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Home improvement market grinds to a halt as consumers retrench
Thursday 13 Oct 2022Recent trading updates from various builders’ merchants and building supplies companies suggest homeowners are no longer spending as freely on ‘doing up the house’ as they were during the pandemic. When everyone was cooped up at home in the first half of 2020 with cash to spare and DIY stores were...
FTSE 100 firms set for record cash return in 2022 but pressures are mounting
Thursday 06 Oct 2022FTSE 100 companies are on course to return a record amount of cash to shareholders in the form of buybacks and dividends this year, but this generosity may not last given pressure on profit margins. AJ Bell’s latest Dividend Dashboard report shows that while the expected FTSE 100 aggregate dividend...
Find out which stocks surged and slumped during a turbulent third quarter
Thursday 06 Oct 2022The FTSE 350 index finished a volatile third quarter to September 2022 down 4.5% amid continuing worries over stubbornly high inflation and rising rates as well as geopolitical instability. A slew of profit warnings, notably from consumer stocks, and a sell-off following the mini-Budget, capped off...
Why dollar strength and foreign exchange volatility is bad for stock markets
Thursday 06 Oct 2022After a relatively calm period foreign exchange markets have become a source of stock market uncertainty. Sharp moves in exchange rates are not conducive to international trade which has already suffered from the effects of the pandemic. The recent 10% fall in sterling against the US dollar may...
Will Porsche shares surge like Ferrari or skid like Aston Martin?
Thursday 06 Oct 2022Shares in Porsche (P911:ETR) have made a steady start after the German sports car maker listed shares in Frankfurt on 29 September 2022. The shares climbed as high as €85.88 following the closely watched IPO (initial public offering), the largest listing in Germany in more than 25 years despite a...
Resilient Greggs holds firm on outlook in good start for Roisin Currie
Thursday 06 Oct 2022Food-on-the-go firm Greggs ( GRG ) served up a surprisingly positive trading update for the third quarter to 1 October, with like-for-like sales from company-managed stores up 9.7% year-on-year. Admittedly, growth did moderate in August as the food-to-go retailer lapped a prior year comparative...
Sterling, stocks and gilts hit: here’s what could happen next
Thursday 29 Sep 2022In the early hours of 26 September, days after a mini-Budget which belied its modest billing, sterling hit its lowest level against the dollar on record. Since new chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng sat down in the chamber having delivered his statement the market reaction has been savage as the pound sinks...
Tesco, Greggs and Wetherspoon to reveal state of the UK consumer
Thursday 29 Sep 2022A trio of companies with value credentials are about to update the market on the health of the UK consumer. Upcoming statements from Tesco ( TSCO ) , Greggs ( GRG ) and pubs operator JD Wetherspoon ( JDW ) will allow investors to take the temperature of a consumer buckling under the strain of the...
What Mike Ashley’s exit from Frasers board means for its future direction
Thursday 22 Sep 2022Four decades since starting his retail empire with a single sports shop in Maidenhead, Mike Ashley has announced plans to step down from Sports Direct owner Frasers’ ( FRAS ) board. While Ashley stepped down as CEO in May this year to become executive director, to all intents and purposes he was...
Warning signals are mounting for markets as investors take fright
Thursday 22 Sep 2022During the summer months it seemed like markets were playing a game of chicken with the US Federal Reserve, viewing any sign of weak economic news as ‘good’ in the hope it may convince the central bank to pause or even reverse its policy tightening. But the Fed has been resolute in its message and...