On the day that the 45th President of the United States of America assumes office, during Davos week, I recall the observation of a great contemporary economist. Harvard’s Ken Rogoff (I have often mentioned his work in these pages, especially This Time it’s Different – Eight Centuries of Financial Folly) was at Davos last year.…
It could be said that even considering Gulfsands Petroleum (LON:GPX) as a possible investment would be a case of going where angels fear to tread. However, as seasoned campaigners will be aware, this is precisely the type of company which provides the best opportunities. One of the most difficult things to do when it comes…
This week’s speech by Theresa May indicated a ‘hard’ Brexit is becoming increasingly likely. This may be a cleaner result than the potential for years of negotiation to keep bits and pieces of EU membership. However, it could also lead to greater uncertainty in the short run as the UK goes it alone. The end…
Cloud computing and AI are becoming staples of everyday life – even if you don’t know it. The cloud is ubiquitous (by design and by adoption), and artificial intelligence – a completely different area in tech – is reaching into our lives in ways previously unimaginable. Even at our FinTech start-up CityFALCON, we are looking…
Optibiotix (LON:OPTI) has been one of those rare beasts: a reliable small cap company prospect. Here the shares have gone up, and largely stayed up. As luck would have it, today I bumped into the CEO of Optibiotix, Stephen O’Hara. The company is one I have followed from the word go, and its continued progress…
National Grid PLC (LON:NG.) has been in the news recently after announcing an agreement to sell most of its UK gas distribution business. For some inexplicable reason I was watching CNBC that morning and the presenter said something along the lines of “surely income investors can’t go far wrong with National Grid’s 4.7% dividend yield”.…
I listened to Phil Bentley of Mitie (LON:MTO) commenting on MTO’s position in the light of this morning’s revelations. However, he did not get to grips with the real write downs which should immediately follow the investigating accountants’ review – apparently this is to be completed by the end of the week and can therefore…
It appeared that for a while there was a degree of negative sentiment associated with medical imaging group Feedback (LON:FDBK), but the background noise now looks to have finally cleared, so to speak. It can be seen from the daily chart of Feedback that we are finally back on the front foot, a point underlined…
2017 looks set to be a challenging year for investors due to the risks posed by a Trump Presidency and higher inflation. New policies pursued by Trump could lead to greater uncertainty. Higher than expected US interest rates may be a consequence of rising inflation resulting from the US running a larger budget deficit. Similarly,…
December saw the launch of a new closed-ended fund that will make secured, direct loans to small and medium sized companies that are mainly based in the UK. This part of the market is poorly served by the banks and other lenders, which means there is the potential to earn attractive risk-adjusted returns. RM Secured…
