According to the latest Kantar market report, Sainsbury’s and Asda have lost market share, as their sails are trailing behind their rivals in the ‘big four’ over the 12 weeks leading up to April 22nd. ... Read More
In the face f mounting pressure against it, the FTSE 100 has proven to be surprisingly resilient, climbing from 6,888.69 a month ago, to 7,425 at the end of the week. The trajectory of the UK’s leading index is quite bullish, as shown by the strength of it in terms of short-term growth, however the year to date has not been as impressive as it could have been. ... Read More
The FTSE 100 made its best gains in a full week, but Shell’s shares declined, and Barclays also struggled. The UK’s leading index put in a strong performance, rising alongside European stocks, and returning to form after a poor performance on Wednesday. ... Read More
Shire and Takeda plan to announce a preliminary deal. Takeda has already made several offers to Shire, and has been rebuffed on each occasion, however it has come back to the table with a greater cash offer, and Shire is expected to agree to an extension of the regulatory deadline for offers, that will give Takeda time to put in a firmer bid. ... Read More
The FTSE 100 closed 30 points higher on Monday, boosted by hopes that the City could retain some of its benefits after the UK exits the EU. ... Read More
The FTSE 100 posted its fourth straight week of gains last week, but the overall picture was not entirely positive, with Reckitt and Shire both struggling. Friday saw the FTSE 100 profit thanks to a weak sterling, while Reckitt Benckiser slipped after disappointing results, and Shire also struggled as Allergan backed out of a bid to acquire the pharmaceuticals company. ... Read More
The government is being called upon to explain the arrangements that it will be putting in place for VAT collection on cross-border trade following Brexit. Currently, the UK is a part of a single VAT area within the EU, and when a UK product gets exported to another country in the EU, the VAT is paid where the product is actually consumed. ... Read More
The FTSE 100 lost some ground during mid-morning trading, thanks in part to some confusion over the timing, or likelihood, of a May rate rise. Mark Carney of the Bank of England gave some mixed messages about the timing of any coming rate increase, leaving investors questioning whether they had read signals correctly. ... Read More
Peers in the House of Lords have secured victory relating to two amendments to the EU Withdrawal Bill. The defeats have caused the government to claim that the House of Lords is attempting to prevent the UK leaving the EU. ... Read More
The FTSE 100 got off to a weak start on Friday, as shares in Sage fell by more than ten percent after the opening bell, and a strong pound weighed on many international earners. ... Read More
Shares in the UK’s leading index fell by more than 0.9 percent on Monday, with the news of Martin Sorrell’s resignation from a CEO position at WPP dominating the headlines, and U.S. hedge fund Elliott Management attracting attention by increasing its stake in Whitbread, the owner of numerous hotels and coffee shops. ... Read More
Recovering mining stocks helped to bring the FTSE 100 up to a six week high on Tuesday, with concerns about global trade easing. The FTSE 100 gained one percent by the close of trading, and the FTSE 250 put in a similarly strong performance. ... Read More
The FTSE 100 slipped by 11 points, down to 7,171, as the US sanctions had a negative impact on stocks exposed to the Russian market. The overall outlook for US futures, however, was more positive, after upbeat remarks from Donald Trump relating to the Chinese trade tariffs helped to reduce concerns about a trade war between China and the USA. ... Read More
According to a new survey of chief financial officers conducted by Deloitte, the leading companies in the UK now feel that the outlook for the UK has improved after the government reached an agreement regarding transition terms for the UK leaving the EU. The transition period will allow trade to continue as normal for 21 months after March 2019 - giving companies time to adjust and adapt to new trading conditions. ... Read More
Melrose has put in a bid for GKN, and this bid is one that has not been well received. MPs are calling for the government to block the bid which is being seen as a hostile takeover. Melrose is led by Chris Miller, a former protégé of Lord Hanson, and there are many who fear that Miller is viewing the takeover as an opportunity for some asset stripping. ... Read More
The FTSE 100 staged a modest bounce back on Wednesday, erasing some losses from early in the day to end the day relatively flat, after having slipped to 6,973 earlier in the trading session. The index bucked the trend that the US markets were showing, which was a clearly downward one - after China retaliated against trade tariff plans with its own tariff announcement. ... Read More
The long term performance of the FTSE 100 has been disappointing compared to rival indexes in Frankfurt, Tokyo and London, but what is it that has been holding the index back? ... Read More
Twitter bots have been found to be manipulating the stock markets, as the ‘fake news’ problem has now spread to the finance industry. ... Read More
Jayne-Anne Gadhia, the boss of Virgin Money, has been considering changing her name as a stunt to draw attention to the lack of female CEOs in FTSE 100 companies. ... Read More
The FTSE 100 gained 0.17 percent on Thursday, to end the first quarter of the year down by 8.2 percent in total - the worst performance for the UK’s leading index since 2011. ... Read More
The FTSE 100 inched up above the 7,000 mark thanks in part to the strength of defensive stocks. Meanwhile, there was a sell-off of technology stocks during early trading in the US markets. ... Read More
MPs on the select committee examining the Brexit have issued a ‘minority report’ saying that the believe delaying the Brexit date would constitute a betrayal. The disagreement over the details of Brexit has split the committee, as a majority of the members of the committee reached the conclusion that the date of the exit may need delaying. ... Read More
The FTSE 100 ended last week on a negative note as fears mounted of a trade war between the U.S and China. These tensions were added to by fears of instability economically as the Brexit negotiations continue, and there were questions about individual shares. Collectively, these mounted up to a bad week for the UK’s leading index. ... Read More
The Labour Party is planning to demand that Parliament have the power to stop a no-deal Brexit. On Monday, it is expected that they will demand final say on the Brexit deal, and will be asking for the option to send government ministers back to re-negotiate if there is a suggestion of leaving without an exit agreement. ... Read More
After the new Fed chair Jerome Powell confirmed the rate hike that most investors had been expecting, there was an added blow as a more hawkish tone from his announcement hinted at increasingly aggressive tightening of rates either this year, or in 2019. His comments about economic growth and inflation backed this up, as did other policymaker concerns about trade policies and tariffs. ... Read More