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Economic powerhouses must act fast to avoid meltdown
Thursday 05 Mar 2020Stock markets around the world started to recover at the start of this week on expectations that the world’s central banks and governments would do whatever they could to prevent an economic meltdown. According to Bloomberg data, markets have already priced in a significant policy response from the...
Breaking up Prudential would not be straightforward
Thursday 27 Feb 2020Global insurer Prudential ( PRU ) is in the crosshairs as activist investor Dan Loeb took a near-5% stake in the company and urged the FTSE 100 constituent to separate its US and Asian operations. Loeb runs Third Point, manager of investment trust Third Point Offshore ( TPOU ) which we recently...
The stocks sinking and soaring as global markets wobble
Thursday 27 Feb 2020On 24 February stock markets finally seemed to hit the panic button on the coronavirus with the FTSE 100 hitting its lowest level since early December and the Dow Jones index in the US enduring its worst day in two years. WHAT TRIGGERED THE MARKET SELL-OFF? The catalyst for the big sell-off in...
What to buy and sell if inflation keeps rising
Thursday 27 Feb 2020Economists and the Bank of England received a rude reminder last week that inflation has a nasty habit of confounding expectations. According to the Office for National Statistics, consumer prices rose at an unexpectedly high 1.8% in January, compared with just a 1.3% increase in December and...
Dunelm’s price looks too high given China risks
Thursday 20 Feb 2020Shares in homewares market leader Dunelm ( DNLM ) have surged 148% higher since the start of 2019 thanks to a series of positive trading updates. Its latest half year results, published on 12 February, show the benefits of a recently-upgraded digital platform which has made it easier for customers...
Major cost-cutting fails to lift HSBC’s shares
Thursday 20 Feb 2020Europe’s largest bank HSBC ( HSBA ) has revealed plans to slash up to 15% of its workforce over the next three years after earnings more than halved in the year to 31 December. Despite a 4% increase in revenue, net profits slid 53% to just $6bn from $12.6bn as the bank took a $7.3bn write-down on...
Government review could put the brakes on rail operators’ earnings
Thursday 20 Feb 2020In the next few weeks the Government is set to publish a review of the UK rail industry which is likely to recommend a major shake-up in the way trains are run and the way we pay for them. The Williams Review, led by former British Airways boss Keith Williams, has been a year in the making and is...
Why the markets could be too complacent about the coronavirus
Thursday 20 Feb 2020The news from Apple that the coronavirus will hit sales of its iPhone should not have come as a surprise but has nonetheless provided a jolt to investors who had seemed quite relaxed about the outbreak. There may now be increased attention on the impact on other firms. The management teams of...
Infrastructure stocks diverge on HS2 hopes and energy price fears
Thursday 13 Feb 2020There was good and bad news for infrastructure investors over the past week, depending on where in the sector they invested. On the plus side, an infrastructure boom could be about to hit the UK after the government gave the green light to build the £106bn High Speed 2 (HS2) rail project, spelling...
Micro Focus rethink could scupper takeover hopes
Thursday 13 Feb 2020Infrastructure software company Micro Focus ( MCRO ) has abandoned plans to sell off parts of the business and return to cash to shareholders, a move that may scupper any hopes of a possible takeover of the whole business. Micro Focus has effectively been in play since its latest profit warning in...