Dividend growth has become a much more important issue for many investors now that inflation has risen from 0.5% to 2.6% in the last year. The problem, though, is finding companies with high and reliable dividend growth rates. UK-focused companies come with additional uncertainty surrounding Brexit, for example, which means international stocks may be a…
Companies might make the decision to list their shares on a stock exchange for a number of reasons. Whether it be an exit opportunity for existing shareholders, to raise the profile of the business amongst its customers, or to set a value for the stock, there are many benefits of making the move from being…
The UK retail sector faces a highly uncertain future. A weaker pound has pushed inflation gradually higher over the last year. It is now 60 basis points higher than the rate of wage growth. Therefore, consumer spending is likely to come under a degree of pressure. Alongside this, the scope for an interest rate rise…
There are three of us Mellons currently trying to get books out ahead of each other: my father is finishing one on African Bangles; my brother in law is close to completing a magnum opus on the future of media; and I am pleased to say that, albeit delayed, Juvenescence is coming out on September…
The quad play sector has thus far been a mixed bag for TMT operators. While it was seen as a means of diversifying into new product areas and generating additional sales from cross-selling opportunities, for BT (LON:BT.A) and Talktalk (LON:TALK) it has been a different story. Both companies have lagged the FTSE 100 over the…
For many people, investing in property may seem prohibitively expensive at the moment. After all, the price to earnings ratio of residential property in London is 12.9. This makes engaging in buy-to-let investments which have the aim of beating inflation rather difficult. It’s a similar story in commercial property. It remains relatively expensive, and this…
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…
Oxford BioMedica may have a cure for leukaemia. Its share price has soared since the last week of June. Its treatment uses a modified version of the HIV virus to insert a cancer-killing gene into patients’ cells. This is a stunning example of how gene therapy will revolutionise medicine in the future. And there are…
AstraZeneca (LON:AZN) and GlaxoSmithKline (LON:GSK) are the two pharmaceutical giants of the FTSE 100. They are also both high yield dividend stocks with yields of more than 4%. Another notable fact is that both companies have been long-term holdings of a certain Mr Neil Woodford. But no more. Following a 15-year holding period, Woodford sold…
Recovery stocks can be among the most profitable investments. One reason for this is that the market usually expects disappointing financial performance from them, which generally means low valuations. If the companies in question are able to beat market forecasts and deliver a sustained turnaround, it can lead to above-average valuations. The end result is…
