On 23 July, India announced its first budget under a new coalition government led by Narendra Modi, who became prime minister for the third time albeit with a reduced majority of 293 MPs for his BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party).In the Indian general election held between 19 April to 1 June, 642 million people voted out of a total population of 1.4 billion.WHAT WERE THE KEY POINTS?India's finance minis

Discounts and premiums to NAV (net asset value), which is the value of all the investments an investment trust holds minus any debt or loans, are among the trust universe's unique quirks and can confuse novice investors. At the moment the vast majority of trusts trade at a discount.Annabel Brodie-Smith, the AIC's (Association of Investment Companies) communications director, says: 'Only around 20

Over the past year India has been stealing investors' attention away from the US, China, Europe, as a popular country to invest due to the strong performance of Indian equities, the impact of historic economic reforms and favourable demographics. With a general election looming in 2024, how long will this combination continue to fire Indian stocks?The other question facing prospective and existing

The long-term case for emerging markets is easy to grasp - less mature economies with more youthful demographics have scope for greater economic growth as they develop.There are also short-term tailwinds thanks to the dollar weakening (a key factor as many countries in the developing world have their debt denominated in dollars) and the Chinese economy fully reopening after Covid.WHY YOU MIGHT WAN

- New emerging markets trust targeting £100 million- EM valuations at multi-year lows- White Oak Capital Partners hopes to repeat Ashoka India Equity successLondon's subdued new issues market has received a boost with the news Ashoka WhiteOak Emerging Markets plans to raise £100 million through an IPO (initial public offering) on the premium segment of the main market.The new trust will look to

In the end 2021 proved a rewarding year for stock markets as vaccines were rolled out and economies began to recover from the worst ravages of the pandemic. In the early part of the year, growth was shunned for value before bouncing back into fashion as the year progressed.On the whole, this was a volatile period, with investors contending with concerns over inflation and the rising interest rates

A fresh wave of Covid-19 is having a devastating impact on India, with the country's health system overwhelmed amid the worst second wave seen anywhere in the world during the pandemic. Despite this tragic and apparently worsening situation Indian stocks have recently resumed an upward path after a shaky month or so.One of India's major stock market indices is the BSE Sensex which has increased by

Within the global investment universe, the Indian growth story is among the most exciting. An Asian powerhouse home to over 1.3bn people, a population size second only to China, India boasts highly favourable demographics with an average age of 29, implying an enormous potential market for growth for years to come.Recent tax changes could help renew investors' faith in India and in this article we

Indian Prime Minister Narenda Modi has slashed corporate tax rates in a bid to boost the faltering economy in a move triggering euphoria in the Indian equity markets.Shares in the UK stock market's quartet of India-focused investment trusts all joined in the rally, being Aberdeen New India (ANII), Ashoka India Equity (AIE), India Capital Growth Fund (IGC) and JPMorgan Indian (JII).Modi's $20bn tax

The FTSE100 is nudging higher after a report in the South China Post hinted that the US and China had reached a tentative truce in their on-going trade dispute. The index of the top 100 shares gains three points to 7,419 in early trade.Banks, builders and miners are leading the index, up 0.72%, 0.63% and 0.95% respectively, while tobacco, down 1.2%, and personal goods, down 0.82%, are a drag on th

Should fund managers really need any extra incentive to deliver for investors given they are already being paid a fee to do their job? Until recently it was commonplace for the managers of investment trusts to receive a performance fee on top of their management fee if they exceeded a specified level of return.Increasingly, this structure is being abandoned by trusts, though around a third of equi

It wasn't just the weather that was hot in July 2018 - according to data from Winterflood it was also the strongest month for investment trust fundraising so far in 2018 with nearly £1bn raised across the sector.More than half of this amount related to new investment trusts joining the stock market with the remainder coming from existing investment trusts raising more money.The latter includes Gr

Wizz Air (WIZZ) is experiencing turbulence as third quarter operating profit fell by 5.6% to €14.6m. Operating expenses increased by a greater amount than revenue growth. That news sends its shares down 2.1% to £35.Full year net profit guidance is unchanged at a range of between €265m and €280m.Operating expenses increased by 25.4% to €408.2m. Total revenue for the three month

Shares' deep-value pick from a couple of months back, carpet manufacturer Airea (AIEA:AIM), has stunned the market with huge gains in earnings.Airea's stock price is up 39% today at 30p, and more than 50% since Shares' bullish call on the stock in a 25 February cover story.Gains today are on the back of full-year results which reveal a knock-out 48% gain in underlying earnings before interest, tax

After providing support for the index yesterday (25 Feb) the banks - in the form of Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) - weighed on the FTSE 100 today but mining stocks came to the rescue with Glencore (GLEN), Rio Tinto (RIO) and BHP Billiton (BLT) all up more than 4%. The FTSE as a whole gains 1.4% to 6096.92.RBS dives 8% to 224.2p after reporting a £2 billion loss in 2015. The lender allocated £3.6

In some ways, investment styles are a bit like the pick 'n' mix section of a well-stocked sweet shop. Cola bottles will suit some tastes, others may prefer cola cubes; pear drops, rhubarb and custard or humbugs could prove the fancy of a completely different group. So it is with investment, every investor must make their own choices based on their own feelings towards risk, time frame and an assor

The latest smartphones, 5G networks and more Internet of Things will be hot topics when one of the world's biggest technology events kicks off next week. From Monday 22 February through to Thursday 25 Feb an army of business entrepreneurs and gadget geeks will descend on Barcelona for Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2016.This year will see more than 50 British companies at the event tucked under their

Investors seeking a collective with a strong stock-picking bias that is outperforming the FTSE All-Share should look at Neptune UK Opportunities Fund (GB00B1L6DW68).Tasked with generating growth of capital by investing primarily in UK companies, manager Mark Martin is able to draw on Neptune's global sector research and economic analysis to position the fund in sectors and companies he believes of

London shares make advances in early trade on Wednesday, bouncing back after a Greece-inspired sell-off pushed the FTSE 100 to a new five-month low on Tuesday. The benchmark index is up around 50 points at 6,570, while midcaps and the wider market make similar gains.Retailer Sports Direct (SPD) heads the Footsie leader board with a 2.5% gain at 736.5p, while supermarket Sainsbury (SBRY) leads the

Yes, today's £388 million takeover offer from the Dutch subsidiary of NYSE-listed Keysight Technologies (KEYS:NYSE) for Anite (AIE) may have been recommended by the board but the fat lady hasn't yet started her serenade yet. There's a handful of peers that could, in theory, throw their hats into the ring for UK software and mobile testing business. That the shares are up 24% at 127.5p, above the