Business
FTSE 100 ends record breaking week at new high
Blue chips in London enjoyed another strong day on Friday, hitting a fresh peak, with a pick up in new listings adding to the more optimistic mood.
The FTSE 100 index closed up 63.52 points, 0.7%, at 9,491.25, a new closing high, and just shy of a fresh intra-day best level of 9,494.64 hit earlier in the trading day.
The FTSE 250 ended up 150.32 points, 0.7%, at 22,197.62, and the AIM All-Share advanced 7.57 points, 1.0%, at 796.52.
For the week, the FTSE 100 was up 2.2%, the FTSE 250 was 2.4% higher, while the AIM All-Share added 2.1%.
The upbeat mood came despite the ongoing US federal government shutdown and some downbeat domestic economic data.
AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould said: “There is growing expectation that the shutdown in Washington might continue until mid-October.
“How long investors remain relaxed about this state of affairs remains hard to predict, but one worry is that it makes it significantly harder for the Federal Reserve to make informed decisions around interest rates,” he added.
In the UK, speculation of tax hikes ahead of the Autumn budget was blamed for a slowdown in services sector activity in September.
The S&P Global UK services purchasing managers’ business activity index fell to 50.8 points in September from 54.2 in August, and missed the flash reading of 51.9 released late last month.
Tim Moore at S&P Global said: “Many survey respondents suggested that corporate clients had deferred spending decisions until after the Autumn budget, while households were also hesitant about major purchases.”
In better news for the “Square Mile”, consumer staples company Princes Group said it intends to float on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange.
The Liverpool-based firm reported £2.1 billion in pro forma revenue in 2024, and pro forma adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation of £122.3 million.
Its portfolio includes Princes tuna, Branston, Flora, Napolina and own-brand products.
Chief executive Simon Harrison said: “Whilst we are renowned for our iconic Princes tuna, through a combination of organic growth and focused M&A, we have built an international £2 billion food and drink portfolio.”
In addition, Beauty Tech Group made its stock market debut in London.
The Cheshire-based seller of at-home beauty treatment technology, including laser devices and LED face masks through the brands Tria Laser, CurrentSkin and Ziip Beauty, closed at 288p per share, above the 271p initial public offer price in a successful first day’s trading.
Stocks in New York were higher at the time of the London close. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.8%, the S&P 500 index was 0.4% higher and the Nasdaq Composite 0.2% to the good.
In European equities on Friday, the CAC 40 in Paris closed up 0.2%, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt fell 0.2%.
Amid the bullish market mood, Bank of America strategists said there is a risk that markets are “under-pricing the risk of weakening growth momentum”, and as well as “potentially over-pricing the support from productivity growth”.
As a result, BofA said it is positioned for macro data to “surprise to the downside relative to lofty expectations”, implying scope for widening risk premia and fading EPS expectations, consistent with “more than 10% downside for the Stoxx 600 and 10% underperformance for European cyclicals versus defensives”.
The pound was quoted higher at 1.3469 dollars at the time of the London equity market close on Friday, compared to 1.3415 dollars on Thursday. The euro stood at 1.1741 dollars, up against 1.1697 dollars. Against the yen, the dollar was trading at 147.43 yen, slightly higher compared to 147.37 yen.
The yield on the US 10-year Treasury was quoted unchanged at 4.11% from Thursday. The yield on the US 30-year Treasury stood at 4.70%, also flat from Thursday.
Broker recommendations drove a number of the leading risers on the FTSE 100.
Bunzl climbed 4.5%, as Goldman Sachs took the international distribution and services group off its “sell” list, moving to “neutral”.
While RBC Capital Markets double upgraded London-based supplier of specialised technical products and services Diploma to “outperform” from “underperform”, sending shares 2.3% higher.
RBC said Diploma’s track record in terms of organic growth, earnings before interest, tax and amortisation margins, cash conversion and, importantly, return on invested capital, “speaks for itself”.
The broker added: “The majority of financial metrics are at the top-end of the sector whilst the diversity of the business provides resilience through the cycle.”
Schroders closed up 3.7% as Citi upgraded to “buy” from “neutral” after recent underperformance that it called “somewhat surprising”.
The broker said the financial services provider has among the highest gearing to strongly-performing equities across its coverage, recent flow momentum appears strong, while it should also be “positively geared” to any improvement/recovery in private markets activity.
Meanwhile, Intertek advanced 2.6% as Bank of America restarted coverage with a “buy” rating.
Banks were a firm feature, with NatWest up 3.8%, Standard Chartered up 1.7%, Barclays up 1.4% and HSBC up 1.7%.
Elsewhere, JD Wetherspoon failed to cheer investors with shares down 5.6%, despite a strong rebound in profits and record sales, as analysts warned that rising wage and energy costs could crimp margins and stall momentum in the new financial year.
Audioboom stormed 18% higher after Sky News said it is working with advisers to explore terms of a potential takeover of the company.
New York City-based Fox Corp and San Antonio, Texas-based iHeartMedia could be potential bidders for the London-based podcast producer of Formula One motor racing’s official podcast, according to media analysts.
Brent oil traded at 64.61 dollars a barrel on Friday, up from 64.42 dollars late on Thursday.
Gold soared once more, trading at 3,885.67 dollars an ounce on Friday, up against 3,830.85 dollars on Thursday.
The biggest risers on the FTSE 100 were Bunzl, up 106p at 2,490p; NatWest, up 20.2p at 548p; Schroders, up 14.2p at 393.8p; Spirax, up 195p at 7,290p; and 3i Group, up 116p at 4,426p.
The biggest fallers on the FTSE 100 were Coca-Cola Europacific Partners, down 130p at 6,450p; Admiral, down 64p at 3,268p; Coca-Cola HBC, down 56p at 3,306p; Airtel Africa, down 3p at 239p; and GSK, down 18.5p at 1,628.5p.
Monday’s global economic calendar has eurozone retail sales figures and construction PMI readings in the eurozone and the UK.
Monday’s UK corporate calendar has a trading statement from Ferrexpo, the Swiss-headquartered iron ore company with assets in Ukraine.
Contributed by Alliance News.
The UK could face some food shortages by the summer under a worst case scenario drawn up by government officials.
Source link
The U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) building stands after it was reported the IRS will lay off about 6,700 employees, a restructuring that could strain the tax-collecting agency’s resources during the critical tax-filing season, in Washington, D.C., Feb. 20, 2025.
Kent Nishimura | Reuters
A version of this article first appeared in CNBC’s Inside Wealth newsletter with Robert Frank, a weekly guide to the high-net-worth investor and consumer. Sign up to receive future editions, straight to your inbox.
For seven years, wealthy Americans faced a looming deadline to take advantage of tax provisions that were set to expire at the end of 2025. While the One Big Beautiful Bill Act alleviated much of the uncertainty by making most of the cuts permanent, lawyers and tax accountants say the ever-shifting tax code requires constant planning.
With this year’s Tax Day now behind us, here are five of the most important planning strategies wealthy investors and high earners are thinking about for next year and beyond.
1. Long-short tax-loss harvesting
Last year’s tax bill permanently raised the estate tax exemption to $15 million per person, up from $13.99 million. (It was initially set to be cut in half at the end of 2025.)
The higher threshold has prompted a shift in focus from minimizing federal estate taxes to lowering taxes on income and capital gains. Minimizing capital gains has become crucial after several years of strong market gains, according to Mitchell Drossman, head of national wealth strategies in Bank of America’s chief investment office. The S&P 500 has surged more than 75% since the beginning of 2023.
“The biggest tax story to me is a capital gains and investing story,” said Drossman. “You have lots of clients who are sitting on significant gains.”
Investors are increasingly turning to long-short tax-loss harvesting, an aggressive form of a popular strategy, in order to minimize capital gains, Drossman said. With traditional tax-loss harvesting, investors sell losing assets to offset realized gains on others. Long-short tax strategies, on the other hand, borrow against the portfolio to buy short positions expected to fall and maintain long positions expected to thrive.
“If there’s natural volatility in the markets, you have, now, a greater amount of an asset base to choose from in terms of harvesting losses,” he said. “But when you look at your overall portfolio, you’re still kind of neutral.”
2. Bonus depreciation
The 2025 tax bill renewed bonus depreciation, allowing businesses to deduct the full cost of qualifying assets like machinery, computers or vehicles the first year they are used.
Adam Ludman, head of tax strategy at J.P. Morgan Private Bank, said many clients with operating businesses are investing with bonus depreciation in mind, such as buying private jets.
Real estate developers and investors are trying to get the most bang for their buck by assessing which parts of their properties can be depreciated faster, according to Ludman. For instance, while a commercial building can take 39 years to depreciate, a parking lot can be depreciated over 15 years, allowing owners to recover costs faster.
3. Changing domiciles
A wave of blue states are considering new taxes on top earners and high-net-worth individuals in order to cover cuts in federal aid. California’s one-time billionaire tax proposal may end up on the November ballot, while Maine and Washington have recently passed millionaire taxes.
Jane Ditelberg, chief tax strategist for Northern Trust Wealth Management, said a growing number of clients are asking how to change their tax status as these proposals gain traction. Depending on their state, residents can avoid state-level taxes by creating trusts in states with favorable trust income laws like Delaware.
The most straightforward way to avoid local taxes is to change your domicile, which is easier said than done, according to Jere Doyle of BNY Wealth. The senior estate planning strategist based in Massachusetts, which imposes a millionaire tax, said he has had clients move to New Hampshire and establish residency before selling their businesses.
But clients are often loath to take the steps necessary to establish intent not to return, Doyle said. For instance, moving to Florida may not be enough to avoid Massachusetts taxes if you refuse to sell your Martha’s Vineyard home, he said.
“Everyone thinks that if they spend 183 days in another state, you’re domiciled in that state. That’s not necessarily true. Each state’s a little bit different,” he said. “You [have] got to change where you vote, where your car is registered, even where your doctors are, what clubs you belong to, golf clubs, country clubs, things like that.”
4. Bunching charitable gifts
One notable drawback of last year’s tax bill was a reduction in the tax benefits of charitable giving for top earners.
The bill limits top-earning donors in two ways. First, starting this year, donors who itemize will only be able to deduct charitable contributions in excess of 0.5% of their adjusted gross income, or AGI.
Second, taxpayers in the 37% tax bracket will have their itemized deductions reduced by 2/37th of the value. This ceiling reduces the effective tax benefit from 37% to 35%.
Ditelberg said many clients accelerated their charitable giving last year before these new rules took effect. She said she anticipates clients will continue to “bunch” their donations, by giving a larger sum in one year rather than spreading it over multiple years, so they only trigger the 0.5% haircut once, either through their foundations or donor-advised funds.
5. Opportunity zones
The tax bill also offered an incentive for business owners and real estate owners to postpone selling their assets. The bill made permanent the qualified opportunity zone program, which allows investors to defer capital gains by rolling them over into a fund that invests in a low-income community.
The opportunity zone funds created under the first Trump administration still exist, but you can only defer the taxes until the end of the year. The new opportunity zones, which have yet to be designated, come with enhanced benefits, especially for investors in rural communities. For instance, if you hold your investment in a qualified rural opportunity fund for five years, your capital gains are reduced by 30% for tax purposes.
But you only have 180 days to roll over your gains, and the new opportunity zone rules don’t take effect until 2027, Ditelberg noted.
“If you’re thinking of incurring a major gain, you may want to defer it until August or September, instead of doing it in May or June, if you think you would like to take advantage of the opportunity zone deferral,” she said. “I think we’re going to see people who are incurring gains in the second half of this year.”
That said, investors are waiting to see what the new funds entail. Drossman said some clients are reluctant to invest in opportunity zones again after their previous investments underperformed.
“It’s a classic example of not letting the tax-tail wag the dog because these need to be sound investments,” he said. “Like with all investments, there is an element of risk and return.”
Illuminated logo for Pepsi on a soda fountain in Walnut Creek, California, March 4, 2026.
Smith Collection | Gado | Archive Photos | Getty Images
PepsiCo on Thursday reported quarterly earnings and revenue that topped analysts’ expectations as its struggling North American food business reported a return to volume growth.
Here’s what the company reported compared with what Wall Street was expecting, based on a survey of analysts by LSEG:
- Earnings per share: $1.61 adjusted vs. $1.55 expected
- Revenue: $19.44 billion vs. $18.94 billion expected
Pepsi reported first-quarter net income attributable to the company of $2.32 billion, or $1.70 per share, up from $1.83 billion, or $1.33 per share, a year earlier.
Excluding items, the company earned $1.61 per share.
Net sales rose 8.5% to $19.44 billion.
Princess Anne keeps up her relentless royal pace in Dartmouth
France’s Kering begins 2026 on stable footing, eyes Gucci revival
ICE cotton rallies to 22 month-high on weaker dollar, drought worries
-
Entertainment1 week agoQueen Elizabeth II emotional message for Archie, Lilibet sparks speculation
-
Tech1 week agoAzure customers up in arms over ‘full’ UK South region | Computer Weekly
-
Tech1 week agoAs the Strait of Hormuz Reopens, Global Shipping Will Take Months to Recover
-
Fashion1 week agoCII submits 20-pt agenda to Indian govt to back firms hit by Iran war
-
Tech1 week agoThis AI Button Wearable From Ex-Apple Engineers Looks Like an iPod Shuffle
-
Politics6 days agoIndian airlines hit hardest after Dubai limits foreign flights until May 31
-
Politics6 days agoChinese, Taiwanese will unite, Xi tells Taiwan opposition leader
-
Entertainment5 days agoDua Lipa hits major career high ahead of wedding with Callum Turner