It has now been 10 years since the then chancellor George Osborne, introduced the so-called 'pension freedoms' for individuals with defined contribution pension savings. 'Pensioners will have complete freedom to draw down as much or as little of their pension pot as they want, anytime they want. No caps. No drawdown limits. Let me be clear. No one will have to buy an annuity,' Osborne...

FDA accepts application for gepotidacin Positive phase-three trials GAK to receive $370m settlement Pharmaceutical firm GSK (GSK) said the US FDA (Food and Drug Administration) has accepted an application to review gepotidacin, its oral antibiotic to treat sexually transmitted uncomplicated gonorrhoea in patients 12 years and older. The shares ticked up 14p or 1% to £14.09, taking...

Close scrutiny of the AIC's (Association of Investment Companies) UK Equity Income sector shows two trusts with strong retail followings occupying top and bottom spots in the five-year share price total return performance table, namely Temple Bar (TMPL) and Finsbury Growth & Income (FGT). In what represents a reversal of fortunes for two popular portfolios, the value-oriented former has...

The FTSE 100 was lower on Wednesday, with some corporate earnings disappointing, though sentiment was more optimistic in mainland Europe, ahead of US data and a Federal Reserve decision. The FTSE 100 index traded down 25.73 points, 0.3%, at 9,110.59. The FTSE 250 was up marginally by 16.48 points, 0.1%, at 21,809.55, and the AIM All-Share was down 1.11 points, 0.1%, at 764.64. The Cboe UK 100...

Q2 earnings beat Raised full year guidance Improved operational performance GSK (GSK) delivered better than expected earnings for the second quarter to 30 June and raised sales and profit guidance to the top end of the range, driven by continued strength in specialty medicines and an improved operating performance. The shares added 10p or 0.7% to £14.07, taking year-to-date gains to 3%...

Total deal value up to $12 billion Hengrui Pharma shares jump 24% Complements GSK's existing pipeline GSK (GSK) has entered into an agreement with China's largest drugmaker, Hengrui Pharmaceuticals (1276:HKG), to develop a dozen new medicines including a potential 'best in class' treatment for COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease). The news sent shares in the Chinese drug maker up 24%...

Blenrep fails to impress US regulator Potential $1 billion sales hit Drug approved in UK and Japan GSK (GSK) was the biggest faller in the FTSE on Friday (18 July) after reporting that its blood cancer treatment Benrep received a negative recommendation from the US regulatory advisory committee. The shares sank 6.5% to £13.2, a fresh three-month low, taking the year-to-date loss to 3%,...

Haleon (HLN) 390.9p Market cap: £35.6 billion Geopolitical turbulence and Donald Trump's tariffs mean uncertainties abound for investors, with the outlook for global markets and economies likely to remain unclear for some time to come. Given this backdrop, savvy portfolio builders should increase their exposure to high-quality, cash-generative large-caps whose earnings have a defensive bent....

London's blue chip index closed down again on Friday as Trump threatened a 50% tariff on the EU, accusing the bloc of being 'difficult', but noted that his deal with the UK is progressing well. Also, Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform: 'Our negotiated deal with the UK is working out well...I strongly recommend to them, however, that in order to get their Energy Costs down, they stop with...

As tariff fears ease elsewhere, the pharmaceutical sector now finds itself in the crosshairs thanks to an executive order trailed by president Donald Trump on 11 May. The administration apparently mandated a reduction in prescription drug prices of between a third and 80% to give the US 'most favoured nation' pricing. This put global pharma stocks on the back foot, although the vagueness of...

According to the latest Dividend Monitor report from Computershare, which looks after the share registers of 900 companies, total UK corporate dividend payments fell 4.6% or £700 million in the first quarter of this year to £14 billion. The decline was mainly due to lower one-off special dividends and a handful of large cuts from firms such as Burberry (BRBY) and Vodafone (VOD), which halved...

Pharma stocks fall on Trump drug price pledge Measures could cost NHS billions Markets rally on US-China truce On a day when 'risk-on' returned with a vengeance following a 90-day truce on tariffs between the US and China, the usually defensive healthcare sector was already on the back foot. The sector was further whacked by president Trump's proposed executive order on Sunday (11 May) to...

Stock prices in Europe were in the doldrums on Wednesday afternoon, as investors await the next US Federal Reserve decision. The FTSE 100 index traded down 25.85 points, 0.3%, at 8,571.57. It came into Wednesday on a 16-day winning streak, which is under threat of being snapped. The FTSE 250 lost 31.01 points, 0.2%, at 20,321.48, and the AIM All-Share is up 2.21 points, 0.3% at 712.55. The...

Pharmaceutical outfit GSK (GSK) delivered a string of positive trading updates in 2024 and ended the year raising sales guidance for 2025 and nudging up its 2031 sales target to more than £40 billion as well as announcing a £2 billion share buyback, its first in over a decade. At the full year results on 5 February the company said it expects revenue growth of between 3% and 5% while core...

Meningitis vaccine recommended in US 5-in-1 vaccine should increase adoption Extended age group for RSV vaccine GSK (GSK) announced the advisory committee of the US CDC (Centre for Disease Control and prevention) had voted to recommend its 5-in-1 meningococcal vaccine Penmenvy to help protect persons over 10-years of age against different strains of meningitidis. Broad coverage against the...

Stocks in London, Paris and Frankfurt were firmly in the green on Thursday morning, after the US announced it will keep 10% baseline tariffs but pause higher levies. Trump paused new tariffs on most countries but doubled down on China, raising tariffs on the world's second-largest economy to 125%. Meanwhile in the UK, Downing Street said that the UK will 'coolly and calmly' continue its...

The FTSE 100 suffered fresh losses on Wednesday as China hiked tariffs on US goods and market volatility spread to bonds, compounding investor nerves. The FTSE 100 index closed down 231.05 points, 2.9%, at 7,679.48. The FTSE 250 ended 458.51 points lower, 2.5%, at 17,890.64. The AIM All-Share declined 14.65 points, 2.3%, at 627.01. The Cboe UK 100 ended down 2.9% at 764.65, the Cboe UK 250...

Potential cuts to CDC fundingPart of wider cost saving plans1.2 million people living with HIVNews that the US health department is reviewing CDC's (Centre for Disease Control and Prevention) HIV prevention division amidst potential funding cuts sent shares in Gilead Sciences (GILD:NASDAQ) down 3% in premarket trading, while GSK (GSK) shares fell 2%.Both companies are big players in the...

Positive clinical trial resultsUS regulator accepts review for new indicationsAsthma affects 26m people in USGSK (GSK) announced positive results from a late-stage clinical trial to test the effectiveness and safety of depemokimab, an antibody used for treating patients with chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps.Twice yearly administration of depemokimab showed clinically meaningful and...

The FTSE 100 index climbed on Wednesday, with shares in GSK boosted after its revenue beat expectations.The Bank of England is expected to enact a 25 basis point rate cut on Thursday, but policymakers face the unenviable balancing act of weighing up a stalling economy with inflation pressure.The expected quarter-point cut by Threadneedle Street would take the bank rate to 4.50%, from 4.75%...