Martin Gamble

The value of UK mergers and acquisitions continue to gather pace, with the cumulative value of announced deals touching £70 billion, more than double the total across the whole of 2025, according to AJ Bell data.

Despite the unrelenting backdrop of negative news, the large-cap FTSE 100 and mid-cap FTSE 250 indices recently scaled new highs, showing that investor sentiment remains resilient.

US stocks bounced back this week on renewed hopes for a resolution in the Middle East and a broadly reassuring set of corporate updates.

The late Charlie Munger may not be as well-known as his close counterpart Warren Buffett, but his track record speaks for itself.

Answering these questions are key to understanding the investment case behind the newly-listed business.

Following a brutal 30% decline in the price of gold since the start of the year, there are signs the yellow metal is coming back to life with the bullion price up 8% since the beginning of August. The more volatile silver price is up around 16% since the middle of July.

The FTSE 250 mid-cap index broke above its 2021 peak in the first week of August 2026 to close above 24,000 points for the first time, after adding around 2,000 points, or 9% since the start of the year.

US markets hit fresh highs this week buoyed by strength in technology stocks and benign inflation data which helped to push bond yields down as markets priced in a lower chance of a rate hike from the Federal Reserve next month.

To receive a dividend from a company you're invested in you need to hold the shares by a specified date.

It was a difficult week for Wall Street as rising yields on US government bonds revealed mounting concern about the country's spiralling debts.