Reeves ‘will be forced to hold Spring Budget’ to settle gilt jitters, Abrdn predicts January 9, 2025 Chancellor Rachel Reeves will be forced to hold a spring Budget this year to rein in government spending and settle investors’ nerves, after the cost of government borrowing hit multi-decade highs this week, Abrdn has predicted. Despite ministers insisting the gilt market was functioning in an “orderly” way and no emergency measures would be taken, [...]
Johnson Matthey wades into US activist campaign row January 8, 2025 Johnson Matthey has entered the public spat brewing over an activist campaign from its largest investor, attempting to reassure markets it has been taking concerns over its share price seriously. In a withering letter yesterday, US industrials investor Standard Investments slammed the chemicals group’s board for a “continued lack of urgency and incapacity” over its [...]
Johnson Matthey: US investor ramps up activist campaign January 7, 2025 Johnson Matthey’s largest shareholder has piled pressure on the FTSE 250 chemicals group, calling its response to a demanded strategic review “wholly insufficient”. In an open letter to Johnson Matthey chair Patrick Thomas, today, US industrials investor Standard Investments slammed the group’s “destruction of shareholder value” as part of its activist campaign. Last month, Standard [...]
Wizz Air passengers surge despite engine dispute January 3, 2025 Wizz Air passengers jumped above five million in December 2024, a two per cent increase from last year, even as the company was forced to ground dozens of its planes due to engine issues. The FTSE 250 carrier reported 5.06m customers throughout last month, despite a 3.1 per cent drop in seats from last December [...]
FTSE 100 climbs into the green on the back of weaker pound January 2, 2025 The shaky start comes amid widespread uncertainty about the path for the global economy in the new year.
FTSE 100 records best performance since 2021 December 31, 2024 The FTSE 100 returned just 5.8 per cent in 2024, despite a last-minute selloff in the final weeks of December. Despite hopes of a ‘Santa rally’ in December, the FTSE fell 1.7 per cent in the month. However, this will be its best year since 2021. That year, the blue-chip index returned 14.3 per cent, [...]
Why Raspberry Pi had a FTSE Christmas boost December 27, 2024 Raspberry Pi has held up the FTSE 250 on the first trading day after Christmas, with its stock price surging as much as 18 per cent today, pushing it to become a £1bn company. The Cambridge-based tech firm’s share price had been languishing just below £4 since the firm floated on the London Stock Exchange [...]
FTSE 100 logs worst week in more than a year December 21, 2024 The FTSE 100 touched a more than one-month low on Friday and logged its sharpest drop since October 2023 for a week filled with a raft of central bank policy decisions. The FTSE 100 dropped 0.3 per cent, hitting its lowest since 13 November, though the mid-cap FTSE 250 was up 0.3 per cent, after [...]
Outsourcing giant Serco: Shares spike as business pipeline “at its best for a decade” December 19, 2024 British outsourcing giant Serco has said that its pipeline of business opportunities is at its strongest in over a decade thanks to a boost from North American defence contracts. Shares subsequently spiked more this seven per cent in early trades. The FTSE 250 firm told markets this morning that underlying operating profit was £270m in 2024, [...]
Chemring shares plunge despite record orders December 17, 2024 Chemring shares plunged on Tuesday as production and foreign exchange headwinds dented investor confidence despite booming orders. The FTSE 250 British defence contractor’s order book reached a record £1.04bn in 2024, meaning more than two-thirds of next year’s revenue forecast is already covered. Such soaring demand saw Chemring double down on a target of reaching [...]