It is one thing for analysts to forecast which stocks and sectors will do well in a rising-rate or inflationary environment, but when it actually comes to pass it's always fascinating to see what works in practice.Judging by the list of stocks making 12-month highs over the past week, those who favoured real assets were on the money.Standing tall are 3i Infrastructure (3IN), AEW UK REIT (AEWU), GC

UK markets finished in the red on Thursday as a batch of blue-chip firms traded ex-dividend and investors fretted over resurgent Brexit fears and an October end to the furlough scheme.Coming off a strong run, the pause for breath occurred despite an impressive jobless claims report out of the US, with initial jobless claims dropping below one million for the first time since March.The FTSE 100 fin

UK markets were lower on Thursday as a batch of blue-chip firms traded ex-dividend, while National Express (NEX) slumped after reporting a pre-tax loss for the first half of the year.Elsewhere in the world, the number of coronavirus deaths in India has topped 47,000, making it the fourth worst country globally, while New Zealand has recorded another 13 new infections, forcing Auckland into lockdow

The 100 FTSE fell 0.9% to 6,222.52 in early trading on Thursday as investors weighed up the impact of weak economic data seen yesterday and today's corporate updates.A number of stocks going ex-dividend, as always happens on a Thursday, was also a big contributor to the fall, with the likes of pharma giants AstraZeneca (AZN) and GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and oil majors BP (BP.) and Royal Dutch Shell (