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…
It’s a wungermaul life: I did not realise this until listening to the tennis yesterday. A wungermaul arises where each player has won one game. My pick, Venus Williams, is still there. She is deffo the Afro-American in the wouldwinpile. But for profit this week it’s Newmarket for sensible bunnies: the rain will have gone…
Back in 2015, when I was raising funds for my FinTech start-up CityFALCON, I mentioned that our most active user on the platform is a woman who trades from home while her family is out. I would never have imagined of the reaction that I got then: “this clearly can’t be one of your target…
It has been more than 10 years since we have had an interest rate rise in the UK with the ultra-low rates putting pressure on yields right across the board. The average notice account now pays 0.9% − considerably less than inflation – compared to 5% in July 2007 and the investment grade corporate bond…
Borrowing stock is nowadays much more expensive than ever it used to be. This is because the banks have given up on trusting one another. There is the further problem that the spread firms decide to nick a further c. 3% p.a. I do not blame them – after all, they are declaredly acting for…
The minority UK Conservative government is under pressure to loosen the fiscal purse strings. Does that mean the dream of balancing the budget remains no more than a dream? Who would benefit? Will taxes have to rise? And what are the risks? Cardiac arrest in the Gilts market is a real possibility. Under pressure Boris…
One must be clear that lending money is not easy. It is necessary to judge the propensity of the debtor to repay. Many people think that this is easy whereas in fact it is not. However, throughout history people have been hard at it. For instance ten years ago just when the High Street clearers…
Listed Private Equity funds have delivered strong returns in the last few years, but despite this most are still trading on double-digit discounts. Many investors have been reluctant to return after the poor performance during the 2008 financial crisis, although the fundamentals across the sector are now much stronger. Private Equity funds are investment trusts…
