedrock of the digital economy, core enablers of the data revolution and at the forefront of technological innovation. The semiconductor industry could be set for exponential growth driven by the mega forces of AI (artificial intelligence) and digitalisation, as well as those of geopolitics and economic competition.Investors looking to gain semiconductor exposure have the op

Equities in Europe were in a muted mood Tuesday afternoon, while stocks in New York were called to open lower, with key political, fiscal and monetary policy events on the docket in the days to come.Wednesday?s UK budget, the last before the next general election, could see some tax cuts announced. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell speaks in front of lawmakers that day too. Sticking with monetar

London?s FTSE 100 achieved a minor gain on Thursday, after a somewhat mixed US inflation reading in the afternoon.The year-on-year core personal consumption expenditure index grew at a slower pace in January, though monthly growth picked up.The FTSE 100 index inched up 5.04 points, 0.1%, at 7,630.02. The FTSE 250 rose 41.29 points, 0.2%, at 19,054.87, and the AIM All-Share ended down 1.54 points,

Oral pill meets late-stage trial goalsOver 82 million people infected each yearShares outperform year-to-datePharmaceutical giant GSK (GSK) said a late-stage trial of its oral antibiotic drug to treat gonorrhoea in adults and adolescents met it primary goals.Gonorrhoea is a sexually-transmitted infection affecting more than 82 million people globally a year and increases the risk of HIV infection.

European equities pushed higher on Friday, with Standard Chartered the best-performing London blue-chip, though the FTSE 100?s gains were unable to stave off a weekly loss for it.At the end of the eighth Friday of 2024 so far, London?s large-cap benchmark has only mustered two weekly gains, suffering six losses.The market euphoria following Nvidia?s well-received results suggested a weekly gain wa