There is a sequence in things. Take Interserve (LON:IRV) which announced a general cock-up on Thursday last. The shares tanked to 55p at which point I sold short. The following day IRV announced a contract win with DWP. The shares closed at 75p on the Friday. Today IRV announce a contract win at the BBC.…
I blundered yesterday by buying Acacia (LON:ACA) at 247p after it announced that the Government of Tanzania had come to a settlement with it. Some settlement. Basically GoT had decided to nick ACA’s future earnings by one means or another. So they had started off by a ridiculous claim for back taxes and in effect…
There is a sequence in things. Take Interserve (LON:IRV) which announced a general cock-up on Thursday last. The shares tanked to 55p at which point I sold short. The following day IRV announced a contract win with DWP. The shares closed at 75p on the Friday. Today IRV announce a contract win at the BBC.…
I blundered yesterday by buying Acacia (LON:ACA) at 247p after it announced that the Government of Tanzania had come to a settlement with it. Some settlement. Basically GoT had decided to nick ACA’s future earnings by one means or another. So they had started off by a ridiculous claim for back taxes and in effect…
With inflation reaching 3% in September, alarm bells may now be ringing in the ears of many income investors. It is now more difficult than it has been for a number of years to obtain a real income return. Looking ahead, the task could become more difficult as there may only be limited scope for…
The tobacco industry faces tighter regulation and increasingly health-conscious consumers. However, it continues to offer a highly sustainable source of income for the long term. The potential for a rising absolute number of smokers across the world, pricing power and defensive characteristics mean that it is likely to remain a haven for income investors in…
One of the appeals – and drawbacks – to technical analysis for some are the many, many ways of analysing historical data on a chart. Before home computers and sophisticated investing software, many charts were either in paper format or on dedicated terminals, primarily used by City institutions. Now of course, you are only ever…
In my opinion, investors/traders don’t spend enough time on putting together a strategy that helps them decide when to get out of a profitable position. All of the effort gets channeled into finding a perfect system for where to get in – which of course doesn’t exist! But where you finally get out is what…
As Hallowe’en approaches, Americans are tricking and treating. But what is the US stock market doing? The smiling economists of 1700 Pennsylvania Avenue At its AGM in Washington last week the IMF reported that the global economy was humming along nicely with every region of the global economy set to record GDP rises for the…
So people are going to live longer. And old age will not necessarily mean infirmity. The demographics are already changing rapidly: by 2045 over 65s will make up one quarter of the population in the UK – that will be nearly 19 million citizens. This trend is even more pronounced in Japan and Germany. Companies…
Gold may not have a practical value as an alternative currency. It’s not possible to enter a shop and pay for any product or service in gold. However, the precious metal may have value as an alternative to cash or other assets due to its scope to help protect against rising inflation. Inflation potential In…
The election result has plunged the UK into a period of significant political uncertainty. There have been calls for Theresa May to resign, and there is the potential for a relatively weak minority government formed by the Conservatives and DUP. This could be just the beginning of an intense period for UK politics. In just…
The increase in average life expectancy is great news for all of us, but the main challenge is that it makes funding our retirement considerably more expensive. Unfortunately the problem is compounded by the low annuity rates that are the traditional way of generating a pension, with a fund of £100,000 only buying a 65-year-old…
Real-Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) can provide a valuable source of income and a useful hedge against inflation as the underlying property values rise over time, but the share prices of many of these funds have been bid up to dangerous levels. One potential pocket of value is the new M7 Multi-Let REIT that is planning…
As a hard or crash Brexit edges closer, it now seems there is no binary option between the EU Customs Union and WTO rules. The Americans are not making things any easier for the UK. Why would they? The truth behind the Bombardier dispute revealed In 2007 the Canadian aerospace company Bombardier (TSE:BBD.A) announced plans…
Last weekend, in his 4,000 word essay on Brexit in the Daily Telegraph, Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson resurrected the claim, much touted during the Brexit referendum, that the UK pays Brussels £350 million every week. This prompted howls of protest from the mainstream media and even from the head of the Office of National Statistics.…
