17 July 2018
Subscriber growth slowdown spooks Netflix shareholders but cash flow and valuation are the real issues“Investors in Netflix are suffering a rare reverse today as the shares are tumbling amid disappointment over the company’s subscriber addition number for the second quarter of the year. But nerves over the subs figure relay reflect the company’s lofty valuation and how the company is still a long way from generating the sort of cash flow that would...
17 July 2018
Royal Mail, TalkTalk and Galliford Try“The FTSE 100 continues to hover around the 7,600 mark despite a notable increase in corporate news on Tuesday, something that tends to drive up trading volumes. The blue chip index sees strength in life insurers and housebuilders offset by weakness in tobacco and construction stocks,” says Russ Mould, Investment Director at AJ Bell.
Royal Mail...
16 July 2018
Individior, the infrastructure sector and Debenhams“The FTSE 100 holds firm at 7,664 as the new trading week gets underway. A robust performance from utility companies and engineers is offset by weakness in miners and insurers,” says Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell.
Indivior“A large number of companies spend a disproportionate amount of time fighting to protect their intellectual...
13 July 2018
Superyachts, hot weather and high valuations show it’s tough being a retailer (even a really successful one)It’s not as if much further evidence was needed, but today shows just how tough it is to be a retailer in the current environment of low wage growth, high debts and brittle consumer confidence,
DFS has coughed up a profit warning, Dunelm’s trading update lived down to the low expectations set by May’s disappointing update to leave its shares at a...
13 July 2018
Hays and Ashmore“A decent showing from the FTSE 100 on Friday means the index is on track to end the week up 1.1%. While investors will be relieved that it has nudged up in value, it isn’t enough to compensate for the FTSE’s patchy performance this year.
“Anyone putting money in a FTSE 100 tracker at the start of 2018 would have made a mere 0.2% return so far...
12 July 2018
What could trigger a sterling crisis and what could investors expect as a result?Sterling has suffered three crises of confidence since 1945, so a repeat cannot be entirely ruled out owing to the current political upheaval and lack of clarity on Brexit, although previous notable plunges have been the result of economic problems rather than any games of musical chairs at Westminster.
Prime Minister Harold Wilson devalued the...
12 July 2018
SKY and ASOS“Stock markets have switched direction following yesterday’s sea of red. Markets step forward on Thursday including a 0.2% rise in the FTSE 100 to 7,609, helped by a strong showing from tobacco and drug stocks,” says Russ Mould, Investment Director at AJ Bell.
SKY“The stock market continues to believe that the winner of the Sky takeover battle...
11 July 2018
Housebuilders keep subsiding despite strong numbers from Barratt“Shares in house builder Barratt are trading at their lowest level since January 2017 despite a reassuring full-year trading update, which shows further price increases, better-than-expected profit and a higher-than-forecast net cash pile, all of which support the company’s plans to pay meaty dividends to shareholders,” says Russ Mould, AJ Bell...
11 July 2018
Sky, Indivior and Barratt Developments“Stock markets around the world are in the red as investors react to the latest trade war development. Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 index fell 1.2%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was down 1.8% and in the UK the FTSE 100 traded 1.1% lower on Wednesday. “Plans by the US for an additional $200bn of tariffs on Chinese goods has caused investors to lose their...
10 July 2018
Ocado and TP ICAP“The FTSE 100 has been in a rising trend for most of July and now trades just below 7,700. While still some way off the 7,877 year-to-date high (on a market close basis), the blue chip index is currently displaying its strongest performance since May, helped by the US dollar strengthening against the pound which benefits the large number of FTSE...
9 July 2018
Is artificial intelligence the future?Artificial Intelligence has come a long way since the days when Deep Blue faced Garry Kasparov over a chess board. Matt Brennan, AJ Bell Investments’ Head of Passive Portfolios, explains why it’s now time to consider investing in Artificial Intelligence and the companies that could benefit from the sector’s growth in coming years.
Why Robot?
Aft...
9 July 2018
Mothercare and Stobart“The feel-good factor created by England reaching its first World Cup semi-final in nearly 30 years is reflected in a positive open for UK stocks this morning. Although trade war fears have been dialled back for now, politics is likely to dominate this week amid ongoing ructions over Brexit and Donald Trump’s visit to the UK,” says AJ Bell...
6 July 2018
Why EU regulation move may be more of a worry for Facebook and Google than investors think“Shares in Facebook and Google were up on Thursday, despite comments that the German authorities still believe their activities should be regulated as if they were telecoms services providers, given that they provide messaging and email, but this may be more of a threat than investors think,” says Russ Mould, AJ Bell Investment Director.
“Google is...
6 July 2018
ITV and UK stock market: AIM significantly outperforms FTSE 100“A 0.2% rise in the FTSE 100 on Friday to 7,619 isn’t enough to lift it out of the sticky patch in which it has traded since mid-June. “Utility companies and tobacco stocks are doing their best to lift the blue chip index but there is notable resistance from insurers and banks which weigh on the FTSE and make it harder for the market to break out...
5 July 2018
Three quick ways to measure the second-quarter results season in AmericaAmerica’s headline S&P 500 index is up by just 2% for the year in dollar terms, which seems like a pretty paltry return given how bullish everyone seems to be.
Worries over tariffs, inflation and a steely Federal Reserve, which seems unwilling (quite rightly) to mollycoddle the markets, are all weighing on share prices and once Independence Day is...
5 July 2018
Housebuilders and estate agents, Sophos and Superdry“The FTSE 100 advanced 0.3% to 7,598 in early trading on Thursday, helped by gains in the mining, construction and transport sectors,” says Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell.
Housebuilders and estate agents: Persimmon, Bovis Homes, Purplebricks“Continuing growth for housebuilders Persimmon and Bovis Homes helps reassure a sceptical market...
4 July 2018
Sainsbury's and National Express“Markets continue to go through a one step forward, one step back motion. The FTSE 100 failed to match the excitement seen with England’s World Cup win last night, slipping 0.3% to 7,569 in morning trading on Wednesday. Asian markets were also looking gloomy with Hong Kong and Tokyo both in the red,” says Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell...
3 July 2018
Water Companies - United Utilities, Pennon and Severn Trent and ASOSUK and mainland European markets are back in positive territory on Tuesday, bucking a negative trend seen in parts of Asia. The FTSE 100 nudges 0.1% higher to 7,555, helped by gains in the pharmaceutical and oil sectors,” says Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell.
WATER COMPANIES / UNITED UTILITIES / PENNON / SEVERN TRENT
Utility companies...
2 July 2018
Tesco and Playtech“The UK stock market follows parts of Asia lower on Monday with the FTSE 100 falling 1.2% to 7,548. Weak oil prices drag down shares in Royal Dutch Shell and BP, as well as many of the big mining stocks, which in turn weigh on the FTSE,” says Russ Mould, Investment Director at AJ Bell.
Tesco“ Tesco continues to be very proactive in its quest to...
29 June 2018
Serco and FastJet“The FTSE 100 was on course to end a turbulent week on a high note. After gains in Asia and US overnight on softening trade rhetoric from the Trump administration, the index was up by more than 1% early on,” says AJ Bell Investment Director Russ Mould.
Serco“There is profit growth and profit growth – the kind signalled by outsourcer Serco this...
28 June 2018
Signs of recovery could persuade predators to get ready for some Hunting“ General Electric announced the merger of its oil and gas operations with Baker Hughes in October 2016, when times were tough for oil services and equipment providers, and closed the transaction in July 2017, right near the sector’s lows. There now has to be a risk that it will undo that deal just as trading conditions start to improve, judging by...
28 June 2018
Greene King and Stagecoach“Markets are struggling to find direction on Thursday with the FTSE 100 down 0.2% to 7,607. In mainland Europe, markets in Paris and Frankfurt manage to nudge ahead but Madrid and Amsterdam ease back,” says Russ Mould, Investment Director at AJ Bell.
Greene King“The idea of one of Britain’s biggest pub companies going ex-growth may seem unlikely...
27 June 2018
Whitbread, ITV and IWG“The FTSE 100 has its hazard lights on, sitting still at 7,537 on Tuesday and awaiting a signal from investors whether they are confident enough to start buying equities again en masse,” says Russ Mould, Investment Director at AJ Bell.
Whitbread“Coffee-to-hotels company Whitbread is managing to keep its head above water despite various headwinds...
26 June 2018
FTSE manages modest recovery, sales disappoint at Sainsbury’s and Carpetright aims for recovery“After a big sell off on Monday as the US stepped up its rhetoric on trade, the FTSE recovers some ground on Tuesday. However, the index is still materially down on the highs achieved at the end of May,” says AJ Bell Investment Director Russ Mould.
Sainsbury's“The widely followed figures on the groceries sector from Kantar make grim reading for...
26 June 2018
FANG+ index is on track to outpace NASDAQ’s bubbly gains of 1999 (and we all know how that ended …..)“After a stumble in spring, amid the Cambridge Analytica data scandal and broader worries over regulation, trade and tariffs, technology stocks are surging higher once more. The Fang+ index in America, which consists of ten high-flyers in total, has just passed the 3,000 level for the first time. It took the benchmark just 1,365 days to get there...
25 June 2018
Quilter/Old Mutual & Countrywide“It’s a bad start to the week for the FTSE 100, slipping 0.6% on Monday morning to 7,633. Share price weakness in banks, drug companies and natural resources producers act as the biggest drags on the market,” says Russ Mould, Investment Director at AJ Bell.
Quilter / Old Mutual“FTSE 100 life insurer Old Mutual has finally spun out its UK wealth...
22 June 2018
Markets and Woodford Patient Capital Trust“The FTSE 100 only manages to nudge up 0.2% on Friday to 7,572 with no major corporate news to drive trading volumes. Next week sees FTSE 100 companies Bunzl and Whitbread update on their trading and on the economic front there is data on UK GDP and mortgage approvals,” says Russ Mould, Investment Director at AJ Bell.
Markets“Investors in tracker...
22 June 2018
Financial markets side with Project Fear, two years after the EU referendumIt is two years since the British public voted in favour of Brexit and financial markets continue to approach March 2019 with a degree of trepidation.
This is not to say the markets are right to be cautious about what Brexit may bring but three clear trends suggest that investors would at the very least like greater clarity on what sort of deal the...
21 June 2018
Dixons Carphone and Saga“The FTSE 100 is regaining strength after a very patchy start to June. It nudged up 0.3% in early trading on Thursday to 7,651,” says Russ Mould, Investment Director at AJ Bell.
Dixons Carphone“There are no surprises in full year results from Dixons Carphone, much to the relief of its shareholders whose patience has been tested on several...
20 June 2018
Repeat of peak profits forecast shakes shares in Berkeley“Second-guessing Tony Pidgley, chairman of Berkeley Homes, is usually unwise and investors appear to be taking his forecast that profits have peaked at the house builder more seriously today than when he first made it back in December,” says Russ Mould, AJ Bell Investment Director.
“Berkeley’s focus on high-end properties in the South East means...
20 June 2018
Berkeley Group and Sirius Minerals“Investors are regaining confidence as evident by a 0.9% rise in the FTSE 100 to 7,669 on Wednesday. Miners, tobacco sellers and drug companies help top the leaderboard,” says Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell.
Berkeley Group“ Berkeley becomes the latest housebuilder to sound caution over the state of the property market. This raises the...
19 June 2018
McCarthy & Stone and Ferguson“Global stocks repeat the pattern seen yesterday with declines across numerous markets amid growing fears about trade war tensions between the US and China. The FTSE 100 slips 0.7% to 7,578 with miners among the worst hit. Stock markets in Europe and Asia are also in the red,” says Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell.
McCarthy & Stone“You...
18 June 2018
How investors can (just) make money tracking FTSE 100 relegations and promotions“The latest promotions to – and relegations from – the FTSE 100 index come into effect today and investors will be intrigued to see how shares in both relegated firms are down in early trading. G4S is down 3% and Mediclinic down 1%. A glance at the promoted firms will show that GVC is up 1% to perhaps suggest there is a trading strategy that could...
18 June 2018
Virgin Money/CYBG and South32“The FTSE 100 holds firm at the start of the new trading week, sitting still at 7,636. Gains among insurance, utility and banks stocks are offset by weakness among miners and pharma companies,” says Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell.
Virgin Money/ CYBG“The two companies may have reached an agreement on a recommended all-share business...
15 June 2018
Tesco keeps the tills ringing as Booker boosts sales momentum“ Sainsbury’s chief executive Mike Coupe may have been caught singing ‘We’re in the Money’ when his guard was temporarily down but Tesco boss Dave Lewis must be feeling equally pleased with himself after the first-quarter sales figures,” says AJ Bell Investment Director Russ Mould.
“Sales grew on a like-for-like basis for the tenth straight quarter...
15 June 2018
Tesco and Rolls-Royce“The FTSE 100 stubbornly refuses to make any real progress with the index on track to make minimal gains this week. On Friday morning it was flat at 7,763. So far this year the FTSE 100 is up by a little less than 1%. Large gains between March and May merely recovered the losses experienced earlier in the year,” says AJ Bell Investment Director...
14 June 2018
Seventh rate hike from Fed sets stock market investors their latest challenge“The US Federal Reserve’s determination to continue tightening monetary policy, via both higher interest rates and sterilisation of Quantitative Easing, is likely to make life more difficult for investors, if history is any guide, even if financial markets are largely still behaving as if improved returns on cash and increased borrowing costs poses...
14 June 2018
AVEVA, Rolls-Royce and N Brown“The FTSE continues to be stuck in the mud, slipping 0.6% to 7,654 on Thursday with notable weakness in utility, mining and insurance stocks,” says AJ Bell Investment Director Russ Mould.
AVEVA“Thanks to its recent combination with Schneider Electric full year results from industrial software specialist AVEVA are fairly tricky to unpick. On some...
13 June 2018
Dixons Carphone and Connect“The FTSE 100 slips 0.2% to 7,685 on Wednesday morning. The market has lost momentum since its stellar run between March and May, perhaps because of the sheer amount of political noise causing investors to pause for thought until they can make sense of proceedings,” says Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell.
Dixons Carphone“Data breaches are...
12 June 2018
Halma shows how it is done with thirty-ninth consecutive dividend increase“It might not be a household name although a record of 39 consecutive increases of more than 5% in Halma’s annual dividend suggests that it should be, especially as this track record means the FTSE 100 firm is a good example of how a company that gets the basics right can reward patient investors,” says Russ Mould, AJ Bell Investment Director.
The...12 June 2018
Domino's Pizza, Boohoo and Housebuilders“Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un’s summit has failed to excite investors with the FTSE 100 unmoved on Tuesday morning at 7,736. This could be a temporary pause while markets wait for more solid information,” says Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell.
Domino's Pizza“The sudden departure of a company’s chief financial officer is rarely a good...
11 June 2018
Rolls-Royce and BCA Marketplace“Investors don’t appear to be overly worried about the latest state of affairs with international trade following the G7 meeting, given that markets in Asia and Europe move ahead on Monday. In the UK, the FTSE 100 moved up 0.5% in early trading to 7,718, helped by gains in utility, tobacco and financial stocks,” says Russ Mould, investment director...
8 June 2018
BT and Standard Life Aberdeen / Lloyds“The FTSE 100 looks set to end the week on a sour note with the blue chip index trading 0.7% lower on Friday morning at 7,650. The market is focused on the start of the G7 summit and for any signals regarding trade talks,” says AJ Bell Investment Director Russ Mould.
BT“Shareholders in BT have lost 24% of the value of their investment in the...
7 June 2018
Chancellor Hammond starts to reduce State exposure to the incredible shrinking bank“George Osborne received all sorts of criticism when he sold a 6% stake in Royal Bank of Scotland at 330p a share, for a £1 billion loss, back in 2015, so his successor Philip Hammond was always going to get a hard time if he sold any further Government holdings at less than the taxpayer’s 502p purchase price. Patriots may also be disappointed to...
7 June 2018
NAO hands out further criticism of Government – but ultimately Carillion was a failure of managementToday it is the turn of the National Audit Office to unpick and quantify the cost of the Carillion debacle. The NAO hands out further criticism of the Government’s efforts to monitor the financial health of central government’s sixth biggest supplier by value, suggesting it did too little too late to properly monitor the risk posed by its reliance...
7 June 2018
Mitie, Auto Trader and OnTheMarket“After an hour’s delay to opening the market, the FTSE 100 rises 0.4% to 7,744 thanks to yet another good day for the miners plus strength among financial companies,” says AJ Bell Investment Director Russ Mould.
Mitie“The outsourcing industry is doing its best to fight back after developing a terrible reputation for issuing profit warnings and...
6 June 2018
WH Smith and RPC“A 0.3% gain in the FTSE 100 to 7,708 on Wednesday is principally driven by the mining sector which is getting a boost from higher base metal and oil prices,” says Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell.
WH SMITH
“People may grumble at WH Smith’s messy shops and excessive pricing on many products, yet this is a business which continues to...
5 June 2018
AO World and Johnston Press“After a weak open, the FTSE 100 recovered to trade flat on Tuesday morning ahead of Brexit talks later on,” says AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould.
AO World“Investors are clearly willing to focus on AO World’s double-digit sales growth achieved in the year to 31 March judging by how the share price is rising today. However, if that’s the...
4 June 2018
DS Smith and CYBG/Virgin Money“It is encouraging to see the FTSE 100 start the new week with a firm push forward, rising 0.7% to 7,754 with notable gains from utility stocks and insurers,” says Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell.
DS Smith“Packaging group DS Smith has proposed its second major acquisition in less than a year with a deal to buy Spanish rival Europac for...
1 June 2018
Dignity and Abbey“The FTSE 100 looks set to end the week on the front foot. The index enjoying strong gains on Friday morning despite the threat of a trade war between the US and several of its trading partners after a breakthrough overnight on the political deadlock in Italy,” says AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould.
Dignity“Just as funerals provider Dignity...