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Alan Oscroft

Alan Oscroft

Alan is a freelance writer who began writing for The Motley Fool in the late 1990s. He has been a private investor for more 30 years, and has explored a number of strategies, settling on high-yielding blue-chip shares.

Recent Articles

Investing Articles

Why HSBC Holdings plc, Anglo American plc and TeleCity Group Plc Should Beat The FTSE 100 Today

| Alan Oscroft

HSBC Holdings plc (LON: HSBA), Anglo American plc (LON: AAL) and TeleCity Group Plc (LON: TCY) are off to a…

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Investing Articles

3 FTSE Shares You Should Have Bought Last Week: BP plc, NEXT plc And Marks and Spencer Group Plc

| Alan Oscroft

It was a good week for BP plc (LON: BP), NEXT plc (LON: NXT) and Marks and Spencer Group Plc…

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Investing Articles

Why ARM Holdings plc Will Be One Of 2013’s Winners

| Alan Oscroft

It looks like 2013 will be another great one for ARM Holdings plc (LON: ARM).

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Investing Articles

3 FTSE 100 Shares You Should Have Bought Last Month: Hargreaves Lansdown PLC, Whitbread plc and Persimmon plc

| Alan Oscroft

Hargreaves Lansdown PLC (LON: HL), Whitbread plc (LON: WTB) and Persimmon plc (LON: PSN) soared in October.

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Investing Articles

3 FTSE 100 Dividends Lifted This Week: BP plc, BT Group plc And Royal Dutch Shell Plc

| Alan Oscroft

BP plc (LON: BP), BT Group plc (LON: BT.A) and Royal Dutch Shell Plc (LON: RDSB) up their payouts.

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Investing Articles

Why Aviva plc Will Be One Of 2013’s Winners

| Alan Oscroft

Aviva plc (LON: AV) could just be the pick of the insurance sector.

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Investing Articles

Why Royal Dutch Shell Plc, AstraZeneca plc and Antofagasta plc Should Lag The FTSE 100 Today

| Alan Oscroft

Royal Dutch Shell Plc (LON: RDSB), AstraZeneca plc (LON: AZN) and Antofagasta plc (LON: ANTO) are having a down day.

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Investing Articles

3 FTSE Shares Hitting New Highs: BT Group plc, NEXT plc and Meggitt plc

| Alan Oscroft

BT Group plc (LON:BT.A), NEXT plc (LON: NXT) and Meggitt plc (LON: MGGT) are flying.

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Investing Articles

Why Vodafone Group plc Will Be One Of 2013’s Winners

| Alan Oscroft

It's been a great year for Vodafone Group plc (LON: VOD) shareholders.

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Investing Articles

Why Standard Life Plc, Pearson plc and NMC Health PLC Should Lag The FTSE 100 Today

| Alan Oscroft

Standard Life Plc (LON: SL), Pearson plc (LON:PSON) and NMC Health PLC (LON:NMC) respond badly to the day's news.

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Investing Articles

Why Barclays PLC, Petrofac Limited and African Barrick Gold PLC Should Beat The FTSE 100 Today

| Alan Oscroft

Barclays PLC (LON:BARC), Petrofac Limited (LON:PFC) and African Barrick Gold PLC (LON:ABG) all rise.

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Investing Articles

Why Centrica PLC Will Be One Of 2013’s Winners

| Alan Oscroft

Here's why Centrica PLC (LON: CNA) is on for a strong 2013.

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Investing Articles

Why BP plc, Royal Dutch Shell Plc and Stagecoach Group plc Should Beat The FTSE 100 Today

| Alan Oscroft

BP plc (LON: BP), Royal Dutch Shell Plc (LON: RDSB) and Stagecoach Group plc (LON: SGC) are on the up.

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Investing Articles

Why Lloyds Banking Group PLC, Standard Chartered PLC and Tullow Oil plc Should Lag The FTSE 100 Today

| Alan Oscroft

Lloyds Banking Group PLC (LON: LLOY), Standard Chartered PLC (LON: STAN) and Tullow Oil plc (LON: TLW) head south.

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Investing Articles

Why HSBC Holdings plc Will Be One Of 2013’s Winners

| Alan Oscroft

We look at why 2013 has been a good year for HSBC Holdings plc (LON: HSBA).

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Investing Articles

Why Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc Will Be One Of 2013’s Winners

| Alan Oscroft

We tell you why Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc (LON: RBS) is heading for a very good year.

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Investing Articles

Why Aggreko plc, Randgold Resources Limited and G4S plc Should Beat The FTSE 100 Today

| Alan Oscroft

Aggreko plc (LON: AGK), Randgold Resources Limited (LON: RRS) and G4S plc (LON: GFS) rise on good news.

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Investing Articles

3 FTSE Shares You Should Have Bought Last Week: Shire PLC, Reckitt Benckiser Group Plc and BHP Billiton plc

| Alan Oscroft

Shire PLC (LON: SHP), Reckitt Benckiser Group Plc (LON: RB) and BHP Billiton plc (LON: BLT) put in a good…

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Investing Articles

3 FTSE Shares Hitting New Highs: Legal & General Group Plc, Shire PLC and Inchcape plc

| Alan Oscroft

Legal & General Group Plc (LON: LGEN), Shire PLC (LON: SHP) and Inchcape plc (LON: INCH) end the week strongly.

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Investing Articles

3 FTSE Dividends Lifted This Week: Whitbread plc, Debenhams Plc And Spirit Pub Co PLC

| Alan Oscroft

Whitbread plc (LON: WTB), Debenhams Plc (LON: DEB) and Spirit Pub Co PLC (LON: SPRT) raise their payouts.

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Investing Articles

The Beginners’ Portfolio: What If We’d Bought Unilever plc Or Reckitt Benckiser Group Plc?

| Alan Oscroft

Should we have Unilever plc (LON: ULVR) or Reckitt Benckiser Group Plc (LON: RB) in the portfolio?

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Investing Articles

3 FTSE Shares Crashing To New Lows: Tullow Oil plc, De La Rue plc and Bumi PLC

| Alan Oscroft

Tullow Oil plc (LON: TLW), De La Rue plc (LON: DLAR) and Bumi PLC (LON: BUMI) are sliding.

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Investing Articles

3 FTSE 100 Shares Hitting New Highs: International Consolidated Airlines Grp, British Sky Broadcasting Group plc and Prudential plc

| Alan Oscroft

International Consolidated Airlines Grp (LON: IAG), British Sky Broadcasting Group plc (LON: BSY) and Prudential plc (LON: PRU) are climbing.

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Investing Articles

Why Vodafone Group plc Should Be A Winner Next Year

| Alan Oscroft

The future looks good for Vodafone Group plc (LON: VOD).

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Investing Articles

Why NEXT plc Should Be A Winner Next Year

| Alan Oscroft

NEXT plc (LON:NXT) is, quite simply, the best in its class.

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Investing Articles

Why HSBC Holdings plc, International Personal Finance Plc and De La Rue plc Should Lag The FTSE 100 Today

| Alan Oscroft

HSBC Holdings plc (LON: HSBA), International Personal Finance Plc (LON: IPF) and De La Rue plc (LON: DLAR) all slip.

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Investing Articles

Why Home Retail Group Plc, Sports Direct International Plc and Laird PLC Should Beat The FTSE 100 Today

| Alan Oscroft

Home Retail Group Plc (LON: HOME), Sports Direct International Plc (LON: SPD) and Laird PLC (LON: LRD) rise on good…

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Investing Articles

Why BHP Billiton plc Is A Great Share For Novice Investors

| Alan Oscroft

BHP Billiton plc (LON: BLT) digs up stuff that everybody needs.

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Investing Articles

3 FTSE Shares Hitting New Highs: AMEC plc, WPP PLC and Smiths Group plc

| Alan Oscroft

AMEC plc (LON: AMEC), WPP PLC (LON: WPP) and Smiths Group plc (LON: SMIN) are soaring.

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Investing Articles

Why Reckitt Benckiser Group Plc, BHP Billiton plc and GKN plc Should Beat The FTSE 100 Today

| Alan Oscroft

Good news drives Reckitt Benckiser Group Plc (LON: RB), BHP Billiton plc (LON: BLT) and GKN plc (LON: GKN) upwards.

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Investing Articles

Why Informa PLC, Quindell Portfolio PLC and Balfour Beatty plc Should Beat The FTSE 100 Today

| Alan Oscroft

A good start to the week for Informa PLC (LON: INF), Quindell Portfolio PLC (LON: QPP) and Balfour Beatty plc…

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Investing Articles

3 FTSE Shares You Should Have Bought Last Week: British Sky Broadcasting Group plc, Travis Perkins plc and Bellway plc

| Alan Oscroft

British Sky Broadcasting Group plc (LON: BSY), Travis Perkins plc (LON: TPK) and Bellway plc (LON: BWY) are all looking…

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Investing Articles

Beginners’ Portfolio: Vodafone Group plc Extends Its Domination

| Alan Oscroft

We bring you the latest from Vodafone Group plc (LON: VOD) and the rest of the portfolio.

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Investing Articles

Why Direct Line Insurance Group PLC Is A Bad Share For Novice Investors

| Alan Oscroft

We just don't know enough about Direct Line Insurance Group PLC (LON: DLG) to take the risk.

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Investing Articles

3 FTSE Dividends Lifted This Week: Bellway plc, Booker Group Plc And Smiths News Plc

| Alan Oscroft

Bellway plc (LON: BWY), Booker Group Plc (LON: BOK) and Smiths News Plc (LON: NWS) are paying more.

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Investing Articles

Why RSA Insurance Group plc Is A Great Share For Novice Investors

| Alan Oscroft

RSA Insurance Group plc (LON: RSA) could be a candidate for your portfolio.

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Investing Articles

Why Travis Perkins plc, Rank Group PLC and Xaar plc Should Lag The FTSE 100 Today

| Alan Oscroft

Travis Perkins plc (LON: TPK), Rank Group PLC (LON: RNK) and Xaar plc (LON: XAR) all fall.

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Investing Articles

Why SABMiller plc, British Sky Broadcasting Group plc and Man Group PLC Should Beat The FTSE 100 Today

| Alan Oscroft

A good day for SABMiller plc (LON: SAB), British Sky Broadcasting Group plc (LON: BSY) and Man Group PLC (LON:…

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Investing Articles

Why BP plc Is A Great Share For Novice Investors

| Alan Oscroft

BP plc (LON: BP) might have more risk, but it's still a sound investment.

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Investing Articles

3 FTSE Shares Hitting New Highs: Aviva plc, Hargreaves Lansdown PLC And IMI plc

| Alan Oscroft

Aviva plc (LON: AV), Hargreaves Lansdown PLC (LON: HL) and IMI plc (LON: IMI) reach for the sky.

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