FEATURES:
Julian Hofmann explains why small biotechs are doing so well, lists the most interesting drug trials and outlines why it could pay investors to give the sector some serious attention.
■ 'The knowledge' for trading success
Trainee black cab driver John Walsh's trading approach saw him cash in big-time in 2012.
Mark Robinson assesses the prospects for agricultural shares.
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:
■ Institutions back London buy-to-let.
■ LNG and shale changing the energy landscape.
■ IC wins CFA Society of the UK Journalism award.
■ Is Ocado's future looking rosy?
ECONOMIC OUTLOOK:
■ The inevitable death of companies: Chris Dillow says companies are more likely to fail than generally realised.
■ Next week's economics: A lack of credit growth is still contributing to economic weakness in the UK and eurozone, next week's figures are likely to show.
COMMENT:
Our columnists offer in-depth analysis and investment ideas:
■ Letters/Q&A: The high price of alpha - A reader highlights the importance of stop-losses in understanding risk-adjusted returns.
■ The Editor: Don't fret about FX - Investors shouldn't let currency fluctuations stop them from buying shares in the best international companies.
■ Simon Thompson: Lessons to learn - Our companies editor addresses an issue facing all investors and seeks advice from the greatest investor of all time. Plus, the following online exclusives:
- Bumper trading gains: Our companies editor's recent advice to buy in ahead of trading updates is paying off handsomely.
- More upside to come: Our companies editor sees further upside in an Aim-traded investment company that has been outperforming the market by a large margin in the past year.
- Seeing the light: Our companies editor revisits the investment case for a solar wafer maker about to return a chunk of cash to shareholders.
- A publisher for the digital age: It is a fair guess that, given the bumper number of Kindles and e-readers sold in the final quarter of last year, the company could be in for some decent digital sales.
■ Chris Dillow: Productivity matters - Negative index-linked gilt yields are due in large part to stagnating labour productivity. Read more articles by Chris Dillow.
■ Mr Bearbull: The importance of 'no - Real investors are the ones with the confidence to say 'no' to the flood of investment ideas.
■ Property Matters: US housing is an attractive asset class - but how can UK investors buy in?
■ Chronic investor: The curious case of Quindell Portfolio - Hot stock insurance services company Quindell is growing at breakneck speed but is it heading for an accident?
YOUR MONEY:
Financial planning, tax and investment wisdom:
■ Reader portfolio: Not too old for high equity exposure.
■ Financial planning: Tactics to protect child benefit.
■ SmartMoney: Call a salesman a salesman: product sales are still masquerading as advice.
SHARE TIPS OF THE WEEK:
■ Energy consultants are in a good position to exploit an upswing in demand for oil services, and the engineering design and maintenance expertise on offer at this company even more so.
■ Business is proving tough for this DIY group, and there's nothing to suggest things will improve any time soon.
■ A joint venture in Australia has beefed up the earnings potential at this meat packager. Plus there's a tasty prospective dividend yield on offer.
■ Swoon over this dating business - it's fast growing, has net cash on its balance sheet and ambitious expansion plans.
FUND TIP OF THE WEEK:
■ Cautious equity investors should take a look at this growth investment trust. In difficult years, it's shown that it can be relied on to lose the least, and it pays a healthy dividend.
SHARE TIP UPDATES:
■ Abcam
■ Stobart
BROKERS' TIPS:
■ Costain
FUNDS:
■ Fund news: Don't rely on past fund sector returns.
■ Video debate: Active vs passive funds - We put a leading advocate of passive investing up against an active funds champion, with some interesting results.
■ Interview: Nick Lance and Ian Purves talk about why lower volatility and valuations, and high cash-flow generation make for a better income stream than rapid rises.
■ The big theme: Structured products become simpler.
■ Top 100 funds: BlackRock World Mining stands firm.
■ ETFs: Liquidity counts with ETF collateral
SHARES:
■ Stock screen: A screen that searches for rising shares with further upside to come produces five buy opportunities.
■ The lowdown on the latest company results:
■ NCC
■ Sector focus: The enduring allure of PFI yield - Changes to PFI have provided more certainty for investors while rising bond yields might not be a threat.
■ Directors' dealings: Notable transactions at Fenner, 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 news: Build your own trading system
■ Trading ideas: Chart-driven calls on euro/Japanese yen exchange rates, FTSE 250, Reed Elsevier and SABMiller.
■ The Trader: New highs - The US and UK indices have broken to new highs and there are few signs of toppiness yet.
