Image source: Getty Images Barclays’ (LSE: BARC) share price has fallen 7% from its 3 March 12-month traded high of £3.15. This has been caused mainly by two key factors, in my view. The first was the decline in UK interest rates, which is broadly negative for banks’ net interest income (NII). This is money made from the different rates charged and loans and paid on deposits. The second was the heightened risk of a US-led global recession following the imposition of tariffs on 2 April. Banks generally reflect the economic health of the countries in which they operate, both…
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Home > Funds Management > Saudi alts manager expands into Australian private creditSidra Capital, a Saudi Arabia-based alternative investments manager, has launched a new private credit investment fund focused on Australia’s mining and energy sector. The Sharia-compliant Sidra Asia Pacific Private Investments Sub-Fund I will be domiciled in Singapore and managed by its local team. The multi-asset, low-volatility fund invests US$15 million (AU$22.5 million) in Australia’s mining sector, offering investors, Sidra says, a “secured and stable revenue stream over a three-year period, underpinned by strong tailwind in the Australian mining sector”. The fund targets a return of 9.75% per annum…
Image source: Getty Images When things get tough in the stock market, investors often turn to gold. And while that’s worked very well recently, I’m looking at UK shares as a better long-term opportunity. The price of gold has surged in an uncertain macroeconomic environment, but I think assets that generate cash for investors are a better choice. And the FTSE 100 is where I’m looking. Going for gold? Owning gold has worked out very well for investors recently and that’s not an accident. It tends to hold up strongly – much better than equities – in times of macroeconomic…
Image source: Getty Images Billionaire investor Warren Buffett says most people should invest in a diversified index, like the FTSE 100 or the S&P 500, instead of individual stocks. But there are three reasons I don’t do this. I don’t think this is a bad plan. But its financial strength, subsidiaries, and structure are why I prefer buying shares in Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:BRK.B) – Buffett’s company. Balance sheet I usually view it as a bad sign when stock analysis starts with the amount of cash on a company’s balance sheet. It’s often a sign there isn’t much else that’s good…
Image source: Getty Images A decade ago, NatWest (LSE:NWG) shares (formerly Royal Bank of Scotland) were still recovering from the aftermath of the global financial crisis and government bailout. A £10,000 investment in NatWest shares 10 years ago would now be worth approximately £12,400, excluding dividends. While that’s hardly a market-beating performance, it’s not a disaster either. Especially considering the bank’s turbulent history and the challenges faced by the UK banking sector. Importantly, this figure doesn’t include dividends. NatWest has been a fairly consistent dividend payer over the period with the exception being the pandemic years. Factoring in reinvested dividends,…
Image source: Getty Images My investment hero, Warren Buffett, argues that investors should “never bet against America”. He also states that an investor’s simple goal should be to “buy stocks in good companies at fair prices”. Thus, I’ve been trawling through the US S&P 500 index looking for great businesses with (temporarily) depressed share prices. In other words, I’m on the hunt for what I call ‘fallen angels’ — solid companies whose stocks have been affected by selling pressure or negative sentiment. And I believe I’ve found one such candidate within the group of mega-cap tech stocks known as the…
As is well known, the initiative of President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev to establish a UN Regional Center for the Sustainable Development Goals of Central Asia and Afghanistan was supported on March 4 at the UN General Assembly. The activities of this center will focus on addressing pressing environmental, social, and economic challenges, primarily in the Central Asian region, which today has vast natural and socio-economic potential for achieving sustainable development. One of the most critical factors in sustainable development is combating climate change. The importance of this effort for our region’s sustainability cannot be overstated: annual floods, glacier melting, droughts, and…
Earlier this year, life looked sweet for global investors. On 3 March, the FTSE 100 hit an all-time high of 8,908.82 points. A couple of weeks earlier, the US S&P 500 index hit its record peak of 6,147.43 points on 19 February. Alas, both indexes now stand well below these historic highs, with stock-market volatility surging. April upset In T.S. Eliot’s poem The Waste Land, the great English writer opens with, “April is the cruellest month”. So it has proved in 2025, as share prices plunged worldwide. This brief but brutal stock-market crash was triggered by President Trump’s decision to…
US stocks rose as a worldwide rally came back around to Wall Street after President Donald Trump appeared to back off his criticism of the Federal Reserve and his tough talk in his trade war. The S&P 500 climbed 1.7% and added to its big gain from Tuesday that more than made up for a steep loss on Monday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 419 points, or 1.1%, and the Nasdaq composite gained 2.5%. Wall Street’s gains followed strong moves higher for stocks across much of Europe and Asia. They also continued a dizzying, up-and-down run for financial markets as investors struggle with…
Germany’s incoming government has conditionally endorsed the European Union’s proposed 2040 climate goal and backed the European Commission’s recommended 90% emissions reduction target but only if international carbon offsets and carbon removals are permitted. The EC issued a 144-page coalition agreement published on April 17 between the centre-right Christian Democrats (CDU) and the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD), following the CDU’s victory in February’s snap election. The agreement remains subject to approval by the SPD’s more than 300,000 members. However, as Europe’s competitiveness falls behind the US and China, as outlined in the report from former Italian Prime Minister and ex-European…