magazine archive
magazine archive
Big News
Clearer skies eyed for airline sector
Thursday 12 Apr 2018Investment bank UBS is warming to Germany’s largest airline Lufthansa and has outlined robust sales growth forecasts for its European peers. The airline industry has endured a volatile spell as intense competition led to a price war, somewhat mitigated by the demise of weaker rivals Monarch and Air...
Volatility causes big exodus from equity funds
Thursday 12 Apr 2018February’s market sell-off led to the first net outflows from equity funds in the UK since January 2017, with £136m being taken out of funds according to data from the Investment Association. The worse performing sector was UK equity, which saw investors redeem £510m in February. Global and North...
Easter rain and Conviviality collapse add to retail and leisure sector woes
Thursday 05 Apr 2018A washout Easter and the collapse of a major industry supplier look set to cause further headaches to the already-bruised retail and leisure sectors. The long Easter weekend has traditionally been a strong sales driver for consumer-facing companies. However, the past weekend’s terrible weather may...
Takeover activity could put the spark back into the technology sector
Thursday 05 Apr 2018Sharp declines in global technology stocks have sparked consternation among investors on both sides of the pond, yet some analysts are predicting a surge in mergers and acquisition (M&A) activity through the rest of 2018. US president Donald Trump’s scathing attack on Amazon over the Easter...
DFS is delivering again, but for how long?
Thursday 05 Apr 2018Has the market been too pessimistic on sofa seller DFS Furniture ( DFS ) ? Its share price jumped last week when the company said recent trading had shown improvement. Investors were more excited about current conditions to worry about a 30% decline in half year pre-tax profit to £11.6m. In reality...
Kore Potash to rival Sirius Minerals with ‘world class’ mining project
Thursday 05 Apr 2018Fans of British mining stock Sirius Minerals ( SXX ) may be interested in another potash company called Kore Potash ( KP2:AIM ) which has just listed on the UK stock market. Analysts reckon it has a world class project which is likely to have some of the lowest operating costs in the industry,...
This is what protectionism means for the markets
Thursday 29 Mar 2018Hopes are growing that talks between the US and China can avert a trade war after the threat of tit-for-tat action last week saw markets tumble to their lowest levels in 12 months. Investors fear that a more protectionist stance, reflected in the imposition of tariffs on imports of certain products...
Survey reveals the extent to which retail investors are dissatisfied with the funds industry
Thursday 29 Mar 2018Retail investors want full disclosure of fees when buying an investment product but aren’t convinced they’re getting it, according to research from the CFA Institute gathered by Greenwich Associates. The research covered 3,127 retail investors from 12 markets including the UK and US. The survey...
JD Sports to buy beaten-up US retailer part owned by Sports Direct
Thursday 29 Mar 2018Retailer JD Sports Fashion ( JD. ) is stepping into the vast US sportswear market through the near-£400m acquisition of NASDAQ-traded footwear seller Finish Line. One of the biggest premium multi-branded athletic, clothing and accessories retailers across the pond, Finish Line could boost JD’s...
Reckitt and Glaxo walk away from Pfizer’s $20bn auction
Thursday 29 Mar 2018US -listed Pfizer has been shunned by consumer goods specialist Reckitt Benckiser ( RB. ) and drugs giant GlaxoSmithKline ( GSK ) after both firms decided not to bid for its $20bn consumer healthcare division. Reckitt Benckiser walked away as the consumer healthcare business did not fit its ‘...