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Equities

  • Can M&A and buybacks breathe life into UK market?

    Can M&A and buybacks breathe life into UK market?

    Both buybacks and M&A should help realise value in UK shares, boosting prices and giving investors another reason to consider the UK stockmarket Not only does M&A activity appear to be picking up, with a high-profile bid for UK electronics retailer Currys, but the scale of company buybacks continues to accelerate. If it goes well,…

  • Will healthcare overtake AI as top theme for 2024?

    Will healthcare overtake AI as top theme for 2024?

    Healthcare is a sector with a lot going on, writes Cherry Reynard, and some of its potential appears unappreciated by investors If AI was the dominant theme in 2023, healthcare might snap at its heels in 2024. Healthcare has often been characterised as dull and defensive, but breakthroughs on obesity drugs, on Alzheimer’s treatment and…

  • ING plots bleak course for Europe in 2024

    ING plots bleak course for Europe in 2024

    Europe is set to experience “weak development” across many of its equity sectors this year, according to forecasts from ING. In What to expect from European sectors in 2024, the financial services giant indicated the manufacturing, staffing and construction sectors were likely to witness declines, even as transport and retail are set to see a…

  • Is investors’ love affair with tech giants cooling?

    Is investors’ love affair with tech giants cooling?

    Following a lacklustre set of Q3 results, are the ‘Magnificent Seven’ and others finally losing their sheen? The recent round of technology results has revealed a growing gap between expectation and reality. Although most of the ‘Magnificent Seven’ squeaked ahead of analyst forecasts, few could deliver on the lofty hopes built into share prices, on…

  • Trials and tribulations of investing in European equities

    Trials and tribulations of investing in European equities

    Would a rate hike pause from the ECB be enough to improve the performance of European stockmarkets? Cherry Reynard has a closer look The European Central Bank appears odds-on to leave interest rates on hold at its October meeting, in spite of rising energy prices. Weakening labour markets, more difficult PMI data and lacklustre household…

  • Have the easier equity gains been made in Latin America?

    Have the easier equity gains been made in Latin America?

    The region compares relatively favourably to other emerging markets, writes Cherry Reynard, but it is still struggling for attention versus its Asian peers While the world is adjusting to ‘higher for longer’ interest rates, there is one region that is moving in the opposite direction: Latin America. Brazil, Chile and Peru have already dropped rates,…

  • AI: The only case when ‘this time it’s different’ isn’t just an expensive mistake

    AI: The only case when ‘this time it’s different’ isn’t just an expensive mistake

    Is the probability distribution of returns different?

  • Are US equities overvalued, or are valuations just high?

    Are US equities overvalued, or are valuations just high?

    Given the high valuations relative to their peers, fund managers offer their views on the prospects for US equities over the medium to longer term After another strong run for the S&P 500 index, it has become commonplace to talk about the over-valuation of the US market. Investors appear to recognise its strengths – leading technology innovation,…

  • IPO activity at its lowest in Europe since the global financial crisis

    IPO activity at its lowest in Europe since the global financial crisis

    Association for Financial Markets in Europe has released its latest Equity Primary Markets and Trading Report

  • Value in Japan? Mispriced assets can still be found

    Value in Japan? Mispriced assets can still be found

    Fund managers discuss where they are finding the most attractively-valued stocks Since Warren Buffett got involved, the world has gone crazy for Japan. The Nikkei is up 23.4% for the year to date (to 10 July 2023). That puts it 8.8%, 11.2% and 25.8% ahead of the S&P 500, Eurostoxx 50 and FTSE 100 respectively.…

  • Dewi John: spotting the growth rebound’s winners and losers

    Dewi John: spotting the growth rebound’s winners and losers

    While the market can famously remain irrational longer than investors can remain solvent, analysis suggests this growth rally is thinly supported Having largely given up on organic intelligence, investors have grown all excited over its artificial offspring. As a result, the (mainly US) stocks linked to AI have raced away from the broad market this…

  • Is growth stocks’ dominance a case of style over substance?

    Is growth stocks’ dominance a case of style over substance?

    2022 was hailed a year of revival for value strategies, but they have been comprehensively outpaced by growth strategies to date in 2023. The MSCI World Growth index has beaten the MSCI World Value index by around 14% since the start of the year, with weaker commodity markets, economic weakness and the banking crisis all…