magazine archive
magazine archive
Dan Coatsworth
Netflix shares soar after blockbuster results and big plans to boost advertising income
Thursday 30 Jan 2025Streaming giant Netflix (NFLX:NASDAQ) is the talk of Tinseltown after serving up a blockbuster quarter. Earnings smashed expectations and it delivered strong subscriber growth. It’s no wonder the shares soared on the news. It grew fourth quarter revenue by 16% to $10.2 billion and paid memberships...
There are fewer AIM heavyweights as it hits 30 year anniversary
Thursday 16 Jan 2025The number of companies on London’s AIM market worth more than £1 billion has hit a nine-year low. A mere six stocks were worth more than £1 billion at the end of November 2024 compared with 30 at the end of 2021. From those 30 companies and excluding those still worth more than £1 billion, seven...
Cash offers rule but bid premiums ease back slightly versus last year
Thursday 19 Dec 2024UK takeovers moved up a gear in 2024 as predators targeted bigger companies. The average value of deals was £1.07 billion, nearly three times higher than the £390 million average in 2023. In total, there were £49 billion worth of recommended bids versus £17.2 billion last year. A bounty of unloved...
What plans for a new stock market called ‘Pisces’ mean for investors
Thursday 05 Dec 2024Investors already have access to thousands of companies around the world. The choice can be overwhelming so do we really need the launch of yet another stock market? The answer might be ‘yes’ if it offers something different to what’s already available and a new market called ‘Pisces’ certainly...
The benefits of staying invested when the list of worries builds up
Thursday 21 Nov 2024It’s been a prosperous time to have invested in the markets. Each one of the major share indices around the world has delivered a positive total return over the past 12 months, factoring in share price performance and dividends. At the top end, the US has returned 32.5% as measured by the S&P...
Director share sales ramp up amid fears of capital gains tax changes
Thursday 10 Oct 2024The list of company directors selling more than £1 million worth of shares since Labour got into power three months ago is growing. It’s as if they can see the writing on the wall with a potential hike to capital gains tax in the Budget on 30 October. By crystalising value from their investments...
The pros and cons of scrapping inheritance tax relief on AIM shares
Thursday 26 Sep 2024The new UK Government has made it perfectly clear that the Budget on 30 October is going to involve some tough decisions that will affect people’s finances. While much of the media speculation has focused on how capital gains tax might evolve, inheritance tax (IHT) is also a potential target for...
The common thread uniting FTSE 100 takeovers this year
Thursday 12 Sep 2024At the start of 2024, I speculated that interest rate cuts could lead to takeovers involving bigger companies than the type of deals seen in 2023. While the rate-cut journey still remains in its infancy for the UK and other key geographies, the predicted wave of large-cap takeovers is firmly in...
Summer sell-off encourages savvy investors to buy at cheaper prices
Thursday 29 Aug 2024Anyone lucky enough to have enjoyed a long summer holiday and focused on the beach rather than their portfolio might not have noticed the recent jolt in global stock markets. While the second half of July was a miserable time markets amid fears of a US recession, the scale of the subsequent rebound...
Why more FTSE 100 companies are offloading assets to sharpen their focus
Thursday 15 Aug 2024There is a phrase in business – ‘shrink to greatness’ – meaning companies selling or demerging assets and focusing on what they do best. You might call it streamlining, others might say it is an admission that the previous strategy did not work and the company was too bloated. This trend is firmly...