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 [...]
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 [...]
Three reasons why investors should consider the UK stock market March 6, 2019 | City Talk By Tom Bailey from interactive investor. UK shares are now at their 'cheapest' since the First World War, says JPMorgan fund manager. It's no secret that the UK market is out of favour right now, and has been since the EU referendum in mid 2016. Fearing the still-to-be-decided outcome of Brexit and the potential for [...]
UK ports propose 10-point plan to boost investment and trade March 3, 2019 A new 10-point plan to be revealed today will set out proposals aimed at boosting investment in the UK’s ports. The importance of the UK’s ports for business supply chains has been thrown into the spotlight by the potential for disruption in the event of a no-deal Brexit. Read more: Government to pay Eurotunnel £33m over [...]
Sainsbury’s shares crash as Asda merger torpedoed February 27, 2019 | City Talk A strongly worded report from the regulator appears to have torpedoed this supermarket mega merger. What a difference a day makes. Until this morning, Sainsbury's (LSE:SBRY) was the best-performing supermarket stock over the past 12 months by some margin. Now, after the regulator's report on its proposed merger with Asda, it's the worst! After months [...]
Barclays rallies as shareholders promised more February 25, 2019 | City Talk In a bear trend since 2007, Barclays has won over the market with this update, at least temporarily. These numbers from Barclays (LSE:BARC) have been well received on the basis of "jam tomorrow", as the high street bank continues to suffer from litigation and conduct fines, whilst growing strongly excluding these charges. The increase to [...]
Are Centrica shares a buy at 20-year low? February 24, 2019 | City Talk At prices not seen since 1999, a 10 per cent dividend yield appears tempting, but it's not that straightforward. Two years ago, Centrica (LSE:CNA) shares were worth over 230p. Today they dived 12 per cent to just 120p. Last time they were that low you could have bought a loaf of bread for 51p* and Shanks & [...]
Why Lloyds Banking Group pleased its City fan club February 22, 2019 | City Talk Our head of markets explains why the City reacted positively to these results despite a profits miss. Despite missing expectations at a pre-tax profit level, Lloyds Banking Group (LSE:LLOY) is not only in rude health but also has a clear vision on where next to take the business. The bank describes its own model as [...]
China: How George Osborne’s ‘golden era’ lost its shine February 17, 2019 When former chancellor George Osborne visited China in 2015, he pronounced it the start of a “golden era” of Sino-British relations. Britain threw itself into tens-of-billions of pounds worth of trade deals, Osborne turned a blind eye to a litany of Chinese human rights abuses and President Xi Jinping even joined David Cameron for a pint [...]
Japan lifts 23-year ban on British beef after fears of mad cow disease finally put to rest January 9, 2019 Japan has lifted a ban on importing British beef – 23 years on from its introduction after an outbreak of the devastating bovine illness dubbed mad cow disease. The Asian nation banned all imports of UK beef in 1996 after an outbreak of the disease, medically called bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE). Thought to cause the fatal [...]