Finance

By Ikràn M.Omar @IkranM Despite Africa's long prophesied ascension as the next economic powerhouse there are still questions to be answered on whether this could ever materialise. The main question is whether it is a safe and solid investment. To invest in anything there needs to be a prospect of a strong return. You can never to be too cautious when entering any market let alone an emerging one. As Africa ascends she is showing exciting growth that is attracting many investors....

Randgold have been digging up profits and a fruitful reward for staff of BT. Last week saw British American Tobacco’s share price decline due to the strength of the pound, which affected their profit margins whilst market analysts are still calling for investors to hold shares for a long-term yield. The share dividend paid 47.6p, a six per cent increase compared to last year, but there was a drop in cigarette sales that was relatively small compared to last year...

British American Tobacco are smoking profits along with Next who have had a terrific start to 2014  Despite the stagnant market place over the summer months there has been numerous goings on over the past two weeks with many interim results publications. In previous share news Sports Direct owner Mr Ashley controversially opted out of the companies share bonus scheme, which caused a decrease of two per cent over the past two weeks since their interim result statement, although recent...

By Joe Mellor, Deputy Editor New Research shows 71% of London-based SMEs do not believe in luck in business, but almost one in three think it has a strong influence on success London business owners have poured cold water on the notion that you need to be lucky in order to be successful, according to new research conducted on behalf of online accounting and payroll software Sage One. The study of more than 1,000 small business owners across the UK...

  By Joe Mellor, Deputy Editor A senior academic has shown his approval of the CMA’s decision to investigate High Street banks over a lack of competition. The big four High Street banks, which provide 77 per cent of current accounts and 85 per cent of business lending, may ultimately be forced to divest businesses and allow new competitors. Dr Steve McCabe, economist, lecturer and active researcher from Birmingham City University’s Business School, said: “Learning that the Competition and Markets...

Sports Direct move down under, Firstgroup have come to the end of the line whilst Halfords wheel off into a French frenzy For the last month I have been away on vacation in America though the FTSE has seemingly been pretty flat. However, if readers of my column invested in TSB prior to them going live on the FTSE you could have made over 10 per cent within a week, but they were offering a maximum stake of approximately £3,600....

Betfair looks to bolster the books with US investments whilst Belways have seemingly bucked the trend after a stagnant time on the Governments Homes to Buy scheme!  Last Week Review: Last weeks advice in relation to Synergy health was positive they were up 6.2 per cent on Thursday after a set of positive results. Currently I'm in America for three weeks so will be covering some goings on in the Nasdaq, and Dow Jones whilst keeping up to date of the...

Quiet week on the FTSE with Severn Trent and AVEVA looking good investments Last Week's Roundup: Last week saw SSE announce their profits rose by 9.6 per cent, which was largely due to the price hikes discussed in last weeks article. The price rises were to cover outstanding costs and help preserve the longevity of SSE, but following this positive news about profits their share price declined on Wednesday. Investors will be concerned due to Ofcom tightening the regulations on...