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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

New Year and more bad news for the Rock

2nd January, 2008

Emap, the media conglomerate, has always been one to surprise the markets.

A muscular Yen is the last thing Japan wants

23rd January, 2008

First the good news – this will be the year of the yen. Now for the bad news: its appreciation is driven by all the wrong reasons and a rising exchange rate is the last thing Japan needs.

Wind of change: ethical investment does not mean second-rate returns

23rd January, 2008

Economics is all about trade-offs.

Fear and loathing among investors could see markets plummet further

23rd January, 2008

Everybody is asking when the markets are going to bottom; despite this week's black Monday, I am not sure we are quite there yet.

Still more to come for the sub-prime credit debacle

12th December, 2007

CREDIT is what will blow up a bank’s earnings, predicted Jeff Davis, analyst at Memphis-based First Horizon National Corporation, on 1 January 2007.

IT solutions provider is just the Tikit

23rd January, 2008

Everybody is asking when the markets are going to bottom; despite this week’s black Monday, I am not sure we are there quite yet.

New Star must regain its sparkle

12th December, 2007

Is a firm bigger than one man? John Duffield, founder-chairman of New Star Asset Management, may well be asking himself that question.

Fall in dry shipping index threatens to cast commodity market onto the rocks

23rd January, 2008

WITH commodity prices surging, it is a brave investor who sticks his neck out and calls a top to this booming market.

Bittersweet year ahead for the City

12th December, 2007

Sir George Mathewson, former chairman of Royal Bank of Scotland, once famously sneered that his £2.5m ($5.1m, E3.5m) annual bonus “would not give you bragging power in a Soho wine bar”.

Better to accept a recession than create a Frankenstein economy

23rd January, 2008

IN our high school biology lab, frogs were made to perform a dance of the dead.

Luxury firms feel the pinch

12th December, 2007

Salvatore Ferragamo and Prada caused great excitement when they announced their intention to float on the Milan stock market in 2008

Appeal of multi-currency mortgages is undermined by sterling’s frailty

16th January, 2008

IF YOU are tired of paying high interest rates on a standard sterling mortgage, switching to a special loan denominated in a foreign currency to enjoy lower rates may sound appealing.

No recession, but not much else to be optimistic about

12th December, 2007

BRITAIN won’t tip into recession next year but the economy will slow markedly as consumers tighten their belts.

Hedge fund industry in good shape despite credit crisis

16th January, 2008

THE latest data on hedge fund performance reinforces early signs that the $1.8 trillion (£917bn, E1.2 trillion) sector can look back on the past 12, turbulent months with relief.

Hurdles for Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton mega-merger

12th December, 2007

NEXT year the mining sector will be dominated by one story: the proposed merger of Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton, which if successful would create a $350bn (£171.39bn, E238.56bn) giant riding high on the commodities boom.

Big hitters failing to move on to main market pose risk to Aim’s reputation

16th January, 2008

LONDON’S Aim is typically viewed as a launch pad for small companies – yet there are now a number of sizeable businesses quoted on the London Stock Exchange’s junior market.

Who’s buying whom? The M&A runners and riders

12th December, 2007

Friends Provident might have a market capitalisation of nearly £4bn ($8.1bn, E5.6bn) and a bruised reputation after failing to merge with Resolution, but it is likely to receive its fair share of wanton glances.

Fund managers need to get their act together

12th December, 2007

HEDGE fund managers are under pressure to show strong, consistent results next year after a lukewarm performance in 2007.

Why it could pay to stay on the Wagon

16th January, 2008

Wagon is an absolute punt, but one that could see some stellar returns if it pays off. Its shares plunged from 150p ($2.95, e1.98) at the beginning of 2007 to lows of around 25p. Following a set of upbeat interim results, they managed to claw their way back to their current 32.25p. However, the market seems to continue to discount a complete financial disaster, with the shares trading on a tiny forward rating of under three times earnings.

Money talks in Rock bid decision

12th December, 2007

It would be hard to confuse the pug-featured Bryan Sanderson with Tom Cruise but, like the Hollywood actor in the hit film Jerry Maguire, the new chairman of Northern Rock needs his suitors to “show me the money”.