An unprecedented amount of money has been created in recent times, but lots of it has no proper home to go to. Property is risky, the bond market will blow up, rest assured, interest rates pay nothing (and will continue paying nothing into the distant future), commodities remain risky, and oil will not be going…
I’m a big fan of competition and the efficiencies and competitive pricing it brings. But a lot of what the Royal Mail does is what I would call a service. In fact, RM is a classic example: part commercial, part service. Transporting parcels is a business. Parcels are not an essential service, so it should…
The banking sector has frustrated and outraged in equal measure over recent years. From the moral hazard of saving those who had bet the farm on earning bonuses via casino banking, to the bonuses at loss making institutions to the Libor, PPI and FX rigging, there has apparently been no stone unturned in terms of…
Seven days on from the UK election and markets have had ample time to reflect on one of the most dramatic election results in British history. The British pound started to rally late Thursday evening as the first exit polls trickled through and continued to advance through Friday and Monday. GBP/USD Daily Chart The GBP/USD…
One of the great conundrums in the financial markets, apart from people trying to work out exactly what the Bank of England Governor Mark Carney does (once setting aside marathon running), is when/how the mining sector may actually snap out of its multi year doldrums. In fact, even though as late as 2010 this particular…
I have been somewhat chuffed by my recent contributions to Master Investor Magazine. In the first issue I called BG Group (BG.), just before the bid (lucky), but there was a method in the madness. Then in the latest issue, my message for Sterling was that above $1.50 it could head to $1.60. This may…
Now that the event logjam of the General Election is out of the way, and the FTSE 100 seems to be relatively comfortable above 7000, it may be said that to look at the AIM market may now be timely for those who want to add a little adrenaline to their investments. Given that this…
One of the more consistent stock market adages has been the advice to ‘Sell in May’. The general idea is that stock markets perform badly during the summer months and that you’d be better off staying away until the winter. The effect is linked to the ‘Halloween’ effect which proposes that stock markets perform best…
With leading stocks having hit record highs, at least in terms of the FTSE 100, it may be argued that recent months have seen that long awaited catch up game from the small caps area put on hold. Clearly some of this is a result of pre-general election caution, but it remains to be seen…
With less than a week until the polls open, the 2015 UK General Election is likely to be one of the tightest elections in living memory. In 2010, the Conservative reached over the 326 seat threshold (more than half the house) with the help of the Lib-Dems in a coalition. This time around however, not…
