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Big News
Ocado story sours again
Thursday 08 Feb 2018Shares in online supermarket Ocado ( OCDO ) soured as full year results (6 Feb) revealed a return to a pre-tax loss and a warning that 2018 profits will be pegged back by ongoing investment spend to ‘accelerate’ growth opportunities. Ocado also announced a 5% placing which in the scathing words of...
Tesco impresses with profit and dividend guidance
Thursday 08 Feb 2018Britain’s biggest retailer Tesco ( TSCO ) has issued guidance for better than expected profit and dividend payments. It expects to show at least £1.575bn operating profit before one-off items when full year results are published on 11 April. It has flagged a 2p per share final dividend. The latest...
Weighing up the impact of the market sell-off
Thursday 08 Feb 2018The past week has been a haunting experience for many investors with a pullback in stock markets around the world. The US Dow Jones Industrial Average endured its worst ever one-day fall on 5 February, down 1,175 points to 24,345. As we write (6 Feb) the FTSE All-World index has fallen 5.4% since...
Currency movements imply potential weakness in many large cap stocks
Thursday 01 Feb 2018There has been considerable volatility in currency markets of late with the pound shooting above $1.42 for the first time since the Brexit vote in June 2016. It has since slipped back through this level on renewed fears about the course of the UK’s exit from the European Union. Unless you are a...
A ‘remarkable time’ to invest in UK income funds
Thursday 01 Feb 2018Two new reports are offering an insight into the continuing dividend appeal of UK stocks in 2018. The latest UK Dividend Monitor report from Link Asset Services shows British firms paid a record £94.4bn to shareholders in 2017, boosted by miners being more generous with dividends and several large...
Renishaw’s rating haircut may not be over
Thursday 01 Feb 2018Investors in science-based engineering group Renishaw ( RSW ) have been left stunned by the big sell-off in the share price in the wake of half year results on 25 January. While those figures were impressive and demand continues to be firm, the company’s valuation is being called into question. The...
Dechra deals could create animal magic
Thursday 01 Feb 2018Investors are excited by Dechra Pharmac eutical’s ( DPH ) proposed acquisitions of AST Farma and Le Vet Beheer for a combined €340m announced on 25 January, prompting a 13% share price rally over two days. Dechra is an international veterinary pharmaceuticals business that derives approximately two...
Lloyds has an under-appreciated business which could boost group profit
Thursday 01 Feb 2018High-street Bank Lloyds ( LLOY ) is best known for its increasingly profitable banking operations which have helped underpin generous dividend payouts. However its insurance division is often overlooked despite the considerable scale of this business. Lloyds bought the 200 year-old Scottish Widows...
Market shock after Dignity unveils radical new pricing structure
Thursday 25 Jan 2018The stock market can have a nasty habit of dishing up unexpected news and we’ve seen many examples over the past few weeks. Retailer Carpetright ( CPR ) , logistics firm Connect ( CNCT ) and teleradiology services group Medica ( MGP ) are three examples of stocks that have taken the market by...
Top performing funds are harder to find
Thursday 25 Jan 2018Data from BMO Global Asset Management shows the number of funds delivering top quartile performance is running below the historic average. According to its Fund Watch survey, 1.24% of funds delivered consistent top quartile performance over three years as at the end of the fourth quarter of 2017...