Press reporting suggests a substantial hike in employers NICs could be announced on this coming Wed 30 Oct's budget. I crunch some numbers, which demonstrate that retail and especially hospitality could be facing significant falls in profit, hence maybe best avoided until the dust has settled?

Expect carnage if they cut AIM's IHT exemption, or a big rebound if they don't! Place your bets ...

Lots of companies reporting again, with 5 profit warnings, 8 GREENs (things we like the most), and 7 AMBER/GREENs (moderately positive).

As always, please remember I'm only giving my personal, fallible opinions here. You must do your own more detailed research, and not rely on my views, as they will sometimes be right, but sometimes wrong, and nobody knows what the future holds.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sorry this is a week late. I rattle through 51 companies reporting between 14-18 Oct 2024. As always we find some potentially interesting ideas (remember we're only doing quick reviews, you need to do your own much more detailed research, hence why nothing is recommendations, just quick opinions).

We're all waiting for the Budget, in case investors get clobbered. If not as bad as feared, then hopefully we could see buyers snap up UK small cap bargains.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I have a good rant about "trading updates" that don't even state if the company is ahead/in line/below market expectations. We need clearer, more honest reporting, not increased PR obfuscation!

As always, my work is independent (my opinions cannot be bought!), but also fallible, since we cover so much ground and might not necessarily spot all the detail. Hence it is essential that you must do your own more detailed research. Our opinions are just that, they are never advice, nor recommendations, and are subject to change when the facts change, as they frequently do.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.