21 October 2019
Just Eat hit by slowing growth, and Smith & Nephew becomes latest FTSE 100 firm to see CEO depart“The FTSE 100 trades higher on Monday morning despite the so-called ‘Super Saturday’ sitting of the House of Commons failing to provide the certainty on Brexit the markets are craving.
“There are now renewed hopes Prime Minister Boris Johnson can get his deal through today, although there are likely to be further twists in the Brexit saga no matter...
18 October 2019
InterContinental joins the hotel sector blues, and London Stock Exchange shows why it was a target“Yesterday’s sterling bounce didn’t last long with the UK currency falling 0.17% against the US dollar to $1.2869. The direction of sterling on Monday will depend on this weekend’s Brexit vote in the Commons where the currency could either sink or swim,” says Russ Mould, Investment Director at AJ Bell.
“For now, the big news for markets is China’s...
17 October 2019
Netflix results soothe some but not all of investors’ concerns“ Netflix’s third-quarter earnings per share figure of $1.47 absolutely demolished the consensus analysts’ forecast of $1.05, as sales grew by 31% year-on-year, operating profit doubled and net income rose by 65%. The addition of 6.8 million net new subscribers also represented a big recovery from the weak second quarter figure and as a result the...
17 October 2019
Domino's Pizza to exit overseas operations, and Unilever's ice cream sales melt away“DUP’s rejection of Boris Johnson’s Brexit plan ‘as it stands’ served to trigger a new sell-off in the pound and in turn dragged down the UK-focused FTSE 250 index,” says Russ Mould, Investment Director at AJ Bell.
“The market is being particularly sensitive about all things Brexit-related as the deadline draws ever nearer.
“While the FTSE 250 was...
16 October 2019
Woodford Equity Income wind up: Questions answeredWhat should investors in Equity Income do now?
Frustratingly for investors, there’s still nothing they can do. The fund remains closed to redemptions and investors will now have to wait to see how much of their money they get back and how long it takes to wind up the assets. Investors who hold the fund outside an ISA or SIPP will likely have a...
16 October 2019
How to value Saudi AramcoAfter more than two years in the planning, reports suggest that Saudi Arabia is about to press the button for the initial public offering of its state-owned oil firm, Saudi Aramco. Institutional investors will therefore have to weigh up the pros and cons of the deal and decide whether the investment case is sufficiently strong and the valuation is...
16 October 2019
ASOS looks for quick fix, and Barratt ambitious on margins“Raised tensions between the US and China over Hong Kong helped renew fears over the trade relations between the two economic powerhouses and led to subdued investor sentiment on Wednesday,” says Russ Mould, AJ Bell Investment Director.
“Sterling slipped back amid concern over the fate of a possible Brexit deal and this boosted the overseas earners...
15 October 2019
Woodford Equity Income wind upLink Fund Solutions, the Authorised Corporate Director (ACD) of the Woodford Equity Income fund has today announced that the fund will not re-open in December, as previously announced, but instead will be wound up as soon as possible and the proceeds returned to investors.
The announcement at least confirms the end to a sorry saga but this will...
15 October 2019
Margin warning at Bellway, and Hays helped by low expectations“The FTSE 100 was being left behind by European counterparts on Tuesday as improved investor sentiment did battle with a rising pound,” says Russ Mould, AJ Bell Investment Director.
“Strength in sterling is often a negative factor for the UK’s flagship index as it undermines the relative value of constituents’ overseas earnings."
Bellway“Despite...
14 October 2019
Sophos latest UK stock with overseas takeover bid, and Julian Dunkerton signs up for another two years at Superdry“After last Friday’s stellar rally for UK-focused companies, the FTSE 250 takes a big step back at the start of the new trading week, down 1.1% to 19,820. The pound failed to sustain its rally and fell 0.55% against the US dollar to $1.2579,” says Russ Mould, Investment Director at AJ Bell.
“The big fallers among the UK mid-caps included Royal Mail...
11 October 2019
Jet2 owner takes off on Thomas Cook collapse and did Entertainment One bid come just in time?“The FTSE 100 is weighed down by strength in sterling as optimism builds that Boris Johnson may, after all, secure a Brexit deal,” says AJ Bell Investment Director Russ Mould.
“This outweighed encouraging signs in the other big drama over trade, as Donald Trump hailed a ‘very, very good’ first day of negotiations with China in Washington. Overall...
10 October 2019
Life getting harder for Dunelm and N Brown bounces back“The FTSE 100 dipped 0.5% to 7,134 as the rise of the miners wasn’t enough to offset weakness in packaging companies and various financial services businesses. Miners were rallying ahead of the US-China trade talks with investors still clinging on to hopes of an amicable resolution,” says Russ Mould, Investment Director at AJ Bell.
“On the currency...
9 October 2019
Markets remain fragile and GVC is back on a winning streak“It is little wonder global equities are fragile at the moment as an apparent breakdown in trading relationships between some of the world’s largest economies is hardly an encouraging sign for global growth,” says AJ Bell Investment Director Russ Mould.
“A Brexit deal before 31 October looks increasingly unlikely, meaning investors are having to...
8 October 2019
EasyJet descends despite positive guidance, and recruiters PageGroup and Robert Walters under pressure“Taking its cue from robust trading in Asia overnight, the FTSE 100 continued to gather some ground on Tuesday, albeit only by a handful of points,” says AJ Bell Investment Director Russ Mould.
“The situation was certainly looking healthier than it had at the end of last week though, as the index traded above the 7,200 threshold.
“In a widely...
7 October 2019
Groundhog Day for the markets and SIG slims down on yet another profit warning“The Groundhog Day nature of today’s markets continues to be in evidence at the start of the week as again the spotlight is on the battered trade relations between the US and China,” says AJ Bell Investment Director Russ Mould.
“This, plus continuing instability in Hong Kong, put Asian markets under pressure, although the FTSE 100 was only down a...
4 October 2019
Dudley helps BP overcome deadly legacyWhile he will probably be disappointed with BP’s share price performance during his nine-year tenure as the oil major’s CEO, Bob Dudley will be able to look back and argue that he got three important things right.
He increased the company’s focus on safety and worked to improve BP’s reputation in the wake of the Gulf of Mexico disaster. He...
4 October 2019
Gloomy economic data triggers global pullback in shares, and BP says goodbye to its CEO“The storm clouds are gathering around the world judging by the latest economic data. Purchasing managers’ index (PMI) figures have been alarming in recent months,” says Russ Mould, Investment Director at AJ Bell.
“India’s latest data puts it among a growing number of countries issuing weak figures with contraction in its services sector.
“China...
3 October 2019
Is the WeWork fiasco a warning of wider market volatility ahead?Wednesday’s 3.2% fall in the FTSE 100 is getting the new month off to a bad start and it may prompt some investors to think of the comment made by Mark Twain’s character Pudd’nhead Wilson: ‘October: This is one of the peculiarly dangerous months to speculate in stocks. The others are July, January, September, April, November, May, March, June...
3 October 2019
Imperial Brands boss to leave, and Ted Baker takes another hit“After yesterday’s stock market carnage investors will have been hoping for a much more relaxing day. Sadly the market has slipped further, with the FTSE 100 dropping 0.3% to 7,129. New tariffs on European goods and a weaker oil price were partially to blame,” says Russ Mould, Investment Director at AJ Bell.
“Amid all this turmoil, it is not...
2 October 2019
Flutter stakes its claim for a bigger slice of the American betting pieFlutter Entertainment was the second-best performer in the FTSE 100 in the third quarter of this year (and William Hill was on the fringes of the top ten in the FTSE 250) so someone, somewhere clearly felt the bookmaking sector was ripe for action – and Flutter’s announcement of an all-share deal to buy Canada’s Stars Group suggests they were...
2 October 2019
All change at the top for Tesco, and Flutter bets on Stars merger“Markets in the UK, Europe and Asia have taken a big step back as investors react to ugly manufacturing data from the US. Stocks on Wall Street last night took a beating with the Dow Jones falling by 1.3%,” says Russ Mould, Investment Director at AJ Bell.
“Investors were already worried about the outlook for the global economy and the new US data...
1 October 2019
Sainsbury’s star poached by WPP, and momentum slows at Greggs“The FTSE 100 is unable to take its cue from strong trading in the US and Asia overnight, barely nudging higher on Tuesday morning. Strength in sterling, as markets await the publication of UK plans for Brexit, weighs on the index,” says Russ Mould, Investment Director at AJ Bell.
WPP/Sainsbury's“A potential succession plan at Sainsbury’s has...
27 September 2019
FTSE 100 sitting on 10% gain year-to-date and Pennon review triggers speculation about Viridor spin-off“Strength in mining stocks helps to extend yesterday’s FTSE 100 rally. The blue chip index advanced another 0.9% to 7,416 with Glencore, BHP and Anglo American among the top performers,” says Russ Mould, Investment Director at AJ Bell.
“In terms of trend-following, Carnival, Imperial Brands and Pearson both continued to fall after yesterday’s trio...
26 September 2019
Imperial Brands hit by vaping backlash, and DFS dragged down by UK property market gloom“A 0.3% rise in the FTSE 100 to 7,309 is driven by strength in utilities, oil producers, miners and insurers,” says Russ Mould, Investment Director at AJ Bell.
“The most heavily-traded stock by volume was British Airways owner International Consolidated Airlines which saw its shares fall after downgrading earnings guidance.
“Profit warnings were...
25 September 2019
Aston Martin’s debt red flag and Sainsbury’s makes baby steps with recovery“A sharp drop in the oil price drags the FTSE 100 down 0.6% to 7,249. New data yesterday showed a greater than expected build-up of crude oil in the US, shocking the market. Now we have US President Donald Trump once again criticising Beijing’s trade practices which has caused investors to become less hopeful about an amicable resolution to the US...