Equities

Brexit negotiations will soon begin and I believe companies with large economic moats and defensive characteristics will perform well. An economic moat will enable improved financial performance versus sector peers during what may prove to be a challenging period for consumers and the wider economy. Defensive characteristics should help to further protect companies from the…

According to a range of headlines this week, car insurance premiums are set to soar. Normally, this would be great news for car insurers such as Direct Line (LON:DLG), but its shares slumped 7% on the news. The reason for this is a profit warning, brought about by a change to the discount rate which…

As I discussed in last month’s edition of Master Investor Magazine, AIM shares had a good year in 2016, with the FTSE AIM All Share Index rising by an impressive 14.2%. However, investors who got involved in AIM’s new issues did even better – although the two sets of performance statistics aren’t comparable directly due…

Lloyds (LON:LLOY) has a valuation which I think is exceptionally cheap. I feel this will be important during 2017, since there are clear risks facing investors. For example, Brexit talks are about to commence and according to the President of the EU Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, the two-year period will see the EU adopt a tough…

Kraft Heinz’s bid for Unilever (LON:ULVR) will not be the last takeover approach for the Anglo-Dutch business, in my opinion. The strength of the US dollar makes it an obvious move not only for Kraft Heinz, but for other US-based consumer goods companies who wish to tap into the stunning growth potential of emerging markets.…

My first blog on Football & Economics, published just over two years ago, discussed how billions of pounds, euros and dollars have been poured into the beautiful game over the past few years. A number of recent reports and statistics have demonstrated that there are few signs of this trend reversing: ⚽ Driven by the…

They nearly blew up the world with crazy exotic instruments called derivatives, conceived in an orgy of greed. They were bailed out by panicked governments who thought they were “too big to fail”. They were subjected to new rules because everyone knew that their much vaunted “risk models” didn’t work. And then they were challenged…

Predicting the future is fraught with difficulty. Even during the most genteel of trading conditions, risks can come along which even the most pessimistic, doom-mongering of investors didn’t see coming. Given the uncertainties facing investors at the moment, I think it’s even more challenging than ever to guess which way the market is going to…

The tobacco sector looks ripe for consolidation. Already in recent months, sector heavyweight British American Tobacco has sought to merge with Reynolds. There are also continued rumours about a potential re-merger between Altria and Philip Morris. This scope for M&A activity is coming along for two main reasons, in my opinion. First, cigarette volumes are…