Investors looking to put money to work with a company for the long term often employ fundamental analysis, which involves scrutinising financial metrics and analysing financial statements to help them understand how fundamentally strong a company is. While profit margins are a solid indicator of a good or bad business, the margin doesn't tell you anything about how much money a company actually sp

In retrospect, it seems clear the tipping point for AI (artificial intelligence) was the release in November 2022 of OpenAI?s free-to use ChatGPT system.Until that point, most AI products were being developed privately and weren?t widely available to the public, added to which most were fairly clunky whereas ChatGPT was able to interact in a conversational way, answering questions, challenging inc

Mercadolibre (MELI:NASDAQ) $1,528.95Market cap: $77.5 billionReaders that have come across MercadoLibre (MELI:NASDAQ) before will likely be familiar with the badge some pin on it ? the ?Amazon (AMZN:NASDAQ) of Latin America?. And just like its US peer, the Uruguay-based business has spent the past couple of decades emerging as one of the region?s ecommerce leaders.It may have started out as a mark

Stock prices in London were up at the open on Wednesday, with sentiment improved ahead of an important day for investors, as UK Chancellor Jeremy Hunt prepares to lay out the budget.The FTSE 100 index opened up 18.39 points, 0.2%, at 7,664.55. The FTSE 250 was up 119.71 points, 0.6%, at 19,390.74, and the AIM All-Share was up 0.71 of a point, 0.1%, at 735.60.The Cboe UK 100 was up 0.2% at 767.53,

Stock markets were rising on Tuesday, after Chinese authorities smothered protests against Covid-19 restrictions but also said they would step up efforts to vaccinate the country's older population, which could help end its endless cycle of lockdowns.The FTSE 100 index opened up 64.88 points, 0.9%, at 7,538.90. The FTSE 250 was up 11.98 points, 0.1%, at 19,304.33, while the AIM All-Share was down

Equity investors started the new week in a risk-off mood, amid surprising scenes of protest in China over the weekend, though the dollar failed to benefit.The FTSE 100 index was down 27.72 points, 0.4%, at 7,458.95 at midday on Monday. The FTSE 250 was down 201.94 points, 1.0% at 19,343.76, but the AIM All-Share was up 1.48 points, 0.2%, at 848.55.The Cboe UK 100 was down 0.4% at 746.07, the Cboe

Protests in China against Covid-19 lockdown restrictions served as a reminder of the political and economic difficulties faced by the world's second largest economy, sending stocks lower globally on Monday.The FTSE 100 index opened down 36.88 points, 0.5%, at 7,449.79. The FTSE 250 was down 45.13 points, 0.2%, at 19,500.57. The AIM All-Share, meanwhile, was up just 0.41 of a point at 847.48.The Cb

Despite the Bank of England's historic decision to make back to-back interest rate rises, interest rates could still lag inflation for the medium to long term.This presents investors looking for income with a challenge. Returns were historically low even before the onset of the coronavirus. However the economic fall-out from Covid-19 has exacerbated the low yield environment.With this in mind, Sha

Investing requires discipline and patience. Regularly putting money into investments can pay off in the long term, and it's this habit which can help to build up wealth over time.A lot of people have the willingness to put money into stocks, funds or bonds every month - they simply don't know where to start in terms of picking the right products.To give you a helping hand and put your investment j

Truly excellent companies are seldom available on the relative cheap but US industrial giant 3M is a rare exception. The share price has been on the backfoot since August and that has left the business trading on multi-year lows on a price to earnings basis.It is dealing with some company-specific issues, but we believe these are largely transitory. On the assumption that 3M justifies our faith an

After more than 130 years, the board of the once-pioneering Scottish Investment Trust (SCIN) has decided it is to be subsumed into a rival global trust and will cease to be. The trust has suffered in recent years from poor performance and the board of directors has rightfully called for change.Shares takes the view that shareholders should vote in favour of the merger with JPMorgan Global Growth &

There is no question electric vehicles will play a key role in the future of urban transport and in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Under the International Energy Agency's Sustainable Development Scenario, there could be 230 million vehicles on the road by 2030 compared with just 10 million last year.For the winners, the spoils are potentially vast. Bloomberg estimates the market opportunity be

Is there a more Marmite stock than Tesla? It commands the attention of investors like almost no other company on the market.It ranks in the top 10 of the S&P 500's 30 and 90-day average volume leaders, is the world's most valuable car maker, and you can barely search the internet without tripping over some sort of opinion or commentary on the company. Co-founder and chief executive Elon Musk's Twi

Investors looking for good ways to earn an income from the market and hopefully see the value of their investment rise should put their money in Liontrust Global Dividend (B91RFZ2).A 2.2% yield is attractive relative to returns you can get from cash in the bank. While there are other funds yielding more than twice that level, the Liontrust product should be viewed from a total return perspective w

It's been a tough year for people who rely on their investments for income thanks to widespread dividend cuts. Income fund managers have now rejigged their portfolios to names which they believe will be dependable source of dividends or bond coupons going forward.Their changes make for interesting reading, particularly for anyone who prefers individual stocks to investment funds as it might throw

Shares in pest-control and hygiene firm Rentokil (RTO) provided a rare ray of light amid the gloom in the UK stock market after it reported its highest revenue growth in 15 years and an increase in the final dividend.For the year to 31 December, ongoing revenues were up 8.6% on a constant currency basis to £2.68bn while operating profits were up 10.5% to £368.1m. Thanks to strong cash-flow growt

Investors' capital flooded into environmental, social and governance (ESG) exchange-traded funds (ETFs) at the start of the year. Total assets globally reached a record $25bn at the end of January, a 10% increase in just a month, according to data from research provider ETFGI.There are 210 ESG ETFs listed globally, and the top 20 took nearly $900m in net new assets in January. Among the top five m

At midnight on Wednesday 17 October 2018, Canada became only the second country in the world after Uruguay and the first country in the leading G7 group of nations to legalise the recreational use of cannabis for adults over 18.Canada's 'experiment' is being closely watched by other governments and lawmakers to see how it manages the drug's use and whether legalisation succeeds where prohibition h

The FTSE 100 was broadly flat in early trading above the 7,250 mark as investors were not unduly spooked by the air strikes on Syria over the weekend.Activist investor Elliot Advisors is now the largest investor in Costa Coffee-owner Whitbread (WTB) and is pushing for the company to spin-off its coffee chain as it sees little overlap with the rest of the business including hotel group Premier Inn

UK shares are firmly on the up in early trade on Tuesday ahead of Philip Hammond's first Autumn Statement due tomorrow. SOme of this strength is likely down to Monday's jump in the value of Sterling. The FTSE 100 index rallies 55 points, or about 0.8%, to 6,833, after a largely flat finish to trade on Monday.In corporate news. Construction equipment group Lavendon (LVD) soars 41% to 196p as it rec