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Big News
Mothercare share price shattered by administration news
Thursday 07 Nov 2019Shares in baby goods retailer Mothercare ( MTC ) crashed to a 20-month low of 8.38p on 4 November after its UK operations were put into administration. Unlike most administration situations, Mothercare’s shares continue to trade as it still has a profitable overseas operation and the administration...
UK gambling shares in a spin on tougher regulation fears
Thursday 07 Nov 2019A cross-party group of politicians calling themselves the All-Party Parliamentary Group (AAPG), focused on gambling-related harm, has released a report which set alarm bells ringing in the gambling sector. The group is agitating for further reform, targeting stricter online restrictions. Shares in...
Skin in the game doesn’t mean better returns
Thursday 07 Nov 2019Picking a fund or an investment trust where the manager also has their own money invested is sometimes seen as a sure-fire way to guarantee better returns. But an increasing number of investment commentators believe this is a misconception, and research from analysts at Investec shows this could...
Investors brace for a Brexit election
Thursday 31 Oct 2019Something has finally happened with Brexit. MPs have finally agreed to have a general election on 12 December in attempt to find a way forward. The market appears to be taking the news in its stride for now, however there is little question that uncertainty has been ratcheted up. The timing of the...
LVMH bid for Tiffany shines a light on luxury sector allure
Thursday 31 Oct 2019Global luxury leader LVMH has stunned sector watchers by launching a $14.9bn all-cash takeover bid for US jewellery retailer Tiffany & Co, famed for its engagement rings and ties to Hollywood glamour. Despite being pitched at a 22% premium to Friday’s closing price, analysts expect Tiffany to...
Metals lose shine with demand below forecast
Thursday 31 Oct 2019What a difference a year makes. This time in 2018, the UK was still set to leave the EU in 2019, the US and China were on speaking terms, and industry figures from the world of metals were all optimistic as they gathered in London for the big annual bash at London Metal Exchange’s Metals Week. But...
Banks face new headwinds after PPI storm passes
Thursday 31 Oct 2019As Brexit uncertainty is prolonged, the banks seem to be stumbling out of one storm into another. Fears of a spike in charges for mis-sold payment protection insurance (PPI) were well-founded as three of the big high-street lenders increased their provisions at the third quarter point due to the...
The long wait for clarity on Brexit goes on
Thursday 24 Oct 2019The markets may be getting increasingly fatigued with days which keep getting trailed as pivotal for Brexit but then fail to deliver. That is not to say nothing significant occurred on 22 October, after a promised ‘Super Saturday’ a few days earlier turned into a damp squib. For one thing the...
Bidding war for Just Eat
Thursday 24 Oct 2019A rival approach for takeaways firm Just Eat ( JE. ) may have torpedoed an unpopular merger with Dutch rival Takeaway.com and there could now be a bidding war for the business. Prosus, the recently Dutch-listed arm of South Africa’s internet group Naspers has offered to buy Just Eat for 710p in an...
Red flag alert on UK corporate debt
Thursday 24 Oct 2019Last week saw the release of the latest ‘Red Flag Alert’ report from insolvency firm Begbies Traynor ( BEG ) covering the third quarter of 2019. The total number of UK businesses in ‘significant financial distress’ is now 489,000, an increase of 22,000 or 2.5% over the previous year. More...