Justin Emerson
Journalist
Why is it so difficult to beat the market over the long term?
The idea of beating the market seems simple to many. They believe it's merely a matter of picking the right stocks, avoiding the wrong ones, buying at the right time, and selling before everyone else. In reality, it's far more difficult.
May 29, 2026 at 10:38 am
Why Korea remains the ETF star of the year
When using an ETF screening tool, it is impossible to miss South Korean equities at the top of the rankings. And for a good reason: the KOSPI, the Korean benchmark index, has nearly doubled in five months and has already tripled in a year. The cause is well-known: the explosion in demand for data center equipment has sent both the national champions, Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, skyrocketing. But this is not the only explanation.
May 28, 2026 at 05:25 am
Johnson Matthey bets on data-centre power with Cormetech
Johnson Matthey agreed to buy Cormetech for $360m. The British chemicals group, long associated with catalysts for cars and heavy industry, is placing a wager on a less glamorous but increasingly urgent corner of the energy market: cleaning up the exhaust of America's power stations.
May 28, 2026 at 04:54 am
Ruff Patch for Pets at Home
Pets at Home hasn't had a disastrous year, but it has had a revealing one. The company remains Britain's dominant pet-care chain, with a fast-growing vets arm and a large base of loyal customers. But its latest results show how a dependable consumer story can become less cuddly when retail margins shrink, cash flow falls and investors start asking whether the kennel is worth the rent. However, there is hope with James Bailey: the new CEO has brought fresh retail experience and appears to have reassured investors that the group has a credible path to stabilising profits.
May 27, 2026 at 05:00 am
Eli Lilly delivers breakthrough obesity treatment with potential for 30% average weight loss
Eli Lilly has announced highly encouraging preliminary results from a Phase 3 clinical trial evaluating Retatrutide in adults who are either obese or overweight, accompanied by at least one weight-related comorbidity excluding diabetes.
May 22, 2026 at 07:53 am
Estée Lauder walks away from Puig to pursue turnaround on its own
The merger between Estée Lauder and Puig will not happen after all. On Thursday evening the companies announced that they have ended their discussions, which had been ongoing since March regarding a merger that would have created one of the world's largest premium beauty conglomerates.
May 22, 2026 at 05:37 am
BT's fibre bet starts to throw off cash
Revenue fell, debt stayed heavy and competition remains uncomfortable. Yet the company is beginning to show what investors have long been promised: that years of expensive fibre investment may eventually turn into higher cash flow.
May 21, 2026 at 04:41 am
Can Bayer Still Recover?
Since the acquisition of Monsanto, the group has lived under the pressure of glyphosate-related litigation, high debt, and market mistrust. However, the start of 2026 has seen some improvements, which supports the rebound that began a year ago.
May 21, 2026 at 04:06 am
Dr. Martens: Sole Survivor
Dr. Martens' latest results show that the company is trying to become smaller in the right places and stronger in the important ones. Sales slipped, but profits recovered, margins improved and debt came down. The investment case now rests on whether the bootmaker can turn a tidier business into lasting full-price demand.
May 19, 2026 at 03:58 am
The Private Credit Pause
HSBC's decision to leave $4bn on the launchpad, revealed by the Financial Times, is more than a tactical delay. It is a telling admission that the private-credit boom, once sold as banking without the bother of banks, is beginning to acquire some very bank-like anxieties, including opacity, leverage and losses.
May 15, 2026 at 04:15 am
Converium Turns Up the Heat on CVS Group
CVS Group, one of Britain's biggest veterinary chains, has become the latest company to discover that a depressed share price can attract more than bargain-hunters. Activist investor Converium Capital is pressing the vet group to buy back £100m of its own shares, the Financial Times revealed, arguing that the board has been too slow to address investor discontent.
May 13, 2026 at 04:15 am
Bytes adjusts to harder code
Bytes Technology has not gone off course, but its latest results show a business losing some of its former glide. The software reseller still converts profit into cash with enviable efficiency, yet growth in gross profit was modest and operating profit fell. Investors must decide whether this is a temporary adjustment to Microsoft's new incentives and Bytes's sales reshuffle, or evidence that a once-smooth compounder is becoming more ordinary.
May 12, 2026 at 04:35 am
Sage's agent wager
Sage has just announced a deepened agreement with Amazon Web Services, and the expanded pact is a sign of where business software is heading. The promise is that small firms will get AI agents inside their ledgers. The risk is that another layer of corporate life becomes dependent on a few giant cloud platforms.
April 29, 2026 at 04:31 am
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