by The Investor
on September 28, 2007
Previous posts in this high yield share investing series have argued the case for dividends, considered what makes a good high yield share, and stressed the need for diversification. Now it’s time to make yourself a cup of tea and settle down to see exactly how you can construct a high yield portfolio for yourself.
This is probably one of the most detailed (or long-winded!) run throughs of portfolio construction on the Web, but it should help your understanding to see the thought processes for yourself. I hope you enjoy it – or failing that at least stay awake…
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by The Investor
on September 26, 2007
THE SCENE: A beautiful couple – they might be models fresh from a home shopping catalogue photoshoot – relax in their sixth-floor two-bedroom, two-bathroom, new build apartment.
He is in the kitchen area, mixing up mojitos on the island unit. She is on the balcony, gazing across the city landscape (an out-of-focus backdrop of railway tracks, supermarket car parks and the back of the block next door). And unseen in these shiny advertisements is the Buy-To-Let (BTL) investor in the suburbs, tearing her hair out as she tries to make the maths work.
Welcome to the bursting edge of Britain’s housing bubble. Get out while you can.
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by The Investor
on September 20, 2007
‘My dear Mr Clennam,’ returned Ferdinand, laughing, ‘have you really such a verdant hope? The next man who has as large a capacity and as genuine a taste for swindling, will succeed as well. Pardon me, but I think you really have no idea how the human bees will swarm to the beating of any old tin kettle; in that fact lies the complete manual of governing them. When they can be got to believe that the kettle is made of the precious metals, in that fact lies the whole power of men like our late lamented.
Ferdinand Barnacle (Little Dorrit, by Charles Dickens)
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by The Investor
on September 18, 2007
Last night Alastair Darling, the UK Chancellor, guaranteed 100% of savings in Northern Rock – and indeed the Financial Services Authority has since gone further, stating this guarantee extends to other troubled financial institutions that might emerge in coming days.
Given the scenes we’ve witnessed since Thursday’s news that Northern Rock required a lifeline from the Bank of England, many will think it’s a good move. And sure, the decision will probably quieten the recent financial upheavals. It will certainly get the government off the hook for now (and to be clear, I don’t believe the government was responsible for the problems in the first place).
But it is without precedent in the UK, and has potentially serious consequences that sound academic but which in extreme cases have previously led to unpleasant upheavals of the blood and barricades variety. What’s worse, the guarantee has for now come without any balancing regulation to ensure the banks do not abuse the facility for their own ends.
At the very least then, a move designed to bring short term confidence to the UK banking system will prove embarrassing for years to come, with consequences for all of us in Britain who save, borrow and spend. Everyone, in other words.
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