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Editor's View
FTSE 100 on verge of full recovery from Covid crash
Thursday 18 Nov 2021The FTSE 100 is a whisker away from finally clawing back all the lost territory caused by the global market crash in February 2020. At the time of writing (16 Nov), the UK blue chip index traded at 7,343. It needs to rise by less than 1% to hit 7,403 which is where the FTSE stood on 21 February...
Changing consumer spending patterns matter for retailers
Thursday 11 Nov 2021Storms clouds are gathering for consumer spending. Thirty-six stocks in the FTSE All-Share index from the retail, travel and leisure sectors have underperformed the FTSE All-Share’s 2% gain over the past three months, according to SharePad data. In comparison, only 18 stocks from these sectors beat...
Why it’s so tricky to run a bank
Thursday 04 Nov 2021Is there a harder job in the corporate world than managing one of the UK’s big four banks? Barclays’ ( BARC ) current head of global markets CS Venkatakrishnan, or Venkat, for short is about to find out – subject to regulatory approval. Those last four words sum up the situation the sector has...
The new trusts planning to shake up the infrastructure space
Thursday 28 Oct 2021Infrastructure has been a popular area to invest in recent years but it is known for its reliable long-term income streams rather than being particularly dynamic or growth focused. However, two new vehicles could shake up infrastructure’s rather staid reputation assuming they join the market as...
What conclusions can we draw from the THG disaster
Thursday 21 Oct 2021It’s hard to think of a more disastrous investor event than THG’s ( THG ) capital markets day (12 Oct). This was supposed to be an opportunity to reignite excitement around the company’s Ingenuity e-commerce platform but it backfired spectacularly, prompting a 35% intra-day plunge in the shares. On...
UK sell-off: looking for stocks that have been unfairly sold down
Thursday 14 Oct 2021Look beyond the headline indices and you’ll see some brutal damage to investment portfolios over the past month or so. While the FTSE All-Share index, which is a good representation of the UK stock market, is down 2.4% since its year-to-date peak on 6 September, Shares has found that 502 London-...
Inflation isn’t going away soon: how to protect your portfolio
Thursday 07 Oct 2021The inflation story is not going away. In recent sessions we’ve seen an increasing number of companies talk about pressure on profit margins from rising costs and they are going to do everything they can to pass that on to the end customer. Investors must therefore think hard about their portfolio...
The role of renewables trusts in the energy crisis
Thursday 30 Sep 2021One reason why Europe is facing an energy crisis is that renewables power generation fell short of expectations after a summer which was neither sufficiently windy nor sunny. While this reveals one of the limitations of solar and wind power and has provided a reminder of the continuing role of...
Gas, shipping, coal: hot themes drive investors wild
Thursday 23 Sep 2021Investors have been spoiled for themes that could act as share price catalysts of late. Sometimes you need to act quickly as often the big share price movements have already been made before the theme hits the mainstream news. That shouldn’t stop you looking, as many trends can remain intact for...
2021: boom year for investments
Thursday 16 Sep 2021Equity funds have taken in more money in 2021 ($1 trillion) than in the previous 20 years combined ($0.8 trillion), according to Bank of America. For many individuals who first invested after the global financial crisis of 2008/2009, stock markets may have seemed an easy place to make money. Indeed...