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One of the factors that inspired our cover feature on bargain British shares is the prevailing cloud over the London market helping to keep prices depressed, and the reminders of that undervaluation in the form of a stream of offers, takeovers and departures. Even oil giant Shell, London’s largest listed company, hasn’t ruled out relocating to a more supportive market. Travel firm Tui left London for good this week and poorly performing RedX Pharma and e-Therapeutics have announced their respective delistings from Aim.Value can be found in abundance across the market...

The UK economy has technically entered recessionBut markets are looking ahead to rate cuts  The UK economy is officially in recession. Gross domestic product (GDP) contracted by 0.1 per cent in the third quarter of 2023, followed by a 0.3 per cent contraction in Q4. We have seen the two consecutive quarters of negative growth that technically constitutes a recession.   Why not to worry Yet as recessions go, this looks set to be a very mild one. So far, the UK economy has seen a 0.5 per cent peak-to-trough decline, one...

House prices may flounder in the first months of 2024But the stage is set for a recovery in the second half of the year Last year proved difficult for the UK property market. House prices stagnated, falling by around 2 per cent in the year to November, as the chart below shows. Looking at mortgage rates, it's not hard to see why: the average rate for a two-year fix peaked at an eye-watering 6.11 per cent in July last year. Affordability for first-time buyers was stretched, while borrowing more to...

You can sum up the difference between the US and UK stock markets over the last decade in two simple words: gross margins.A company’s gross profit is what is left over after the cost of goods sold (including raw materials, energy and some wages) are subtracted. Take this as per cent of total revenue and that is the gross margin. The S&P 500's average gross margin is around 33 per cent, while the FTSE 250’s is just 23 per cent. The US stock market gross margin is almost 50 per cent higher...