magazine archive
magazine archive
Big News
Uber skids on spiraling losses and slowing growth
Thursday 15 Aug 2019American ride-sharing firm Uber Technologies shocked the market last week by reporting a thumping second-quarter operating loss of $5bn on revenue of just $3.17bn. Losses in the first quarter were ‘only’ $739m by comparison. Total costs and expenses ballooned from $3.5bn in the first quarter to...
Why stock markets have taken a battering this week
Thursday 08 Aug 2019Markets around the world have had a torrid time in the past week, with major sell-offs in the UK, US, European and Asian markets. Any daily movement one way or the other over 1.5% is generally considered significant in stock markets, and so far in August the FTSE 100 has fallen from close to 7,700...
Sirius, Shell, the banks and other big news
Thursday 08 Aug 2019Negative news from Sirius Minerals ( SXX ) on 6 August was a source of particular disappointment for Shares as we had highlighted the stock as being undervalued in a recent article. By pulling a $500m bond issue due to ‘current market conditions’ Sirius has raised serious questions about the...
New car sales fall for fifth month in a row
Thursday 08 Aug 2019New car registrations declined for the fifth month in a row in July with a fall of 4.1% year-on-year according to the latest sales figures (5 Aug) from The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). Consumers remain wary regarding the economic fallout from a no-deal Brexit and are pulling...
Why sterling's meltdown could get worse and what that would mean
Thursday 08 Aug 2019The latest sterling meltdown has sparked bleak projections of a plunge in the pound to 34-year lows if the UK leaves the European Union with no deal in place. The Bloomberg poll of analysts at 13 banks found that the chances of a divorce without an agreement now stands at 30%, three-times the level...
Bond yields hit new lows on global concerns
Thursday 08 Aug 2019Bond yields are plummeting as investors pour money into this perceived lower risk asset. While low interest rates aren’t normally seen as a bad thing, it seems as though by continuing to push bond yields down markets are trying to tell the world’s central banks that they are deeply worried. Their...
Just Eat shareholders should hold out for a better offer
Thursday 01 Aug 2019News of a proposed merger between fast food delivery group Just Eat ( JE. ) and Dutch based competitor Takeaway.com saw the former’s shares trade at a 9% premium to the 731p offer price. This implies the market is confident of a counter bid from someone else. The merger proposal shouldn’t come as a...
No joy for investors stuck in suspended Woodford fund
Thursday 01 Aug 2019Investors in LF Woodford Equity Income Fund (BLRZQ62) will have to wait until at least December before they can access their money. Buying and selling in the fund has been suspended since 3 June and will stay that way until later this year while fund manager Neil Woodford restructures the portfolio...
Vodafone shares see largest ever one-day jump
Thursday 01 Aug 2019Investors in mobile network operator Vodafone ( VOD ) received some rare good news last week, sending the shares up over 10% on Friday (26 Jul) and another 6% on Monday (29 Jul) to 154p, their best level in more than six months. Chief executive Nick Read, who has been in the job less than a year,...
Centrica, Reckitt Benckiser, BP and the week’s other big news
Thursday 01 Aug 2019It was a week to forget for Centrica ( CNA ) as shares in the energy company hit a 21-year low following a series of bad news. Chief executive Iain Conn agreed to step down following a £446m pre-tax loss in the six months to 30 June, and the company slashed its interim dividend by more than half...