FEATURES:
■ Shocking, destructive, profitable
Prepare for the biggest boom in M&A in modern times. Philip Ryland explains where and why the action will take place, while our companies writers select likely takeover candidates.
■ Profit from stock market seasonality
A guide to making money from stock market seasonal anomalies.
Demand for historic gold coins has never been higher.
SEVEN DAYS:
■ All you need to know about investing in the past seven days: what's rising, what's falling and what's making the headlines.
NEWS:
■ Glenstrata merger wins shareholder approval.
■ Sirius sweats on resource re-classification.
■ Gemfields seals Fabergé deal.
■ Ocado still doesn't convince.
■ Osborne plans raid on pensions relief.
ECONOMIC OUTLOOK:
■ Treading the fiscal high wire: Chancellor George Osborne has to tread the fine line between choking the economy and losing credibility in the credit markets.
■ Next week's economics: This week's economic releases will illustrate how blunt GDP is as a measurement of economic activity.
COMMENT:
Our columnists offer in-depth analysis and investment ideas:
■ The Editor: HP wants a Lynching - Is HP really a victim of financial skullduggery, or simply creating a scapegoat for a deal that was never likely to work in the first place?
■ No free lunch: Whose fault was that? Adoboli's bosses are unlikely to be jailed.
■ Mr Bearbull: The best investment - NatWest's 9 per cent prefs have something that every investor should be looking for.
■ Simon Thompson: A problem to solve - Our companies editor needs your help to find a way of giving more of you a fair chance of being able to invest near the recommended prices in his columns. Plus, Simon sees a medium-term buying opportunity in the shares of an eastern European fund manager that's also doing rather well at home.
YOUR MONEY:
Financial planning, tax and investment wisdom:
■ Reader portfolio: Bonds are worth considering.
■ Financial planning: Protect your Sipp from nightmare investments.
SHARE TIPS OF THE WEEK:
■ This highly efficient testing specialist should benefit from its smart acquisitions and increased customer spending.
■ A new retail bond means this property company won't need to tap shareholders again, and there's still plenty of recovery potential.
■ Record third-quarter production and the likelihood of raised resources estimates make us think these shares should be rated far higher.
■ A profit warning and hints of a difficult market ahead have persuaded us that it's time to sell this share despite the strong start to the year.
FUND TIP OF THE WEEK:
■ This fund is packed full of robust performers, picked because they have three key qualities. It's an ideal holding for anyone looking for long-term growth.
BROKERS' TIPS:
SHARE TIP UPDATES:
■ Melrose
■ Ricardo
FUNDS:
■ Fund news: One in three investment trusts trumps FTSE 100 yield
■ Shares I love: Retail banks are currently unpopular with investors, but Lloyds stands out from the riff raff, says Simon Callow.
■ Top 100 funds update: Edinburgh Investment Trust trades at a premium to NAV but has an attractive dividend and good growth prospects.
■ ETFs: Obtaining a high yield at low cost.
■ Interview: Mark Slater has had success with a top-performing growth fund, but he can also do income. He talks about how he gets his yield.
SHARES:
The lowdown on the latest company results:
■ 3i Group
■ Carclo
■ Compass
■ Diploma
■ easyJet
■ Halma
■ Invensys
■ Investec
■ Mitie
■ Optos
■ Paragon
■ Parkmead
■ Qinetiq
■ Renold
■ Vectura
■ Stock screen: The high-growth nature of small caps can power strong dividend growth. Algy Hall names five big yielders.
■ Sector focus: Bundling growth and yield - 'Triple-play' offers high-yielding telecoms companies the opportunity to assert real growth credentials.
■ Directors' dealings: Notable transactions at Fidessa, plus a table of all boardroom share trades.
■ Week ahead: A summary of key company announcements expected in the coming week.
TAKEOVERS:
■ Download this week's takeover tables as a PDF.
TRADING:
■ Trading ideas: Chart-driven calls on Dow Jones, FTSE 250, sterling/dollar and MSCI World Index.
■ The Trader: Cautiously optimistic - The Trader thinks the uptrend may be resuming, although it's still early days.