AI’s success story still has a few missing chapters March 11, 2019 This article is not written by robots – we promise – but apparently the day when they could be is already upon us. We have just finished reading about the GPT-2 text generator which, according to this Spectator piece, “not only does text analysis and augmentation, but generates highly sophisticated content”. “It can effectively write articles,” [...]
Alfa Financial Software up 24 per cent and could go higher March 10, 2019 | City Talk By Graeme Evans from interactive investor Worth only a fraction of its £1bn peak, Alfa Financial is seriously undervalued, says this pro investor. Since taking the tech sector by storm in 2017 following its near-£1 billion IPO, days like today haven’t come around too often for Alfa Financial Software (LSE:ALFA). A year ago, its shares [...]
14 shares for your ISA March 9, 2019 | City Talk By Richard Beddard from interactive investor. Richard reveals three rules, codified in his Decision Engine, that reduce the stress of trading. Every five weeks I share my Decision Engine’s ranking table, which orders the shares I follow by the scores I have given them. The scores are a measure of confidence a company will turn [...]
UK assets are very compelling when looked at on a global basis March 8, 2019 | Sponsored As City AM is chatting with Mark Slater, warnings of a ‘No Deal’ Brexit are again flashing across the media headlines. The biggest news story in town is impossible to ignore as Theresa May, Donald Tusk and co make painfully incremental progress in their high-stakes discussions about Britain’s EU exit. But as the politicians flounder, Slater’s [...]
Stockwatch: A recovery play and takeover target March 8, 2019 | City Talk By Edmond Jackson from interactive investor Persistent director buying implies long-term value at this well-known firm, argues our shares analyst. Have shares in £260 million price comparison website Gocompare.com (LSE:GOCO) finally bottomed out? Four non-executive directors appear to think so, buying nearly £44,000 worth of stock at around 65p once the company was out of [...]
How climate change claimed its first corporate casualty and the lesson for income investors March 8, 2019 | City Talk The last few decades have seen the perception gain ground in markets that a combination of cash generation and state backing makes utility companies pretty much shockproof as income-yielding investments. The fate of Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E), which last week filed for bankruptcy protection in the US, should serve as a stark reminder no [...]
Barclays, HSBC, JP Morgan back Wealthiher initiative to help women with wealth March 8, 2019 Some of the City’s biggest firms and major international banks have thrown their weight behind an initiative to help women grow and protect their wealth. Read more: Women-led startups win under 10 per cent of VC funding Wealthiher will showcase the rise in women’s wealth, and highlight the different needs that wealthy women have. The [...]
Fund outflows continue for fourth month as investors remain cautious March 7, 2019 Net fund outflows continued in January, becoming fourth consecutive month of losses as investors remained cautious. Outflows hit £859m in January as investor appetite was dampened by continued Brexit uncertainty and trade tensions. Read more: Net retail sales plummet as investor confidence knocked by uncertainty Europe and UK equity funds saw net retail outflows of £450m and [...]
Gresham House assets under management soar by 250 per cent March 7, 2019 Specialist asset management firm Gresham House trebled its assets under management (AUM) in 2018 following a string of acquisitions. Shares were up more than three per cent on the news that AUM had soared 250 per cent in the year to the end of December last year, rising from £649m to £2.3bn. Read more: Gresham [...]
What you should make of Woodford’s unquoted asset sale March 7, 2019 | City Talk By Jemma Jackson from interactive investor. Here’s our take on Woodford Equity Income Fund’s sale of unquoted stock to Woodford Patient Capital. On Friday, we heard that the Woodford Equity Income (WEIF) has sold some of the portfolio’s individual unquoted stocks to Woodford Patient Capital Trust (WPCT) in exchange for shares in WPCT. Dzmitry Lipski, [...]