Shares & the stock market

21 August 2026

The FTSE 250 mid-cap index broke above its 2021 peak in the first week of August 2026 to close above 24,000 points for the first time, after adding around 2,000 points, or 9% since the start of the year.

This article reveals the companies which have outperformed the index, where analysts have also upgraded their earnings estimates more than average...

21 August 2026

Markets have lost their foothold after several weeks when it appeared they were successfully climbing the wall of worry.

Weakened sentiment is emerging as the US-Iran impasse continues and concerns about government debt mount.

Dismissed colourfully as a ‘band-aid on a bullet hole’ in some quarters, the relief offered by the US Treasury’s...

21 August 2026

It was a difficult week for Wall Street as rising yields on US government bonds revealed mounting concern about the country’s spiralling debts.

These fears were compounded by the continued stalemate between the US-Iran with a lasting resolution to the Middle East crisis feeling as distant as ever. The impact from surprise intervention from the US...

21 August 2026

Buying an income fund with a range of different holdings is an effective way of getting a diversified stream of income. This means if one dividend is cut or one investment goes wrong, the impact on your overall income is less.

While funds can typically offer a steadier income than a single stock, they also come with management fees that can eat...

20 August 2026

Based on average salaries, it would take a US worker more than 615 million years to earn the equivalent of America’s $40 trillion national debt, which itself has doubled in a decade. That debt figure is merely the principal: the interest bill alone now runs to around $1 trillion a year.

This week’s intervention by the US Treasury to bring down...

19 August 2026

The UK equity market has been buzzing with mergers and acquisitions (M&A) deals this year, with around £76 billion worth of them taking place so far already.

This presents lots of shareholders with lots of opportunities and choices to make, both about how they may vote on any bid and what to do with the take-home proceeds.

Investors receiving money...

19 August 2026

Investors will be relieved that European stocks stabilised after bond market wobbles earlier this week.

Bond yields had jumped on fears of new inflationary pressures and what that could mean for interest rates, triggering a shift in investor risk appetite.

The latest UK inflation figures show the impact of the Middle East conflict on the cost of...

19 August 2026

To receive a dividend from a company you’re invested in you need to hold the shares by a specified date.

So, when a company’s shares trade without the entitlement to their latest dividend the share price often drops by an amount roughly equal to the value of any payout.

Since the FTSE 100 is weighted according to market value, ex-dividend-related...

18 August 2026

Speculation that AI giant Anthropic will join the stock market has been reinvigorated with reports that it’s preparing for a $2 trillion public listing in October.

Based on the mooted numbers it'd be a ‘record breaking’ IPO, already taking the mantle from Elon Musk’s SpaceX after its $1.7 trillion market debut in June.

The two firms are very...

18 August 2026

The latest oil price movements are both a pain and a gain for UK investors.

Brent crude edged higher, hitting $91.45 a barrel in early trading as tensions intensified in the Middle East. That’s bad for businesses and consumers, but good for the FTSE 100’s oil heavyweights BP and Shell who propped up the UK blue-chip index amid a broader European...

17 August 2026

The FTSE 100 ticked higher at the start of the new trading week amid robust gains across Asia.

Investors seem willing to park any concerns about the ongoing crisis in the Middle East as last week’s softer-than-anticipated inflation numbers saw fears of an imminent rate hike from the US Federal Reserve subside. Combined with strong earnings from the...

14 August 2026

US markets hit fresh highs this week buoyed by strength in technology stocks and benign inflation data which helped to push bond yields down as markets priced in a lower chance of a rate hike from the Federal Reserve next month.

Consumer price inflation rose 0.1% in July taking the annual rate to 3.4% from 3.5% in the prior month while the core...

14 August 2026

While European markets were in a holding pattern at the end of the week, their performance has generally been good so far this year, with investors having little reason to grumble.

The FTSE 100 pulled back slightly on Friday as weakness in miners, pharma, tobacco and banks acted as a headwind. Oil prices are showing no sign of easing back after the...

13 August 2026

There are a few different methods that can be used to judge the popularity of an investment, but two of the most common are how many people are buying it and how much money is being invested in it.

Though it may seem counterintuitive, these two metrics can often show very different patterns. On a broad scale, deals by individuals make up quite a...

13 August 2026

Following a brutal 30% decline in the price of gold since the start of the year, there are signs the yellow metal is coming back to life with the bullion price up 8% since the beginning of August. The more volatile silver price is up around 16% since the middle of July.

The sharp pullback at the start of the year should perhaps not have come as...

13 August 2026

The FTSE 100 was dragged lower as several heavyweights traded without the rights to their latest dividends on Thursday.

This meant the index was the wallflower at the party, unable to join in with the gains seen elsewhere in Europe after a positive session in Asia and yesterday on Wall Street. Easing US inflation which came bang in line with...

12 August 2026

European stock markets remained in a holding pattern as investors digested the latest events in the Middle East.

Yet more attacks on shipping suggest there is no end in sight to the conflict. The renewed tensions have put oil back on an upwards path and muddied the waters with regards to inflation expectations and what that means for interest rates...

12 August 2026

The ongoing bidding war for commercial airline EasyJet has come to a resolution, with Apollo finally securing the deal.

The takeover battle at EasyJet has come into land as initial suitor Castlelake walked away, leaving the path clear for rival bidder Apollo’s £5.7 billion bid to be agreed. As a result, the large cohort of retail shareholders in...

11 August 2026

Oil prices continue to ebb and flow as the narrative around the Iran war takes endless twists and turns.

Brent crude has put on $10 in less than a week, which is a significant move, with the black stuff now trading just below $89 a barrel.

It’s troubling but not enough to cause panic. Instead, it’s knocked the wind out of investors’ sails and left...

10 August 2026

The FTSE 100 dipped in early trading in stark contrast to the fireworks seen on Wall Street late last week.

The US rally was supported by weaker-than-anticipated US jobs numbers which helped dial down fears about an imminent rate hike from the Federal Reserve.

The Iran conflict remains a key source of concern for markets with a lasting resolution...

7 August 2026

Inheritance tax rule changes due next year which include pensions falling within estates for IHT purposes, are focusing attention on the threat this tax poses, and how to protect yourself. One lesser-known rule allows you to give away big chunks of your spare income and avoid the tax. Even if you don’t have any income spare for this, you may still...

7 August 2026

Despite the unrelenting backdrop of negative news, the large-cap FTSE 100 and mid-cap FTSE 250 indices recently scaled new highs, showing that investor sentiment remains resilient.

Perhaps it isn’t so surprising as bull phases are often described as ‘markets climbing a wall of worry,’ a reference to investors putting aside bad news and moving on.

A...

7 August 2026

The FTSE 100 was modestly higher in early trading, though short of its recent all-time highs, as the latest developments in the Middle East drove an increase in oil prices.

Draft terms in an agreement over the Strait of Hormuz between Iran and Oman hinted at Tehran’s leverage in the region – with mooted bans for US and Israeli shipping likely to do...