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Good value bank bonds, Providence Resources, food price inflation, and the Trader

With just under a week to go before George Osborne reveals his Budget plans for getting and keeping the economy back on track, rating agency Fitch has dealt the Chancellor a blow with a decision to join Moody's in putting the UK on a negative credit outlook. If the economy fails to grow quickly enough and debt isn't seen to be tamed, the UK could lose its precious AAA rating. Banks of course know all about the difficulty of living under the burden of downgrades - and failing stress tests. This week four banks in the US (including Citibank) failed the regulator's stress test, designed to reveal whether the banks could survive a fairly severe financial crisis. But 15 passed - which now allows them to raise their dividend, in a stroke making them instantly more attractive to shareholders. In our lead item today Mark Glowrey examines the unloved UK bank sector and finds there is still value to be had from some senior bonds. Elsewhere Martin Li reports on Providence Resources' significantly better than expected drilling results; John Hughman analyses the impact of the ongoing drought on food prices and The Trader outlines what he's expecting from the indices now.

Good value Lloyds bonds

The bank sector is unloved but there is still value to be had from bank debt

A tasty dividend hike, latest Sipp buys and the big picture for US shares

When a top director at Goldman Sachs, on his way out the door, launches a scathing attack on his own bank claiming the ethos there is no longer "doing right by our clients", and that the interests of the clients - often referred to as muppets - are sidelined, he's simply confirming what many people have suspected for a long time - and not just at Goldman Sachs either. It's hard to be confident that the companies we buy products and services from ever really put our needs ahead of their own and it underlines the importance of being in the driving seat - or at the very least, being a bossy and loud back seat driver - when it comes to our money and investments. Our lead story today is a buy recommendation on a trust with excellent long term performance and which has decided to increase its dividend by 133 per cent, with the promise of more to come. That boost to the dividend will help to narrow the discount even further too. Meanwhile our Sipp investor David Stevenson has been busy running down his high cash holding and he explains what he's been buying in his latest column. Elsewhere Leonora Walters offers advice on how to secure the best annuity rate - and how to avoid a potential loss of £25,000 - while Dominic Picarda outlines his big picture view of US stocks.

Our new momentum picks, a golden opportunity, best cash Isas and Raven Russia

Our portfolio of momentum shares - all picked on the basis of their recent strong performance indicating solid momentum going forward - has had a cracking start to the year. It's raced ahead by more than 14 per cent over the last three months compared with 9 per cent for the FTSE 100. Now it's time to replenish the portfolio so once again Algy Hall has selected 10 momentum stocks based on their performance over the last three months. The new choices reflect many of the major themes that have recently been playing out, including positive developments in Europe and signs of recovery in the US. A gain of 14 per cent over a matter of weeks is pretty good, but here's something else that might leave you kicking yourself if you missed our original buy tip: since we recommended snapping up shares in this particular company the share price has rocketed over 500 per cent. And the story's not over yet - we still think the shares are worth buying and Martin Li explains exactly why that is in his report on the company. Elsewhere we look at how to secure the best rates on your cash Isa, along with details of the top deals, while Stephen Wilmot looks at how Raven Russia has matured into an attractive investment.

An ideal Isa investment, defensive shares, press tips and The Trader

Although the whole point of investing in shares and bonds is to make money, a top priority for some investors right now seems to be not to lose money. I listened in on some investor focus groups last week and it was clear that several of them are nervous about committing money to anything that doesn't have an "ultra safe" sticker on it. But while their fears are being fuelled by volatile markets, retreating to low risk investments is also making them anxious about being stuck in a low return rut. That's exactly why it's worth considering other options - such as spreading money across various asset classes or taking a long term view. Ultimately, if you want growth you need to follow growing markets - they might involve a greater degree of risk but with that comes the promise of greater rewards. Maike Currie is recommending one such area as an ideal investment for Isa holders, especially for those with a long term investment horizon, while Chris Dillow explains why cautious investors should not own more defensive shares than adventurous investors. Elsewhere John Hughman reveals which exciting story has managed to cheer him up after the unrelenting grind of having to read about financial crises every day for the past three years. The Trader gives his view of the markets and we've got our usual round up of press tips.

Buffettology, key March trades, tips summary and more

A past senior editor at Investors Chronicle once remarked that people have made more money by publishing books about Warren Buffett than by actually following his methods. He may well have been right, but Mary Buffett has one important advantage over other Sage-followers: she was married to his son for 12 years, during which time she had privileged access to the great man himself. Her latest book looks at 17 of his key investments over the past few years, and she spoke exclusively to Moira O'Neill about his methods and his investments. A completely different, but no less valid, investment strategy is to make short-term trades around known stock-market effects. Let's be clear: this isn't punting or betting - it's using the evidence of history to make trades that are more likely than not to make you money. There are four such key trades in the month of March, as Simon Thompson explains. Earlier this week, I spoke to John Kay, the economics professor commissioned by Vince Cable to conduct a review of UK equity markets, about his interim conclusions, and I also look at how quantitative easing has ruined many people's retirements. We've our usual round-up of key tips and updates, too.

Investors Chronicle 9 March 2012 issue

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Takeovers in tech and resources, The Trader, fund tip, Mr Bearbull

Two key barometers of whether investors are upbeat are new issues and takeovers. There have been precious few of the former of late - there have been just five in London since December last year, and four of those were on Aim - but there's lots of evidence that merger & acquisition activity is picking up across the market. The stand-out big deal is Glencore's proposed all-share merger with Xstrata, but as Martin Li explains, there's a whole host of bidding activity going on further down the spectrum - what with bidders scrapping over Cove Energy and Ithaca Energy also attracting interest. Nor is the M&A confined to resources: technology and telecoms are hotting up, too. Up to three bidders are fighting it out over software group Misys while another has also come out of the woodwork for Cable & Wireless Worldwide. Malar Velaigam looks at who could be next in that sphere. Elsewhere, The Trader takes a look at this week's market action, and regards Tuesday's sharp pullback as healthy and a buying opportunity. Mr Bearbull says he expects inflation to remain relatively high, and this is encouraging him to take more risks with his income portfolio. And Leonora Walters looks at a C-share issue at H¹û¶³´«Ã½L Infrastructure - this provides a rare opportunity to buy into this top-performing vehicle at a discount to net asset value, but you'll have to be quick. Company results are still in full flow, too; there are full-year numbers for Wm Morrison, fund manager Schroders, insurer Aviva, engineer Spirax Sarco, and pawnbroker H&T - check the shares/news & analysis pages of the ¹û¶³´«Ã½ website for updates as they are published.

US-focused shares, build-to-let, key company news & tips, BT bonds

There are still plenty who would argue that the end of western civilization is nigh, and in particular that America's halcyon era as the world's biggest economy is drawing to a close. Only the other week, US perma-bear Jim Rogers was telling Reuters how the employment data was all fiddled and that "none of the three main presidential contenders has a clue" how to fix the economy. Certainly, the US won't remain the world's biggest economy forever - China will probably overtake it by 2020 - but to quote Mark Twain, rumours of its demise are certainly premature. For all its flaws, America is young (at least, relative to Europe), open, dynamic and innovative. IPads and social media weren't invented in Korea or Japan, were they? And the US is recovering - thanks to huge doses of fiscal and monetary stimulus, it has recouped all the output lost since 2007. So our stock screen this week looks at UK based companies with big US businesses - and for all the hype about emerging markets, the US is still vital for many. Elsewhere, Stephen Wilmot looks at why the often-floated idea of 'build to let' has never got off the ground, Mark Glowrey contemplates taking profits on a bond investment that's delivered handsome profits, and John Hughman looks at why markets have suddenly turned so cautious. On the companies front, we look at results from Hardy Oil & Gas, Melrose and Tikit, whose shares are up 70 per cent since we advised buying them. There's lots more company-result related news on our shares news page.

Time to hang up on BT

Safe-haven demand has pushed the 2020 bonds even higher, meaning gains from here will be slim. It's time to take (tax free!) profits