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THG’s shares take another hit on growth and margin setback
Thursday 20 Jan 2022Online cosmetics and health products seller THG ( THG ) continued to suffer large share price declines, with investors giving the thumbs down to its latest trading update (18 Jan). At face value, revenue growth of 38% for 2021 looked impressive. However, markets are forward-looking and guidance for...
Why China has bucked a global trend by cutting rates
Thursday 20 Jan 2022In an attempt to revitalise the economy, the People’s Bank of China has reduced the rate at which it provides one-year loans to banks by 10 basis points. Critically this is the first time that China’s central bank has cut its interest rate in nearly two years, and contrasts with the approach taken...
Oil hitting $100 could take the FTSE 100 to new record highs
Thursday 20 Jan 2022With Brent crude oil at seven-and-a-half-year highs above $88 per barrel there is mounting speculation that prices could hit $100 for the first time since 2014. The FTSE 100 is also within striking distance of the 7,903.50 intra-day high attained on 22 May 2018. Oil producers are among the big...
The trusts trading well below their 10-year average valuation
Thursday 20 Jan 2022The increased popularity of investment trusts is reflected in a pronounced narrowing of the average discount to net asset value (the value of a trust’s investments minus any liabilities) across all trusts over the past decade. Data from the Association of Investment Companies and Morningstar shows...
Unilever’s food arm could be sold amid shift in strategy
Thursday 20 Jan 2022U nilever ( ULVR ) has had three bids for GlaxoSmithKline’s ( GSK ) majority-controlled consumer healthcare unit knocked back, the latest offer pitched a bumper £50 billion. Investors are concerned the Dove soap-to-Marmite maker may stretch its balance sheet by overpaying for the Glaxo’s consumer...
Wage inflation could hurt many shares
Thursday 20 Jan 2022Index heavyweight bank JP Morgan kicked off the US quarterly reporting season on 14 January and managed to beat analysts’ estimates for revenue and profit, but the shares fell 5% on the day. Part of the reason was that going into the results, bank shares had already clocked-up big gains amidst a...
Billions wiped off the value of construction stocks
Thursday 20 Jan 2022Shares in Britain’s biggest housebuilding firms lost billions in value in the week to 14 January after the Government announced it would ask them to meet the cost of rectifying safety issues on high-rise buildings in the wake of the Grenfell tragedy. The cost of the work could be up to £4 billion,...
Holidays surge sparks rampant rally for travel sector stocks
Thursday 13 Jan 2022After nearly two years of heavy losses, the travel sector is showing serious signs of bouncing back, despite the ongoing drag of the Omicron variant. Increased vaccination rates, pent-up demand and accumulated savings are helping to spur demand for global tourism nations roll back border...
The impact of Kazakhstan unrest on shares and commodities
Thursday 13 Jan 2022The dust may be settling for now on the recent unrest in Kazakhstan, but the ructions are still being felt in the markets. Prices of oil and uranium, of which Kazakhstan is a major producer, moved higher amid the disruption. The country is a key centre for bitcoin mining and concerns over the...
Housebuilders hit by surprise escalation in cladding costs
Thursday 13 Jan 2022Shareholders in the big six major UK housebuilders received a rude awakening on Monday after the sector lost more than £1.5 billion in value after the government unexpectedly said it could force them to fix cladding issues on high-rise buildings at an estimated cost of up to £4 billion. The hardest...