One of the biggest dividend days for the UK Index this year looms large next Thursday. Big names like BT, Anglo American, BP, Royal Dutch Shell, GlaxoSmithKline, AstraZeneca, Diageo, Lloyds and many more are paying anywhere up to 3.3%*. Here’s how not to miss out. With some spectacular moves among UK Index blue-chips lately, often…
RBS was the beneficiary of good news this morning, propelling its shares back to May highs. More importantly, they extended their 12-month post-Brexit recovery. Many are now looking north towards the highs of 2015 as a potential target. But what is required to get them there? The good news this morning was RBS swinging back…
Next shares surged as much as 12% this morning to test May highs as investors breathed a sigh of relief. Here are five potential reasons why; Sales growth is an endangered species on the high street amid fierce online competition. News of Q2 sales +0.7%, boosted by directory (includes key online segment) and good weather,…
Rolls Royce shares are 8.5% to the good this morning, potentially on course for their best daily gain in almost 18 months (12 Feb 2016, +14%). The jump comes after first half results revealed a better than expected return to profitability (H1 last year impacted by Brexit vote GBP plunge hurting currency hedges), propelling the…
Macro observations As we move headlong into August, a continuing theme has emerged in foreign exchange markets concerning the performance of the global reserve currency. Having traded at a 14-year high only two days into the new year, the US dollar has since fallen over 10% to its lowest level since May 2016. Investors will…
UK Index Tobacco shares are sharply lower (down 4% to 7%), weighing on the blue-chip index into the close (7.6% of index) as investors interpret any US regulatory efforts to dampen demand for cigarettes, by reducing nicotine to non-addictive levels, as a negative for the industry. This may be an overreaction, however. Firstly, this is…