Stock Market

Angus Rigby, Chief Executive Officer, TD Waterhouse comments: "While the UK enjoyed a sunny Bank Holiday it was business as usual for the global markets.

Angus Rigby, Chief Executive Officer, TD Waterhouse comments: "This week's trading activity from our customers shows some positive investor sentiment, with 25% more buy trades than sells.

Angus Rigby, Chief Executive Officer, TD Waterhouse comments: "It is no coincidence that Royal Bank of Scotland and Barclays are at the top of our top ten buys and sells this week with both banks hitting the headlines.

Nick Raynor, Investment Adviser at The Share Centre comments on today's record rights issue by Royal Bank of Scotland: "Investors who have stuck with RBS through the recent market turmoil and the ABN Amro acquisition, should feel a little more optimistic about the company's future, given today's announcement.

Angus Rigby, Chief Executive Officer, TD Waterhouse comments: "AIM-listed oil and gas explorer, Empyrean Energy attracted strong investor interest this week and ranks as 8th most popular buy and 3rd biggest sell.

Tesco has long been the safe choice in the investor’s shopping basket and with the announcement today of 11.8% rise in annual profits to £2.8bn, retail stockbroker The Share Centre analyses whether Tesco will continue to be a safe bet for investors.

Share plc, parent company of The Share Centre, one of the UK's leading independent stockbrokers, today announces the launch of its Offer for Subscription (the "Offer") in preparation for its flotation on the AIM Market of the London Stock Exchange ("AIM").

Timing investment transactions, especially where large single premiums are involved, becomes particularly crucial at times like these, according to Standard Life.

Gold prices fell at the beginning of April, temporarily sinking below $900 per troy ounce as commodity markets made a hesitant start to the second quarter.

As the economy slides into its worst downturn for many years, retail stock broker The Share Centre, discusses whether April - traditionally the best performing month of the year - will live up to expectations in 2008.

This week TD Waterhouse investors were out on the high street in search of a bargain and there was only one place to go – British department store chain Debenhams.

The recent turmoil in the equity markets is causing nearly one in three (31 percent) middle-aged and older adults to lose sleep or feel greater levels of stress as a result of their financial position, a YouGov survey sponsored by The Hartford shows.

Retail stockbroker, The Share Centre is encouraging investors to remain cautious, yet positive about the ongoing market fluctuations by reminding them of the benefits of drip feeding money into the market.

It will comes as no surprise that TD Waterhouse customers have turned their attention to HBOS following a week in which the bank has been at the centre of feverish speculation as a result of rumours about its mortgage-related debt, which later proved to be false.

A great opportunity to buy shares - F&C's Jeremy Tigue, says: Every day I read comments that market conditions are the most turbulent ever and that the current problems are unprecedented.

The Financial Services Authority today confirmed that it is investigating trading in UK financial shares in recent days.

Despite the FTSE plunging over 200 points, many investors are seeing this as an opportunity to take advantage of market conditions; 59% of orders executed by Barclays Stockbrokers clients on Monday were buys (compared to 41% sells).

Barclays Stockbrokers announces the launch of a new Investment Note targeting those investors seeking income, which offers quarterly income payments equivalent to seven per cent p.a. gross.

As investors worldwide remain anxious about the credit crunch and its knock-on effect, The Share Centre is advising investors to remain positive and reminding them that these periods of volatility can present opportunities for long term investors.

Angus Rigby, Chief Executive Officer, TD Waterhouse comments: “No one would argue with the Chancellor’s statement yesterday that it is a time of “great uncertainty”, as he stepped up to deliver his first Budget to the nation.

Investors remain confident in their actions despite recent market conditions, according to research from Barclays Stockbrokers.

Angus Rigby, Chief Executive Officer, TD Waterhouse comments: “Our investors’ appetite for banking stocks is seemingly relentless, with UK’s banks accounting for 70% of all our retail investor buys and 62% of our sells over the week.

Kazakhmys, Kazakhstan's largest copper producer was the best performing share in the FTSE 100 in terms of total shareholder return (TSR) during February, according to the report.

Barclays Stockbrokers has announced the launch of a new Investment Note which will add to the diverse range of products available to investors looking to invest in the FTSE 100 in a tax efficient way.

Angus Rigby, Chief Executive Officer, TD Waterhouse comments: “The 1 in 5 (21%) of TD Waterhouse customers who took a leap of faith with Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) this week would have been pleased to see the bank shrug off fears of further asset write-downs and capital concerns from its acquisition of ABN Amro in its full-year results today.

New research from the ABI (Association of British Insurers) shows that companies with the best corporate governance records have produced returns 18% higher than those with poor governance.

Angus Rigby, Chief Executive Officer, TD Waterhouse comments: “This week, banking fever continues to grip the nation as reporting season gets into full swing.

Volatility in financial services sector opens up opportunities, Angus Rigby, Chief Executive Officer, TD Waterhouse comments: “Bradford and Bingley kicked off the reporting season for the banking sector with a mighty bang on Wednesday with its full year results.

TD Waterhouse customers take profits from mining stocks after an energised week for the industry, Angus Rigby, Chief Executive Officer, TD Waterhouse comments: “It has been an energised week for the industry with continuing concerns over the global economy and fear that commodities and metal prices could be next in line for a hammering.

Despite recent market fluctuations, traditional British stocks appear to have weathered the storm. This week business results were dominated by five traditional British companies, (BT, Rolls Royce, British Land, British Gas and BP) all of whom reported encouraging results.

Angus Rigby, Chief Executive Officer, TD Waterhouse comments: “The banking sector dominates our top ten trades this week accounting for over half (56.5%) of top 10 buys and two thirds (66%) of the top 10 sells.

Retail stockbroker, The Share Centre is encouraging investors to remain positive about the recent market fluctuations, and is reminding them of the buying opportunities that can be unearthed during these volatile times.

Following the frenzied activity in the global markets at the beginning of the week, which saw the FTSE 100 fall by 5.5% on Monday only to bounce back again on Tuesday, TD Waterhouse looks at how traders reacted during an eventful 48 hour period.

Alliance Trust Savings, the share dealing expert, has announced customers can purchase shares online for the reduced rate of £10 commission until the end of January.

Saga has revealed that, rather than panic selling in light of recent stock market volatility, it’s customers have demonstrated their resilience by taking the opportunity to add to their portfolios and snapping up a potential bargain.

Barclays Stockbrokers has announced the launch of two new Investment Notes to tie in with the start of ISA season – one linked to the Dow Jones EuroSTOXX 50 Index, and one tracking the performance of the FTSE 100 Index.

Angus Rigby, Chief Executive Officer, TD Waterhouse, commented: This week has been dominated by news over the US economic slowdown and fears of a possible recession later this year.

Share plc, parent company of retail stockbroker The Share Centre, is delighted to announce an offer of 4,000,000 free shares in the Company ahead of its proposed flotation on AIM.

Angus Rigby, Chief Executive Officer, TD Waterhouse, commented: UK investors turned their attention towards retailers this week in what has been an unsettling period for the sector following weak Christmas sales.

Angus Rigby, Chief Executive Officer, TD Waterhouse, commented: While the nation recovered from New Year's celebrations, the credit-crunch hangover from 2007 lingered on for UK investors, whose interest remained strong in financial and retail equities this week, as they contemplated the outlook for 2008.

TD Waterhouse, the award winning execution-only broker, revisits the twists and turns that impacted the financial markets in 2007 and takes stock of the sectors and companies that were singled out as hotspots by retail investors.

With stories about global warming, human rights and environmental concerns grabbing the media headlines, research by Alliance Trust Savings, the online sharedealing expert, reveals that one in four online sharedealers (26%) take ethical concerns into account when making their buying and selling decisions.

Angus Rigby, Chief Executive Officer, TD Waterhouse, commented: Last week’s quarter-point interest-rate cut failed to stave off predictions of an economic slowdown for 2008.

The need for carbon management has been accepted by many business leaders and 28 out of 557 companies in the FTSE all-share index have sought to demonstrate that they are managing carbon risk by becoming carbon neutral or offering carbon offsetting mechanisms to their customers.

Investors are increasingly using sophisticated techniques and faster pricing to gain returns, with over one in ten (11 per cent) currently using real time Level 2 pricing and a third of investors (33 per cent) using Direct Market Access (DMA), according to research from Barclays Stockbrokers.

Angus Rigby, Chief Executive Officer, TD Waterhouse, commented: A sigh of relief was given from investors and cash-strapped borrowers across the UK, after the Bank of England yesterday decided to cut interest rates from 5.75 per cent to 5.5 per cent.

Private investors looking to build on their existing portfolios in the run-up to Christmas are being given a special Yuletide gift from Halifax Share Dealing in the shape of a commission-free share purchase day on 19 December 2007.

One in five stock market investors (21 per cent) have moved some of their money into more cautious investments, such as cash or bonds over the past three months according to the Investor Outlook report from Lloyds TSB Wealth Management.

Angus Rigby, Chief Executive Officer, TD Waterhouse, commented: The financial services sector has seen a surge of investor activity in the last week with Northern Rock continuing to be a central focus.

Investors are becoming increasingly more diverse with their investments according to new research from Barclays Stockbrokers, with 79 per making concerted efforts to ensure their portfolio is diversified.

Angus Rigby, Chief Executive Officer, TD Waterhouse, commented: Northern Rock retains a strong hold over the Top Ten Trades this week, along with the rest of the financial services sector, as the stricken Newcastle mortgage lender continues to dominate market news.

Angus Rigby, Chief Executive Officer, TD Waterhouse, commented: Once again, the financial services sector dominated market news and investor activity this week with Northern Rock, RBS, Barclays, Lloyds TSB and Alliance & Leicester featuring in TD Waterhouse’s Top 10 Buys.

People are put off stock market investments through lack of knowledge or fear of falls in investment markets, with the majority preferring bank or building society savings or property investments, according to a survey by Riley, the individually insured investment from Royal London.

Angus Rigby, Chief Executive Officer, TD Waterhouse, commented: The financial services sector held a strong presence in the Top Ten trades this week with Barclays, RBS, Lloyds TSB, Bradford & Bingley and Northern Rock heading up the Top 5 Buys.

TD Waterhouse – one of the UK’s largest execution-only brokers – today announces a new price format for its investment products and services.

Angus Rigby, Chief Executive Officer, TD Waterhouse, commented: The Competition Commission released provisional findings this week in light of an investigation into the UK grocery market, with Tesco, the UK’s largest supermarket group, under the spotlight.

The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has today fined Wills & Co Stockbrokers Limited (Wills & Co) £49,000 for failing to ensure that its customers understood the risks involved with penny shares, and for being unclear, unfair and misleading when advising on the shares.

Despite recent stock market turmoil, active investors are holding their nerve – but only just, according to research from the Association of Investment Companies’ (AIC).

During the recent stock market turmoil, investors have been revealed as true bargain-hunters, say Barclays Stockbrokers.

Abbey has launched a new Stockmarket Growth Plan linked to the FTSE 100 Index. It offers 100 per cent of any rise in the index up to a maximum of 80 per cent, at the end of a five-and-a-half year term.

Angus Rigby, Chief Executive Officer, TD Waterhouse, commented: This week all eyes were on UK mortgage lender Bradford & Bingley who continued in its attempt to quell investors’ fears over funding.

As the UK’s FTSE 100 Index continues to peak and trough amid warnings of a ‘global market meltdown’, The Share Centre is advising customers not to panic, but instead to view it as an opportunity to pick up some top quality stocks.

The 2007-8 ifs Student Investor Challenge sponsored by Deutsche Bank and Foreign & Colonial Investment Trust has already attracted thousands of registrations from teenagers across the UK even though the national competition does not start until next month.

19th October 2007 marks the 20th anniversary of 'Black Monday', the day world stockmarkets crashed.

Angus Rigby, Chief Executive Officer, TD Waterhouse, commented: This week investors were spurred on by Thursday’s reports that the FTSE 100 had passed through the 6,700 barrier.

While markets continue to be volatile following the recent credit crunch, investors have remained buoyant and 72% see market volatility as a buying opportunity according to Barclays Stockbrokers.

More investors must send strong signals to the market over the importance of a company’s environmental record in making investment decisions, Climate Change Minister Joan Ruddock said today.

Investors should look to Q4 for the best stock market returns of the year, according to research by stocks and shares website ADVFN.

Angus Rigby, Chief Executive Officer, TD Waterhouse, commented: The financial services sector continues to dominate the top 10 buys and sells this week with Northern Rock, Bradford & Bingley, Barclays, Royal Bank of Scotland, Alliance & Leicester and Lloyds TSB all featuring.

Invest in Europe’s brightest stars with the European Blue-Chip Investment Note from Barclays Stockbrokers.

Angus Rigby, Chief Executive Officer, TD Waterhouse, commented: For the second week in a row, Northern Rock has come out on top of both our buys and sells lists, as the fate of the Newcastle-based mortgage lender took a further twist this week.

Phil Doel, manager of the F&C UK Opportunities fund, comments on the inclusion of Irish oil and gas exploration and production company Tullow Oil in the FTSE 100 index. "Tullow Oil has been promoted to the FTSE100 Index as a result of a significant recent increase in its market capitalisation.

The Share Centre, has reported a 591% increase on last week’s account openings as investors have swooped to take advantage of a weaker Northern Rock share price.

While investment has traditionally been a male dominated world, new research by share dealing expert Alliance Trust shows a significant trend of female investors emerging in the early ‘noughties’.

Angus Rigby, Chief Executive Officer, TD Waterhouse, commented: There are no prizes for guessing the most traded stock on our top ten buys and sells list this week, as the funding difficulties surrounding mortgage lender Northern Rock dominated the market news.

The ifs Student Investor Challenge sponsored by Deutsche Bank and Foreign & Colonial Investment Trust has opened for registration this week.

Alliance Trust Savings, the share dealing expert, is urging investors to act now and take advantage of its summer sale investment dealing offer.

Potential investors are more deterred from stock market investment because of a lack of understanding, than fear of the risks involved – despite the recent global stock market turbulence, according to research from the Association of Investment Companies (AIC).

Angus Rigby, Chief Executive Officer, TD Waterhouse, commented: Resource stock has attracted considerable investor attention over the last month, and this week it was the turn of Xstrata PLC to re-enter our top ten buys list.

As an increasing number of consumers choose to manage their investment portfolio online, Shareview Dealing, the stock broking service from Lloyds TSB, is offering investors the opportunity to trade online for just £5 per deal.

Thanks to the introduction of Rule 26, all but 13 of the 1,670 companies listed on the AIM market have now established websites where investors can access not only their latest shareholder reports but a wide range of other relevant information.

Angus Rigby, Chief Executive Officer, TD Waterhouse, commented: Investor interest has been high in resource stocks this week, with a number of TD Waterhouse customers taking the opportunity to increase exposure to the oil and gas sector by buying heavily into Petrel Resources.

Despite the market turmoil that investors have experienced recently, investors remain bullish on the prospects for the FTSE. Almost two-thirds of investors (61%) are confident enough to believe the FTSE will rise over the next three months.

Financial education charity, the ifs School of Finance, announced that Maryann Hollebon an Open University student from Somerset, has won the 2007 ifs Uni Investor Challenge – collecting a top prize of £9,000.

Angus Rigby, Chief Executive Officer, TD Waterhouse, commented: With sharp losses and market volatility fresh in the mind of UK investors after last week's market turbulence,

Standard & Poor’s Index Services, the world’s leading index provider, announced today the launch of two new STARS indices that provide investors with exposure to the top stock picks of Standard & Poor’s Equity Research analysts in Europe and the United States.

Last week was a turbulent time for anyone invested in markets, with the FTSE suffering its worst fall in four years on Thursday and then leaping back up again on Friday.

Private investors positioned themselves well for the correction in the UK stock markets that took place in the second half of July and beginning of August, according to Capita Group Plc.

Angus Rigby, Chief Executive Officer, TD Waterhouse, commented: Mortgage lender HBOS is popular amongst retail investors this week despite a slide in share price in recent days and a wider-sell off in bank stocks this week.

David Kuo, Head of Personal Finance at Fool.co.uk, says: “Recent volatility in stock markets around the world has prompted investors to rush online for information about the stock market turmoil.

A survey of over 1,000 online investors by share dealing expert Alliance Trust reveals almost half (48%) invest while at work, and 14% of online traders confess to pretending to work while doing so.

Angus Rigby, Chief Executive Officer, TD Waterhouse, commented: Analysts have homed in on the insurance sector as rumination over the protracted merger between Resolution and Friends Provident dominated market talk this week.

When the FTSE dropped over 200 points on Thursday 26 July, rather than rushing to get out of the market many investors saw it as an opportunity to buy.

Angus Rigby, Chief Executive Officer, TD Waterhouse, commented: As we enter August, British Airways (BA) has taken off on a bad footing this month with news of foul play over price fixing following investigations by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT).

Only a month from the deadline set by the regulator of the Alternative Investment Market, almost 300 companies (over 15% of those listed on AIM) have not yet lodged their financial information on a website accessible to investors.

Angus Rigby, Chief Executive Officer, TD Waterhouse, commented: The London Stock market has this week suffered its biggest percentage drop in four years as investors worried about the weak US economy and the impact of tightening credit markets on takeover activity. The Footsie is now on course for its worst week since 2002.

New research reveals the 21st century share dealer is a far cry from the much-hyped day trader of the late 90s.

Clerical Medical Assetwatch is a biannual study which tracks the value of five asset classes over a ten-year period (June 1997 to 2007). The asset classes are Shares (UK and International), Bonds (UK and International), Cash, Property (UK Commercial and Residential), Commodities (All Commodities and Precious Metals)

Angus Rigby, Chief Executive Officer, TD Waterhouse, commented: This week has culminated in mixed activity in the market. The FTSE 100 Index finally picked up on Thursday, rising for the first time in four days. Busy activity within the mining sector has led to increased interest from retail investors.

The recent news that profit warnings from UK listed companies are running at record levels should not put off individual investors - rather is a timely reminder to look at where their money is held says one financial expert.

Angus Rigby, Chief Executive Officer, TD Waterhouse, commented: Today’s superstition and this week’s weather have done little to dampen investors spirits as trading activity remained strong across a number of sectors.

TD Waterhouse, one of the UK’s leading execution-only brokers, today announces the launch of online trading in European markets.

Alliance Trust Savings, the share dealing expert, today announces its summer sale offer for both new and existing online customers. Under the new offer customers can purchase UK listed shares online commission free and pay just £5 commission for their online share sales.

Angus Rigby, Chief Executive Officer, TD Waterhouse, commented: This week, market talk has been dominated by interest rates as the UK braced itself for a tightening of the belt with another 0.25 % hike.

Following yesterday’s Bank of England decision to raise UK interest rates to 5.75%, the Association of Investment Companies (AIC) has collated views from a variety of member investment companies on the potential impact on the UK Stockmarket.

Potential investors who are resident in the United Kingdom, Channel Islands or Isle of Man can now register their interest in buying Ordinary Shares in moneysupermarket.com, through the Company’s Retail Offer.

Angus Rigby, Chief Executive Officer, TD Waterhouse, commented: British Airways was popular amongst TD Waterhouse customers this week after the Company’s credit rating was up-graded to its highest level in almost four years.

Angus Rigby, Chief Executive Officer, TD Waterhouse, commented: Investors have shown renewed confidence in waste specialist Biffa this week after the Company reported back with an update on full-year revenues on Wednesday. Trading has been strong in Biffa since its demerger from Severn Trent last October.

With reference to reports yesterday and this morning that the level of 'bonus' attaching to member/policyholder investors in Standard Life shares is 1 free share for every 20 shares held since listing on the London Stock Exchange on 10 July 2006.

Put a new twist on the same old aftershave, beer, football and even ties, says Alliance Trust.

New research from Halifax shows that Asian economies have recovered from the 1997 financial crisis. South East Asian economies, on average, have a level of GDP that exceeds pre-crisis by more than 50% but have not fully recaptured the economic growth rates seen prior to the 1997 crisis.

Angus Rigby, Chief Executive Officer, TD Waterhouse, commented: Once again this week, the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) takeover wagon rolls on as the talk surrounding their proposed £48bn acquisition of Dutch banking giant, ABN Amro continues.

Despite the call for the dematerialisation of shares, new research by Barclays Stockbrokers shows that many UK residents prefer to keep their investments where they can see them.

Angus Rigby, Chief Executive Officer, TD Waterhouse, commented: The tug of war for Dutch bank ABN Amro reverberates through the markets as talk around European banking’s most contested takeover continues between RBS Chief Executive Fred Goodwin and Barclays’ CEO John Varley.

Over £500 off a new home, 20 per cent off Mulberry, 30 per cent off Eurotunnel routes are just some of the additional benefits available to the shareholders in a variety of UK listed companies.

Angus Rigby, Chief Executive Officer, TD Waterhouse, commented: As the markets wind down for another bank holiday weekend, we look back at the key movers and shakers on the scene this week.

Angus Rigby, Chief Executive Officer, TD Waterhouse, commented: Telecoms giant BT is popular amongst TD Waterhouse customers this week after if was reported that pre-tax profits had grown by a quarter on last year.

Angus Rigby, Chief Executive Officer, TD Waterhouse, commented: Moving away from the story of ABN Amro and RBS, this week there is interest around the £8.76bn takeover bid for the news agency, Reuters, from the Canadian Thomson family. However, the city’s response to this news has been uncharacteristically reticent, with Reuters trading at a near 8 per cent discount on the offer price on Wednesday.

The 2007 ifs Student Investor Challenge sponsored by Deutsche Bank and Foreign & Colonial Investment Trust has been won by Metro, a team of four teenage boys from St. Pauls School in Barnes.

Angus Rigby, Chief Executive Officer, TD Waterhouse, commented: The plot thickened over the ongoing tussle for ABN Amro between Barclays and RBS yesterday after a Dutch Court blocked ABN’s £10.5bn sale of its US banking business to the Bank of America. Investment group VEB asked the court to stop the sale of LaSalle, arguing that ABN shareholders should have been consulted on the deal.

The Board of HeidelbergCement AG (“HeidelbergCement”) notes the recent movements in Hanson’s share price.

Angus Rigby, Chief Executive Officer, TD Waterhouse, commented: Banking stocks dominated market talk once more this week as Royal Bank of Scotland upped the stakes in its bid for Dutch Bank ABN Amro. Monday saw Barclays agree to buy ABN in an all-share deal but the RBS-led consortium has since stepped in with a cash-and-shares proposal of $98 billion.

The dramatic volatility in February and March saw the FTSE 350 drop over 5% from peak to trough, before recovering to end the period 2% higher than the end of January. This masked a sharp difference in the performance of larger and smaller companies. Over the two months, the FTSE 100 rose 1.7% while the FTSE 250 rose 5.3%.

Angus Rigby, Chief Executive Officer, TD Waterhouse, commented: It’s been an interesting week on the British high street. The spell of warm weather and sunshine seems to have added a spring to the step of both UK shoppers and investors.

Standard Life has revealed that 220,000 former members (now shareholders) have yet to claim around 83 million shares following the company's demutualisation and flotation in July 2006. This amounts to 3.9 percent of Standard Life plc.

The six-year high of the FTSE 100 index is good news for investors and is accompanied by some strong indicators of future stock market growth, according to investment experts at Charles Stanley:

Angus Rigby, Chief Executive Officer, TD Waterhouse, commented: With spirits lifted by the Easter break, our investors return to the markets with renewed vigour this week. Oil giant BP has enjoyed strong trading as reports flare over a possible shareholder revolt over the pay package of outgoing BP chairman Lord Browne.

According to an old stock market adage investors should "sell in May and go away, come again on St. Leger Day" (mid September) or in a US variation St. Leger Day is replaced by Labor Day, the first Monday in September.

Angus Rigby, Chief Executive Officer, TD Waterhouse, commented: With Easter approaching Woolworths has been popular this week, not only for its seasonal confectionary but also attracting attention following the news that it could be subject to a competition probe by the UK Office of Fair Trading.

Angus Rigby, Chief Executive Officer, TD Waterhouse, commented: Recent market jitters and last week’s mixed reaction over the Chancellor’s Budget have calmed this week. However, it hasn’t all been good news in the telecoms and technology sectors.

TD Waterhouse, one of the UK’s largest brokers, today announces new extended settlement periods up to 20 working days for online traders.

Barclays Stockbrokers has announced that it has entered into a three year partnership deal with the National Trust.

Angus Rigby, Chief Executive Officer, TD Waterhouse, commented: This week saw the Chancellor deliver his eleventh and possibly swan song budget with much attention given to headline cuts in corporation tax aimed at boosting the international competitiveness of the UK's tax system.

Investors remain excessively bullish about short-term stock market returns despite the recent correction, warns Argonaut European fund manager Barry Norris.

Angus Rigby, Chief Executive Officer, TD Waterhouse, commented: “As the banks’ reporting season finishes, interest remains high in Lloyds TSB and Barclays on the back of worries over the US sub-prime market which took hold across the Atlantic this week.

Marks & Spencer Money sponsors enterprise education event for schools for the fourth year running.

Angus Rigby, Chief Executive Officer, TD Waterhouse, commented: “After last Tuesday’s jitters in the global markets, investor activity has been busy this week, particularly amongst key UK players in the banking sector.

Angus Rigby, Chief Executive Officer, TD Waterhouse, commented: “It has been a tough week for UK investors as global stocks plummeted on Tuesday night slicing over 36.2 billion pounds off share prices in the UK alone.

In light of recent market volatility, Fidelity International's Director of Asset Allocation, Trevor Greetham, comments: "Markets that have risen a long way without a pause are at risk of sharp short-term corrections as we are seeing now. This can be healthy as unrealistic expectations are brought down to earth.

The market downturn of the past couple of days is most likely to be a healthy correction in a longer term bull market, according to research conducted by Simon Ward of New Star Asset Management. The research examined the performance of the FTSE 100 following the three great bear markets of the twentieth century (1929-1932, 1936-1940 and 1972-1974), and applied their trends to the rally following the recent bear market of 2000-2003.

By Gigi Chan, Far East & Asian Equity Fund Manager, Threadneedle Investments

A team of A-level students from Mangotsfield School in Bristol have performed better than almost 30,000 other teenagers from across the UK in the ifs Student Investor Challenge sponsored by Deutsche Bank and Foreign & Colonial Investment Trust.

Over the last couple of days world equity markets have fallen back sharply. “What is the cause and should we be concerned?” asks John Kelly, Abbey’s Head of Client Investment.

The Consumer Panel has today written to the FSA to say that their proposals to amend the stock exchange listing rules for offshore investment companies threaten to undermine investor protection for the sake of attracting non UK based companies to list in the UK.

Angus Rigby, Chief Executive Officer, TD Waterhouse, commented: “Britain’s banks were in the firing line this week, with reports that extortionate charges and unfair overdraft penalty fees were boosting profits to new highs at the expense of the ordinary consumer.

TD Waterhouse – the UK’s leading execution-only broker – today announces that it is offering two months’ free online trading for new customers opening an account before 30 April 2007.

Angus Rigby, Chief Executive Officer, TD Waterhouse, commented: All eyes were on the Bank of England this week as the monetary policy committee convened again to report on Britain’s inflation and interest rates. Despite predictions that falling gas and oil prices could temporarily cool inflation levels, the Bank’s governor Mervyn King has hinted at another possible hike in interest rates in the coming months.

“Building a portfolio of AIM stocks can be compared to ordering Fugu (blow fish) in a Japanese restaurant.

“Profound structural imbalances“ in the global economy and highly-leveraged private equity activity are risks to the stable growth of world stock markets, Jeremy Batstone, Head of Private Client Research at Charles Stanley, warned clients today.

Angus Rigby, Chief Executive Officer, TD Waterhouse, commented: With the blistery weather outside, one could be forgiven for thinking it was still Christmas, particularly in light of persistent consumer spending which remains strong, according to the British Retail Consortium's retail sales monitor results this week.

Angus Rigby, Chief Executive Officer, TD Waterhouse, commented: It has been a busy week in the markets as news of Tata’s tie-up with Corus and NASDAQ’s refusal to raise its price for the LSE dominates the headlines.

Angus Rigby, Chief Executive Officer, TD Waterhouse, commented: The mining sector helped get the FTSE off to a flying start on Monday following a rise in commodity prices, but disappointing news followed on Tuesday as Tate & Lyle announced that it was unlikely to meet expected profit targets.

Angus Rigby, Chief Executive Officer, TD Waterhouse, commented: This week the FTSE reacted to the increase in inflation from 2.7 to 3 per cent. Analysts had expected a rise following last week’s increase in interest rates to 5.25 per cent; however the jump was greater than anticipated. The benchmark FTSE 100 traded flat on Tuesday as the news was digested, slumping to lows around 6170 early afternoon on Thursday.

Angus Rigby, Chief Executive Officer, TD Waterhouse, commented: After starting 2007 on an all time high, the FTSE took a knock on Thursday as the Bank of England unexpectedly increased interest rates from 5 to 5.25 per cent. The benchmark FTSE 100 traded 38 points higher prior to the Bank’s announcement before falling back to 6,130.

Angus Rigby, Chief Executive Officer, TD Waterhouse, commented: At the end of last year, TD Waterhouse conducted a survey measuring Investor Confidence in the UK. The results indicated that confidence in the FTSE index was at a record high with 79% of investors anticipating that the UK stock market will perform well in next 12 months.

Angus Rigby, Chief Executive Officer, TD Waterhouse, commented: “The two most popular stocks with retail investors over the year have been Vodafone and PartyGaming - both the subject of extensive market speculation and fluctuating prices. Elsewhere the focus has been on banking and energy stocks as investors looked to more defensive sectors.

Private investors cash in on their 2006 stock market winnings, taking home £14.5bn.

Angus Rigby, Chief Executive Officer, TD Waterhouse, commented:

Private investors traded more actively than at any time in 2006 during October and November, according to Capita Registrars.

Angus Rigby, Chief Executive Officer, TD Waterhouse, commented: Investors who bought into newly listed silicon wafers maker Renesola will be thanking their lucky stars after the stock almost doubled in value over the last month.

Charles Stanley Stockbrokers today announced its annual Top 10 stock selections with the news that its selections for 2006 have outperformed the FTSE 100 index by 120 per cent.

The Motley Fool, fool.co.uk is pleased to announce the launch of its Share Dealing Service.

The “FTSE 5 Returns”, a team of 4 school students from Ralph Thoresby High School in Leeds, outperformed over 7,600 other teams from across the UK to win the first ifs Student Investor monthly prize.

Six out of ten regular investors in the UK stock market (those who trade at least once a month) are more confident than they were 12 months ago, according to new research from TD Waterhouse, one of the UK’s leading online brokers. Over three quarters of UK investors expect to see their investments make strong progress in 2007.