magazine archive
magazine archive
Editor's View
The signals that suggest it’s time to buy Unilever
Thursday 30 Jul 2020In a world where everyone seems to be obsessed with growth, it’s quite interesting when Unilever ( ULVR ) sees its share price jump 8.4% on reporting no growth at all (23 July). The consumer goods giant managed to avoid the second quarter decline predicted by analysts and deliver a resilient...
Predicting investment returns for the next decade
Thursday 23 Jul 2020It is important to set the right expectations with investing and one way is to look at historical averages for different asset classes. That will give you a sense of what is achievable, albeit there will be years when returns are considerably above or below these levels. Another way of setting your...
Biden becoming US president could be bad for stocks
Thursday 16 Jul 2020Investors’ ferocious appetite for tech stocks is helping to drive up the US stock market. The second quarter earnings season is now underway and could easily knock this rally off course if the tech companies disappoint with their earnings growth, profit margins or outlook, due to heightened...
The signs that investors wanted new CEOs at Lloyds and Aviva
Thursday 09 Jul 2020A 3% jump in Lloyds’ ( LLOY ) share price upon news that chief executive António Horta-Osório is leaving next year would suggest investors are happy to see him go. While the broader stock market was up on the same day (6 July), the bank’s price movement was nearly twice the rise in the FTSE All-...
More companies set to reinstate earnings guidance
Thursday 02 Jul 2020Many companies have withdrawn earnings guidance in recent months, leaving investors guessing as to how much money these businesses might be expected to earn. The way share prices have performed in general since March’s market low implies expectations are quite optimistic. We’re now getting the...
AO is the surprise retail winner of 2020
Thursday 25 Jun 2020We’ve all been buying fridges, wine and sparkly tops this year, judging by how the market has rewarded certain retail stocks. There has been a lot of chatter about how alcohol sales have increased during lockdown, so it’s no surprise to see online specialist Naked Wines ( WINE:AIM ) become the...
Be prepared for more market jolts as the recovery rally comes under pressure
Thursday 18 Jun 2020Markets have just experienced more than a week of declines (8-15 June) as investors worried about a second wave of coronavirus infections and deaths. While Donald Trump’s mooted $1trn infrastructure plan put a spark back into stocks on 16 June, the recent sell-off acted as a much-needed reality...
Volatility in the oil market looks set to continue
Thursday 11 Jun 2020This year has proved to be one of the most volatile times for the oil market in living memory. In January the oil price hit $70 per barrel as tensions simmered between the US and Iran. Having then slumped on the hit to demand delivered by global lockdown conditions, US oil prices in late April...
Did you invest in any of these winners during the crisis?
Thursday 04 Jun 2020Fund manager Peter Lynch once observed he wouldn’t invest in anything that he wasn’t able to illustrate with a crayon and a sheet of paper. What he really meant is that you shouldn’t put money into a business you don’t understand. We can all take this into our own investing by allocating cash to...
Discounted shares aren’t always a bargain
Thursday 28 May 2020The decision by FTSE 100 companies Compass ( CPG ) and Whitbread ( WTB ) to let the general public take part in their gigantic fundraisings is significant for retail investors. Hundreds of companies this year have issued new shares at a discount to the market price in order to boost their balance...