Given the depressed valuation of the UK stock market ? and the even more depressed valuation of UK commercial property ? it was only a matter of time before someone came up with a fund to seize on the opportunities on offer.Enter Special Opportunities REIT, a new internally-managed real estate investment trust aimed at capitalising on the abundance of value in the UK commercial property sector...

Primary Health Properties CEO buys £68,862 sharesBango CEO buys £20,013 sharesLiteracy Capital director investsHarry Hyman, CEO of FTSE 250-listed REIT (real estate investment trust) Primary Health Properties (PHP) has bought 74,890 shares at a total value of £68,862.40 on 9 April.Hyman?s move comes after research firm Peel Hunt gave Primary Health Properties a bullish rating after...

Primary Health Properties (PHP) 90pMarket cap: £1.2 billionAs the National Health Service continues to struggle under the weight of an ageing population and increased demand for treatment, resulting in growing waiting lists, there has never been a greater need for primary healthcare services outside of hospitals.Primary Health Properties (PHP) is a UK real estate investment trust and a...

- Earnings up 6.6%, 27th consecutive dividend increase- Economic uncertainty dampens investment plans- Irish property management acquisition Investor in primary health facilities Primary Health Properties (PHP) increased adjusted earnings by 6.6% in the year to 31 December 2022 while the dividend was raised by 5.2% marking the 27th consecutive year of dividend growth.However, the company gave...

Investors are increasingly looking for stocks, bonds or funds that pay a good income.Dividends or bond coupons provide positive returns which are particularly attractive in a more challenging market such as now.Many people have this year lost money from backing high-growth but dividend-less stocks such as Tesla (TSLA:NASDQ) and Netflix (NFLX:NASDAQ), and they're fed up.In the other side of the...

Recession concerns have been seeping into the investment narrative in recent weeks. The war in Ukraine has exacerbated supply shortages and added unexpected fuel to the inflationary fire.Inflation in basic non-discretionary goods crimps spending elsewhere and could put a big dent in the expected nascent global recovery.While recession isn't the base case for most economists, investors may do...

For now, the escalating conflict in Ukraine shows no signs of easing. After the initial shock, markets were hopeful the economic impact of the war might be contained as the West's opening salvo of sanctions in response to Russia's invasion (24 Feb) were weaker than some had anticipated.However, any relief soon dissipated as Ukraine put up stiff resistance against the Russian invaders and...

UK stocks ended the week on a positive note, just, despite an unexpected rate rise from the Bank of England and a record level of Covid infections driven by the new Omicron variant.Earlier in the day retail sales for November surprised to the upside, lifting retail and other consumer-facing stocks.At the close the FTSE 100 index of leading shares was up 9 points or a little over 0.1% at 7,270...

In contrast with European and other international markets, UK stocks were higher on Friday after retail sales rose faster than expected for the second consecutive month.At midday the FTSE 100 index of leading shares was up 21 points or 0.3% at 7,276 points led by mining and consumer-facing stocks.US futures were indicating a lower opening after yesterday's sell-off, while Asian markets were...

UK stocks were higher on Friday after retail sales rose faster than expected for the second consecutive month as consumers brought forward Christmas shopping due to worries over the availability of products linked to global supply constraints.The FTSE 100 index of leading shares was 0.2% higher at 7,276 points in early trading.In Asia, the Japanese central bank left interest rates unchanged...

The FTSE 100 made a slow start to the final trading day of the week ahead of the long Bank Holiday weekend with investors keeping their powder dry ahead of Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell's comments at the Jackson Hole symposium for central bankers.Economic watchers largely expect the address to the remote conference will be unremarkable, but the market awaits in anticipation regardless.At...

There are plenty of reasons to be more cautious about the markets despite the flagship US stock indices, the S&P 500, continuing to hit new highs.Investor nervousness is increasing. Just look at how many companies have recently beaten earnings forecasts, but their share prices have fallen as the market worries about near-term pressures or the loss of momentum in parts of their...

UK stocks got off to a mixed start on Wednesday as better corporate earnings were outweighed by weak overnight performances in the US and Asia.US markets gave back some of their recent gains as heavyweight tech stocks Alphabet, Apple and Microsoft dipped despite strong earnings.In Asia, Chinese stocks remained at their lows for the year after three days of heavy losses despite state-run media...

Having bumped along at negligible levels for much of 2020 as the UK economy struggled under months of lockdown, consumer inflation is back, with big implications for your savings and investment portfolio.UK CPI jumped to a four-month high of 0.7% in January, up from 0.6% in December 2020. Admittedly this rate of inflation remains modest by historical standards, yet CPI now stands at four times...

UK shares gave up their early gains to trade lower into the close as a strong showing by mining shares fizzled and sentiment was dented by widespread weakness in banking and healthcare stocks.After rallying almost 1% during the morning, Brent Crude also gave up its gains to fall 0.5% to $64.50 per barrel, while gold - which had been overlooked in the dash for other precious metals - actually...

UK shares gave up their early gains to trade lower at midday as a strong showing by mining shares on talk of a commodities 'supercycle' was offset by weakness in banking and healthcare stocks.After rallying almost 1% during the morning, Brent Crude also gave up its gains to fall 0.5% to $64.50 per barrel, while gold - which has been overlooked in the dash for other precious metals - actually...

UK shares opened slightly higher on Thursday helped by a strong performance from mining shares with Rio Tinto (RIO), Glencore (GLEN) and Fresnillo (FRES) gaining close to 3%, while banking and healthcare stocks were lower.Asian trading was mixed with Japan's Nikkei 225 down 0.2% and China's SE Composite up 0.6%. Gold prices were 0.6% higher at $1,787 an ounce and Brent Crude continued to...

As another year begins, a number of directors have wasted no time in buying or selling their company's shares.The biggest deal so far in 2021 comes from Harry Hyman, the chief executive of FTSE 250 healthcare facilities investor Primary Health Properties (PHP).Hyman has bought £16.5 million worth of shares in the real estate investment trust (REIT), snapping up almost 11.5 million of them at...

Indecision gripped the FTSE on Wednesday, which closed almost flat ahead of the US Federal Reserve's vote on interest rates this evening.No new policy announcements are expected from the meeting, with it widely believed the central bank is still trying to figure out its next step, and that the meeting in September will be the next point of action.But investors will still on the lookout this...

The FTSE 100 moved into positive territory by lunchtime after beginning the day in the red as investors wait for the latest update on US monetary policy from the Federal Reserve, due later in the day.The Fed's chair Jay Powell has already made clear the US central bank isn't in a rush to raise interest rates from their record low of 0.25%, but equally has stated that he doesn't want to take...