International Biotechnology Trust (IBT) 716pMarket cap: £263.2 millionWarren Buffett tells investors to be greedy when others are fearful and take advantage of depressed prices. That in a nutshell is the investment proposition for International Biotechnology Trust (IBT), which sits on an 11% discount to NAV (net asset value).The discount is not quite as extreme as it was when we highlighted the t

Markets seem to approve of the election of Donald Trump as the 47th US president. The S&P 500 has hit a record high in the wake of the election result, crossing over the 6,000 mark for the first time. This latest bump comes on the back of an exceptional run for US stocks, which has put other regional markets firmly in the shade, including the UK's own stock market.The historic performance differen

Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced an astonishing £40 billion of tax rises in her maiden budget, and yet, despite that, there will be relief in some quarters that things didn't turn out worse.Capital gains tax is one of the areas where the Reeves' raid was not as bad as feared, as there had been speculation she would bring capital gains tax rates into line with income tax, with the top rate risin

Stock prices in Europe remained in the green at Wednesday midday, as investors digested Donald Trump's win for a second non-consecutive term as US president.'The dollar strengthened and ten-year Treasury yields jumped to 4.406% on the assumption that Trump's policies will stoke inflation and require interest rates to stay higher for longer,' commented AJ Bell's Russ Mould, before the Republican's

Stock prices Europe rose on Wednesday morning as Donald Trump was set for a second term as US president, as a slew of European purchasing managers indices came in.Donald Trump has claimed victory in the US election, with traders ramping up bets on fresh tax cuts, tariffs, and rising inflation.While polls had shown the race on a knife edge, the Republican fared far better than his Democratic oppone

Primark profits up 51%Good growth in food27p special dividend declaredShares in Associated British Foods (ABF) topped the FTSE 100 leader board, rallying 4.5% to £23.91, after the global consumer conglomerate reported a 33% surge in annual profits boosted by Primark's rising sales and significant margin recovery.While the discount fashion chain continues to dominate the narrative at Associated Br

Equity markets are buoyant, fixed income markets seem more nervous judging by the way yields are rising (at least for government-issued in the developed West), and commodity prices continue to march to their own beat, with gold and silver surging, industrial metals largely flat and oil and gas remaining subdued.The relative calm pervading hydrocarbon prices is in many ways surprising, given the on

Stocks in London continued on their losing streak on Wednesday, as risk appetite was curbed by the upcoming UK budget, and the US presidential election.The FTSE 100 index closed down 47.90 points, or 0.6%, at 8,258.64. The FTSE 250 ended down 119.72 points, or 0.6%, at 20,829.93, and the AIM All-Share lost 5.03 points, 0.7%, at 729.13.The Cboe UK 100 closed down 0.6% at 826.94 on Wednesday, the Cb

London's FTSE 100 was on course to extend its losing run to four at midday on Wednesday as US election and UK budget jitters knocked the mood.US interest rate concerns are also hanging over equities. Traders have fretted over a slower than hoped Federal Reserve rate cutting path, putting pressure on equity and bond prices.The odds of a rate hold by the Federal Reserve next month have increased to

Stocks in London slipped at the close on Monday, as the FTSE 100 joined European peers in negative territory.The FTSE 100 index closed down 40.01 points, or 0.5%, at 8,318.24. The FTSE 250 ended down 242.98 points, or 1.2%, at 20,906.60, and the AIM All-Share lost 5.74 points, 0.8%, at 734.95.The Cboe UK 100 closed down 0.4% at 833.19 on Monday, the Cboe UK 250 ended down 1.1% at 18,461.11, and th

Stock prices were mixed in London at Friday midday as investors digested better than expected UK retail sales data, and a deceleration in China's economic growth.The FTSE 100 index was down 20.69 points, or 0.3%, at 8,364.44. The FTSE 250 was up 52.59 points, or 0.3%, at 21,153.51, and the AIM All-Share was flat at 742.40.The Cboe UK 100 was down 0.3% at 837.57, the Cboe UK 250 was up 0.3% at 18,7

There is a huge body of academic work highlighting behavioural biases which consistently trip-up investors' supposedly rational thinking. In this article we look at seven big sins of investing, with some examples and insights on how to avoid them.A lot of the credit for these principles goes to Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky who collaborated in the 1960s to research apparent anomalies and contra

US stocks hit fresh all-time highs last week after the third-quarter earnings season started with a bang, with both JPMorgan Chase (JPM:NYSE) and Wells Fargo (WFC:NYSE) beating consensus profit forecasts.Heavy buying of both stocks helped push the KBW Banking Index up over 3%, with JPMorgan shares gaining 4.4% to $222.29 and Wells Fargo shares climbing 5.6% to $60.99.JPMorgan reported total revenu

HarbourVest Global Private Equity(HVPE) £23.10Market cap: £1.75 billion The markets haven't been kind to private equity and other 'long-duration' investments over the last couple of years as high interest rates hammered their valuations, but with the global rate cycle now turning we believe money is poised to flow back into these assets.HarbourVest Global Private Equity (HVPE) is a $4.3 billion

Banks and oil majors kept the FTSE 100 in the green at the London close on Monday, while other stocks slipped, joining peers across the pond.The FTSE 100 index closed up 22.99 points, 0.3%, to 8,303.62. The FTSE 250 ended down 46.87 points, 0.2%, at 20,853.21, and the AIM All-Share closed up just 0.25 of a point at 738.61.The Cboe UK 100 edged up 0.2% to 830.70, the Cboe UK 250 closed down 0.4% at

After September's boom, US stocks have gone limp into early October with investor's troubled by escalating aggression in the Middle East, pushing oil prices to their biggest increases in nearly a year.At the same time, mixed economic data offered little firm clue as to the future of the Federal Reserve's easing cycle after Fed Chair Jerome Powell hinted the central bank is not in a rush to rapidly

The US Federal Reserve is cutting interest rates for the first time since the pandemic-poleaxed year of 2020 in a welcome (and necessary) affirmation of the equity markets' bullish narrative that inflation will cool, the American and Western economies will enjoy a soft landing (if they suffer any landing at all) and central banks will ease policy as a result.This cheaper credit will, in turn, supp

Supermarket Income REIT (SUPR) 76pGain to date: 0%We suggested investing in the company in late March on the basis income was rising due to strong sales at supermarkets and the shares were yielding 8% with the dividend fully covered by earnings.While zero returns isn't quite what we'd hoped for, in the meantime investors have received two interim payments of 1.515p per share, one in mid-May and on

On 24 September, the PBOC (People's Bank of China) unveiled a major stimulus package to support economic growth, promote the expansion of consumption and investment and throw a lifeline to struggling industries and sectors.The central bank also announced a 800-billion-yuan ($114 billion) lending pool to help fund managers, insurers and brokers buy more stocks and initiate share buybacks.China's st

Stock prices in London were mostly lower but the FTSE 100 was held up by rising oil prices following Iran's attack on Israel, as investors await US unemployment data.The FTSE 100 index was up 6.31 points, or 0.1%, at 8,282.58. The FTSE 250 was down 147.04 points, or 0.7%, at 20,767.66, and the AIM All-Share was down 2.58 points, or 0.4%, at 734.22.The Cboe UK 100 was up slightly at 828.88, the Cbo