Redrow shares are positive this morning, lifting UK Housebuilding peers along with it – despite a weaker than expected UK Halifax House Price Index print – after reporting a record-breaking set of half-year results, just six months after doing exactly the same with full-year figures; group revenues +20%, profits +26% and completions +14% were all…
Shares in Stagecoach are sharply lower this morning with the UK government (UK Transport Secretary Grayling), once again, set to take control of the struggling East Coast Mainline rail service from April. This comes with the current Stagecoach/Virgin franchise (run 90/10 by the former, branded the latter) on the verge of hitting the buffers after…
Shares in Vodafone are down 2.5% this morning, depriving the UK Index of a valuable 5pts, after it confirmed preliminary discussions with international cable network owner Liberty Global about the acquisition/swap of overlapping continental European assets (Germany, Eastern Europe). Shares in CityFibre Infrastructure, however, are faring worse, down closer to 4%. This may stem from…
2 Feb Interactive Investor (Link) “With the test and measurement businesses in question accounting for around 25% of the division’s revenues and 42% of its underlying profits, this begs the question why management is selling two businesses with a higher aggregate 14.7% margin. The sale may well be only “slightly dilutive” for the group’s margin (a…
European stocks are set for their worst week since August. Time to panic, no? A gentle reminder that all good things CAN come to an end….. most definitely! Don’t assume stocks only go up. Global equity markets have enjoyed an epic advance for many months, years even. However, twitchy fingers are eager to click ‘sell’…
After so many questions about why equity markets are finally showing some signs of weakness, I thought I’d build upon what I wrote in today’s Index Focus. One reason for general equity market weakness is a continued 2018 rise in bond yields (especially the US) to hit multi-year highs, offering better relative returns versus what…