Shares magazine
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Trade war fears spark another bout of market volatility
Thursday 08 Mar 2018Donald Trump’s tariffs on steel and aluminium imported to the US, as well a threat to tax car imports from the European Union, have given investors something new to worry about. The prospect of a trade war has triggered weakness in many stock markets around the world, particularly those like Europe...
Calm before the next stock market storm?
Thursday 01 Mar 2018It’s been nearly a month since the global stock market sell-off and equities still haven’t fully recovered all the lost ground. While some institutional investors say the sell-off wasn’t severe enough for them to go bargain hunting, others suggest another (deeper) correction could be on its way...
High hopes for South Africa-focused stocks after president change
Thursday 22 Feb 2018South Africa is the latest country to be closely watched by UK investors. A decent number of companies doing business in that part of the world have their shares traded on the London Stock Exchange. Cyril Ramaphosa was last week sworn in as the new president of South Africa, replacing Jacob Zuma...
Have IPOs been hit by stock market volatility?
Thursday 15 Feb 2018Markets appear to have settled down at the time of writing (13 Feb) with the FTSE 100 index holding still at 7,177. Volatility, as measured by the Vix index, has also halved at 25.61 from its approximate 50 level last week. While there is no guarantee that the latest market sell-off has reached its...
Why you should stay calm amid stock market volatility
Thursday 08 Feb 2018The decline in share prices around the world has dampened the spirits of many investors. In times like this, it is important to stay calm and consider the reasons behind the market sell-off. You should ask whether the fundamentals have changed for your investments. If they haven’t, it’s probably...
Companies and investors need to avoid short-termism
Thursday 01 Feb 2018Last week I met the manager of a global fund who made a very interesting comment about the companies he meets in Japan. He said his most rewarding conversations are the ones about industry rather than quarterly earnings. Japanese directors, in his view, are more likely to engage in a lively...
The underappreciated risk to a strong oil price
Thursday 25 Jan 2018The recovery in the oil price to $70 per barrel is one of the most significant events to happen in the natural resources industry for a long time. It transforms the finances of many companies and it should open up development of new projects and rejuvenate the supply chain. While we discuss the...
Why an obsession with growth can be dangerous
Thursday 18 Jan 2018The liquidation of construction services business Carillion ( CLLN ) is dominating the front pages and we discuss the fall-out in more depth in this week’s Big News section of Shares . Clearly there are lessons to be learned about having private companies whose operations are so large and entwined...
Plenty of opportunities despite markets rallying
Thursday 11 Jan 2018The markets have started the New Year in a bullish manner with a repeat of the same trend seen in 2017: mid and small caps are outperforming larger companies. Many of you may assume high market levels make it harder to find decent investment ideas. In reality we’re still finding plenty of stocks...
Come and join the community of investors
Thursday 21 Dec 2017History tells us that smaller companies outperform larger ones and 2017’s UK stock market performance certainly backs that up. The FTSE AIM All-Share index has increased by approximately 20% in value this year, nearly twice that of the FTSE 250 and four times greater than the FTSE 100, according to...