Cutting the ‘Hemline Index’ down to size March 25, 2019 | City Talk Created by economist George Taylor just three years ahead of the 1929 Wall Street Crash, his theory of the on the so-called ‘Hemline Index’ holds that when share prices go up, so do hemlines. By the same token, during tougher economic periods, skirts and dresses get longer. The original thinking seems to have run that, [...]
Just Group completes £375m fundraising to meet new regulations March 25, 2019 Retirement services firm Just Group shares fell again this morning as it announced it had completed a £375m fundraise to comply with new capital requirement rules. The firm, which unveiled heavy 2018 pre-tax losses earlier this month, said it had issued £300m worth of bonds and raised an extra £75m via an equity placing. Read [...]
Growth investor VGC Partners closes £50m fund March 25, 2019 Growth capital investor VGC Partners has closed its second fund at £50m following the success of its debut fund which was anchored by Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin. The new fund will target UK-based consumer, media and technology companies, and make investments of between £2m to £5m for minority stakes in high growth firms. Read more: [...]
Stocks for a durable ISA portfolio in the Brexit years March 24, 2019 | City Talk By Edmond Jackson from interactive investor. With the Brexit outcome still uncertain, companies analyst Edmond Jackson picks five larger cap stocks and three AIM shares for a resilient ISA. Be aware how sentiment towards equities hinges currently on whether Brexit is "resolved" by way of "Soft" business-friendly outcome, or the UK leaves the EU without [...]
Dogs of the Footsie 2019: 10 shares yielding 6 per cent plus March 23, 2019 | City Talk By David Budworth from interactive investor. Here are the 10 high yielders that make it into this year's Dogs of the Footsie investment strategy. It's time to reset our Dogs of the Footsie portfolio, selecting the 10 highest-yielding shares of the FTSE 100 index. Around half of 2018's portfolio is carried over on to this [...]
Wetherspoon shares swing wildly as profit plunges March 22, 2019 | City Talk Five times the shares failed to make a break above 1,340p stick. Is it sixth time lucky for Wetherspoon? Alongside the usual diatribe against the Brexit process and the tax disparity with supermarkets, pub chain JD Wetherspoon (LSE:JDW) has fallen foul of higher costs, especially with regards to labour. This has impacted the bottom line [...]
Countdown to Brexit: three market indicators to watch March 22, 2019 | City Talk The UK is due to leave the European Union (EU) on 29 March 2019. With politicians still struggling to agree the terms of withdrawal, investors in assets linked to the UK economy could be in for an uncertain time. UK investments have already underperformed their global peers since Britain voted to leave the EU, in [...]
Monetary policy is no job for the politicians March 22, 2019 At a time of such sweeping uncertainty, anything predictable is reassuring. This week, that reassurance came from the Bank of England’s monetary policy committee, which yesterday voted unanimously to keep interest rates on hold. This had been widely expected, but that doesn’t mean that central bank decisions should be taken for granted. Across the Atlantic, the [...]
Royal London profits fall amid Brexit volatility and end of auto enrolment roll out March 21, 2019 Royal London, the UK’s largest mutual insurer, announced today its pre-tax profits had fallen in 2018 after Brexit uncertainty hit the confidence of its customers. The firm said its results compared unfavourably with last years in part because the first stage of the auto enrolment pensions roll out had come to an end, meaning a [...]
Investor confidence soars to 10-month high despite Brexit uncertainty March 21, 2019 Investor confidence hit a ten-month high in March despite ongoing uncertainty related to Brexit. The Hargreaves Lansdown Investor Confidence Index reached 80 points this month, recovering from a record low of 52 points in December, indicating that the UK’s withdrawal from the European Union is no longer tainting investor sentiment to the same extent. Read [...]