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Background: Although US markets struggled to make headway in December, it did not derail what turned out to be a good year for equity markets, gold and industrial metals. A significant theme of 2025 was that those markets that started the year at the lowest price, as measured by PE ratios, gave the best returns over the year - the more expensive markets lagged. For all the talk of the Magnificent Seven, only two (Alphabet +65 per cent and Nvidia + 38.9 per cent) beat the 17.9

You might think I'm mad (and perhaps a bit sad!), but one night over the Christmas break, I dreamt that the US Dollar continued to weaken in 2026, and hit 1.50 against sterling. The chart below shows that so far in 2026, it looks like it is heading that way. I was also struck by John Auther's chart, showing how the cheapest markets in PE Ratio terms did best in 2025. The UK continues to be one of the cheapest markets. That, combined with further dollar weakness, could lead to

I think a theme for 2026 will be space.   The IPO of SpaceX is expected later this year, which I think will focus investor attention on the sector.       To that end, I have added a 4.0% position in JEDG (VanEck Vectors Space Innovators ETF) to the Funds’ Portfolio.   For more information on JEDG, click HERE   Its top holdings are:       For the JIC Portfolio, I am risking 2.0% of my capital in JEDG’s largest position, AST Spacemobile. (ASTS, Market Capitalisation $23.5bn, $8

Alnwick Castle

Full ist below. The winner was Thor Explorations, up 300%.

The JIC Portfolio was up 21.9% in 2025, while the FTSE All-Share was up 24.0%. The Funds' Portfolio was up 30.0% in 2025, while the FTSE All-World (GBP) was up 14.6%. Performance of JIC and Fund Portfolios' holdings in 2025 Major Markets in 2025

Gold price ending the year at new highs (October turned out to be a shakeout)

Lundin Royalties (TSX: LUNR, Market Cap C$909 m (£494m), C$12.98 (701p) currently 1.1% of JIC Portfolio). (In the portfolio view in my Investment Diary, I show the share price converted to sterling) www.lunrroyalties.com   After Friday’s first day of trading, it was nice to see the share price up another 6.0% yesterday.   It is also good to see that Hargreaves Lansdowne and Interactive Investor are showing the stock correctly.   It is also on ShareScope, so my portfolio view

LUNR started trading yesterday. Because the price was, for some reason, set at 6 Canadian cents when it opened at above C$10 per share, trading was suspended. Trading resumed in the afternoon. It ended the day at C$ 12.25. That means for the 1,228 shares held in the JIC Portfolio, the value in C$ was 15,043 and in Sterling (ex rate 1.8466), £8146. It added 1.0% to the value of the JIC Portfolio. As I have said before, the more important thing than where it closes on the first

See below for some exciting news. I'm intrigued to see what my 1,228 shares held in the JIC Portfolio will be valued at on the first day of trading. More importantly, what will they be worth on 19 December 2026!

NGEx Minerals (TSX: NGEX, Market Cap C$5.3bn (£2.9 bn) C$ 24.39     (1322p) currently 8.2% of JIC Portfolio). (In the portfolio view in my Investment Diary I show the share price converted to sterling)   www.lundingroup.com www.ngexminerals.com     First drill results of Phase 4 - HERE   Conclusion: A super start to its Phase 4 drill programme. Again, very good copper and gold concentrations. Plenty more results to come over the next six months as it proves the size of the as

Serica Energy (SQZ.L AIM All-Share, Market Cap £634m, 162.4p, (4.5% of JIC Portfolio)  www.serica-energy.com   Acquisition of assets in the North Sea   Conclusion: This looks like another sensible deal. It's not transformative, but it does add 15% to its reserves and more than that to annual production. The effective date of the transaction is 1 January this year, which means by the time the deal completes in H2 2026, it should have pretty much covered its upfront payment wit

IG Group (IGG.L, FTSE Mid-250, Market Cap £3.97bn, 1166p, currently 4.4% of JIC Portfolio)   IG Group Holdings plc is a United Kingdom-based global financial technology company. The Company delivers online trading platforms and an educational ecosystem. The Company’s products include OTC leveraged derivatives, exchange-traded derivatives and stock trading and investments   Trading update:   Conclusion: Overall, an encouraging update with it firming up its guidance for the who

Following last Thursday's sale of XTracker AI & Big Data ETF (XAIX) in the Funds' Portfolio, I have sold the position from the JIC Portfolio. (The transfer of my SIPP to Interactive Investor is nearly done.) A small profit of £850.

Gold heading up again

#podcasts

In my November Review, this was my outlook section: " I know hope is not a good strategy, but it would be nice to record a strong December to cap off what has been a good year for my portfolios. I think I will be rewarded with interest rate cuts, helping equity markets to push on to new highs after what was a wobbly November. My mind then must turn to 2026. One can't ignore the concentration in the US market in the top stocks. One must pinch oneself when one sees that Nvidia

Tomorrow (Tuesday, 9 December) at 9:30 am, there will be an online webinar with the managers, Sean Peche and Andrew Lapping. They will discuss the factors that have driven the Fund's strong performance this year and the current positioning. To attend, please register via this link: Webinar Registration - Zoom

The JIC Portfolio was down 0.7% last week, while the FTSE All-Share was down 0.5%. YTD, JIC Portfolio is up +19.9%, All-Share is also up +20.8%. The Funds' Portfolio was down 0.4% last week, while the FTSE All-World (GBP) was down 0.1%. YTD, Funds' Portfolio is up +27.4%, All-World (GBP) +15.0%. Performance of JIC and Fund Portfolios' holdings over one week Markets over one week Markets YTD

Background:   A volatile month for markets, with many calling the top of the AI bubble. Whether it has popped or is just letting out a little air is a moot point. Equity markets weren’t helped by the Chairman of the Federal Reserve. Following a quarter-point interest rate cut early in the month, he poured cold water on the chances of a further cut in December. Towards the end of the month, the mood changed with the market now expecting another cut on 10 December. This helped

First end-of-month close above £800k

#podcasts

I found an interesting website www.miningvisuals.com . Thank you to Amanda Van Dyke @amandavandyke13 on X The website has many fascinating charts for different mined commodities. I'm especially interested in some charts from UBS, forecasting a growing copper deficit. A deficit made worse by, in the short term, outages and, in the longer term, by a lack of new mine investment. UBS is forecasting copper rising to $13,000 per tonne by the end of 2026. (Currently $11,347). Th

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