magazine archive
magazine archive
Editor's View
Is a flurry of IPO announcements bad news?
Thursday 19 Oct 2017October and November are on course to be two of the busiest months for new stock market entrants this year. By my calculations there are 12 confirmed IPOs (initial public offerings) about to happen on the UK stock market and rumours of nearly another 20 companies set to float in the coming months...
How to spot trouble brewing with one of your investments
Thursday 12 Oct 2017A shock profit warning and share suspension from toilet roll maker Accrol ( ACRL:AIM ) provides a timely reminder to look for negative signs in trading updates. It was impossible to spot all the negative points that led to Accrol saying current year earnings would be significantly below market...
Happy birthday to the new-look Shares
Thursday 05 Oct 2017It’s time to wish happy birthday to Shares as an online-only publication. It’s been a year since we stopped printing the magazine and switched to the digital world. I’m happy to say it has been a very successful 12 months as reader numbers have gone up and we’ve been able to help even more people...
Are soaring stock markets a good sign?
Thursday 28 Sep 2017The S&P index in the US is up nearly 270% since March 2009, making the current bull market the second strongest since World War 2, according to analysis by LPL Research. Stock markets in other parts of the world are also thriving. The DAX Xetra in Germany is up by more than 200% since 1 March...
Pay close attention to resource nationalism
Thursday 21 Sep 2017I spotted a great comment on Twitter the other day which perfectly illustrated the brutal force of resource nationalism. It showed the share price performance of the larger UK mining stocks so far this year with the words ‘spot the companies with operations in Tanzania’. While nearly all of the...
Beware any UK consumer-facing stocks in your portfolio
Thursday 14 Sep 2017Consumer confidence is influencing the direction of many share prices at present. Anyone invested in a business which relies on consumer spending is already likely to be nervous; and the near-term outlook doesn’t look promising. You may wish to think about taking some profit in your best performing...
Can outsourcers make a comeback?
Thursday 07 Sep 2017Among the worst performing group of stocks in the last five years are the outsourcers. According to number crunching by UBS these companies, which do a variety of jobs in the public and private sectors such as running prisons or air traffic control, have underperformed the wider market by 50%. But...
Focus on sector data to get the investing edge
Thursday 31 Aug 2017The majority of stock market commentary in the mainstream media focuses on the performance of the FTSE 100 or the FTSE All-Share. In order to better understand what’s going on, we believe it is worth drilling down to the sector level to see which industries are faring well and which are struggling...
Should you tolerate odd decisions by directors?
Thursday 24 Aug 2017What happens if a company in which you have an investment makes odd decisions? Selling the shares might not always be the best course of action if the company eventually proves its decisions were wise. As an investor you will need to decide whether to put your trust in the directors or not. Selling...
Shell goes electric
Thursday 17 Aug 2017In last week’s Editor’s View we mentioned Trump as a possible catalyst for a summer sell off and so it is proving. And having reached two month highs in late July crude oil prices have endured another round of volatility partly inspired by the spat between North Korea and the US. Oil often appears...