Spring Statement 2025: Markets and bonds tread water ahead of ‘testing day’ March 26, 2025 Markets and bonds were relatively flat on Wednesday morning as analysts predicted Rachel Reeves’ Spring Statement would mark a “testing day”. The FTSE 100 had minor gains following market open, with Marks and Spencer leading the index’s biggest risers. The mid-cap FTSE 250 had a slight uptick, led by a surge in retailer Ocado after [...]
Soft drinks sales pop at Irn-bru maker AG Barr and Fevertree March 25, 2025 AG Barr and Fevertree have both reported a sales boost despite increased competition in the soft drinks market. AG Barr’s share price ticked up a marginal 0.1 per cent in early trades, while Fevertree’s share price rose more than six per cent. AG Barr, which owns brands Irn-bru, Rubicon, Boost and Funkin, told markets this [...]
Profit jumps at electrical retailer AO World March 25, 2025 Profit has risen more than twice as fast as sales and far outstripped revenue growth at online electrical retailer AO World. The company told markets this morning that it expects retail revenue to increase by around 12 per cent in the 12 months to March 31. It expects like-for-like revenue to increase by around seven [...]
Kingfisher: French trading dampens performance of B&Q owner March 25, 2025 Kingfisher, the parent company of B&Q and Screwfix, has reported a drop in sales driven by the weak consumer market in France. Sales fell 1.5 per cent to £12.78bn in the year ended January 31, Kingfisher told markets this morning. This drop was overwhelmingly driven by a 6.2 per cent drop in sales in France, [...]
JD Sports: Nike woes could spell trouble for retailer says broker March 24, 2025 London broker Peel Hunt has downgraded its forecast for JD Sports ahead of the company’s full-year results next month due to short-term industry issues. Peel Hunt cut its projected profit before tax and earnings per share for JD Sports by three per cent for the financial year 2026. The broker attributed the downgrade to an [...]
Natwest partners with OpenAI as FTSE giant scales up tech March 20, 2025 Natwest announced on Thursday it has entered a partnership with OpenAI to focus on “bank-wide simplification”. The FTSE 100 lender said it would leverage AI to meet customers’ needs faster and more effectively, whilst increasing productivity and efficiency across operations. The firm said it would deploy “some of the latest and most powerful developments in [...]
Trustpilot: Shares spike as review site benefits from snowballing user and business adoption March 18, 2025 Review platform Trustpilot has reported a double-digit increase in revenue and earnings as business adoption and brand awareness “fuel the flywheel”. Its share price rose more than 13 per cent in early trades. The company told markets this morning that revenue rose 19 per cent in the year ended December 31, to $210m (£161m) from [...]
Savills: Shares continue month-long slide despite strong results March 13, 2025 Savills has reported a huge uptick in profit, although its investment management arm suffered last year on high interest rates. The FTSE 250-listed firm told the market this morning that revenue increased by seven per cent in the year ended December 31, reaching £2.4bn from £2.24bn in 2023. Underlying profit before tax rose 38 per cent [...]
FTSE 100 and European markets steady ‘Trump Slump’ March 11, 2025 Calm briefly returned to global markets on Tuesday morning after an aggressive sell-off on Monday triggered by President Trump’s comments over the weekend. What investors had previously hoped to be a ‘Trump Bump’ turned into a ‘Trump Slump’ after the President’s failure to dismiss recession fears spooked markets. The FTSE 100 was broadly flat Tuesday morning after [...]
IAG: Pay for British Airways owner’s CEO takes off after FTSE 100 success March 5, 2025 The chief executive of British Airways owner IAG has received a huge pay rise after its shares surged on the FTSE 100 over the last year. Luis Gallego has been handed a pay packet of £4.6m for the group’s latest financial year, up from the £3.1m he received for 2023. The latest figure also compares [...]