magazine archive


magazine archive

Talking Point

How secure is the UK’s power and what does this mean for shares in UK-listed energy companies?

Thursday 15 Mar 2018

When the ‘Beast from the East’ was at its height, sweeping through the British Isles and bringing freezing temperatures and heavy snow showers, electricity and gas transmission utility National Grid ( NG. ) warned the UK was running out of gas. There was a genuine risk of industrial users seeing...

What has gone wrong at Merlin Entertainments?

Thursday 22 Feb 2018

It has been a volatile ride for investors in Merlin Entertainments ( MERL ) of late as terrorism concerns, business criticisms and weather issues dampened sentiment towards the company’s shares. The damage to the share price has been extensive and the company was booted out of the FTSE 100 in...

Stock markets suffer as central banks take economies off life support

Thursday 15 Feb 2018

When the credit crunch reached its zenith in 2008 the response of governments and central banks was to slash borrowing costs and introduce waves of financial stimulus to try and keep the global economy on track. For the most part this approach worked but the process of unwinding an era of ultra-...

Bitcoin blues: the end of cryptocurrency fever?

Thursday 01 Feb 2018

After rallying through most of 2017, popular cryptocurrencies have firmly fallen out of bed. For example, bitcoin soared to record highs of $20,089 just before Christmas and has since fallen by 44.5% to $11,154. The decline has been widespread across the cryptocurrency ecosystem with every one of...

The dangers associated with special dividends

Thursday 11 Jan 2018

Special dividends can put a smile on the faces of investors. They are typically generous cash gifts which are sometimes greater in value than normal dividends paid by a company. We calculate that 120 companies currently in the FTSE 350 index have paid one or more special dividends over the past 25...

Why you will soon be able to access all your financial information in one place

Thursday 21 Dec 2017

From January 2018, major UK banks will be required to provide your bank account balances and transaction histories to an investment platform, personal financial planning app or other service provider that you authorise to receive this information. This will enable you to view your bank account...

Why has Just Eat earned a place in the FTSE 100?

Thursday 07 Dec 2017

Online delivery platform Just Eat ( JE. ) has been a superstar since joining the stock market in 2014. The value of its business has grown so much that it will join the FTSE 100 index on 18 December, putting the stock alongside some of the world’s biggest and best known companies. This feat is...

Ocado’s major breakthrough... but at what price?

Thursday 30 Nov 2017

Online grocer Ocado ( OCDO ) has finally struck a major deal to power an overseas supermarket with its technology. This is a major breakthrough for the business as the desire to strike a major international partnership has been touted by the company for a very long time. While the shares surged by...

Five big questions raised by ZPG’s ‘opportunistic’ takeover approach for GoCompare

Thursday 23 Nov 2017

Price comparison site GoCompare ( GOCO ) has rejected two takeover proposals from Zoopla-owner ZPG ( ZPG ) . The suitor is now said to be considering its options ahead of a 12 December ‘put up or shut up’ deadline. Both proposals (one in May and another in November) valued the business at £460m or...

What to look out for in the Budget

Thursday 16 Nov 2017

Philip Hammond will face some difficult choices when he delivers his first post-election Budget speech on 22 November. The Chancellor will be keen to offer giveaways where possible, particularly to younger voters who gave the Conservatives a bloody nose at the general election. However, the economy...

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