After well over 1,000 issues Shares' time as a weekly publication has come to an end. A new monthly version is in the works for customers of AJ Bell and, if that applies to you, remember to look out for that later this year. However, it is clearly a good time to take stock. Having worked for Shares for 18 of its 26 years it's been my privilege and pleasure to edit the magazine for the last 18...

European stocks closed higher on Friday after the on-year US core personal consumption expenditures price index for August matched the pace of growth in July, while the CME FedWatch tool puts an 86% chance of a quarter point rate cut by the Federal Reserve in October. The FTSE 100 index closed up 70.85 points, 0.8%, at 9,284.83. The FTSE 250 ended 93.71 points higher, 0.4%, at 21,681.48, and...

Stocks in London were mixed at midday on Friday after US President Donald Trump announced new levies on pharmaceuticals, ahead of US personal consumption expenditures data, the US Federal Reserve's preferred inflation gauge. The FTSE 100 index was up 30.23 points, 0.3%, at 9,244.21. The FTSE 250 was down 5.93 points at 21,581.84, and the AIM All-Share was up 1.92 points, 0.3%, at 775.54. The...

'Strong' return to profitability Pollution and storm overflow spills halved Search for new CEO underway Pennon (PNN) shares bubbled up 0.3% to 455p after the water utility said it was on track to deliver a 'strong return' to profitability for the year to March 2026, with EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) anticipated to increase by 60% year-on-year. Investors...

US stocks hit rockier waters as we moved into autumn with mixed messages on interest rates, new tariffs and geopolitical uncertainty all weighing on sentiment. Initial excitement early in the week about the $100 billion tie-up between OpenAI and Nvidia (NVDA:NASDAQ) faded as concern built over potential antitrust issues. Though Intel (INTC:NASDAQ), which inked its own deal with Nvidia earlier...

London stocks opened in the green on Friday, with investors weighing stronger-than-expected US economic growth and looming tariff plans from Washington, while digital ID reforms at home also drew attention. The FTSE 100 index opened up 26.32 points, 0.3%, at 9,240.30. The FTSE 250 was up 55.07 points, 0.3%, at 21,642.84, and the AIM All-Share was up 2.66 points, 0.3%, at 776.28. The Cboe UK...

Stocks in London closed mostly lower on Thursday amid a weaker sterling after figures showed the US economy grew at a stronger than expected pace in the second quarter, meanwhile the 10-year bond yield in the UK firmed amid chatter of a political challenge to Prime Minister Keir Starmer. The FTSE 100 index closed down 36.45 points, 0.4%, at 9,213.98. The FTSE 250 ended 102.75 points lower,...

The FTSE 100 followed European peers lower ahead of US data in the afternoon. Mining shares have been in focus this week, particularly those with a copper exposure, after a force majeure was declared at a major mine in Indonesia. The focus for the remainder of the week will be on US economic indicators. The latest gross domestic product reading is released Thursday at 1330 BST, alongside the...

Ongoing market share gains Current trading remains resilient DFS passes the dividend Shares in DFS Furniture (DFS) rose 3.7% to 156p after the sofa seller delivered forecast-beating profits for the year to 29 June 2025 and insisted it can generate profit growth in the current year, despite a subdued specialist upholstery market, driven by margin progression and cost discipline. DFS' orders...

In this our final big feature as a weekly publication, the Shares team has gone to the ideas well one last time to identify five stocks that individual members of our team really like. There is a pretty broad spread of ideas both by market value and by sector, read on to discover more about these conviction plays and why the authors are such big fans. AG Barr (BAG) Price : 685p Market cap :...

Among the investment trust sector's most storied trusts is RIT Capital Partners (RCP), the big beast of the Association of Investment Companies' (AIC) Flexible Investment sector in which the Rothschild family remains the largest shareholder. Boasting total assets north of £4.2 billion, the trust sits in the bottom half of the sector's five-year share price total return rankings, but RIT...

If the monthly Worldpanel grocery figures are anything to go by, the UK's biggest supermarket chain Tesco (TESCO) has had a good 2025, so investors will be keen to hear from chief executive Ken Murphy just how good the year has been when the group unveils its half-year results on 2 October. As of the start of September, Tesco's share of UK grocery spending stood at 28.4%, up 0.8% on the same...

After well over 1,000 issues Shares' time as a weekly publication is coming to an end. A new monthly version is in the works for customers of AJ Bell and, if that applies to you, remember to look out for that later this year. However, it is clearly a good time to take stock. Having worked for Shares for 18 of its 26 years it's been my privilege and pleasure to edit the magazine for the last 18...

The CEO of small cap technology company Microlise (SAAS:AIM) has big ambitions. With this in mind Shares recently took the opportunity to sit down with the man in question Nadeem Raza. Raza has been with the company since 1987 and became chief executive after he led a management buyout in 2008. The company floated on AIM in July 2021 and Raza owns half of the company. For the uninitiated,...

Shares in Pets at Home (PETS) are firmly in the doghouse with investors, down 35% over one year with the latest sharp plunge triggered by a nasty profit warning (18 September) from the UK pet care leader which led to the immediate departure of CEO Lyssa McGowan. Non-executive chair, Ian Burke will assume the role of executive chair until a permanent CEO has been recruited. McGowan was given...

Investors will be hoping for evidence that new-ish Nike (NKE:NYSE) CEO Elliott Hill's turnaround strategy is gaining traction when the world's biggest sportswear firm posts first-quarter results (30 September). Bulls believe the Oregon-based running shoes-to-soccer balls brand is now at an inflection point, with sales and profit declines set to moderate as stale inventory is cleared out and...

Donald Trump has developed a reputation for having policies that provoke a marmite reaction ? certain people love them, others hate them. It is therefore interesting that one of his latest ideas appears to have garnered relatively widespread support, and it is one that is relevant to investors. Trump has proposed that US-listed companies move from a quarterly to a six-monthly reporting...

The Sage of Omaha, Warren Buffett, is arguably the best investor who ever lived which explains why 70,000 fans flock to Nebraska every year in the hope of discovering his investment secrets and insights. I have been following Buffett since the early 1990s when a colleague gave me a copy of the Outstanding Investor Digest. A large chunk of the publication was devoted to the questions and...

On 23 September 2025 we marked the third anniversary of the Truss/Kwarteng mini-Budget, an extraordinary and calamitous episode which ultimately claimed the jobs of both the chancellor and the prime minister, and set the scene for a Labour victory in the 2024 general election. The mini-budget sparked a sharp sell-off in the UK gilt market, which led to a Bank of England bail out and a...

When I retired from the NHS in 2008, I received a lump sum payment from the superannuation scheme, in addition to the NHS pension. I now plan to put my SIPP into drawdown and withdraw the 25% tax-free lump sum from it. Do I have to declare the NHS lump sum when applying for drawdown? Does the NHS lump sum contribute to the total lump sum (including from the SIPP) which I can take tax-free? Ian...