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
RBS Led the top performers in the FTSE 100, after chief Ross McEwan hinted that the lender may have plans to pay an interim dividend, if the investigations ongoing in the US into mortgage mis-selling are resolved before the deadline. ... Read More
Glencore is warning western carmakers to wake up about the fact that there are limited cobalt supplies and that if the situation continues they could be left behind by their rivals in China. ... Read More
NEX Group’s shares soared by almost one third at the end of the trading week, following a takeover bid. Meanwhile, the FTSE 100 ended the week on a loss, in spite of strength in the energy and financials sectors. ... Read More
Unilever is a brand that is best known for products such as Dove soap and the Knorr range of stock cubes. The company also makes several more aspirational products, and has had a major office in the UK for quite some time. However, that is set to change as the company has chosen to open a new unified headquarters in Rotterdam. ... Read More
Google has announced that it plans to change its advertising rules for financial services, including cracking down on advertising for cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, as of June. The ban will apply to search advertising as well as to ads on YouTube and on third party websites that Google is selling advertising space on. ... Read More
Diageo North America has been named one of the top 60 Companies for Executive Women in 2018, according to the National Association for Female Executives. The NAFE is one of the country’s biggest associations for female professionals, and this is the seventh time that Diageo has made it on the association’s top list. ... Read More
Food delivery company Deliveroo has announced that it will be adding 250 new jobs as a part of its expansion in the UK. The jobs will all be in the tech field, and include data scientists, software engineers, cyber security specialists and product designers. ... Read More
The takeaway delivery company Just Eat served up a profit warning earlier this week, shocking investors who had previously been enjoying the euphoric rise of the company. Shares in Just Eat had hit a record high two weeks ago, putting the company’s market cap at £6 billion, after a surge of more than 250% since it floated just under four years ago. ... Read More
There are more people called David and Steve leading companies in the FTSE 100 than there are women or ethnic minorities in leadership positions. Currently, there are five ethnic minority chief executives and seven female chief executives. ... Read More
Comcast has made a £22 billion bid for Sky, and this is just the latest move in a long saga. Rupert Murdoch has already sold his stake in Sky, and some 21st Century Fox assets to Bob Iger’s Disney. This move could have been simple, but now Comcast has confused the matter by throwing in a £22 billion takeover bid. ... Read More
The consumer goods sector is showing some strength at the moment, meaning that old staples such as Tesco and Diageo are looking like attractive buys, while comparative upstarts such as Just Eat are also showing a lot of promise. ... Read More