Macro observations Remember Brexit? The two-year long process of the UK leaving the EU? Well, after a period of relative radio silence, this week has seen the issue thrust back into the spotlight. Already this morning, the chief negotiators on both sides have announced that they have reached a provisional agreement on a 21-month transition…
At last, some welcome news from the UK high street! No, don’t be silly, declining retail trends aren’t reversing to give the internet a run for its money. Rather the UK Gambling Commission’s recommendations on restrictions to Fixed Odds Betting Terminals (FOBT –compared to crack cocaine) look set to be less onerous than feared. Investors…
16 March Financial Times Mike van Dulken, head of research at Accendo Markets, also asks if the prevalence of vape shops on the UK high streets is genuine evidence of a boom, or “part of the death of the high street narrative”, with sops benefiting from rising vacancies that have pushed down rents. https://www.ft.com/content/d1c28478-18c1-11e8-9376-4a6390addb44 15 March…
A while back I wrote about the confusion between what’s performing best/worst on the UK 100 and what’s actually driving the index higher or lower. Because they are not necessarily one and the same. In fact, the difference can be quite startling. Because it all depends on how big a company is in terms of…
We live in interesting times. First, US President Trump announced he would slap hefty tariffs on imported steel and aluminium. Then, a shock attempt to poison a Russian ex-double agent in Salisbury provoked the UK and its allies to place fresh sanctions on Russia, the alleged aggressor. In these tense times, how can you maintain…
Shares in JD Wetherspoon (JDW) have turned negative after a strong start this morning as management guides towards lower sales and higher costs in the second half of the year. Investors initially brushed off the warnings at the open, perhaps confident that higher like-for-like sales in H1 can either offset the H2 contraction, or hopeful…