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Tuesday 2 December 2008

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Gilt-edged returns for troubled times

Alex Brummer

28th October, 2008

Traditionalists choose gold, National Savings and gilts. But the best time to buy shares is often when other people are fleeing into cash, argues Alex Brummer

Ventana changes tune as it signs deal with Roche

23rd January, 2008

Last July, Ventana Medical Systems, an American medical diagnostics group, was quick to reject a $3bn (£1.53bn; E2.05bn) takeover approach by Roche, the Swiss healthcare provider.

If history is anything to go by, investors should avoid equities until late 2008

13th February, 2008

THE economist Paul Samuelson once joked that the stock market predicted nine out of the last five recessions.

Word to the wise: it pays to watch the yen

13th February, 2008

Watch the yen exchange rate – that is the advice some canny market analysts have started to give investors, for good reason.

Friends seeks resolution as JC Flowers plans takeover

23rd January, 2008

Friends Provident has finally given investors something to celebrate – albeit through no doing of its own.

Unlocking the value in shares-only bonuses

13th February, 2008

CITY bonuses are being slashed as banks battle huge losses – but even those who get a payout cannot always expect hard cash.

Ping An to splash a stash of cash

23rd January, 2008

TWENTY two billion dollars. Even in the world’s biggest emerging economy, where mega-deals are now routine, it’s an immense sum. So the lack of detail accompanying plans, announced this week by Ping An, the Chinese insurer, to raise capital of that magnitude is intriguing, to say the least.

Vale must remember that only fools rush in as it eyes Xstrata

23rd January, 2008

YOU can hardly blame Vale, the Brazilian miner once known as Companhia Vale do Rio Doce, for wanting a bigger slice of the pie.

It’s time to start hoarding food stocks as market chaos eats into share prices

13th February, 2008

FOOD stocks have fallen down on the job this year, right along with the broader stock market.

Murdoch Jnr makes a bold comeback

23rd January, 2008

IN FROM the cold. Returning from exile. A monumental comeback. Call it what you will, but there is no doubt about the significance of Lachlan Murdoch’s audacious return to the media landscape Down Under.

Providing a viable alternative to the LSE would be a Plus for investors

6th February, 2008

TAKING on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) is not for the faint hearted.

Trouble in store for rivals as Morrison ups the ante

23rd January, 2008

It TAKES a lot to upstage Tesco; it is doubly insulting when the challenge comes from a company long derided by its rivals as a regional bit-player. But Wm Morrison pulled it off this week, disclosing Christmas sales figures that made it the top-performing British supermarket chain over the festive season.

Rock’s chief-in-waiting has experience that counts

16th January, 2008

RON Sandler, who will be appointed executive chairman of Northern Rock in the event of a nationalisation, has attained a reputation as a troubleshooter during his City career.

Jupiter confident India will see more strong growth despite current chaos

6th February, 2008

Brave or even foolhardy are the words that come to mind when describing anybody seeking to invest in the Indian stock market right now.

FTSE CNBC Global 300

6th February, 2008

The performance of the world’s largest companies over the past week

Nuclear power industry set to explode into life

16th January, 2008

First it was the British government’s 192-page white paper giving the go-ahead to a new generation of nuclear power stations, then it was Total’s inclusion in the French consortium about to ink a multibillion-dollar project to build and operate two nuclear power stations in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). For an industry that only a few years ago was dismissed as out of date, nuclear is proving to be surprisingly cutting edge.

US market brings the house down

16th January, 2008

With its large American house building presence, Taylor Wimpey is a British corporate bellwether of America’s disintegrating housing market.

Buffet’s patience rewarded as NetJets flies high

16th January, 2008

Warren Buffett made his billions taking calculated long-term bets on assets and industries; so it is with NetJets, Europe’s largest business jet operator.

Letters entertain you: wading your way through the acronym pitfalls

6th February, 2008

A FEW weeks ago I suggested the best time to buy equities tends to be the reporting season that follows the downgrading of stocks by analysts at the behest of the economists.

Word of big Citi blues adds to Wall Street’s many woes

16th January, 2008

As the new kid in town, Citi’s chief executive Vikram Pandit knew he only had a narrow window in which to clobber the markets with all the bad news at once.