Three to buy
(The Times) The company that can “deliver just about anything” has re-invented itself as an essential service during lockdowns. From e-commerce and subscription music to e-readers and the Alexa voice assistant, Amazon’s reach is vast. Most promising is its market-leading cloud-computing arm, Amazon Web Services, which delivers big profits and should enjoy another boost as companies switch to distance working. The stock may be on 91 times earnings, but it looks “unstoppable”. $2,408
Yew Grove
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(The Mail on Sunday) Ireland is a hub for multinational businesses, with many based outside Dublin. Yew Grove’s founder Jonathan Laredo noticed that the provincial market was being underserved by Dublin-centric property firms. Today his Irish real-estate investment trust has a 27-property portfolio worth £100m. Many tenants work in pharmaceuticals or healthcare, giving Yew an edge in the current crisis: they all paid their rent “on time and in full” during the first quarter. That should enable it to continue paying out dividends. It’s a “solid, long-term investment”. €0.88
Homeserve
(Shares) This FTSE-250 emergency repairs business operates a membership model, which covers customers for gas, plumbing or electrical problems. That means high recurring revenue, which should insulate the company from any short-term pandemic hit. Homeserve has proved itself during previous downturns, growing its policy book through the financial crisis. It still has plenty of room to expand in America. 1,145p
Three to sell
Intertek
(The Sunday Telegraph) This testing business is one of the less well-known FTSE 100 stocks, but it has been making “hay” in recent years. Complex quality assurance is a necessity as electrical equipment, clothing and food move from one part of a globalised supply chain to another. Yet now talk of post-virus “deglobalisation” abounds, with corporations likely to shift to simpler, more local supply chains. Margins could take four years to recover to 2019 levels. Avoid. 4,959p
Domino’s Pizza Group
(Investors Chronicle) Covid-19 is the least of this pizza franchise’s worries. Increased demand for home delivery should help it through the lockdown, but can’t solve existing problems. A bitter and long-running dispute with franchisees about new store openings and rising costs remains unresolved and is eroding key business relationships. The group is preparing to shrink its international operations after failed expansion attempts in Switzerland and several Nordic countries. Debt remains “manageable” for now, but has risen rapidly over the past five years. The shares “should be given a wide berth”. 283p
Dart Group
(The Daily Telegraph) Panic has subsided and some stocks have emerged as surprising winners. Business at the owner of the Jet2 airline and holidays business is “in hibernation”, but the shares have jumped by 75% in four weeks and are up 28% since we first tipped them in summer 2017. Such gains on a company where revenue is zero are “extraordinary”. The chance to sell an airline stock at any kind of profit is too good to miss. Take profits. 666p
...and the rest
The Daily Telegraph
Cruise operator Carnival has been hit hard and its focus on a holiday market favoured by older travellers may delay a return to normal trading. However, it has a decent cash buffer to tide it over so holding on for an eventual recovery seems the best bet (910p).
The Mail on Sunday
Mining royalties group Anglo Pacific is diversified enough to withstand the downturn in commodities markets and the dividend “looks pretty secure”. Existing investors should hold, while those looking for “sustained, long-term income” may also be interested at current levels (135p).
Shares
Strong pre-pandemic trading figures and the confirmation of its 2019 dividend make Tesco a share worth owning – buy (232p). Robust 2019 trading and minimal disruption so far from the coronavirus mean that we remain buyers of Aim-listed pharmaceuticals business Alliance Pharma (78p).
Investors Chronicle
New management should help household goods giant Reckitt Benckiser better leverage its “exceptional collection of brands”. In the meantime, the group’s Dettol and Lysol cleaners have been “flying off the shelves” (6,168p). With the country in lockdown, motor insurance claims are likely to dip, which will be a fillip for the “highly cash-generative” Sabre Insurance (272p).
The Times
FTSE 250 merchant bank Close Brothers has joined peers in cutting its dividend, breaking a 35-year run. But its cautious, specialised lending leaves it better insulated than the big banks from a spike in bad loans. Hold (1,040p).
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Rightmove: Asking prices edge closer to record peakAsking prices have been driven up by the top-end of the market, Rightmove has found. But how does the situation look in your area?
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Coventry Building Society bids £780m for Co-operative Bank - what could it mean for customers?Coventry Building Society has put in an offer of £780 million to buy Co-operative Bank. When will the potential deal happen and what could it mean for customers?
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Halifax: House price slump continues as prices slide for the sixth consecutive monthUK house prices fell again in September as buyers returned, but the slowdown was not as fast as anticipated, latest Halifax data shows. Where are house prices falling the most?
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Rents hit a record high - but is the opportunity for buy-to-let investors still strong?UK rent prices have hit a record high with the average hitting over £1,200 a month says Rightmove. Are there still opportunities in buy-to-let?
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Pension savers turn to gold investmentsInvestors are racing to buy gold to protect their pensions from a stock market correction and high inflation, experts say
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Where to find the best returns from student accommodationStudent accommodation can be a lucrative investment if you know where to look.
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Best investing appsWe round up the best investing apps. Looking for an easy-to-use app to help you start investing, keep track of your portfolio or make trades on the go?
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The world’s best bargain stocksSearching for bargain stocks with Alec Cutler of the Orbis Global Balanced Fund, who tells Andrew Van Sickle which sectors are being overlooked.
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Revealed: the cheapest cities to own a home in BritainNew research reveals the cheapest cities to own a home, taking account of mortgage payments, utility bills and council tax
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UK recession: How to protect your portfolioAs the UK recession is confirmed, we look at ways to protect your wealth.
