– The FTSE 100 closed the day at 6,696.28, an increase of 27.41 points. – The FTSE 250 rose by 156.40 points and finished at 17,677.40. – The FTSE All Share grew by 17.51 points to 3,652.79. – The FTSE AIM All Share finished at 751.16, a rise of 0.99 points. Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY)…
Investors looking for clues that the coal market will struggle to fall much further were handed valuable ammunition this week, after a major Australian coal mine changed hands on Thursday for just one Australian dollar. Only three years ago, the mine was valued at nearly A$1 billion, after Sumitomo Corp., one of Japan’s largest trading…
As of Friday mid-afternoon, the euro looked set to end a difficult weak on a high. Eurozone inflation came in slightly above expectations, raising hopes that regional deflation could be on the wane. At the same time, US unemployment cost index data came in above estimates, a development that only added fuel to the euro’s…
While everyone is concentrating in Greece and the actions taken by the US Federal Reserve, Emerging Markets are collapsing silently. The cracks in the developing economies are deeper than most realise and the risk of a 1997-like currency crisis may catch many by surprise in a not-so-distant future. Instead of achieving a strong financial position,…
Zegona Communications (AIM listing, ZEG.L, Market capitalisation £47m but after deal about £290m, 165p and 1.0% of JIC Portfolio): Whilst sifting through the holdings in Neil Woodford’s Equity Income Portfolio last week, there was one holding which particularly caught my attention. Zegona Communications came to market in March through the placing of 25m shares at 120p…
Centrica at 268p, after the interim figures. The management with these results has demonstrated that it has stopped the rot in terms of cash flow, which now covers dividend costs by a multiple of times, compared with position shown a year earlier. The company says that it plans to restore shareholder value and now seems…
I was talking to a friend about mortgage rates the other day and they were wondering what would happen to interest rates. The short answer is the same as it is in the US. So how likely is it that US interest rates will rise? Increasingly likely I would say. Which in turn would lead…
– The FTSE 100 closed the day at 6,675.76, an increase of 44.76 points. – The FTSE 250 rose by 23.13 points to finish at 17,535.94. – The FTSE All Share grew by 20.29 points to 3,638.74. – The FTSE AIM All Share finished at 749.92, a rise of 0.76 points. Intercontinental Hotels (IHG) boosted…
The Credit Crunch of 2008, and its aftermath, changed the way we think and spend. From the time that the banks messed up, ordinary people’s wages in the UK barely rose for six years, while prices of staples like food and energy soared. The luxury sector continued to thrive because the modern rich (amongst whom,…
The sharp decline in Chinese share prices has increased the volatility of world stock markets with many of the main indices losing ground in the last few weeks. One of the best ways to protect your capital against these sorts of events is to have a good absolute return fund at the heart of your…
