European banking and mining stocks bore the brunt of the selloff in morning trading on Friday (4 April) as China announced 34% retaliatory tariffs on US imports, sparking fears of a global trade war.UK banks Barclays (BARC), NatWest (NWG), Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) were some of the biggest fallers ? down 9.12%, 8.99% and 7.32% respectively on the day and global mining companies Glencore...

After a decent showing in 2022, the UK stock market has failed to fire in 2023. The good news for investors is shares in other parts of the world have done much better and it has never been easier to have a globally diversified portfolio.There is an excellent range of products and instruments which allow you to participate in the returns from markets across the globe and, in this article, we...

Our investor this week is Andy, who is in his early thirties and has been investing since he left university around a decade ago.A history graduate, Andy puts his initial interest in finance and markets down to his father who is an accountant.'I can't remember exactly what the trigger was,' says Andy, 'but around the time I was leaving university the economy was still just coming out of the...

SSE announces £40 billion of clean energy investmentsAdjusted profit more than doubles in year to 31 March 2023Dividend hiked by 13%Energy firm SSE (SSE) made modest gains off the back of a doubling of annual headline profit and as it announced a £40 billion programme of investment in clean energy.The shares, which have enjoyed a decent run of late, traded up 1% to £18.89 - close to a...

What will Jeremy Hunt's windfall tax changes mean for energy infrastructure investment in the UK, it's a fair question and one that's already generated more than a few headlines.Both the bosses of Shell (SHEL) and SSE (SSE) have warned their respective companies will have to review their slate of investments because of the changes, changes which have thrown previous 'fiscal calculus' up in the...

In a bid to calm financial markets the new chancellor Jeremy Hunt has rowed back (17 October) virtually all the proposed tax cuts in the mini budget while the cap on energy bills will now only last until April 2023 rather than for two years.Long-dated UK gilt prices surged 5% higher as yields dropped from 4.8% on 14 October to 4.4% while the 10-year yield fell by 0.4% to 3.9%.Despite the fall...

Stocks and trusts with exposure to the renewables sector have taken a big hit over legislation to set a temporary cap on their revenue to help lower wholesale energy prices.Announced on 11 October, the level of the cap is still a matter for consultation but had been expected to take a similar format to the one outlined by the European Union whereby non-gas generators must pay member states the...

Seasoned investors should be familiar with Alfred Rappaport's view that 'profits are an opinion, cash is fact', yet a great deal of company analysis still relies on traditional measures of profits such as EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) and EPS (earnings per share).Rappaport argued that since bond holders valued their investments by discounting back future...

So much for the bear market rally. The FTSE 100 ground to a halt in the latter part of May and fell over in early June, meaning it is now sitting on a 3.7% loss year-to-date.While still better than many other parts of the world, it's frustrating that the index stubbornly refuses to break out and trade higher. Investors want positive absolute returns, not simply a relative outperformance that...

There were two key takeaways for the energy sector from chancellor Rishi Sunak's cost of living measures (25 May). First the windfall tax - or 'temporary, targeted energy profits levy' - went further than the measures proposed by Labour.Second, power generation firms are not out of the woods yet despite any announcement on a levy on their excess profit being delayed.Ominously the Treasury is...

SSE (SSE) £17.29Gain to date: 11.8%Original entry point: Buy at £15.46 on 3 June 2021Energy sector shares came under pressure (24 May) after the Financial Times reported the UK chancellor Rishi Sunak had ordered plans to be drawn up to impose a windfall tax on up to £10 billion of excess profits earned by electricity generators including operators of wind farms.This notably goes further...

The utilities sector has historically attracted investors for its defensive and reliable revenue streams which in turn funded a decent level of dividend income.More recently, several connected factors have shaken up this industry. These include a transition away from fossil fuels into renewables in the face of a climate emergency, greater appetite for investments in ESG (environmental, social...

A significant number of FTSE 100 companies could face shareholder rebellion over the coming weeks as investors increasingly put pressure on boards over key issues.There is a long list of topics which could dominate this year's annual shareholder meeting season, which gets into full swing at the end of April.These include environmental policy and climate change action, boardroom and workforce...

Given present geopolitical and economic uncertainties and the stock market declines seen year-to-date, the portfolio support provided by dividends remain important to investors.Thankfully this year, we have continued to witness a restoration of dividend payments by an array of companies following the hiatus seen in 2020 when firms suspended payouts to preserve cash at the onset of the...

The human tragedy unfolding in Ukraine is having dramatic ramifications across the world, not least in the energy market.The US has banned the import of Russian oil, LNG (liquefied natural gas) and coal. Europe is not able to turn the taps off overnight as it is more reliant on Russia to meet its energy needs. However, the direction of travel is clear - the West is committed to weaning itself...

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...

Having briefly touched a two-year high, London's FTSE 100 ended Tuesday's trading session marginally lower, off a mere 0.09% at 7,567.07 points, despite a decent start on Wall Street and as an early boost from oil major BP (BP.) faded by the close.Investors remained cautious in the face of worries over inflation, interest rates and geopolitical tensions and a decline in oil prices acted as a...

London's FTSE 100 lost some of its early momentum to trade just 0.1% higher at 7,584.12 points by midday on Tuesday.The blue chip benchmark began the session on the front foot, despite a mixed trading session in the US overnight, with investors encouraged by positive results from BP (BP), SSE (SSE) and Bellway (BWY).The most recent BRC-KPMG retail sales monitor also showed continuing...

UK equity markets are higher in early trading on Tuesday despite a mixed trading session in the US overnight. Investors were encouraged by positive results from BP (BP), SSE (SSE) and Bellway (BWY).The most recent BRC-KPMG retail sales monitor also showed continuing resilience among consumers with sales growth of 11.9% in January 2022, compared to 2021. Growth was 7.5% on pre-pandemic 2020...

Vodafone (VOD) could potentially see its shares trade on a high multiple of earnings this year after being targeted by an activist investor.Cevian Capital is rumoured to have built up an undisclosed stake in the mobile network operator. Reports suggest the Swedish activist fund wants to put pressure on the FTSE 100 company to sell parts of its global operations, consolidate its position in key...