Author: James Crux
James Crux
James Crux writes extensively about funds and investment trusts and also specialises in retail, food and beverage sector stocks. He has spent 25 years working in the industry and was named Best Financial Consumer Journalist at the AIC Media Awards 2024 and 2025 for his work at Shares magazine (owned by AJ Bell). Before that, he was the editor of Growth Company Investor and a writer for investment and business titles What Investment and Business XL. James is a long-suffering West Ham supporter and a big fan of The Sopranos.
Shares in ASOS (ASC) leapt after the online fashion retailer announced the sale of its Lichfield fulfilment centre to Marks & Spencer (MKS). ASOS said the disposal marks another step in the ‘structural transformation’ of its financial position. The sale comes at a time when the company is focused on slashing costs and strengthening its balance sheet. Bringing in net proceeds of ‘at least £66 million’, the sale is expected to yield annual cash cost savings of around £6 million relating to rent and other costs. One-off windfall ASOS’ Lichfield site had already been mothballed to address excess capacity under…
In our latest Podcast, the Sharesify team chronicle another busy week for markets and corporate updates. Our tech guru Steven brings us up to speed with earnings from chipmaker AMD (AMD), chip architecture designer ARM Holdings (ARM) and data analytics play Palantir (PLTR). While further upside in these high-flyers is possible, Steven says investors need to consider the downside risks. Retail watcher James explains why trainers seller JD Sports Fashion (JD.) had a good run this week. He talks us through a guidance cut from home appliances brand Whirlpool (WHR). The dishwashers-to-fridges maker warned war in Iran resulted in a ‘recession-level industry…
High-flying Seraphim Space (SSIT) raised £137 million in its C share offer. This represented the largest fundraise by an investment trust since 2023. Seraphim Space’s board and fund manager said they were ‘delighted’ by the response to the fundraising. This will see 136.5 million new C shares issued at 100p. ‘Consistent with its existing investment strategy, the company will now start to deploy the proceeds into a number of advanced investment opportunities that have already been identified,’ said Seraphim Space. Why SpaceTech excites This growth capital trust backs private, early-stage ‘SpaceTech’ companies with the potential to dominate globally. The board believes…
Shares in Whirlpool (WHR) plunged to a five-year low on Wall Street after the iconic home appliances company cut FY26 earnings guidance in half. The Michigan-based firm also warned the Iran war has caused a severe downturn in the US. Share price: $47.3 (-13.6%)PE: 11.1xMarket cap: $3.5bnYield: n/a Whirlpool’s alert confirmed that soaring fuel prices and weakening consumer confidence are beginning to weigh on big-ticket purchases across the pond. Dishwasher woes In its Q1 results statement, the washing machines, dishwashers and fridges maker said: ‘War in Iran resulted in recession-level industry decline in the US as consumer confidence collapsed in…
Shares in Strix (KETL) flashed green after the kettle safety controls maker reported a recovery in volumes in both divisions despite ‘challenging’ market conditions. The Isle of Man-based company also confirmed the results of its £10 million tender offer at 43p per share. This capital was returned to shareholders as a way of distributing a portion of the proceeds from the sale of Australian filtered water business, Billi. Post-disposal, AIM-listed Strix is focused on its core kettle controls business. Here, a recovery from the tariff-driven order hiatus continues to build, albeit from a low base. Return to growth In today’s trading…
Profits fell at JD Sports Fashion (JD.) in the year to January 2026 as hard-pressed consumers cut back on the latest snazzy sneakers, tracksuits and replica shirts. The FTSE 100 retailer also reported a 2.3% drop in like-for-like sales for the weather-blighted first quarter of FY27. Which begs the question, why did shares in the athleisure giant rally in early deals today? Well, investors focused on a return to growth in North America, JD Sports’ biggest region, in Q4. The Bury-based company also demonstrated confidence in its medium-term prospects by bumping the dividend up 20% to 1.2p. JD Sports clearly…
In today’s Podcast, the Sharesify team talk markets, momentum, tech earnings, banks, booze stocks, air fryers and more. Our tech expert Steven discusses blowout earnings from chip designer Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), which doubled its total addressable market forecast for server CPUs just six months after its last estimate. Ian explains why momentum and big stocks are driving markets and why hedge funds are actually selling tech shares. He also lends us his view on HSBC (HSBA), while James talks booze stocks. Beer volumes have turned positive at Budweiser maker Anheuser-Busch InBev (ABI), while Guinness maker Diageo (DGE) delivered a positive Q3 sales…
Shares in Ramsdens (RFX) rallied after the financial services-to-retail group delivered its third profit upgrade in three months. The bulk of the FY26 upgrade reflected the positive impact of the sky-high gold price on its precious metals division. However, Ramsdens is also seeing continued strength in jewellery retail and pawnbroking. For the year to September 2026, Ramsdens now expects pre-tax profits will be ‘at least £28.5 million’. That is comfortably ahead of the £24.1 million consensus estimate. If the favourable gold price continues and summer currency volumes are in line with last year, profits could potentially hit £31.5 million. The…
Clothing-to-homewares seller Next (NXT) nudged up FY27 profit guidance again on the back of forecast-beating Q1 sales. The upgrade was delivered despite Middle East-induced cost increases. The high street retailer said these will be fully offset by cost savings and ‘moderate’ price increases. Shares in Next ticked higher on the positive news. However, with tougher H2 comparatives to come, Next left its FY27 full-price sales guidance unchanged at 5%. Retail resilience Led by CEO Simon Wolfson, Next has a track record of under-promising and over-delivering. And the retailer’s winning streak of earnings upgrades continues. Next’s full-price sales rose 6.2% in…
In our latest special podcast, James Crux and Steven Frazer are joined by Emily Whiting, emerging markets and asia pacific investment specialist at JPMorgan Asset Management. The discussion focuses on JPMorgan Asia Growth & Income (JAGI). This investment trust aims to provide a total return from investing in equities quoted in Asia, excluding Japan. Our special guest tells us what sets ‘JAGI’ apart from others in the Asia Pacific Equity Income sector. Whiting explains how JPMorgan’s specialist EMAP team meet and research thousands of companies each and every year. This, she argues, massively helps the portfolio managers pick the best…