The first of these is a series we’ll be running in conjunction with our friends over at Ionic Information, whose Sharepad software is becoming an increasingly useful tool in our analytical arsenal. Ionic’s Phil Oakley is going to run through some of the analytical approaches he’s honed in a former career as a City analyst, each week looking at a new sector and the specific valuation approaches they demand. To kick off we’re looking at housebuilders, and Phil’s analysis supports our view that one should be far more circumspect about buying their shares right now – it is, after all, a cyclical sector, even if government largesse towards it has rather obscured this fact. If there are any sectors you’re particularly interested in do let me know.
Now that my colleague Algy Hall has returned from his paternity leave we’ll also be cranking up our own educational efforts through his Cash Clinic series. The first of these, on Marks and Spencer, appeared a couple of months back, and Algy’s stock screen this week is the next step in expanding the series. What we’re looking for is an understanding of where dividends are supported by strong cash generation, or, just as importantly, where they’re not and at risk of a cut; cash is, after all, the real lifeblood of any business and far more difficult to manipulate than earnings (although not impossible, as we also reveal in this issue’s cover feature).
You may also have noticed the absence of the latest in our ‘50 Objects’ series – don’t worry, it’ll be back over the next few weeks to take us up to 40, and the final 10 will follow in the New Year, along with the revamped website we’re working on at the moment – many thanks to those of you that have come in to test our thinking on the designs. And on the subject of feedback, I am conscious that I have a large summer backlog of correspondence to tackle – apologies if I haven’t replied yet, but we do read all of your emails and letters and always take your comments and suggestions on board.
Finally, while browsing Twitter recently it came to my attention that some of you were concerned that we may be following the route of one of our competitors and ceasing publication of our print edition. Let me categorically assure you that although we are indeed investing heavily in digital products – including our ever-expanding podcast feature series – print is here to stay, both on the newsstand and via subscription. Which means that – as one reader once told us he did – you can continue to relax with your copy of the IC in the bath!
