Close Brothers chief executive steps down after medical leave January 7, 2025 Close Brothers group chief executive Adrian Sainsbury has stepped down from his role after four months of medical leave. The FTSE 250 CEO began in the role in 2020 after more than 11 years at the company, joining Close Brothers as chief executive of its commercial arm before becoming director of the group’s main banking [...]
AIM-pocalypse: Number of £1bn firms on junior market falls to nine-year low January 6, 2025 Only six companies listed on London’s junior market AIM are worth more than £1bn, the lowest level for the exchange in nine years. The number of companies worth over £1bn has dropped by 80 per cent since the start of 2022 and almost halved over the last year, according to data from the London Stock [...]
Baillie Gifford ‘appalled’ by US activist investor Saba Capital’s conduct January 6, 2025 Baillie Gifford has hit back against an activist campaign by US hedge fund Saba Capital targeting three of its investment trusts, calling the hedge fund’s actions “a backdoor attempt to seize control”. “We are appalled by Saba’s actions and conduct,” said Karen Brade, chair of one of Baillie Gifford’s trusts targeted by the attack. Last [...]
US activist investors ramp up attacks on UK companies January 6, 2025 US activist investors ramped up their attacks on UK companies in 2024, with British firms continuing as the top target for investor campaigns in Europe. 42 per cent of all activist campaigns in Europe targeted the UK, with 59 companies coming under pressure throughout the year, according to Alvarez & Marsal’s latest Activist Alert Outlook. [...]
Buy IAG and sell Wizz Air says broker as British Airways takes off January 6, 2025 Analysts have backed British Airways owner International Consolidated Airlines Group (IAG) while warning investors away from budget airline Wizz Air in 2025. Panmure Liberum analysts picked IAG shares as their ‘most preferred’ stock within transport, with a target price of 500p compared to its current 287p share price. IAG was the best performing FTSE 100 [...]
Rolls-Royce shares slip following broker downgrade January 6, 2025 Rolls-Royce shares dipped more than three per cent in early deals this morning after analysts at investment bank Citi downgraded the stock. The analysts downgraded the FTSE 100 giant from a ‘Buy’ to a ‘Neutral’ rating while increasing the price target from 555p to 641p. Despite the stock currently sitting at 576p, the analysts said [...]
Trufin: Balatro poker craze boosts finance company to profit January 6, 2025 Financial services firm Trufin is set to announce an adjusted profit before tax “significantly ahead of market expectations” thanks to its video game arm publishing the indie hit Balatro. Trufin is now preparing to report its first ever full year profit, a year earlier than had been expected. While the group is primarily known as [...]
Rail regulator orders HS1 to slash spending on Eurostar route January 6, 2025 The Office of Rail and Road has ordered HS1 to lower its spending from April 2025, after finding it did not meet its duties for efficient spending. The 109km high-speed rail line was ordered to bring charges down by 3.8 per cent compared to its latest plans, saving passengers and freight trains as much as [...]
What went wrong for Fundsmith Equity in 2024? January 3, 2025 Fundsmith Equity, the largest investment fund in the UK, registered its fourth consecutive year of underperformance in 2024. Terry Smith’s £22.6bn fund returned just 8.9 per cent last year, compared to 20.8 per cent for its benchmark, the MSCI World Index. This drastic underperformance followed a similar trend from previous years. The fund underperformed its [...]
Avoid Tesla, Intel, oil and German equities in 2025 say analysts January 3, 2025 Wall Street analysts have pencilled in strong gains for equity markets in 2025, following a robust performance in 2024. However, while analysts are optimistic about the outlook for the market as a whole, there are some assets Wall Street believes will underperform in the year ahead. Here are the four assets analysts are advising investors [...]
