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UK banks’ profit margins under threat as pressure grows to boost rates on savings accounts
Thursday 15 Jun 2023The banking sector is under pressure to be more generous with interest rates on savings accounts, which is negative for their profit margins. In February, an influential parliamentary committee opened an inquiry into why the interest rates paid on easy-access savings accounts by the ‘big four’ UK...
Biotech companies in demand as pharmaceutical companies spend billions on takeovers
Thursday 15 Jun 2023With so much macroeconomic uncertainty, the recent mergers and acquisitions spree has lost momentum apart from one sector. Big pharmaceutical firms are awash with cash, yet patent cliffs (expiration of patent protection) present challenges which can be partially fixed by buying smaller biotech...
Worrying signs for discounter Dollar General as it cuts its forecasts
Thursday 08 Jun 2023US consumers have been pretty robustly spending this year despite higher interest rates, yet they don’t seem to be shopping at discounters, which seems odd. Dollar General (DG:NYSE) , whose core customer base is lower-income, cut its outlook on 1 June after admitting the economy was ‘more...
The utilities supplier enjoying significant share price gains
Thursday 08 Jun 2023Shares in gas, electricity and water supplier Yu Group ( YU.:AIM ) have soared off the back of its latest profit upgrade (31 May). The shares gained more than a third in the wake of the announcement to 676p, extending gains over the last six months to nearly 70%. The company, which endured a big...
Investors look for soft landing again after debt ceiling deal and jobs report
Thursday 08 Jun 2023Off the back of a breakthrough on the US debt ceiling, there was further evidence of a robust US labour market as May non-farm payrolls came in much stronger than expected. The economy added 339,000 jobs compared with a 195,000 forecast by economists (2 June). The prior two months figures were also...
A quarter of the FTSE 100 and 30% of the FTSE 250 offer dividend yields of 5% or more
Thursday 08 Jun 2023While the rates of interest available on cash savings accounts have increased significantly of late, research carried out by Shares shows a quarter of the FTSE 100 and 30% of the FTSE 250 offer dividend yields of more than 5%. You can get a 5% rate from cash on deposit but it typically involves...
WE Soda plans first big float in London of 2023 with retail investor offer
Thursday 08 Jun 2023The London stock market is set to be bolstered by its first new company listing of scale in some time if WE Soda gets its proposed IPO (initial public offering) away. Interestingly, the company plans to offer retail investors an opportunity to get in on the ground floor through the PrimaryBid...
Nvidia is world’s top AI pick after detailing huge spike in technology demand
Thursday 01 Jun 2023N vidia (NVDA:NASDAQ) is closing in on a trillion dollar market valuation after revealing the scale of interest it is seeing from customers for artificial intelligence (AI) technology. The Santa Clara-based chip designer unveiled the explosion of AI-powered technology demand in first quarter...
Gilt market signals the alarm over a surprise rise in UK core inflation
Thursday 01 Jun 2023Unexpectedly sticky UK inflation figures are wreaking fresh havoc in the UK government bond (gilt) market and raise the prospects of higher borrowing costs for longer for the Government, businesses and consumers. A big driver behind the continuing surge in prices is food and there was at least a...
Why insurers could face higher catastrophe claims this year and into the future
Thursday 01 Jun 2023Each year, natural disasters around the world destroy assets worth hundreds of billions of dollars. According to German reinsurance giant Munich Re (MUV2:ETR) , losses incurred from natural disasters amounted to $270 billion last year with less than half that figure covered by insurance. For...