This morning a new report has been published that reveals confusion and misinformation are the biggest barriers to retail investor participation   Mark Watson-Mitchell - 13.11.2025 Britons are being held back from investing by a lack of financial education, according to new research by high-growth retail trading platform, Capital.com .  The research, titled Fear or Fortune? , found that eight in 10 adults feel too nervous to invest, with confusion and misinformation emerging

Mark Watson-Mitchell - 12.11.2025 I am grateful to Aaron Morby at Construction Enquirer for the latest bit of news about Costain (LON:COST) , my favourite infrastructure group. It could well explain why the group's shares have been moving forward over the last week or so, now up to 156p, making a near 47% advance in price over the year to date. Morby noted that Costain had joined the £800m Eastern Highways Alliance framework, stepping in to replace Morgan Sindall on the refr

Mark Watson-Mitchell - 11.11.2025   Next Monday, 17 th November, James Cropper (LON:CRPR) , the advanced materials and paper and packaging manufacturer, will be announcing its Interim Results for the six months to end-September. On looking at what is happening within the 180-year-old group, I would suggest that the shares at 300p offer a very attractive upside over the next couple of years. New CEO And Strategy In February this year, the Kendal, Cumbria-based group appointed

Mark Watson-Mitchell – 06.11.2025   The results for the year to end May 2025, reported by EnSilica (LON:ENSI)  on Tuesday of this week, were disappointing and could well stymie any significant rise in the group’s share price for quite a while. After having peaked at 53.60p a month ago, following a questionable valuation ‘puff’, they have since slipped back to 40p. There is no doubt that the group is attempting to win more business within the ‘space sector’ and will add to its

Mark Watson-Mitchell – 06.11.2025   This morning Filtronic (LON:FTC)  has announced yet more contract business to add to its growing Order Book. Based in Sedgefield, the £306m-capitalised group is involved in the design and manufacture of advanced RF solutions for the space, aerospace and defence, and telecoms infrastructure markets. It announced that it has secured a contract with a leading European aerospace manufacturer, to supply RF assemblies for integration into a major

Mark Watson-Mitchell - 04.11.2025 Daniela Hathorn, Senior Market Analyst, at Capital.com commented on how the upcoming Budget is likely to impact the markets and what it means for investors. UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves delivered a sober pre-Budget speech this morning, signalling that she is prepared to make “necessary, not popular” decisions to safeguard the British economy. She warned that since her last Budget, the world has thrown “even more challenges our way,” citing s

This morning Chancellor of the Exchequer denied that any of it was her fault, in her Speech To The Nation delivered outside number 11. In a twenty minute delivery she has effectively given the country notice that tax rises are on the way. Commenting upon Rachel Reeves’ speech this morning, Bina Gayadien, partner at law firm Spencer West LLP stated that:,   "Rachel Reeves prepares the ground for a tax rising budget later this month, potentially breaking pledges set in Labour’s

Mark Watson-Mitchell - 29.10.2025 Less than two weeks ago the price of Gold was topping out at $4,358, since when it has fallen back to test the $3,923 level, before reacting today to news of new unrest on the Israel / Gaza front. Now at $4,031 it is beginning to show its lustrous legs once more. As I always say - 'Nothing Goes In A Straight Line For Ever' - not love, sex, bank accounts - they all go up and down. So too we the values of equities and commodities. I feel that G

26.10.2025 I think that I disagree with former PM Rishi Sunak's latest proclamation that the UK should cut its Spend. Decades ago, my economics teacher taught me that 'You have to put in to take out!' So I ask now - is a big change required in which Rachel Reeves looks at the UK Balance Sheet? A Government should use the funds that are raised to spend out in the economy - new and repaired roads, new housing, a well-equipped defence sector, schooling facilities, health service

26.10.2025 Bina Gayadien, Tax partner at law firm Spencer West LLP, has commented that:   With all the speculation around November’s Autumn Statement, one thing feels certain: tax rises are coming. Whether through direct tax rate increases or more structural reforms to the tax system, the Chancellor will need to find billions from somewhere without breaching Labour’s manifesto pledges. A number of possible changes are being suggested but their broad impact means that the Chan

Mark Watson-Mitchell - 20.10.2025   In price, this group’s shares are the costliest that I have featured for some time – however, I consider that they are cheap, really cheap! The Business Yü Group (LON:YU) is a leading supplier of gas and electricity focused on servicing the corporate sector throughout the UK. It drives innovation through a combination of user-friendly digital solutions and personalised, high quality customer service. The Group plays a key role supporting b

Mark Watson-Mitchell – 19.10.2025   I am looking forward to a bullish Trading Update being issued by Filtronic (LON:FTC)  just ahead of its AGM being held on Thursday of next week, 30 th  October, which will create even more interest in the group’s shares. The Sedgefield-based £292m-capitalised group is on the leading edge of advanced micro electronics, in solving complex RF, microwave and mmWave challenges, Filtronic specialises in the design and manufacture of mission criti

Going to $5,000 an ounce? Mark Watson-Mitchell - 16.10.2025    When Napoleon escaped from Elba in 1815 and returned to France, he began to assemble an army. The price of gold was then equivalent to £4.32p an ounce; however, it leapt to £5.35p overnight on the back of extraordinary demand. The London Bullion House of Mocatta & Goldsmid declared that the big buyer was Nathan Mayer Rothschild, acting on behalf of the British Treasury. His orders were to dispatch the gold quickly

Mark Watson-Mitchell - 14.10.2025 A value investment  is a strategy where investors seek to buy stocks or other assets that appear to be undervalued by the market. The goal is to purchase these investments at a price lower than their intrinsic value —what the investor believes the asset is truly worth based on fundamentals—and then hold them until the market corrects the price. Key Principles of Value Investing: Intrinsic Value : This is the estimated true worth of an asset,

Mark Watson-Mitchell - 14.10.2025 As Trump and China face up to each other with their tariff battles, I thought that it might be well worth identifying an important feature in their struggles - the control of Rare Earth resources. Rare earth elements (REEs) are vital for developing and operating technology we use daily. Despite their name, they are not as rare as one might think in the Earth's crust. The challenge lies in finding them in high enough concentrations for extract

11.11.2025 Saxo,  the leader in online trading and investment, earlier this week released its inaugural Investor Forecast  for Q4 2025,...

Mark Watson-Mitchell – 02.10.2025   Kemi Badenoch is now calling for laws on Net Zero to be abolished – about time for some sanity of...

18.09.2025 New analysis from investment platform Lightyear shows long-term retail investors would be £8,000 better off compared to those...

12.09.2025 We are now within just 22 points of seeing the FTSE-100 smashing through its all-time High ground - as I write it is 9,335.16,...

10.09.2025   Overnight Russian drones have been downed by Poland’s armed forces. Multiple violations of Poland’s airspace bordering...