Institutions don’t share retail investors’ optimism on returns October 28, 2020 | City Talk Schroders’ studies suggest retail – or individual – investors are more optimistic about future returns than investors at large institutions. Individuals have indicated that they expect average annual returns of nearly 11% over the next five years while institutional investors anticipate a more moderate 6%. Schroders’ Institutional Investor Study is an analysis of views from [...]
FTSE 100 falls and US stocks mixed as coronavirus cases rise October 27, 2020 The FTSE 100 fell in afternoon trading after a choppy morning session, while US stocks were mixed amid rising coronavirus cases and some worrying economic data. London’s main stock index was last down 0.8 per cent at 5,745 points, having also fallen yesterday. Read more:HSBC to overhaul business model and accelerate plan to slash costs [...]
FTSE 100 jumps amid strong earnings but US stocks mixed October 23, 2020 The FTSE 100 jumped on the final day of a tough week for markets, as investors found some optimism in company earnings, but US stocks were more mixed. The UK’s main stock index was boosted by upbeat results from lender Barclays (BARC). New stimulus measures from chancellor Rishi Sunak yesterday also helped stocks. Read more: [...]
Which stock markets look cheap as we enter the final quarter of 2020? October 23, 2020 | City Talk While the virus itself hasn’t gone away, as far as financial markets are concerned, the pit of misery was back in March. At that point, a typical global market stock market portfolio had haemorrhaged around a third of its value in just six weeks. Stocks have soared As is often the case, peak despair turns [...]
FTSE 100 slashes executive pensions following shareholder pressure October 17, 2020 Almost all of the companies in the FTSE 100 have pledged to slash executive pension packages in line with their wider workforce, following mounting criticism from shareholders. Research published today by the Investment Association (IA) showed that 98 per cent of FTSE 100 companies analysed have now either aligned the pension payouts of directors with [...]
The maths of why growth companies are beating value October 14, 2020 | City Talk One of the side effects of low interest rates is that, because of the way that companies are valued, investors place a higher value on companies (and investment projects) which have a low probability, high payoff, a long time in the future. This helps explain why investors have been prepared to pay up for loss-making [...]
Has demand for oil already peaked? October 13, 2020 | City Talk Alternative energy sources to fossil fuels have been around for many years. Countries around the world are now harnessing the power of the wind, sun and tides to cut their dependence on fossil fuels such as oil. Energy transition However, this transition to renewable energy is now set to accelerate rapidly, driven by a number [...]
FTSE 100 firms ‘should have one BAME board member by 2021’ October 1, 2020 FTSE 100 firms should have at least one black, Asian, or minority ethnic (BAME) member on their boards by 2021, the Confederation of British Industry has said. The CBI is set to launch its Change the Race Ratio campaign later this month with support from companies including Aviva, Brunswick, Deloitte and Microsoft, in a bid [...]
FTSE 100 climbs on hopes of US stimulus breakthrough October 1, 2020 The FTSE 100 opened higher earlier today as hopes that the US would approve a fresh round of stimulus measures boosted investor confidence around the world. London’s premier index initially rose 0.5 per cent, to 5,896.38 points, currently trading at 5,872.07 as US markets open. The FTSE 250 of mid cap firms rose 0.1 per [...]
FTSE 100 jumps after global sell-off as pound slides September 7, 2020 The FTSE 100 and European stocks rose sharply as investors recovered their poise after a sharp sell-off in global stocks last week, with a falling pound boosting London’s blue-chip index. The FTSE 100 extended its morning rebound and was trading 2.46 per cent higher in afternoon trading. London’s FTSE 250 index of smaller firms also [...]