If you'd invested in: Motorpoint and Low & Bonar

If only...

Motorpoint (LSE: MOTR) retails vehicles in the UK. The firm's shares rose in November as it reported a 18% rise in revenue in the six months to September 2017, up to £483.2m. Pre-tax profits also rose from £2.4m in 2016 to £9.7m this year. In April, its shares rose again after it said that full-year profits should be "at the upper end of market expectations". The UK's car market has seen declining demand for new cars this year and that has boosted Motorpoint's division selling nearly new vehicles, the majority of which are up to two years old and have covered fewer than 15,000 miles.

Be glad you didn't buy...

Low & Bonar (LSE: LWB) manufactures materials such as floors, fabrics and plastics. Its shares plunged 19% in October after the firm warned that ongoing problems at its civil-engineering arm were compounded by rising material costs, leading it to a loss this year. The shares tumbled a further 23% in December on the news that the CEO who had been with the firm for three years had resigned to join polymer technology firm Fenner. Low & Bonar said that full-year profits would be £30m-£31m, lower than the expected £32.18m, due to a weak final quarter.

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Alice grew up in Stockholm and studied at the University of the Arts London, where she gained a first-class BA in Journalism. She has written for several publications in Stockholm and London, and joined MoneyWeek in 2017.

Alice is now Consumer Editor at The Sun and covers everything from energy bills to Social Security.