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What a Russian invasion of Ukraine might mean for markets
Thursday 17 Feb 2022The tensions on the Ukrainian border may have eased slightly as we write but the situation remains highly febrile with Washington and London still warning of an imminent Russian invasion. Historically war hasn’t agreed with the stock market, particularly in the short term. This makes sense given it...
Why British American Tobacco is up more than a quarter in two months
Thursday 17 Feb 2022During the last two months shares in British American Tobacco (BATS ) are up by 26.5%. There are two very different reasons for this share price surge. The first is the changing macro-economic environment. Rampant inflation has resulted in a succession of UK interest rate rises, and expectations...
Rising costs may cloud UK banks’ results
Thursday 17 Feb 2022With the FTSE 350 banks index having doubled in price since hitting a low in September 2020 on value hunting in the first instance and the prospect of higher interest rates more recently, the UK’s big four high street banks now need to repay investors’ faith. Their chance to do that comes this...
Looming Amazon growth questions masked by stock surge
Thursday 10 Feb 2022Online retail giant Amazon posted the biggest one-day gain since 2012 last week after blowing fourth quarter 2021 earnings estimates out of the water, despite missing on revenue growth. Yet the numbers were less impressive than they might have first appeared. Amazon shares jumped from $2,776.91 to...
PayPal hit by pressured consumer spending and competitive threats
Thursday 10 Feb 2022Shares in digital payments giant PayPal fell nearly 25% after reporting disappointing fourth quarter results. Investors were also unsettled by the anaemic earnings guidance for 2022. The group has been negatively impacted by cost of living pressures on consumer spending, particularly among those on...
Why Europe could be set to play catch up with UK and US on rates
Thursday 10 Feb 2022Eurozone inflation surprised to the upside for the seventh consecutive month in January, rising to a record 5.1%, far above the central bank’s 2% target. The unexpected data seems to have finally persuaded European Central Bank ( ECB ) president Christine Lagarde to ditch her ‘transitory’ inflation...
Consumer giants rethink their strategies with a little help
Thursday 10 Feb 2022The drum beat of calls for change from investors in food to household goods conglomerate Unilever ( ULVR ) seems to be growing louder by the week if not by the day. The Financial Times reported over the weekend that after the firm’s failed £50 billion bid for GlaxoSmithKline’s ( GSK ) consumer...
Activist pressure could help drive up Vodafone’s shares
Thursday 03 Feb 2022V odafone ( VOD ) could potentially see its shares trade on a high multiple of earnings this year after being targeted by an activist investor. Cevian Capital is rumoured to have built up an undisclosed stake in the mobile network operator. Reports suggest the Swedish activist fund wants to put...
Oil services firms warn as crude hits $90 per barrel
Thursday 03 Feb 2022The stresses and strains of oil market volatility and a Brent crude price at a multi-year high of $90 per barrel are becoming apparent. With the potential for conflict in commodities-rich Ukraine involving major producer Russia, many observers are expecting oil prices to hit triple digits sooner...
Air goes out of hydrogen stocks on profit taking
Thursday 03 Feb 2022After the excitement surrounding hydrogen as a route to lowering global emissions, a message reinforced at the COP 26 climate summit, the poor performance of hydrogen investments over the last year is something of a surprise. Research by analysts at Liberum shows that over the 12 months to mid-...