Core operating profit up 6% to £859 million Shares up 10% year-to-date 2% increase in interim dividend per share Shares in Legal & General (LGEN) fell more than 3% to 253p despite the financial services and asset management group reporting a 6% increase in core operating profit to £859 million for the six months ending 30 June. This was at the top end of its targeted 6%-9% growth target and...

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...

Why is it that investors find it easier to keep buying when markets are going up rather than down? The goal of an investor should be to get the best price possible, yet emotions often get in the way. A rising market makes it feel as if everything is going to work out fine. An investor might think markets will keep rising and everything they buy will appreciate in value. In contrast, a falling...

Strong trading continuesConfident in meeting market expectationsNew share buyback and bank facilityPremium pubs and hotels group Fuller, Smith & Turner (FSTA) said trading momentum continues to be strong as it confirmed it will meet market expectations for the full year to the end of March and announced a new share buyback.Investors welcomed the trading update with the shares gaining as much...

Listed infrastructure and renewable trusts have had a torrid time over the last three years with average discounts to NAV (net asset value) drifting out to between 30% and 40%.In our view the gloom and doom gone too far, with the headwinds impacting NAVs have starting to dissipate, opening the prospect of a strong recovery.We have noticed some green shoots of broad share price strength since...

The FTSE 100 index fell on Friday, while short sellers are reportedly eyeing consumer-facing UK companies facing reduced customer spending and higher employment costs.'The UK outlook is getting worse by the day,' commented AJ Bell's Dan Coatsworth. 'Business and consumer sentiment is already weakening amid concerns that the new government doesn't have an effective plan to accelerate economic...

Stocks in London were in the red around Friday noon, as investors await US nonfarm payrolls data.The FTSE 100 index fell 22.26 points, 0.3%, at 8,705.52. The FTSE 250 dipped 80.59 points, 0.4%, at 20,892.77. The AIM All-Share was down 0.34 of a point at 720.50.The Cboe UK 100 was down 0.4% at 872.49, the Cboe UK 250 fell 0.5% to 18,223.64, and the Cboe Small Companies was down 0.3% at...

Group signs deal to sell US businessJapanese buyer is long-term partnerAim is to return 40% of market capThe normally-sleepy world of retirement savings got a jolt on Friday morning as Legal & General (LGEN) announced a deal to sell its US arm and return more than half the proceeds to shareholders through a combinations of buybacks and dividends.The shares jumped more than 27p or 11% to a new...

Stock prices in London opened mixed on a relatively calm Friday, but FTSE 100 constituent Legal & General rose as it announced it will return an extra £1 billion to shareholders.Trade war tensions initially kept a lid on stocks at the start of the week, but the equity market then grew in confidence and the FTSE 100 hit its best-ever level.The blue-chip index traded down just 2.16 points at...

There is a phrase in business ? 'shrink to greatness' ? meaning companies selling or demerging assets and focusing on what they do best.You might call it streamlining, others might say it is an admission that the previous strategy did not work and the company was too bloated.This trend is firmly in motion across the UK stock market with nine companies in the FTSE 100 either in the middle of...

Announcing a new share buyback programme has been one way to trigger a share price boost. The ease at which companies have made such capital allocation decisions has naturally caught the attention of politicians, thus buybacks are increasingly a target for tax collectors.Joe Biden has already pushed through a 1% tax on buybacks in the US and wants to raise that level to 4% if he gets a second...

Legal & General selling CalaDeadline for bids next weekPrice seen around £1 billionIn a sign of growing confidence among housebuilders, it has been reported Persimmon (PSN) could bid for smaller rival Cala Group which has been earmarked for sale by owner Legal & General (LGEN).Shares in the York-based homebuilder cheapened 32p or 2% to £14.50 as investors prepared themselves for a potential...

Headline profit beats forecastsInvestment losses and outflows a concernShares the worst FTSE performerShares in life insurance and asset management giant Legal & General (LGEN) slid to the bottom of the pile in the FTSE 100, losing 3.8% to 224p after the group posted a sharp fall in first-half earnings due to investment losses.Net outflows in the first half compared with net inflows last year,...

Stocks were lower in London on Tuesday as a rise in UK unemployment and more weak data out of China saw financial stocks drop.The FTSE 100 index opened down 75.61 points, 1.0%, at 7,431.51. The FTSE 250 was down 102.94 points, 0.6%, at 18,658.49, and the AIM All-Share was down 1.7 points, 0.2%, at 753.25.The Cboe UK 100 was down 0.9% at 741.33, the Cboe UK 250 was down 0.6% at 16,374.52, and...

At 5.75%, the yield on JOHCM UK Equity Income (B8FCHK5) is the second highest it has ever been, according to fund manager Clive Beagles. You have to go back to the global financial crisis in 2008, when stock markets collapsed, to find a higher yield on the fund.'I find that staggering because the balance sheets of our companies are in a miles-better place than in 2008,' he says. 'We only own...

Insurers preferred to banksAirlines out but two-way trade in internet retailHousebuilders get benefit of the doubtIt is always fascinating to see which stocks are the most popular in terms of order flow and value traded, and for anyone who wants to find it this information is freely available on the AJ Bell website, relating to the activities of its customers.BANKS OUT, INSURERS INOver the...

- Legal & General CEO Nigel Wilson cashes in his share options- TUI director Burling buys €367,965 worth of shares- 888's Shaked buys shares after sell-offThe CEO of insurance group Legal & General (LGEN) has sold 112,850 shares at 253p at a total cash value of £285,849 to cover 'tax and dealing costs' on 19 April.Nigel Wilson still owns 127,255 shares part of total share options of...

- Top dividend yields offer double current bond yield- Glencore tops list at 9.3% yield- Banks see global sell-off sparked by Silicon Valley Bank troubleWith UK interest rates at 4% compared with close to zero a year ago, and 10-and 2-year bonds yielding around 3.7%, investors have more opportunities for locking in a decent income.Higher rates have made shares less attractive, after all if...

Many people believe that cash is a safe way of saving, but when it comes to the long term, cash is not king. Over the past two decades average UK savings rates have been going one way - down. Since about 2012, average interest on cash savings have been about 2% a year or less.This decline could be managed during the years of low inflation but emerging from the pandemic has turned all that on...

- Legal & General CEO Nigel Wilson to retire after more than a decade- Has delivered total return of more than 200% in that time- Wilson to stick around until successor appointedIt is never nice for the head of a business when shares go up when their departure is announced so Legal & General (LGEN) Nigel Wilson will take the negative share price move on news of his retirement as a worthy...