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A great yield - from the shares and bonds, Persimmon's £1.9bn dividend and banking challenges

It's noticeable how many of the results we're covering this week are upbeat. Here are a few examples: Elementis has had a record year (the shares are up 48 per cent on our buy tip); revenues and profits at SDL reached record levels; revenues have soared at Netcall and Dialight; profits at Staffline jumped 32 per cent; profits went up 69 per cent at Bovis and jumped at New Britain too; Persimmon has promised to pay shareholders £1.9bn in dividends and Molins is upping its year end payout to investors (and the shares are already up 12 per cent in the three weeks since Simon Thompson included the share in his 2012 Bargain Portfolio). We've written reports on all these companies and many more besides. Shares in another company are at the centre of our Bond of the Week tip this week: the company is doing well and its shares are on the cusp of making a new 10-year high. We think the dividend is well covered and impressive, and on top of that there's value to be found in the company's bonds according to Mark Glowrey who reckons yields of up to 8 per cent can be secured by investors keeping a close eye on the trading range. Elsewhere we look at how the UK banks are grappling with bad debts and cost pressures and Dominic Picarda explains why the S&P doesn't resemble a market that's topping or anywhere near topping.
February 29, 2012

It's noticeable how many of the results we're covering this week are upbeat. Here are a few examples: Elementis has had a record year (the shares are up 48 per cent on our buy tip); revenues and profits at SDL reached record levels; revenues have soared at Netcall and Dialight; profits at Staffline jumped 32 per cent; profits went up 69 per cent at Bovis and jumped at New Britain too; Persimmon has promised to pay shareholders £1.9bn in dividends and Molins is upping its year end payout to investors (and the shares are already up 12 per cent in the three weeks since Simon Thompson included the share in his 2012 Bargain Portfolio). We've written reports on all these companies and many more besides. Shares in another company are at the centre of our Bond of the Week tip this week: the company is doing well and its shares are on the cusp of making a new 10-year high. We think the dividend is well covered and impressive, and on top of that there's value to be found in the company's bonds according to Mark Glowrey who reckons yields of up to 8 per cent can be secured by investors keeping a close eye on the trading range. Elsewhere we look at how the UK banks are grappling with bad debts and cost pressures and Dominic Picarda explains why the S&P doesn't resemble a market that's topping or anywhere near topping.