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New rules on ISAs to crimp demand for property funds
Thursday 05 Nov 2020As the saga over the liquidity mismatch in open-ended property funds – which offer daily prices but in practice need months to sell assets to pay back investors who want their money – rolls on, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) suggested in August that investors give funds a 90-day or 180-day ‘...
UK in flux as state support sees borrowing spike and Brexit remains uncertain
Thursday 29 Oct 2020A significant extension of the financial support available for individuals and businesses affected by coronavirus restrictions is unlikely to shift investor sentiment dramatically towards the hospitality and travel businesses at the sharp end of the pandemic. The spending associated with this new...
German software giant SAP pulls forward cloud plans
Thursday 29 Oct 2020Europe’s largest software company SAP plans to use the Covid crisis to go all in on cloud computing. The German giant revealed its plans after it was forced to pull medium-term profitability targets as it continues to struggle with the effects of the coronavirus pandemic. SAP reported disappointing...
Schroder British Opportunities on track despite other failed IPOs
Thursday 29 Oct 2020The initial public offering ( IPO ) of the Buffettology Smaller Companies Investment Trust has been pulled (26 Oct), despite a ‘broad level of support from a significant number of investors’, after it failed to raise the £100 million minimum needed for a stock market float. This follows on from...
Bank stocks rally but dividend resumption hopes may be overdone
Thursday 29 Oct 2020Shares in the FTSE 350 banking index, which in recent weeks has plumbed multi-decade lows, jumped on press reports that talks were under way with the Prudential Regularity Authority (PRA) to resume dividend payments in 2021. In March 2020, the regulator asked the banks to suspend dividends and...
Why stocks have fallen despite beating earnings
Thursday 29 Oct 2020In a sign that it’s sometimes better to travel than arrive, several US technology stocks went down last week despite delivering forecast-beating earnings. Notable names included software firm Citrix, cloud computing and services business IBM and chip maker Intel. According to veteran US technology...
Crisis brewing at JD Sports as orders delayed
Thursday 22 Oct 2020A problem is brewing at JD Sports Fashion ( JD. ) where customers have experienced order delays and poor customer service, according to comments on social media. Negative sentiment towards the brand could potentially hurt earnings, particularly if the situation isn’t resolved soon. ‘Due to...
RIP austerity as Eurozone budget deficits soar
Thursday 22 Oct 2020Eurozone governments have racked up close to €1 trillion of budget deficits on emergency measures to combat the economic pain caused by Covid-19. The Financial Times calculated the 19-country block’s fiscal deficit will increase to an aggregate €976 billion, equivalent to almost 9% of GDP this year...
Investors finally get a steer on Novacyt’s earnings potential
Thursday 22 Oct 2020Investors in diagnostics specialist group Novacyt (NCYT:AIM ) have been treated to two important pieces of news. Earnings estimates are available for the first time since the company listed on AIM in 2017 after Numis starting research coverage on the stock, which has gone up by 7,190% in value this...
Reckitt Benckiser shares having best year since 2015
Thursday 22 Oct 2020Dettol, Lysol and Durex maker Reckitt Benckiser ( RB. ) is having its best year on the stock market in five years. So far this year (to 20 Oct), its share price has risen by 17.4%. That is nearly twice as much as it achieved in 2016 (9.6%) and fast approaching the 20.6% achieved in 2015. Helping to...