Motorists cutting back on petrol and fuel purchases at the steepest rate since the Covid pandemic in 2020 drove retail sales in Great Britain to their biggest monthly decline in a year. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said the overall volume of retail sales plunged by 1.3% in April compared with the previous month, the biggest contraction since May last year and worse than the -0.6% forec...
Motorists cutting back on petrol and fuel purchases at the steepest rate since the Covid pandemic in 2020 drove retail sales in Great Britain to their biggest monthly decline in a year. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said the overall volume of retail sales plunged by 1.3% in April compared with the previous month, the biggest contraction since May last year and worse than the -0.6% forecast. Fuel purchases plunged more than 10% month on month, the biggest slide since November 2020, when monthly sales fell 14.8% as pandemic protocols put households into a second national lockdown. “After strong growth last month, motor fuel sales fell in April, with evidence suggesting motorists were conserving fuel after stocking up in March,” said Grant Fitzner, the chief economist at the ONS. “These subdued fuel purchases contributed to a sizeable monthly fall for total retail sales in April.” The ONS slightly revised down its initial estimate of retail sales growth in March from 0.7% to 0.6%. That rise was driven by a 6.1% increase in fuel sales volumes – and a 12% rise in the value of fuel sales, the biggest monthly increase since November 2021 – as the Iran war prompted “panic at the pumps” and a rush to stock up amid the biggest jump in fuel prices for more than three years. The ONS said that when excluding the impact of the dramatic fall in fuel purchases, total retail sales fell by 0.4% month on month. Fitzner said there were “strong and sustained” sales at beauty product and computer and tech shops in April. However, sales at retail stores fell by 0.4% versus March, with clothing stores taking the brunt as sales declined 2.4%. That was the lowest level since June last year, amid variable weather conditions and lower demand as shoppers worried about rising prices. Jacqueline Windsor, the head of retail at PwC UK, said: “April 2026 will be remembered as the first month that the impact of the Middle East conflict first hit British consumers. We already saw consumer s...
Key Points SpaceX is expected to go public on June 12 amid growing investor interest in the space industry. Rocket Lab, Redwire, and Linde are meeting growing demand for space infrastructure and operations. Linde is building a plant near SpaceX headquarters to supply industrial gases for rocket launches. 10 stocks we like better than Rocket Lab › As investors wait for the SpaceX initial public off...
Key Points SpaceX is expected to go public on June 12 amid growing investor interest in the space industry. Rocket Lab, Redwire, and Linde are meeting growing demand for space infrastructure and operations. Linde is building a plant near SpaceX headquarters to supply industrial gases for rocket launches. 10 stocks we like better than Rocket Lab › As investors wait for the SpaceX initial public offering (IPO), money is already flowing into space stocks. Year to date, shares of Rocket Lab (NASDAQ: RKLB) and Redwire (NYSE: RDW) are currently up over 78%, while Linde (NASDAQ: LIN) is up 20%. These companies cover launches and space systems, infrastructure and components, and industrial gases used for rocket propulsion. SpaceX is expected to fetch a valuation of anywhere from $1.7 trillion to $2 trillion at its IPO, expected on June 12. This would make it the largest stock market debut in history. A listing of that magnitude would spotlight both the industry's current and future value and likely lead to greater investor demand. Here's why Rocket Lab, Redwire, and Linde are the right stocks to ride the space boom. Will AI create the world's first trillionaire? Our team just released a report on the one little-known company, called an "Indispensable Monopoly" providing the critical technology Nvidia and Intel both need. Continue » Rocket Lab SpaceX completes more rocket launches than anyone, according to The Motley Fool's research, but it's not the only game in town. Rocket Lab is growing quickly. It enjoys many of the same advantages as SpaceX by doing everything in-house, including spacecraft manufacturing and launches. As CEO Peter Beck noted, "This vertical integration means we control quality, schedule, and cost in ways that our competitors simply can't." Rocket Lab stock has soared this year, following a record first quarter. Revenue hit $200 million, up 63% year over year. The company booked more launches in the first quarter than all of last year. The backlog is ov...
Zhang Yaoxue Seven months after Chinese authorities announced an investigation into Zhang Yaoxue, the former president of Central South University has been expelled from the Communist Party and dismissed from public office, with his case transferred to prosecutors. China’s top anti-corruption bodies said Thursday that Zhang, a computer scientist and member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, ha...
Zhang Yaoxue Seven months after Chinese authorities announced an investigation into Zhang Yaoxue, the former president of Central South University has been expelled from the Communist Party and dismissed from public office, with his case transferred to prosecutors. China’s top anti-corruption bodies said Thursday that Zhang, a computer scientist and member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, had used his authority to benefit others in personnel appointments, the granting of academic titles and honors and other matters, accepting money and valuables in return. The statement accused him of helping foster “unhealthy practices and corruption” in academia.
Zhang Yaoxue Seven months after Chinese authorities announced an investigation into Zhang Yaoxue, the former president of Central South University has been expelled from the Communist Party and dismissed from public office, with his case transferred to prosecutors. China’s top anti-corruption bodies said Thursday that Zhang, a computer scientist and member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, ha...
Zhang Yaoxue Seven months after Chinese authorities announced an investigation into Zhang Yaoxue, the former president of Central South University has been expelled from the Communist Party and dismissed from public office, with his case transferred to prosecutors. China’s top anti-corruption bodies said Thursday that Zhang, a computer scientist and member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, had used his authority to benefit others in personnel appointments, the granting of academic titles and honors and other matters, accepting money and valuables in return. The statement accused him of helping foster “unhealthy practices and corruption” in academia.
(RTTNews) - Cencora Inc. (COR), a pharmaceutical company, announced that it has raised the lower end of its fiscal 2026 adjusted earnings outlook. Further, the company said its Board of Directors, on May 20th, authorized additional up to $2.0 billion share repurchase program. Under the new guidance, the company now expects adjusted earnings per share to be in the range of $17.70 to $17.90, up from...
(RTTNews) - Cencora Inc. (COR), a pharmaceutical company, announced that it has raised the lower end of its fiscal 2026 adjusted earnings outlook. Further, the company said its Board of Directors, on May 20th, authorized additional up to $2.0 billion share repurchase program. Under the new guidance, the company now expects adjusted earnings per share to be in the range of $17.70 to $17.90, up from the previous range of $17.65 to $17.90. According to the firm, the outlook was updated as a result of recent opportunistic share repurchases, which were completed in May in line with its expectation of repurchasing $1 billion of the shares by the year-end. As of May 21, the company had $382 million remaining under its share repurchase program previously authorized in May 2024. In the after-hours trading on the NYSE, the shares gained 1.3% to $268.82, after closing Thursday's regular trading 0.3% higher. The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
Putting together a well-rounded stock portfolio should be the goal for the everyday investor. You may want a few to do the heavy lifting, but you should also want stocks that complement each other. Luckily, a well-rounded, complementary portfolio can be accomplished with a few ETFs that cover a lot of ground. Instead of individually investing in dozens, hundreds, or however many stocks, you can in...
Putting together a well-rounded stock portfolio should be the goal for the everyday investor. You may want a few to do the heavy lifting, but you should also want stocks that complement each other. Luckily, a well-rounded, complementary portfolio can be accomplished with a few ETFs that cover a lot of ground. Instead of individually investing in dozens, hundreds, or however many stocks, you can invest in these four Vanguard ETFs and instantly get exposure to thousands of companies at once. You'll have blue-chip giants, leaders in niche markets, up-and-comers, and companies from across the world. 1. Vanguard S&P 500 ETF Investing in an S&P 500 ETF is one of the most effective ways to benefit from growth in the U.S. economy. Granted, the S&P 500 comprises only around 500 of the largest U.S. companies, but these companies play a significant role in shaping the economy's direction. The Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO +0.19%) is a cheap way to invest in the S&P 500, with an expense ratio of only 0.03%. For $0.30 per $1,000 invested, you're getting exposure to top companies from every sector of the economy. There are tech heavyweights, retail giants, financial titans, the backbones of the nation's healthcare system, and more. Expand NYSEMKT : VOO Vanguard S&P 500 ETF Today's Change ( 0.19 %) $ 1.27 Current Price $ 682.84 Key Data Points Day's Range $ 677.62 - $ 684.83 52wk Range $ 529.11 - $ 689.10 Volume 20.1K If I were crafting a portfolio of these four ETFs, VOO would be the largest holding by a long shot. It's a set-it-and-forget-it type of investment that has stood the test of time. Since the start of 1996, the S&P 500 has averaged around 10.5% annual total returns. Since VOO was created in September 2010, it has averaged nearly 15% annual total returns. Past performance doesn't guarantee future performance, but with the S&P 500 indirectly tied to the U.S. economy, it's one of the best places to put your money to grow over time. 2. Vanguard Mid-Cap ETF Mid-cap stocks can o...
Perhaps the most fascinating and important aspects of US President Donald Trump’s jolt to the global economy have been its unintended consequences, especially the impact on relations between China and India. Two consistent aspects of Trump’s meandering narrative are to “make America great again” by bringing manufacturing jobs back to the US, and to hobble China as an economic and strategic threat....
Perhaps the most fascinating and important aspects of US President Donald Trump’s jolt to the global economy have been its unintended consequences, especially the impact on relations between China and India. Two consistent aspects of Trump’s meandering narrative are to “make America great again” by bringing manufacturing jobs back to the US, and to hobble China as an economic and strategic threat. A decade later, there has been negligible progress on either objective. Instead, the unintended consequences have been colossal, and comprehensively harmful to US interests. The impact on Washington’s reputation as an anchor for global economic stability has been nothing short of catastrophic. The reshoring of manufacturing – and evidence of any resultant economic stimulus or job creation – remains negligible, if not invisible. Advertisement China’s rise is also unimpaired, not least due to its strategic consistency, unwavering advocacy and preference for multilateral problem-solving, and its role in enabling the parallel rise of the Global South, which brings us to its relations with India.. One consistent conundrum of the past eight decades has been the suspicion and rivalry between New Delhi and Beijing. Rivalry has some rational foundations: both countries have colossal populations, civilisations that go back thousands of years and strong rival claims to stand as champions of the developing world Advertisement By 1950, shortly after India broke free from British colonialism and China’s Communists pushed the US-backed Kuomintang government into exile on the island of Taiwan, both countries had espoused highly contrasted models of socialism. As China under Mao Zedong focused on tackling the deep internal wounds of a decades-long civil war, India rose as a leader of the Non-Aligned Movement.