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UK dividends fall in first quarter due to fewer specials and more buybacks
Thursday 15 May 2025According to the latest Dividend Monitor report from Computershare, which looks after the share registers of 900 companies, total UK corporate dividend payments fell 4.6% or £700 million in the first quarter of this year to £14 billion. The decline was mainly due to lower one-off special dividends...
How I manage my pension investments, or ‘knowing your limitations’
Thursday 08 May 2025As I’ve explained in previous articles, I’m an income-focused investor rather than someone who chases capital gains. The decision to focus on income comes down to two factors – first, it’s not easy to find stocks which can guarantee you capital gains, whereas over the years I’ve bought several...
Battle of the brands: Reckitt vs Unilever - which has the best turnaround tune?
Thursday 08 May 2025For years, consumer goods powerhouses Unilever (ULVR) and Reckitt Benckiser (RKT) were two of the UK stock market’s more reliable performers, prized by investors for their global scale, predictable earnings, rising dividends and share buybacks generated off the back of their enviable brands. These...
How did latest US mega-cap tech earnings shape-up?
Thursday 08 May 2025If we’re in for leaner times as recession risks rise, it’s quarters like this that will remind investors not to bet against big tech. We’ve now had latest quarterly numbers from Apple (AAPL:NASDAQ) , Amazon (AMZN:NASDAQ) , Meta Platforms (META:NASDAQ) and Microsoft (MSFT:NASDAQ) , led by Alphabet (...
Are we witnessing the beginning of the end of ‘US exceptionalism’?
Thursday 01 May 2025The market upheaval of the last month may be over for now, but it has left global investors with a big lingering doubt – can they still trust the US? The day after US stocks enjoyed one of their biggest rallies in history (9 April), equities, bonds and the dollar all went into reverse as traders...
Small World: Delistings, contract wins, a maiden dividend and a new addition to AIM
Thursday 01 May 2025Barely a month seems to go by without another small cap company announcing its intention to delist from the London stock market. The latest escapee is leading cell therapeutics firm MaxCyte (MXCT:AIM) which announced its intention to cancel its AIM listing on 15 April. The proposed cancellation, if...
Can Tesla get back on track? The bull and bear arguments for the electric vehicle maker
Thursday 01 May 2025First quarter earnings from Tesla (TSLA:NASDAQ) landed with a thud and came as a stark reminder of the company’s dual identity: a visionary leader in electric vehicles and autonomous technology, yet a business grappling with near-term financial turbulence, and a brand damage stink that could linger...
Fund managers with hands-on experience
Thursday 24 Apr 2025When it comes to fund selection, savvy investors will rightly focus on the investment philosophy and process, the vehicle’s charges, as well as past performance. In terms of the qualities of the portfolio manager, many investors will look for long-term experience in the financial world or extensive...
Which sectors dominate the Korean market and how has it performed?
Thursday 24 Apr 2025Despite hosting several innovative companies, South Korean shares have lagged global and emerging market indices over the long term. Some of this relates to the recent struggles of Samsung Electronics (005930:KRX) which still has a near-25% weighting in the MSCI Korea index. This helps obscure the...
Emerging markets: South Korea, trade and tariffs and Chinese banks
Thursday 24 Apr 20251 . Trade. The United States accounts for 13% of global imports, down from 20% two decades ago. The European Union (EU) and China account for 20%. While Liberation Day had a dramatic impact on equity markets globally, we believe the optimal response for the largest trading nations is to increase...