The activist investor revolution has begun November 30, 2018 A year ago, anyone attempting to name a FTSE 100 stock that was likely to chart a double-digit share price rise would have been unlikely to name Whitbread. With a big exposure to the British consumer, the owner of Costa Coffee and Premier Inns seemed to have too many chips stacked on the wrong part [...]
What happens when the ‘FAANG’ stocks lose their bite? November 29, 2018 | City Talk There can be little doubt about the stars of world markets in recent years. The US has led the way, with tech companies to the fore and, at the very front of the march, the so-called ‘FAANG’ stocks of Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix and Google. Still, remembering the old stock market adage ‘Tall trees do [...]
Expensive stocks & high debt: A concern for investors November 28, 2018 At no point in the lifetime of any investor operating today has the US not been the largest stock market on the planet and yet it recently notched up a new kind of record. According to numbers crunched by analyst Scott Irving of Jefferies International, at the end of September, the US accounted for 62.4 [...]
DEBATE: Should Margaret Thatcher be considered as the scientist to be featured on the new £50 note? November 28, 2018 Should Margaret Thatcher be considered as the scientist to be featured on the new £50 note? Emma Revell, communications officer at the Centre for Policy Studies, says YES. People will argue that science isn’t what Margaret Thatcher was most known for, and they’d be right. But the same could be said of Roger Bannister, a [...]
Inflows give profit boost to Brewin Dolphin November 28, 2018 Asset manager Brewin Dolphin today reported a profit jump as it was boosted by strong inflows. The company said adjusted profit before tax for the year to 30 September was £77.5m, a 10.7 per cent increase on the previous year. Its total funds stood at £42.8bn, an increase of 6.7 per cent. Brewin Dolphin increased [...]
Finally, the inheritance tax system is getting cleaned up – here’s what you need to know November 28, 2018 Inheritance tax (IHT) is not a modern phenomenon – in fact, the first “death tax” dates back to the late 1700s. Since then, IHT has been tweaked and amended, adding layer upon layer of rules. Now, in 2018, we’re caught in a system that is ridiculously confusing, riddled with legacy issues, and in desperate need [...]
Watchdog warns Experian-Clearscore merger would stifle competition November 28, 2018 Experian’s merger with credit score rival Clearscore could harm competition in the credit checking sector, a watchdog warned today. The proposed tie-up would “stifle product development”, hurting people trying to make sense of their finances, according to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). “Our investigation has shown that this is a fast-paced and evolving market, [...]
Inescapable investment truths for the decade ahead November 27, 2018 | City Talk It seems clear to us that the world investors have got used to over the last few years is very different to the one we need to get accustomed to in the years to come. We have identified a number of economic forces and disruptive forces we think will shape the investment landscape ahead of [...]
Brexit: UK economic outlook hinges on May selling deal November 22, 2018 | City Talk The deal is largely as we expected – but this is only the end of the beginning. UK’s negotiating power has been overestimated by many; the EU has dictated the terms of Brexit from the beginning. We believe that the risk of a no-deal Brexit will focus minds and lead to cross-party support for May’s [...]
Gender diversity is starting to drive asset managers’ voting decisions November 22, 2018 More than half of asset managers actively engage with UK companies over gender diversity as boardroom equality begins to drive voting decisions Four in 10 asset managers said they had made a voting decision based on the gender diversity of the company, the Investment Association said, as it revealed that 80 per cent of survey [...]