magazine archive


magazine archive

Editor's View

Reasons to stay positive on housebuilders, estate agents and DIY sellers

Thursday 21 Jan 2021

Investors in housebuilders, estate agents and other property-related companies are not panicking about signs of a slowdown in the UK housing market despite new data showing more cracks. This would suggest investors are taking a longer-term view rather than worrying about short-term blips which is a...

Big corporates ready to reveal how they are coping

Thursday 14 Jan 2021

Investors are having to balance lots of intangible factors right now. First and foremost, they are being forced to guess how the Covid crisis will develop amid an apparent battle to vaccinate populations against a backdrop of soaring infections. The pace at which we emerge from lockdown...

Is it time to take bitcoin more seriously?

Wednesday 23 Dec 2020

Bitcoin is a marmite asset – you either love it or hate it. Hate is a perhaps too harsh a word, you either love it or ignore it. I for one have certainly paid little attention to bitcoin, considering it to be something for day traders and people desperate to make a quick buck, and not something...

Don’t expect a return to normal for bank dividends just yet

Thursday 17 Dec 2020

Dividends are back on the menu for banks. Such news would normally trigger screams of joy in households across the country, given how many people own banking shares as a source of income. However, once you read the fine print it seems that Appletiser is a more appropriate way to toast the news than...

Making sense of muted reaction to Games Workshop’s stellar update

Thursday 10 Dec 2020

It’s rare to find a stock that has received three earnings upgrades in two months, but that’s exactly what’s happened with Games Workshop ( GAW ) . In fact, since July this year the consensus analyst forecast for its 2021 earnings per share has increased by more than 75%. The scale of the upgrades...

It is not too late to play the rally in value stocks

Thursday 03 Dec 2020

Around the world there is a universal cry from value fund managers of ‘I told you so’, as they finally see the value rally that’s been predicted for what seems like a decade. Previously unloved stocks are moving fast, and retail investors are now having to look at a part of the market that they...

Earnings upgrade strategy produces tasty results

Thursday 26 Nov 2020

There is a growing trend for companies to report better than expected earnings and this is something that investors should follow. Earnings growth is one of the strongest catalysts for share price growth, so it pays to watch the companies doing well operationally and financially. Beating estimates...

Let’s hope ESG doesn’t become a meaningless term

Thursday 19 Nov 2020

In an age where ESG (environmental, social and governance) factors are becoming more important to investors, it can feel like funds and companies are clamouring to paint themselves in these colours for the cachet it involves. The danger is that the term is diluted to the point of meaninglessness...

Investors right to be more enthusiastic about the future

Thursday 12 Nov 2020

Investors have just seen the wildest day for markets in a very long time thanks to encouraging news about a Covid-19 vaccine. Many people have taken the view that we now have a fix for the coronavirus crisis and a panacea for the global economy. We are certainly more enthusiastic about the outlook...

Big oil’s dividend dilemma

Thursday 05 Nov 2020

On 29 October Royal Dutch Shell ( RDSB ) provided the market with a positive surprise, increasing its dividend by 4% as it booked a larger than forecast third-quarter profit. However, before we get too excited by the dividend hike, it is but a ripple in the ocean when you consider the pay-out had...

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