FEATURES:
In our award-winning Ideal Portfolio series, Investors Chronicle provides the guiding principles to ensure the shares you buy provide a rock-solid foundation for your portfolio.
Dominic Picarda explains why you should opt for miners rather than metal to play a gold price recovery.
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.
THE BUDGET:
■ Government debt continues to rise
■ What the budget means for pensions
■ Osborne talks up UK shale gas
NEWS:
■ Taste the difference at Sainsbury
■ Countrywide's over-buoyant flotation
■ Buy esure for income, not capital appreciation
ECONOMIC OUTLOOK:
■ Outlook: dull (probably): Most of the time, equity returns are mediocre. It's easy to forget this.
■ Next week's economics: Next week's numbers will show that companies and consumers are still reluctant to spend.
COMMENT:
Our columnists offer in-depth analysis and investment ideas:
■ The Editor: Going for gold - Congratulations to our latest award-winning journalist, Stephen Wilmot.
■ Chris Dillow: Emerging market debt - Emerging markets funds are not a play on economic growth in the region, but rather a bet on disaster risk not materialising and US monetary policy remaining loose. Read more articles by Chris on his comment page.
■ Mr Bearbull: Incoming income: Bearbull needs two new holdings for his income fund - he starts with five candidates.
■ Simon Thompson: Bumper small-cap gains - Our companies editor has good news to report on a number of the companies he is actively following. Simon has also written the following online exclusives:
- Jumping the gun: take three - Our companies editor sees a buying opportunity in the shares of a small-cap software company ahead of a pre-close trading update next month which should deliver yet more good news.
- Bumper small-cap gains - Our companies editor has good news to report on a number of the companies he is actively following.
- Buy signal flashing green - Our companies editor sees significant upside potential in the shares of a clean energy developer following a transformational deal last Friday.
- Potential for seismic gains - Our companies editor sees significant share price upside for a small cap company specialising in marine geophysical services.
- Double your money on a copper bottomed investment - Simon Thompson sees potentially 100 per cent upside on an investment in the next ten months with minimal downside risk.
■ Property Matters: Do you trust your letting agent? Statutory regulation for letting agents would be welcome, but it's more important that landlords ask their suppliers the right questions.
YOUR MONEY:
Financial planning, tax and investment wisdom:
■ Reader Portfolio: Income portfolio with a difference.
■ Financial planning: Annuity rates strangled by 'gold-plated' pension giants.
■ SmartMoney: How big fund platforms stop you leaving.
SHARE TIPS OF THE WEEK:
■ This retailer, once hailed as the king of supermarkets, is in a mess. Get out now before the debt pile becomes crushing.
■ Preference shares usually offer a stable form of income and these look especially good value.
■ Catch this mid-cap explorer/producer before it makes further discoveries in surrounding prospects.
■ A value opportunity has opened up at this merged entity. The merger makes perfect sense but the share price has drifted down. That's bound to change.
FUND TIP OF THE WEEK:
■ This fund offers concentrated exposure to Hong Kong and China and has a reasonable TER compared with peers.
SHARE TIP UPDATES:
■ Carnival
BROKERS' TIPS:
■ PayPoint
FUNDS:
■ Fund news: Fidelity and Baillie Gifford trusts to cut fees.
■ In the doghouse: Invesco Perpetual Japanese Smaller Companies.
■ The big theme: Alternative income ideas for your Isa.
■ Top 100 Funds: Baillie Gifford Japan update.
■ Interview: Neil Hermon, manager of Henderson Smaller Companies Investment Trust, talks about why mid-caps remain the place to be.
SHARES:
■ Stock screen: Eleven cheap small caps.
■ The lowdown on the latest company results:
■ Bango
■ Bioquell
■ BowLeven
■ Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment
■ CVS
■ ENRC
■ Ferrexpo
■ Inland
■ IQE
■ Juridica
■ Mears
■ Nanoco
■ Restore
■ RusPetro
■ Savills
■ Subsea 7
■ T Clarke
■ Tribal
■ Ubisense
■ Xaar
■ Sector focus: Time for an each-way bet on gaming.
■ Directors' dealings: Notable transactions at Rolls-Royce, 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 Arm, Kazakhmys, Sainsbury and sugar.
■ The Trader: History's bullish lesson.
The Trader, Dominic Picarda, publishes his outlook for ten major equity, currency and commodity markets on a daily basis. You can view his articles on his comment page, or sign up to The Trader's market outlook emails.
