magazine archive
magazine archive
Editor's View
Wood Group woes reveal the importance of discipline on cash flow and acquisitions
Thursday 21 Nov 2024Three tried and tested market principles were reinforced by the latest update from beleaguered energy services firm Wood Group (WG.) . I have followed this business for nearly two decades and it’s hard to remember a time when it was in a worse state than it is today. That’s backed up by the share...
Bitcoin is hard to ignore again after Trump victory and what next for oil?
Thursday 14 Nov 2024In this column a few weeks back I flagged Bitcoin and gold as potential barometers of Donald Trump’s chances in the election. As it turned out, Bitcoin was the better marker and has continued to soar since he prevailed hitting record highs close to $90,000 while gold has been hamstrung by a surging...
What Sainsbury’s convenience price match ploy tells us about the supermarkets
Thursday 07 Nov 2024I can’t be the only person who walks down the aisle of a local convenience-style supermarket and finds their jaw dropping at some of the prices. For anyone without a car and/or uncomfortable with buying online, and therefore reliant on these outlets for their weekly grocery shop rather than just...
Get ready for a wild end to 2024
Thursday 31 Oct 2024As it stands, there are only two months left of 2024 and yet, for investors, the next few weeks could be some of the most consequential of the year. We provide a snapshot of the Budget and the market response to it in our News section this week but you can expect further analysis of the fall-out on...
Gold and bitcoin – your barometers for Trump’s chances next month
Thursday 24 Oct 2024If anyone wants an insight into how the market sees the prospects of Donald Trump returning to the White House after next month’s ultra-tight presidential election they should look no further than gold prices and bitcoin. As we write betting site Oddschecker has the market offering odds of 33/50 on...
The little company with big ambitions in energy storage
Thursday 17 Oct 2024As Martin Gamble discusses in this issue, some businesses are awaiting the upcoming Budget on 30 October with real trepidation. However, an announcement from the Labour Government was cause for celebration with one smaller company when this author had the opportunity to meet with them in early...
Tobacco and oil and gas sectors are both facing transition troubles
Thursday 10 Oct 2024Both the tobacco and oil and gas industries face a similar quandary right now - they are generating lots of cash from activities which many perceive as being unethical and damaging, but their transitions into other areas are currently not offering anywhere near the same levels of return. This...
The sector which very much isn’t participating in the China rally
Thursday 03 Oct 2024As Sabuhi Gard covers in a piece of news analysis this week, China-related stocks and funds are flying thanks to Beijing’s announcement of a big stimulus package. However, there is one industry with ties to the world’s second largest economy which is very much not joining in the party – the car...
Investors nervously awaiting developments in Westminster and Washington
Thursday 26 Sep 2024There are two political events in the remainder of 2024 on either side of the Atlantic to which investors need to pay full attention. The first of these is Labour’s first Budget for 14 years on 30 October, with chancellor Rachel Reeves giving few clues to the details in her speech to the party...
A quarter of a century of helping people with their investments
Thursday 19 Sep 2024It’s time to break out the birthday candles as Shares marks 25 years since its first issue hit the newsstands in September 1999. I’m just the latest custodian of this publication, having had the pleasure of editing Shares for a just under a year, and while there has been an enormous amount of...