Interactive Investor International

A stop loss of just 108p should satisfy our rules for the future! We don’t ever kick off an analysis with such ridiculous statements but Lloyds share price makes it very difficult to avoid exuding some optimism for the longer term, although to be fair, our stricter rules demand the price actually closes below 108p.

Nine-month trading update to 30 June New advances up 4.3% to £2.06 billion Guidance: Continues to expect a full-year 2027 Net Interest Margin (NIM) - the difference between savings and lending rates – of 3% Continues to expect a full-year share buyback of up to £100 million Chief executive Nigel Terrington said: “Paragon’s trading continues to be strong, with exciting new growth opportunities building on the underlying strength of the business.

It’s summer holiday season, but there are still some interesting company results to watch out for. Here are the key dates for your diary.

On 24 July, I examined FTSE 250 shares Galliford Try Holdings (LSE:GFRD) and Kier Group (LSE:KIE) for defensive growth amid successive governments touting infrastructure spending as a means to boost the economy. After previously rating them “buy” for recovery a few years ago, I tempered to “hold” last September given UK economic uncertainty.

First-half results to 30 June Adjusted sales up 7% to £4.87 billion Adjusted operating profit up 9% to £1.7 billion Interim dividend up 7% to 20.9p per share £400 million left of a previously announced £2.25 billion share buyback Group net debt up 17% to £8.73 billion Chief executive Erik Engstrom said: “RELX delivered strong underlying revenue and profit growth and strong new sales in the first half of 2026.

A youth with a JD bag in Manchester. Photo by Matt McNulty/Getty Images for Nike. Richard Hunter, Head of Markets, interactive investor says, “JD Sports Fashion (LSE:JD.) has struggled to make much headway of late, mainly due to factors outside its control. Its strategy remains intact, but the delivery is proving to be a stumbling block.

Aviva’s headquarters in London. Photo: BEN STANSALL/AFP via Getty Images. Aviva’s progress is self-evident, with any number of metrics having blown past both expectations as well as the numbers from the corresponding period, underlining the progress the group has made in the last year alone.

The Babcock logo on display during the Undersea Defence Technology (UDT) show at ExCel London in April 2026. Photo: John Keeble/Getty Images. Pay arrangements for the new and former chief executives of Currys (LSE:CURY), Halfords Group (LSE:HFD) and Babcock International Group (LSE:BAB) will be in the spotlight when the companies host AGMs in the coming month.

Last Friday, we enjoyed a whinge about the 10,910 point level and the fact that the FTSE 100 has been carefully avoiding closing above such a point. This notion, obviously ridiculous, almost treats the index as if it were a sentient thing, but we can’t help but notice the UK market remains strangely afraid of this value, the best achieved in the last five sessions being closure at 10,902 points. Or, close but no coconut, as most folk would say.

We look at the investments ii customers have been buying within their ISAs during the previous week. The data includes only real-time trades, not regular investing instructions, and combines the use of both existing funds and new money.