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Electric mini coming to a town near you… soon

Mainstream electric car announcement from BMW. Electric mini coming to a town near you… soon There will be a fully electric version of the Mini to be built in the UK. It would appear the electric car is finally gaining momentum. The BMW mini is expected to go into production …

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Finance

Acacia Mining under pressure

Gold miner Acacia Mining PLC is under even more pressure today and continues its downward trend. At around midday (25/07/17) it was down by 8.6% at 166.6p A very substantial tax demand from Tanzanian authorities has caused this dramatic share price slide. Acacia dispute the demand.

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Finance

The Faraday Challenge

Love this project. The UK government announced the ‘Faraday Challenge’ yesterday (24/07/17), investing £246 million in the research, innovation and development of battery technologies to make the UK’s energy system smarter. I’m pleased the UK is finally joining the ‘electric’ revolution as highlighted by this useful investment. Design, research and …

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Finance

Oil heads up!

Oil prices heading upwards. Opec making moves to reduce high global stock levels and cap oil output in attempt to support oil price. Will this help place oil on a more solid footing or will production controls continue to prove difficult?

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Finance

FTSE 250 & FTSE 100 Best & Worst Performers Today

FTSE 250 best performer on: 24/07/17 – Carillion PLC (CLLN) up 5.7% FTSE 250 worst performer on: 24/07/17 – Acacia Mining PLC (ACA) down 21% – Big fall just as FTSE 250 closed – (Gold miner reportedly in dispute with Tanzanian government over taxes). FTSE 100 top performer on: 24/07/17 …

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Finance

IMF downgrades UK Growth

The IMF downgrades UK growth prospects due to the continuing BREXIT risks. Growth forecasts were raised for China, Japan and many Eurozone countries. Before the UK referendum took place, the IMF predicated catastrophe for the UK economy (pretty bad to very very bad I think was the phrase used or …

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Finance

DAX down

The DAX has been under pressure all day today (24th July 2017). It looks like allegations made against some of the more prominent German car manufacturers suggesting that they may have been (allegedly) involved in a price fixing scandal (cartel) has put pressure on the index. And this on-top of …

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Finance

Dividends explained – the benefits

Dividend Investing… It’s important to be careful when selecting a stock based on it’s dividend performance alone. It’s possible for the dividend to be used to attract investment. If you think the dividend appears high – make sure you double check the quality of the company. Check the accounts, look …

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Finance

Definition of the word Politician

I thought I would look up the definition of the word ‘politician’ (as you do when you have some spare time) – and this is what I found… ‘A person who is professionally involved in politics, especially as a holder of an elected office’. And in the US it appears …

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Finance

FTSE 250 Companies going Ex Dividend this week

Just three FTSE 250 companies going Ex dividend this week… Investec PLC (INVP) – ex div date: 27/07/17 – record date: 28/07/17 – pay date: 14/08/17 City of London Investment Trust PLC (CTY) – ex div date: 27/07/17 – record date: 28/07/17 – pay date: 31/08/17 Bankers Investment Trust PLC …

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Markets
FTSE 100 companies going ex dividend this week

FTSE 100 companies going ex dividend this week on 28th September 2017… Worldpay Group PLC (WPG) Intertek Group PLC (ITRK) Smurfit Kappa Group PLC (SKG) Morrison (Wm) Supermarkets PLC Hargreaves Lansdown PLC  

Markets
Federal Reserve meeting update

Federal Reserve meeting update. The Federal Reserve on Wednesday (20/09/17) announced it will start reducing the size of its balance sheet. At something like $4.5 trillion it will now, after nine years finally start reducing the balance in October 2017 on a monthly basis. US interest rates were held at …

Markets
Dow Jones Industrial Average up again

Dow Jones Industrial Average up again I don’t know how many more times I will report on the rise of the Dow but it did it yet again yesterday (19/09/17). A new high was reached and at close the DJIA was: 22370 The outcome of the Federal Reserve’s policy meeting …

Markets
Record breakers

Record breakers. The record breaking highs just keep on coming as the Dow Jones Industrial Average yet again sets another record high on 18/09/17. The Dow Jones closed up at: 22331 The S&P 500 closed up at: 2503 The NASDAQ closed up at: 6454 For how much longer can these …

Markets
Dow Jones flying high again

Dow Jones flying high again New record high set by the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The DJIA closed up at: 22268 – yet another new record high!

Markets
FTSE 100 companies going ex dividend this week

FTSE 100 companies going ex dividend this week on Thursday 21st September 2017 Old Mutual PLC (OML) Taylor Wimpey PLC (TW.    

Markets
Sterling continues upward march

Sterling continues upward march. The pound bashed through $1.36 against the dollar on Friday (am 15/09/17) as the FTSE 100 falls back. Will it hold on to these gains?  

Investing
J D Wetherspoon reports

J D Wetherspoon reports. End of year accounts from J D Wetherspoon report sales and profits up! Profit before tax is reported at: £102.8 million (up from £80.60 million in 2016). Sales up by: 4% (like-for-like). Where else can you get such good value? J D Wetherspoon PLC (JDW) is …

Markets
Asian stock markets end the week subdued

Asian stock markets end the week subdued Investors appear to largely shrug off the latest provocation from North Korea as another missile is fired over Japan. Japan’s NIKKEI index closed up to end the week at: 19909 and South Korea’s KOSPI index closed up at: 2386. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng …