Is it Time to Buy UK Stocks?
Taking Stock on Wednsday 25th October 2023
Taking Stock: Is a look at today's top business news & investment views plus we cover the winners, losers, the most read company news & the most followed. Today this includes:
Is it Time to Buy UK Stocks?
In the last few weeks companies have been buying up UK Stocks, namely:
OnTheMarket #OTMP
SCS Group #SCS
Kin and Carta #KCT
Blancco Technology #BLTG
The Restaurant Group #RTN
Pendragon #PDG
The AIM All Share has been down for 21 out of the last Out of the last 25 trading days or 84% of the time.
However the UK is a great palce to invest full of sharp entrepreneurs. In fact British start-ups have attracted $15 billion in investment from venture capital firms so far this year, cementing the UK’s status as Europe’s top hub for young high-growth companies, new research has shown.
It outstrips the $8 billion attracted by start-ups in France and $7 billion in Germany and means the UK is behind only the United States and China as a destination for VC investments.
COMMENTS
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Companies discussed on “Taking Stock” today:
Oxford Metrics #OMG 07:50 & 10:58 & 25:40
Ocado #OCDO 08:30
Reckitt Benckiser Group Plc #RKT 09:00
boohoo #BOO 17:15
ASOS #ASC 18:30 & 29:50
Eternity Networks #ENET 20:00
Hargreaves Services Plc #HSP 21:00
IG Design #IGR 23:20
Quantum Blockchain Tech #QBT 25:45
#BITCOIN 26:00
Virgin Wines #VINO 26:19 & 34:00
Belluscura #BELL 26:34
TMT Investments #TMT 27:25
Cab Payments #CABP 28:24
SCS Group #SCS 30:50
Angling Direct #ANG 31:00 & 42:15
Power Metal Resources #POW 31:50
Upland Resources #UPL 32:55
Lloyds #LLOY 36:10 & 38:10
Barclays #BARC 37:50
TOP BUSINESS STORIES
BoE likely to keep high rates on hold even as signs of slowdown mount
The Bank of England looks set to keep interest rates on hold next week but also stress that it is far from relaxing its fight against Britain's high inflation rate, despite growing worries about a recession.
The BoE's job of getting inflation down to its 2% target from 6.7% in September - the highest among the world's rich economies - has been complicated by uncertainty about how much of the impact of its 14 rate hikes to date has yet to be felt.
Data published on Tuesday showed another fall in employment and further weakness among businesses.
"They won't want to take any chances and they really don't want to see markets price in rate cuts," James Smith, an economist with ING said. "Data has started to go tentatively in their favour but central banks have learned inflation data has tended to come in on the upside."
The cap on bankers' bonuses is to be abolished, financial regulators have announced.
From Tuesday 31 October, EU rules that limit bonus payments to twice a banker's salary will be removed in the UK, the Bank of England's Prudential Regulatory Authority (PRA) said.
The policy change was initially announced by former chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng in the infamous September 2022 mini-budget of the Liz Truss premiership.
It was one of the few announcements to be retained when Chancellor Jeremy Hunt took charge of the Treasury.
City executives had complained that the cap was a barrier to recruiting and retaining quality workers, and London was losing out on talented staff as a result.
Higher interest rates drive bumper Lloyds profits
Lloyds has posted bumper profits as the UK's biggest mortgage lender continues to benefit from higher interest rates.
The banking group revealed a pre-tax profit of £1.9bn for the three months to September, up from £576m in the same period last year.
The latest results follow concerns banks are raising borrowing rates much faster than they are savings rates, particularly for easy access accounts.
But banks including Lloyds have defended themselves against criticism.
Fran Boait, co-executive director of campaign group Positive Money, accused banks of "filling their coffers", "whilst ordinary people are pushed into poverty by soaring interest rates".
Disclaimer & Declaration of Interest
The information, investment views and recommendations in this article are provided for general information purposes only. Nothing in this article should be construed as a solicitation to buy or sell any financial product relating to any companies under discussion or to engage in or refrain from doing so or engaging in any other transaction. Any opinions or comments are made to the best of the knowledge and belief of the writer but no responsibility is accepted for actions based on such opinions or comments. Vox Markets may receive payment from companies mentioned for enhanced profiling or publication presence. The writer may or may not hold investments in the companies under discussion.