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

A big question facing growth-oriented investors is whether the popular investment style can regain its mojo and get back to winning ways in a world of high interest rates.Despite a strong recent rally which has seen the technology heavy Nasdaq Composite rise 14% over the last six months, growth stocks have struggled relative to value over the last three years.The arrival of Pfizer?s (PFE:NYSE) Cov

Fund managers see India emerging as a consumer powerhouseObvious manufacturing and supply chain China alternativeValuations are challenging after strong stock market performanceFor a decade or more China has been the world's growth powerhouse, but India is on the rise, and analysts and fund managers aplenty believe it will become the next emerging market superstar.'Broadly, we think India is an at

China's abrupt Covid U-turn has created the best opportunity in years for Asia and emerging market equities to outperform developed markets on a sustainable basis. It is likely to be one of the select few major economies where growth could accelerate in 2023 as China, where equity market valuations remain undemanding, enjoys a reopening recovery like much of the rest of the world witnessed in 2022

Aunique advantage of investment trusts versus other types of funds are their independent boards of directors which offer additional oversight for investors and have a legal responsibility to protect shareholders' interests. The role of the board is both vital and varied.It ranges from scrutinising the performance of the fund manager and negotiating charges to proposing mergers between trusts and f

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

Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are a good starting point for investors looking to gain low-cost exposure to a broad range of financial markets.They enable you to track various groups of companies, bonds or commodities from around the world. Ultimately ETFs can provide the building blocks of a diversified portfolio.ETFs can be much cheaper than a traditional investment fund that uses a fund manager t

The global markets sell-off has more than doubled the average discount to net asset value on investment trusts, moving from 3.8% at the end of 2019 to 9.3% at the end of February, according to the AIC. That presents an opportunity for investors with an appetite for risk to consider buying trusts that interest them at much cheaper prices.Several sector discounts have widened by a greater amount, no

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

Emerging markets haven't been good to investors in 2018. Their meltdown has reflected a mounting trade war between the world's two biggest economies, America and China, higher US interest rates and a strengthening of the dollar. Compounding the situation have been the currency crises and economic problems that have befallen Turkey and Argentina.However, where there is a problem, there can be an op

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

There is growing belief among investment experts that emerging and frontier markets could be some of the most exciting places to invest over the coming few years.Not that emerging and frontier markets have been in a rut lately, they haven't. As the chart shows, performance has been very decent for the past couple of years. Jupiter's Emerging and Frontier Income Trust (JEFI), floated in May 2017 ra

Good financial planning can make a big difference between a happy life and one that is more stressful due to worries about money. We all have big events in our lives that require a cash outflow and so it really helps to be financially prepared.Growing concern in the UK about rising consumer debt is particularly relevant. Too many people rely on credit to fund their lifestyles and too few people ar

Asian powerhouse India's macroeconomic health is the strongest it has been in a decade. The nation could be both a fantastic top down and bottom up investment story. Growth is accelerating driven by demographics and urbanisation, while corporate quality is high with many world class management teams treating minority shareholders properly. Furthermore, inflation is falling and the government remai

Investing in a single country fund typically involves a higher degree of risk than a more diversified alternative but it has the potential to deliver some spectacular returns.Single country investment trusts are available for the main developed markets such as the US and Japan, as well as more specialist areas like Russia, India, Qatar, Vietnam, China, and Brazil.The USEmma Bird, a research analys

Global stock markets finished 2016 in a buoyant mood with the FTSE and the Dow starting the new year at or close to all-time highs. In bull markets it is easy to ignore the potential pitfalls of investing, but the list of macro events that could bring it all crashing down seems to be longer than ever.In Europe there is a real risk that Brexit could help to inspire a far-right win for Marine Le Pen

Eagle Eye (EYE:AIM) 165pAIM is littered with strugglers chasing the mobile commerce dream but Eagle Eye is off to a decent start. SMS marketing and vouchers space has potential, but this is also high-risk territory.Earthport (EPO:AIM) 45.25pNew management is key to ending years of failure and cash calls. Making rapid progress to promised global platform for medium-sized cross-border payments goal.

The UK has a rich industrial tradition evidenced by the fact that the revolution which bears the same moniker was conceived here. Technological expertise and innovation remain the key attributes which are likely to see challenger companies in this sector make the step up.Our five key selections have both qualities in spades. They include track testing robot maker AB Dynamics (ABDP:AIM), gas mask m

Specialist engineering firm Corac (CRA:AIM) has cranked back into gear after a large share price sell-off over the past few months. The small cap gained 19.5% to 12.7p after the successful completion of the first phase of a trial of its down hole gas compression (DGC) technology on a natural gas field in Texas.The company estimates the market opportunity for DGC and its accompanying in-pipe gas co