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…
The United Nations estimates that the world’s population will increase by about a billion by 2030, with the over 60s bracket growing faster than the younger age groups. By 2050 the number of people aged 60 or more will have more than doubled to 2.1 billion and there is also likely to be a significant…
An imminent stock market crash is more likely than investors might suppose. My recurrent nightmare this summer, partially informed by the modern Thucydides, (of whom more below) is that a stock market correction will begin in London when the Brexit negotiations collapse, possibly as soon as late October. But there is no longer such 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…
I reckon that Provident Financial (LON:PFG) is a sell again at 2100p. The more one reflects upon the insane levels of personal debt in the UK the more a PFG short is an absolute sitter. ***** Purplebricks (LON:PURP) seems to refuse to stand up. It would probably be wisest to kick it down. Now…
Income investors frustrated by the low rates of interest have had to look elsewhere for alternative sources of yield. The ideal investment for anyone in this position would be a relatively low risk fund that pays a reliable inflation-linked income like a property or infrastructure investment trust, but most of these vehicles are now trading…
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…
How does a spendthrift state which consumes nearly 57 percent of its GDP change its ways? How does a regulated, highly unionised labour market become flexible? What can a modern economy do about an unemployment rate stuck stubbornly at over ten percent? And how do the French rate the Emperor Emmanuel’s first ten weeks in…
Pantheon (LON:PANR) have issued £10m new stock at 43p. This might change PANR’s prospects – the directors clearly think so. I suspect that it is time to have some. The only question is as to just when. I paid 46p this morning since I guess the loose holders should not take long to clear. *****…
