11 December 2025
Is there a bubble in the gold price? One expert thinks soBubble talk has progressed from AI companies to gold following the sharp rally in the precious metal price this year. The Bank for International Settlements has warned that gold and US stocks are showing signs of being in a bubble, pointing towards hype and exuberance among investors.
Gold has increased by 60% this year to $4,218 per ounce thanks...
11 December 2025
A shocking number of fund managers have failed to outperform the marketIt’s been a dreadful decade for active fund managers. Just 24% of the active funds analysed in AJ Bell’s Manager versus Machine report have beaten a passive alternative in the last 10 years. This is the lowest reading since the report was launched in 2021.
Even if active managers start to turn things around, as they seemed to be in the first half...
11 December 2025
Daily market update: US rate cut, Oracle, DraxAnother day, another rate cut. What’s normally a driver for equity markets has become old news, and investors have shrugged off the Fed’s latest reduction in US borrowing costs as it is becoming harder to guess where rates might go next.
The fanfare around rate cuts was short-lived. European markets were nonplussed at the news, and Wall Street is...
10 December 2025
Daily market update: Anglo American, Berkeley, Everyman Media, FirstGroupMarkets were in a holding pattern ahead of the Fed’s interest rate decision later today.
A quarter point rate cut is widely expected, but more interesting to the market will be commentary on the direction of rates in 2026. There have been conflicting signals from the Fed about monetary policy and markets are keen to see if there is more joined up...
9 December 2025
Daily market update: Nvidia, Google, British American Tobacco, TescoThe UK was an outlier on European markets on Tuesday with the FTSE 100 dipping slightly.
Whereas the rest of the main European equity indices pushed ahead, the FTSE 100 was held back by shares in British American Tobacco going up in smoke, and Tesco falling on disappointing grocery industry data.
NvidiaNvidia chief executive Jensen Huang has...
9 December 2025
Are fund managers’ best ideas different or the same? Here’s how global fund portfolios stack upGlobal equity funds are some of the most popular investment choices among AJ Bell DIY investors. While many people opt for a simple tracker fund designed to mirror the performance of a global index such as the MSCI World, others are drawn to actively managed funds that aim to beat the market.
We thought it would be interesting to dive into the most...
8 December 2025
How to pick a stockThere are more than 1,500 shares listed in the UK alone and tens of thousands across the globe which gives investors a huge amount of choice over what companies to invest in.
Narrowing down the field requires some research to determine if a stock fits with your preferences and investment goals.
While everyone is different, there are some broad...
8 December 2025
Daily market update: Netflix-Warner Bros deal, Unilever ice cream demergerEurope got off to a quiet start, with minimal movement among the main equity indices.
The FTSE 100 held firm as strength among industrials, basic materials and healthcare was offset by weakness in consumer stocks and real estate.
Prudential was the biggest riser after filing paperwork to float an Indian subsidiary, selling more shares as part of...
5 December 2025
Netflix acquires Warner Bros Discovery in $83 billion dealFollowing exclusive talks, Netflix announced the purchase of Warner Bros Discovery on 5 December in a stock and cash transaction valued at $27.75 per share for a total value including debts of $82.7 billion.
The agreement was unanimously approved by the boards of directors of both companies.
The initial market reaction saw Netflix shares falling 3%...
5 December 2025
Russ Mould: A look at British American Tobacco, Berkeley Homes and central banks in the coming weekRuss Mould highlights key corporate announcements from British American Tobacco and Berkeley Homes, and discusses the upcoming interest rate decisions from the Reserve Bank of Australia, Bank of Canada, US Federal Reserve, and Swiss National Bank.
5 December 2025
Unilever investors to get shares in new ice cream company – what you need to knowConsumer goods firm Unilever is one of the largest companies on the UK stock market and is about to go through a significant change. Find out what is happening when and what it means for shareholders.
What’s happening?Last year, Unilever announced plans to separate its ice cream business and focus on four different areas – beauty and wellbeing...
5 December 2025
Daily market update: FTSE 100, Unilever ice cream demerger, OcadoThe FTSE 100 made a steady start on Friday morning as investors await a key release on US inflation.
The market is increasingly betting on an interest rate cut when the Federal Reserve meets on 10 December and mixed employment data this week has done little to dampen those expectations which, in turn, have helped drive recent gains for equities.
Th...
5 December 2025
Stocks quiet ahead of Fed meeting, and Microsoft lowers AI quotasUS markets were in a holding pattern this week ahead of the Federal Reserve’s interest rate decision on 10 December, when it is widely anticipated to deliver a quarter percentage point cut.
Prospects for further rate cuts gave impetus to the small cap Rusell 2000 index which gained more than 1% to notch up fresh all-time highs.
The technology-heavy...
4 December 2025
The biggest risers and fallers of the FTSE 100 this yearThe FTSE 100 is on track for its seventh best year ever, with its highest return since the aftermath of the global financial crisis*. So much for the UK being the home for old economy companies – the FTSE 100 has had precisely the ingredients desired by investors in a year full of political, trade and market uncertainty. The FTSE 100 has returned...
4 December 2025
Five key lessons from financial markets in 2025The combination of Liberation Day’s tariffs, wars in the Middle East and Eastern Europe, worries over the long-term impact of Artificial Intelligence upon jobs, galloping government debts and stretched budgets, and active debate about stock market bubbles does not look like a favourable one for investors. However, many will look back upon 2025 with...
4 December 2025
Daily market update: Meta, utilities, Rio Tinto, Future, FrasersThe FTSE 100 drifted in early trading on Thursday, dragged down by weakness in the mining and energy sectors.
Weaker-than-expected US unemployment data may have further firmed up expectations of a rate cut when the Federal Reserve meets next week. However, this is not ‘new news’ for investors and the indifferent performance of stocks in the UK and...
3 December 2025
Is the FTSE 100 gearing up for its latest Santa Rally?Since its launch in 1984, the FTSE 100 index has gained 2.1% on average in December, whereas April and July are the only other months to offer an average advance of 1% or more.
If you want to know why markets talk about the Santa Rally, that is why – because the numbers back it up. Quite why the Santa Rally should occur is less clear.
Investors...
3 December 2025
How weight-loss drugs are driving demand for fashion makeoversFast fashion retailer Boohoo, now trading as Debenhams, has just seen its shares surge more than 100% over the course of a week as investors become more hopeful about its recovery plan.
The return to profitable growth announced on 27 November was certainly a tonic for Boohoo but a longer-term potential boost to the company and other retailers such...
3 December 2025
Daily market update: Sainsbury’s, HSBC, Thames Water, Prada & VersaceMiners did their best to prop up the FTSE 100, but opposing forces from the banking, pharma and utility sectors were too great to keep the index in positive territory.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was a notable mover, falling 1.3% as nearly all sectors apart from basic materials and industrials were in the red. China’s CSI 300 index was also weak...
2 December 2025
Daily market update: banks, Topps Tiles, On The BeachA robust showing from the UK banking sector following financial stress tests wasn’t enough to spur the FTSE 100 into action.
Miners and healthcare stocks acted as a drag on the blue-chip index, leaving the FTSE 100 flat and only achieving minimal gains in early trading.
In Germany, chemicals group Bayer soared by 13% after the Trump administration...
1 December 2025
Daily market update: oil, gold, Tesla, HICL & TRIG merger off, SolGoldThe FTSE 100 dipped in early trading on Monday despite post-Thanksgiving gains for US markets last week.
Further selling in cryptocurrencies reflected a risk-off mood as did some volatility in Asian markets – with Japan’s Nikkei 225 seeing material weakness.
This followed a move higher for the yen, which affects the competitiveness of Japan’s...
28 November 2025
Daily market update: FTSE 100 steady, Whitbread, Burberry, Mitchells & ButlersThe FTSE 100 looks set to end the week in decent fashion and US futures point to post-Thanksgiving gains when Wall Street opens for business.
UK housebuilders remain in decent fettle after the Budget – which didn’t contain any nasty surprises in terms of property taxes, bar the so-called ‘mansion tax’.
The exception to the sector’s positivity is...
28 November 2025
Rate cut hopes lift markets, Dell gets AI boost: what happened on US marketsIn a week foreshortened by the Thanksgiving holiday, US stocks bounced back as expectations for a pre-Christmas rate cut gathered steam.
This had looked to be off the table thanks to the impact of the US government shutdown on data releases but recent comments from Federal Reserve officials have raised hopes of a cut on 10 December. This helped...
27 November 2025
Russ Mould: A look at NewRiver Retail, Paragon Banking & Frasers ahead of their updatesRuss Mould runs us through the companies schedule to report in the coming week, and takes a specific look at what analysts will be studying when NewRiver Retail, Paragon Banking and Frasers report next week.
27 November 2025
Daily market update: FTSE 100 steady after Budget, gambling sector, HalfordsAfter yesterday’s Budget-related drama, there is a quieter feel to markets this morning.
The FTSE 100 was flat in early trading after gains in Asia and yesterday in the US on rate cut hopes, with a decent showing for retailers balanced out by weakness in the property and mining space.
After seeing considerable volatility yesterday amid leaks and...
