Moving up and down is hard-wired into the stock market but 2021 has, so far, been particularly volatile. Year-to-date the UK's benchmark FTSE 100 index has on four occasions slumped around 2.5% in a single day, while twice ripping higher by similar-sized advances. Moves of more than 1% in either direction have become almost routine.Most readers will know that the threat of surging inflation...

It goes against the grain to pay more for an investment trust than the underlying net assets are actually worth, but sometimes it can make a lot of sense. The most highly rated trusts tend to experience heavy demand and normally trade at a premium to reflect their superior performance.In some cases the demand is sufficient to lift a whole sector. For example, strong investor appetite for safe...