magazine archive
magazine archive
News
Downtrend looks set to continue for specialty chemical-maker Victrex
Thursday 25 Jul 2024Shares in Blackpool-based specialty chemical-maker Victrex (VCT) touched 10-year lows last week after the firm said trading in its markets remained tough and it would take a sustained upturn in its medical division to meet its annual profit target. The FTSE 250 supplier of high-performance polymers...
Income investors make hay as UK dividend payments hit all-time high
Thursday 25 Jul 2024There has never been a better time to be an income investor in UK equities, as payouts for the period from April to June hit an all-time quarterly record of £36.7 billion according to the latest Dividend Monitor from Computershare. Most of the increase was thanks to one-off special dividends,...
More volatility in prospect as Biden exits the presidential race
Thursday 25 Jul 2024The apparent coronation of vice president Kamala Harris as the Democratic nominee after incumbent Joe Biden’s exit from the presidential race has had a relatively mild market impact thus far. While the recent ‘Trump trade’, with investors expecting renewed inflationary pressure, a worsened fiscal...
Shares in drinks firm Diageo hit three-year lows as sales stagnate
Thursday 18 Jul 2024Investors in spirits giant Diageo (DGE) could probably use a stiff drink after analysts at Goldman Sachs downgraded the stock to sell and cut their target price from £31.50 to £24.50. The shares have already lost more than 10% this year, against a 7% rise in the FTSE 100, due to concerns over sales...
Capita shares rally 40% following strategic rethink and software sale
Thursday 18 Jul 2024Shares in Capita (CPI) surged after the outsourcing firm announced (9 July) the sale of its standalone software business Capita One to a subsidiary of MRI Software. Capita One provides software solutions across the UK public sector to local authorities, local education authorities and housing...
Weaker-than-forecast second-quarter GDP adds to pressure on Chinese leaders
Thursday 18 Jul 2024So far, China’s Year of the Dragon hasn’t brought investors a great deal of prosperity with the Shanghai Shenzhen CSI 300 index of Chinese shares up by less than 3% against a 15% gain for the FTSE World Index. Recent data also suggests the economy is slowing with second-quarter GDP (gross domestic...
Burberry shares tumble to 10-year low on latest profit warning
Thursday 18 Jul 2024Shares in luxury goods group Burberry (BRBY) slumped more than 15% to 747p, their lowest level in more than a decade, after the firm warned it could make a first-half operating loss if weakness in its core markets persisted. In its first-quarter trading update covering the three months to the end...
US bank results highlight divide between Wall Street and Main Street
Thursday 18 Jul 2024Big US banks kicked-off the second-quarter earnings season on Friday (12 July) and despite earnings largely coming in ahead of Wall Street expectations, the share prices of JPMorgan Chase, (JPM:NYSE) , Citigroup (C:NYSE) and Wells Fargo (WFC) all ended the day lower. The results showed a widening...
Confident Supreme continues to deliver the (fast-moving consumer) goods
Thursday 11 Jul 2024Year-to-date, Supreme’s (SUP:AIM) shares have surged more than 60% to 173p on the back of forecast upgrades and positive strategic progress from the fast-moving consumer products supplier guided by entrepreneurial chief executive Sandy Chadha. Record results (2 July) for the year to 31 March from...
Victrex shares dip with second-half target under threat
Thursday 11 Jul 2024Shares in high-performance plastics firm Victrex (VCT) have taken a turn for the worse over the past six months as the company struggles with high inventory levels and industry destocking in its medical business. While second-quarter volumes have improved and full-year guidance has been maintained...