Shares in online gambling platform Playtech (LON:PTEC) surged after the firm raised its FY26 earnings guidance. The group said it had an ‘excellent’ H1 and therefore FY EBITDA would be significantly above the current consensus. ‘Significantly ahead of expectations’ For the six months to end-June, Playtech said trading had been ‘significantly ahead of market expectations’ driven by an ‘excellent’ performance in the US. It also cited continued strength in the Mexican online gambling market and progress in European markets. The firm had already flagged stronger-than-expected trading in the Americas at its AGM in May. CEO Mor Weizer said at the…

Partnership housing group Vistry (LON:VTY) announced it expected to make a loss in H1 and would take further one-off profit impacts this FY. The news sent shares in the Bovis, Linden and Countryside Homes owner down 6% to 236p. H1 volumes and prices down In its H1 trading update, Vistry reported 6,100 completions, down 11.5% on H1 2025. Average selling prices were discounted by 7.1% against 1.4% the previous year. The firm said it expected to post a ‘modest’ pre-tax profit of £20 million, before one-off items, against £80 million in H1 2025. It put the decline down to lower…

Safety and health care group Halma (LON:HLMA) has splashed another £132 million on M&A with the acquisition of French firm Dreampath Diagnostics. The deal takes Halma’s spend in the first four months of its current financial year to over £250 million. Big spender Dreampath is the leading provider of automated systems which enable anatomical pathology laboratories to safely and efficiently track, store and manage patient tissue samples throughout the diagnostic process. Its platform combines hardware, software and a high percentage of recurring revenue consumables in a closed system. The initial outlay is £132 million, with up to £104 million in…

In mid-June, just after England’s first match, we flagged a selection of stocks we thought might be World Cup winners. After today’s epic win over Mexico, and with five days to go until the quarter-final against Norway, how are our stocks doing? What’s the score so far? The stand-out performers, unsurprisingly, have been pub companies Fullers (LON:FSTA), Marston’s (LON:MARS) and JD Wetherspoon (LON:JDW). On average, our trio have turned in a 6.9% gain against 2.8% for the big-cap index. Curiously, drinks companies, which ought to be profiting from higher pub takings, have let the side down. Between them, AG Barr…

The board of low-cost airline easyJet (LON:EZJ) said it had agreed in principle a £5.5 billion bid from Castelake. The proposal values easyJet shares at 690p against the US investment firm’s previous offer of 650p and Friday’s close of 558p. Fifth time lucky? Castlelake’s fifth proposal includes a partial unlisted share alternative to cash and relies on ‘satisfactory’ due diligence. The US investment firm has also agreed to a ‘best endeavours’ commitment to obtain regulatory clearance and approval. easyJet shares gained 10% to 615p, short of the 690p offer due to caution over the control and ownership question. EU rules…

Investors face another quiet week of corporate news as the second-half reporting season slowly begins to ramp up across the UK, Europe and the US. Among the key FTSE All-Share updates, Marks & Spencer (LON:MKS) holds its AGM with shareholders looking for reassurance that trading remains resilient following recent cyber disruption, while software reseller Bytes Technology (LON:BYIT) also hosts its AGM after a strong full-year performance, with investors keen for fresh guidance on demand for AI and cloud spending. Budget fitness operator Gym Group (LON:GYM) rounds off the week’s highlights with a pre-close trading update that will provide an important…

Rather like some World Cup matches, 1H 2026 was a tale of two halves for global stocks, minus the hydration breaks. Q1 saw stocks struggle on the Iran conflict, while Q2 saw them rally on blowout US earnings. Unsurprisingly, due to the weight of Tech stocks in the indices, US stocks fared better than UK stocks. For 1H 2026 the S&P 500 notched up a 10% gain and the Nasdaq 100 posted a 19% gain. In contrast, large-cap UK stocks ended 1H with a gain of 5% while unusually mid-caps underperformed with just a 3% gain. Channelling Bloomberg columnist John…

In what was described as a ‘landmark’ deal, Capricorn Energy (LON:CNE) agreed a takeover offer from Genel Energy (LON:GENL). The cash offer, at $4.74 per Capricorn share including dividends, values the firm at $360 million or £271 million. Landmark acquisition Genel CEO Paul Weir called the acquisition ‘a landmark transaction that delivers our strategic intent, reshapes our company’s growth trajectory, diversifies our portfolio of oil and gas fields and begins our role as a partner in Egypt’s energy future’. Genel’s only existing production base is a 25% non-operated working interest in the Tawke PSC, located in Kurdistan. Comprised of two…

Investment trust 3i Infrastructure (LON:3IN) said it had a ‘strong start’ to its new financial year and its portfolio was performing well. Manager Bernardo Sottomayor added most companies were trading in line with or ahead of expectations and the company was making new investments. Strong start After posting a total return towards the bottom end of its target range for the year to March 2026, FY27 has started strongly. Total income and non-income cash for the three months to end-June was £52 million, in line with expectations. Portfolio company Infinis made ‘good progress’ with 274MW of new solar capacity under…

With markets seemingly back in risk-on mode, we thought we would check up on the most-shorted stocks. As a reminder, these are the names with the highest percentage of their share capital loaned out to short sellers. For the uninitiated, short selling involves borrowing stock and selling it with the aim of buying back at a lower price. We have to stress this is only recommended for hedge funds and professional traders, NOT for retail investors. This is because the ‘risk-reward’ involves a great deal more risk than reward. The reward is limited, because the share price can only go…