Vodafone chair buys 823,500 sharesZotefoams director buys £21,000 sharesTatton CEO sells £1.1 million sharesJean-Francois van Boxmeer, chair of telecoms giant Vodafone (VOD) has bought 823,500 shares at 69p for a total value of £568,215 on 28 March.This move comes after Vodafone CFO Luka Mucic also bought a substantial number of shares in the telecoms giant.Mucic snapped up 2,460,000 shares at

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

- Record pre-tax profits of £12.2 million- Dividend increase of 5% for shareholders- Benefit from the stronger US dollarSpecialty materials-maker Zotefoams (ZTF) reported record pre-tax profits of £12.2 million for the year ending 31 December 2022 - a rise of 74% compared to the previous year.Highlights also included an 80% increase in cash generation from operations, with free cash flow of £14

- Second upgrade in just three months- Earnings driven by strong demand and price rises- Sales growth accelerated in third quarterSpecialty materials-maker Zotefoams (ZTF) released an unscheduled pre-year-end trading update, raising its forecast for adjusted pre-tax profits for the second time in three months thanks to strong trading in the current quarter.Investors celebrated the news, lifting th

Constituents of the UK chemicals sector span both a wide range of market capitalisations and end markets.These include aerospace, automotive, coatings, semiconductors, sports and leisure and the global flavour and fragrance industries. The largest company in the UK chemicals sector, Croda (CRDA) has a market capitalization of £12.6 billion, this contrasts with AIM-quoted Biome Technologies (BIOM:

More than £2.2 billion of dividends will now be paid by London-listed companies which previously halted payments during the pandemic. The figure relates to dividends declared since the start of July and includes six companies in the FTSE 100.This sends a very strong message to the market that companies are regaining confidence and that the sharp drop in dividend income we saw earlier this year ma

UK and European stock markets enjoyed a day of strong gains on Tuesday as investors took a risk-on approach in the face of speculation in Washington that President Trump could introduce a capital gains tax cut to create jobs.UK stocks shrugged aside latest employment data which showed the number of people in work in the three months through June fell by 220,000, the biggest quarterly decline since

European stock markets stormed higher across the board at lunchtime on Tuesday as investors pin hopes on speculation in Washington that President Trump could introduce a capital gains tax cut to create jobs.UK stocks shrugged aside latest employment data which showed the number of people in work in the three months through June fell by 220,000, the biggest quarterly decline since the global financ

FTSE opened on the front foot on Tuesday with a gain of almost 3% to 5,129 points as the UK joined global stock markets higher following more stimulus from the US Federal Reserve and strong trading in Asia.Oil and mining shares led the market advance with defensive sectors such as utilities and consumer staples taking a back seat .Japan's Nikkei 225 index was up 7.7% and China's SSE index gained a

Boris Johnson's thumping general election victory saw a swathe of unloved stocks come charging back, with the Gervais Williams-run Miton UK MicroCap Trust (MINI) among them.Shares in the investment trust reversed more than a year of poor stock price performance to rally 4.7% to 50.9p with investors clearly far more confident that the Prime Minister can get his Brexit deal through Parliament and br

The FTSE 100 got off to a decent start this morning as a fall in the pound boosted the exporter-heavy index.Sterling has dipped as a deal between the UK and the European Union ahead of the Brexit deadline becomes ever more unlikely.Just before 9am, the UK's benchmark index stood almost 30 points, or 0.4%, higher at 7,172.73.Sports betting company GVC Holdings (GVC) jumped 3.4% to 775p as it lifted

Shares in chemicals manufacturer Zotefoams (ZTF) have plunged with an unstable political and economic climate in Europe and North America leading the firm to issue a profit warning.Zotefoam's share price has fallen a whopping 36% in early morning trade to 340p as the specialist chemicals firm warned that sales of polyolefin foam, its biggest-selling product, are likely to be £6m below market fore

The FTSE 100 remained on the back foot amid global growth fears, down a further 0.4% after enduring its worst day since January 2016 on Wednesday.Firms perceived to have particular exposure to the global economy like advertising giant WPP (WPP) and packaging firm DS Smith (SMDS) suffered most heavily.Global lifestyle brand Ted Baker (TED) descended 34.9% to 589.9p as it reported a £23m loss befor

The chemicals sector has historically been a very good place to invest with significant share price gains over the past decade and occasionally generous dividends.Unfortunately momentum has stalled in parts of the sector over the past six months amid concerns about a global economic slowdown and how that could feed into weaker demand for chemical products. There have also been some concerns about

The most popular investment trusts on AJ Bell's YouInvest platform in the month to 8 February include long-time favourites such as Scottish Mortgage (SMT) and Finsbury Growth & Income (FGT), as well as some trusts investors may be less familiar with.Investment trusts can be a useful option for investors looking for diversified exposure to a range of different companies and other assets.TAKING ADVA

Management and performance fees may not be the most important consideration when weighing up the merits of particular investment trust, but they are certainly key. The greater the costs of a fund, the harder your investments have to work to generate a positive return.Investment companies pay a fee to fund managers for managing the portfolio. They may also pay a performance fee, if the manager outp

Thirty out of the 38 sectors in the FTSE 350 have fallen in value since the start of 2018. The market as a whole, as defined by the FTSE All-Share, is down by 8.5%. The FTSE 100 index has fared even worse, down 9% year-to-date.Five of the FTSE 350 sectors in positive territory have mustered up gains of less than 2%. The other three sectors have been driven by individual stocks having a dominant in

The end of the tax year is fast approaching which means investors across the country are being urged to make the most of any unused ISA allowance.You've only got three weeks left to add up to £20,000 across the range of ISAs. This is the maximum amount of cash you can place in the tax wrapper each year for making investments. The deadline is 11.59pm on 5 April.You don't have to pay any tax on cap

Materials technology firm Zotefoams (ZTF) is one of our top picks in the chemicals sector thanks to healthy profit margins and strong investment in the business to keep it competitive.Zotefoams manufactures lightweight polyolefin foams and sells high performance products. It also licenses its MuCell technology to deliver stronger and more cost-effective packaging.The £145m cap business plans to e

Having closed yesterday's session above 7,500 for the first time, the FTSE 100 pauses for breath early on, creeping 1.53 points higher to 7,524.Zotefoams (ZTF), the lightweight foam sheet material specialist, firms 6.9% to 310p on news of record first quarter sales and a confident outlook statement from CEO David Stirling. Croydon-headquartered Zotefoams says its new US facility in Kentucky will s