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This infrastructure fund, whose portfolio includes stakes in hospitals and the Home Office headquarters, is the largest in the sector and last year generated a total return for shareholders of 8pc, with relatively low risk. This means the historic yield is 5.8pc, with the prospective yield this year at 5.9pc. With suggestions from Christine Lagarde, head of the International Monetary Fund, that the UK could cut its interest rates to zero, HICL is an attractive home for your cash. The company raised £250m last March with an issue of shares designed not to dilute existing shareholders. The group had planned to raise about £180m, but the issue was significantly oversubscribed. After making a substantial number of purchases with the proceeds – including a 30pc interest ... Continue reading →
By Paul B. Farrell, MarketWatch SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. (MarketWatch) — Facebook just joined a “troubled club,” warns the Economist. Now it’s just another “endangered public company.” Yes, endangered. The number of public companies has declined 37% since 1997. The number of IPOs has dropped from 311 annually before 2000 to 99 the past decade. Meanwhile, the smart CEOs and the Super Rich are “going private,” to avoid government red tape restricting capitalism. Reuters Over at BusinessWeek they’re warning investors that the growing number of “cutesy mascots” is a dangerous reminder “of the dot-com boom’s irrational exuberance.” They’re also red flagging new reports that “more Chinese investors are betting on U.S. start-ups.” And feeding the flames. What’s going on? Facebook’s in trouble, that’s what. Now ... Continue reading →
Informa370.5p +0.9Questor says BUY The events and professional information company has a mixture of defensive operations and business that is geared to an upturn. That's why it was named as a tip of 2012. The shares have outperformed the wider market but have moved off highs on resurgent eurozone debt fears. Informa operates in three divisions – academic, commercial information and conference management. The defensive parts of its operations are its subscription publishing operations which service businesses and academia. The events business, which organises about 9,000 conferences a year, is the one with the most cyclical upside. The market was spooked by weakness in its professional and commercial information unit. Two of the larger sectors – pharmaceuticals and financial services – saw "longer renewal cycles ... Continue reading →
Cranswick, which supplies fresh pork, cooked meats, sausages and much more to supermarkets, beat expectations in its full-year results. There was good news on margins, which have recovered in the second half. In the six months of the year, margin was under pressure because of rising input costs. They were still 0.8pc lower than the previous year, but this is a good result. Cranswick's second sausage production facility in Norfolk is complete and performing well. It is also launching a new range of burgers and meat balls under the "Black Farmer" brand. Bernard Hoggarth, chief executive, revealed he would step down in August, after 34 years with the group. It appears the company has been planning for his replacement for some time and his successor ... Continue reading →
