The nonsense pedalled by much of the left-wing press (not to mention some in the Conservative Party who ought to know better) regarding poverty has long been a bugbear of mine. Accustomed to unprecedented levels of wealth and prosperity, our concept of poverty has become so warped of late that we regard people unable to…
As can be seen from the weekly chart of the Dollar Index below, the big push for the greenback versus a basket of leading currencies came from September last year with the break of 2013 resistance at 85. This was tested as new support shortly after in the form of a mid move consolidation /…
Oil services software specialist KBC Advanced Technologies (KBC) has been dragged lower along with the rest of the energy sector, but I’m not all that certain that a lower oil price spells disaster for this £73 million AIM-quoted company. On the contrary, it is quite possible that KBC could in fact be a net beneficiary…
One of the biggest rises ever seen in the FTSE 100 came in the wake of the then new Chancellor of the Exchequer, Gordon Brown, giving “operational” independence to the Bank of England. For those who do not wish to look up the word “operational” in this context it actually means “not”. The reasons for…
The Markets The UK service sector lost momentum at the tail end of 2014 according to fresh PMI figures, which showed a sharp downturn in the industry’s growth rate. The UK’s services PMI fell to 55.8 in December, its lowest for 19 months, down from 58.6 in November. Sentiment remained strong among firms however, with…
FTSE 100 Meggitt (MGGT) – has acquired Precision Engine Controls Corporation from United Technologies Corporation for a cash consideration of US$44.2 million, funded from existing resources. Bunzl (BNZL) – has acquired Blake H Brown, Inc. which trades as Tillman. The business, which is based in California, is engaged in the sale of a variety…
by Dave Evans of binary.com As Lithuanian president Prime Minister Algirdas Butkevicius withdrew a crisp new 10 euro note just after midnight on 1st January, fireworks erupted and people reportedly cheered. You have to wonder why. There is an undeniable excitement with new beginnings and few will begrudge Lithuania’s enthusiasm as they became the 19th…
The Markets The UK construction sector grew at its slowest monthly rate since July 2013 in December according to the latest PMI data, but housebuilders’ confidence has remained buoyant despite falling mortgage approvals and slowing price growth. The year as whole was still a success for the industry and Tim Moore, Senior Economist at Markit,…
by Frederik Vanhaverbeke In the latest of a new series for SBM Frederik Vanhaverbeke, author of Excess Returns: A comparative study of the methods of the world’s greatest investors, looks at how some of the world’s greatest investors are so successful. The speculative public is incorrigible. It will buy anything, at any price, if there…
Previously an IP management and investment company, AIM listed Angle (AGL) has recently transformed itself into a medtech company in order to focus solely on its cancer cell capture technology, Parsortix. Parsortix was originally developed as the first ever non-invasive testing platform for the unborn baby. Pregnant women have a very small number of their…
