WH Smith: High-flyer divides City April 24, 2019 | City Talk By Graeme Evans from interactive investor. Latest results are fuel for another assault on a record high. Here’s why Smith splits the Square Mile. With £1 billion worth of dividends or buybacks since 2007, WH Smith (LSE:SMWH) shareholders can have few complaints about the retailer’s tried and tested strategy when it comes to selling stationery, [...]
North Sea explorers get boost as US clamps down on Iran oil exports April 23, 2019 Toughened sanctions against Iran helped push up oil prices over the weekend, lighting a fire under London-listed exploration companies today. The cost of international standard Brent crude has risen 2.9 per cent over since Friday, hitting $74.68 per barrel – its highest point since October. Read more: FTSE 100 climbs to fresh six-month high as [...]
FTSE 100 climbs to fresh six-month high as oil giants surge on tighter US sanctions on Iran April 23, 2019 The FTSE 100 climbed to a new six-month high for the year this morning as oil giants saw shares rise as oil prices rocketed. The blue chip index rose 0.4 per cent in early trading to 7,490 points – its highest since 3 October. Read more: Oil prices reach fresh 2019 high as US tightens sanctions [...]
Sterling falls as doubts emerge over cross-party Brexit talks April 16, 2019 Sterling fell after reports emerged that Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn had said talks with the government were stalling, although the party has slapped down the claim. Read more: Tusk says he still dreams of UK U-turn on Brexit A falling pound sent the FTSE 100 to a six-month high, as investors responded to the news [...]
Lufthansa enters the red with €336m loss as rising fuel costs take a bite out of the airline industry April 16, 2019 German carrier Lufthansa showed and operating loss reaching €336m (£290m) in the first three months of the year as fuel costs ate into its profits. Revenues at the airline grew three per cent year-on-year to €7.9bn, but its €52m operating profit reversed into a big loss. Read more: Easyjet’s had a bumpy ride, but what do [...]
Best 25 stocks in the last tax year April 15, 2019 | City Talk By Graeme Evans from interactive investor. The FTSE 100 outperformed mid-caps last tax year, but the top FTSE 350 performers might surprise you. Take a look at the financial year ended on the 5th April, with the 25 top performing stocks in the FTSE 350 all producing gains of 40 per cent or more over the [...]
Lloyds Bank stars as FTSE 100 rockets in Q1 April 9, 2019 | City Talk By Graeme Evans from interactive investor. After a great first quarter for stock markets, we assess the best and worst blue-chips of 2019 so far. It’s been a storming start to 2019 for the FTSE 100 index, with popular interactive investor stocks including Lloyds Banking Group (LSE:LLOY), Next (LSE:NXT) and Tesco (LSE:TSCO) among those on [...]
Stop unfairly demonising firms that have large gender pay gaps April 5, 2019 Bad data cannot produce good policy. This gets us to the heart of the problem with the mandated gender pay gap reporting legislation, which is now into its second year. It’s all good and well finding a hook to speak about cultural issues. And no doubt, women are still operating in an unequal world, even [...]
Wizz Air flies past airline gloom with upbeat profit predictions April 2, 2019 Ftse 250 airline Wizz Air said it expects net profit for the year to land in the upper half of its expected guidance, in a trading update today. The announcement follows a gloomy update yesterday from fellow low cost airline Easyjet which led to a nearly 10 per cent dip in its share price, and [...]
Easyjet shares lose altitude on weaker passenger traffic outlook April 1, 2019 Easyjet was the biggest faller on the FTSE 100 today – closing down 9.7 per cent – after investors baulked at the low-cost carrier's 'cautious' outlook for the second half. Budget airline Easyjet said earlier today it is “more cautious” in its outlook for the second half of the year, blaming macroeconomic uncertainty and Brexit for [...]