Perhaps the biggest effect of Brexit thus far has been its impact on the pound. It has weakened by 18% versus the dollar since the EU referendum as confidence in the UK economy has deteriorated. More of the same could lie ahead and it would be unsurprising for the pound to weaken yet further, particularly…
Tesco (LON:TSCO) used to be a rather dull stock. It was seen as a defensive play with a generous yield and had the potential to expand abroad in Asia and the US. Today, its business is anything but dull. A new management team is in the process of changing the company so that it is…
The prospect of a new US President, a US interest rate rise and Brexit mean that defensive stocks could become increasingly popular. That’s why I’m optimistic about National Grid’s future prospects. There is no such thing as return without risk. In fact, risk is always present for equity investors. However, there are periods of time…
There is an old stock market saying that profit warnings come in threes. For investors this implies that any company which first announces such a warning should be avoided for some time. In other words, never attempt to catch a falling knife. But like many such clichés it is often wrong. Profit warnings can occur…
One of the biggest and most challenging questions Philip Fisher ever dared to ask a corporate manager was “What are you doing that your competitors aren’t doing yet?” Whilst relatively crude, such a question is often disregarded by those involved in business, who often can barely give a convincing answer when confronted with it. In…
Despite the Brexit vote, house builders remain an attractive investment proposition. With its high, well-covered yield and low valuation, Berkeley is a star buy for the long term in my opinion. Brexit may cause underperformance in the short run as well as a volatile share price, but Berkeley’s overall risk/reward ratio has significant appeal. According…
One of the things I like most about dividend investing is that there’s a good chance the income will grow faster than inflation. Take the FTSE 100’s dividend as an example. CPI inflation since 1986 has run at an annualised rate of 2.6% per year, whereas the FTSE 100’s dividend has grown by an annualised…
Twitter may be worth a lot more than many believe. While Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and SnapChat delight investors with their lunar reach, Twitter remains a forgotten power that no one is willing to buy. But that could be about to change. “If it happens in the world, it happens on Twitter.” That’s probably the most…
Owning Centamin (LON:CEY) as part of a diversified portfolio of shares looks like a sound move given the uncertain outlook for the global economy. One of the big success stories of 2016 has been the rising price of gold. It started the year at $1,061 per ounce and now trades 18.3% higher at $1,255 per…
The internet revolution began more than 20 years ago. And yet not a month goes by without news of new internet-based businesses threatening to disrupt traditional business models. Turning my telescope back towards the firmament of cyberspace, I perceive a small cluster of twinkling stars – and the presence of a possible black hole… Micro…
