Office market has upside potentialPrime rents set to keep risingHelical and Shaftesbury rated BuyThe London REIT (real estate investment trust) sector may be ?under attack?, according to analysts at Berenberg, but there are reasons to be cheerful.While the companies ?may have issues?, London property still has a place in the market, but in a different format, meaning firms will need to...

There was a telling piece of information in the latest trading update from UK property investor British Land (BLND). Faced with a situation where Facebook-owner Meta Platforms (META:NASDAQ) had decided break its lease on 1 Triton Square on British Land's Regent's Place 'campus' (at a cost to the social media giant of £149 million), the latter felt confident enough to reject Meta's offer of an...

Jefferies cuts stocks to 'hold' or 'sell'Analysts see 'recession' in officesMorgan Stanley takes a more positive viewShares in four of the UK's biggest property companies fell after analysts at investment bank Jefferies cut their recommendations on the basis office rents in the capital are headed for recession.British Land (BLND) shares eased 1.9% to 320p, Derwent London (DLN) shares were 1.6%...

Inflation rises at slowest pace this yearBonds and interest-rate sensitive stocks chased higherBank rates still set to go up next monthShares in downtrodden housebuilders and property companies were chased higher after the latest inflation data for June came in below expectations, raising hopes the Bank of England might slow the pace of interest rate increases.Leading the FTSE 100 higher were...

Shares in office property companies Derwent London (DLN) and IWG (IWG) rose in tandem, the former gaining 2% to £37.89 as it posted upbeat interim results while the latter gained 2.4% to 327p despite cautioning that occupancy levels were below expectations.Derwent, which generates most of its rental income from London offices, said rent collection was almost back to pre-Covid levels in the...

Shares in property firms Derwent London (DLN) and Land Securities (LAND) pushed up on the back of encouraging rent collection figures for the latest quarter.Derwent shares added 1.4% to £34.68 after the firm reported it had collected 89% of rents due in June compared with 75% in the same period last year and 87% in the quarter to March.Office rents received - which make up the majority of...

UK stocks ended Thursday in positive territory as investors cautiously welcomed stimulus pledges from the European Central Bank to counter the pace of the selloff in bond markets.Rising interest rates and falling bond prices have rattled stock markets in recent weeks. Some ECB officials are reported to believe the selloff in bonds could prove a headwind to the economic recovery in Eurozone...

UK stocks fell into negative territory by midday on Thursday as markets trade cautiously ahead of the European Central Bank's latest policy decision this afternoon.The slow pace of the vaccine rollout across the Eurozone has fueled concerns its economic recovery is falling behind, with bank officials set to decide whether rising government-bond yields across the globe threaten the region's...

UK stocks nudged higher in early trade on Thursday matching tentative gains on European bourses after fresh records on Wall Street and a decent handover from Asia.The Dow Jones rose 464.28 points overnight, or 1.5%, to notch a new record closing high at 32,297.02, after House Democrats passed Joe Biden's $1.9 trillion Covid relief package. Gains for the S&P 500 were more measured while the...

Summer is over, schools are back and in any other year people would be returning from the beach to the office.Covid-19 has rendered 2020 different for all sorts of reasons and despite a Government push to get people back at their desk, many continue to work from home. This has big near-term and potentially long-term implications for the economy and the markets.It remains difficult to say what...

Travel operator TUI (TUI) is to lose its place in the FTSE 100 after its recent share price slump made it too small to qualify for the blue chip index.Index provider FTSE Russell reshuffles the FTSE 100 basket every quarter, ejecting any stock whose ranking drops below 110, and promoting into the index any that ranks 90 or higher.TUI shares have fallen by 42% year-to-date as investors worry...

UK stocks moved back into positive territory on Monday after opening lower following a two-week winning streak triggered by Boris Johnson's election win.At just after 10am, the benchmark FTSE 100 index moved up 15.61 points, or 0.2%, to 5,597.72, having risen 4% since 12 December.Trading volumes are likely to be low given the shortened trading week so investors should read less into movements...

The idea of investing in UK property might make you fearful given political instability created by the upcoming general election and ongoing Brexit saga. But there is genuine merit in having exposure to UK property as part of a diversified portfolio given its enduring income appeal.We believe this exposure should be selective. In this article we identify four of our prime property picks, each...

UK stocks regain their poise on Thursday after a quiet session overnight in the US and Asia and early gains in Europe. The FTSE 100 rises 18 points or 0.25% to 7,216 with most sectors in the black. Leading the charge are aerospace, healthcare, industrials, oil services and software.In corporate news, insurance giant Aviva (AV.) delivers what by its own admission is a mixed half year earnings...

For investors feeling a little jaded after a trying year for UK equities, Mark Barnett provides some welcome optimism for value hunters. The Invesco fund manager who runs both Perpetual Income & Growth Investment Trust (PLI) and Edinburgh Investment Trust (EDIN) sees plenty of opportunity in the UK stock market across both the large cap universe and their mid-cap peers.'It's got to the stage...

GETTING STARTEDMany investors fall into one of two camps. They recognise the need to save for a better future and want to start investing in hope of generating better returns than cash. Or they have already amassed some wealth and want to put the money into the markets to generate an income in later life. Both types can be united by a lack of experience with investing.One of the most popular...

Some of the best valuation opportunities lie among UK domestic-focused stocks. Your challenge is to shift through the pack and find ones which stand a chance of re-rating in a market where sentiment remains poor towards companies doing business in the UK.Weighing on sentiment is renewed political concern which this week dragged down the value of sterling once again. That in turn has weighed on...

If you invest in a real estate investment trust (REIT) like British Land (BLND), Assura (AGR) or Derwent London (DLN) you might have noticed that some or all of your dividends are paid as 'property income distribution' (PID) dividends.The key difference between PID and 'normal' dividends is the way they're taxed. This has important implications for where you decide to hold your investments.Why...

Investors were taken by surprise last Friday (24 June) when the UK voted to leave the EU. Banks, housebuilders, asset managers, recruitment companies and insurers were among the worst hit. Gold miners and companies with dollar earnings and costs in sterling were the only clear winners from the market turmoil.(Click on table to enlarge)Monday's (27 June) stock market activity managed to avoid a...

Shares in heavy construction specialist Carillion (CLLN) rise 4.2% to 333.5p as the group refuses to give up the chase for its sector peer Balfour Beatty (BBY), up 1.8% to 240.8p. Half-year results from Carillion show a 6% increase in underlying profit in the six months to June, but merger excitement remains the key driving force for investors for now.Mid cap oil explorer Ophir Energy (OPHR)...