magazine archive


magazine archive

Talking Point

Why payment companies are so attractive

Thursday 03 Aug 2017

Payment processing companies are in demand. FTSE 250 Paysafe ( PAYS ) receiving a £3bn bid (21 Jul) weeks after US credit card company Vantiv struck a £9bn deal to buy Worldpay ( WPG ) (4 Jul). News of the Worldpay transaction came just 24 hours after Danish payments processor Nets confirmed that...

Are buybacks making a comeback?

Thursday 27 Jul 2017

Both plastic packaging specialist RPC ( RPC ) and shopping centre and office investor British Land ( BLND ) are adding their names to the list of companies pursuing share buyback programmes – reigniting the debate over the relative merits of this form of returning cash to shareholders. On 18 July...

End to global squeeze on capital spending?

Thursday 13 Jul 2017

Investors have been waiting for the turn in global capital expenditure for years. There are now signs of sustained improvement for the first time in a decade. Analysis shows this is starting to filter through to better trading, increased merger and acquisition action and positive share price...

Can you profit from a fund with a social conscience?

Thursday 29 Jun 2017

A nyone looking to help individuals and communities to have a better life may initially think of donating to charity or using a crowdfunding platform like GoFundMe. You hand over your money and get back the good feeling that you’ve helped a noble cause. A new investment trust is hoping to offer a...

Why new data regulation will affect all stocks

Thursday 22 Jun 2017

Many investors may feel they are drowning in an already vast sea of acronyms but GDPR is one you really need to know about. The General Data Protection Regulation is set to be enforced from May 2018, and these new rules have huge ramifications for every company listed on the stock market, and...

What the Qatar crisis could mean for oil

Thursday 15 Jun 2017

Oil prices have remained constrained this year thanks to an ongoing surplus of supply driven by output from US shale producers. That’s despite the efforts of oil producers’ cartel OPEC in concert with other major oil producing nations in trying to put a cap on output. There is a now a twist to the...

Who keeps tabs on the auditors?

Thursday 08 Jun 2017

There are risks associated with investing but at the very least you should expect to be able to trust a company’s audited accounts. Most people remember what happened to Enron. In 2001, the company was the seventh largest in the US and had profits approaching $1bn. Then due to some ‘creative’...

UK shares may not be as cheap as you might think

Thursday 25 May 2017

Have investors got it wrong on the outlook for UK domestic-focused shares over the coming months? One expert believes so, as we now explain. The attention on the looming UK general election on 8 June has taken some of the spotlight off the Brexit process which officially started in March. Yet...

What can retail investors learn from fund managers?

Thursday 18 May 2017

Can retail investors get a head start by replicating stock picking and portfolio management techniques used by fund managers? The answer is definitely ‘yes’, although there are some limitations. With this is mind, we attended a presentation on 10 May by asset manager Standard Life ( SL. ) to see if...

Time to worry about BP and Shell’s dividends?

Thursday 11 May 2017

Another bout of volatility in the oil price is helping to overshadow strong first quarter results for UK oil majors BP ( BP. ) and Royal Dutch Shell ( RDSB ) . Both of these stocks are investor favourites thanks to their generous dividends. Investors taking a view on both these stocks need to...

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