That means I want a good safety margin built into share prices before I’d consider buying. With Marks, I think we might still have that. The future Defaults would be bad news for Lloyds, the UK’s biggest mortgage lender. So maybe fears like that are behind the latest share price drop. Forecasts are clouded with uncertainty right now. And I expect the whole financial sector — banks, insurers, investment firms — to stay wobbly until the economy gets closer to normal. We saw a big boost from a 14.7% rise in food sales. But the other side of the M&S coin, Clothing and Home, looks like it came up heads too. Sales rose 5.7%, with adjusted operating profit up 30%. Barclays shares fell 25% from their February high. There’s no clear gauge of what defines a crash, but that’s a big drop.

I already have exposure to the space via Apple and Nvidia. But I’ll certainly be looking to add to these in the future. Technological revolutions provide opportunities for newcomers. And the old companies with last year’s technology can suffer. Verdict In 2024 and the years ahead, as billions worth of investment is pumped into the emerging sector, I think a host of opportunities across a variety of businesses will surface. That said, Owain is usually a buyer of equities, where he prefers lightly geared, modestly rated companies, and is increasingly on the lookout for Buffett-style intangible quality. He aspires to buy-and-hold: his best investment ideas are worth much more than he sold them for. Then again, his worst investment went bust due to management fraud!Investor concern may be justified for firms riddled with floating-rate mortgages. After all, higher debt servicing costs mean less capital available to fund dividends. FTSE 100 heading for 8,000 points? I don’t care if it’s eight points, or eight million points. All that matters to me is the valuation of my shares. But, the City still expects pre-tax profits from the FTSE 100 to rise by 10% this year. That’s above even today’s inflation.

I’d say the market has got it wrong about the tobacco firms too. For years, they’ve expected the demise of the business, but they’ve been dead wrong so far. The risk of a decline clearly is there. But I see a cash cow here, for a good few years yet. Financial risk We have taken reasonable steps to ensure that any information provided by The Motley Fool Ltd, is accurate at the time of publishing. Any opinions expressed are the opinions of the authors only. The content provided has not taken into account the particular circumstances of any specific individual or group of individuals and does not constitute personal advice or a personal recommendation. No content should be relied upon as constituting personal advice or a personal recommendation, when making your decisions. If you require any personal advice or recommendations, please speak to an independent qualified financial adviser. No liability is accepted by the author, The Motley Fool Ltd or Richdale Brokers and Financial Services Ltd for any loss or detriment experienced by any individual from any decision, whether consequent to, or in any way related to the content provided by The Motley Fool Ltd; the provision of which is an unregulated activity. Despite the big gains in the Marks & Spencer share price of the past year, we still see forecast price-to-earnings ( P/E) ratios of only around 10 or so in the next few years. It’s a bit early to judge the dividend yield yet. Based in London, James is a freelance investment writer for the Fool UK. He also contributes to business and economics publications, having previously worked as a staff writer and editor. James has a PhD in development studies and has contributed to academic work on global supply chains. He also manages his own investment portfolio. And with a price-to-earnings ( P/E) ratio as low as 7.5, there might even be some share price gains to come.Scottish Mortgage is the only one of these I’ve researched in any detail, and I bought some. I expect more volatility from it in the next couple of years. But I’m happy to take the risk for what I see as its long-term potential. Still, those who invest for income might not care too much about what happens to their share prices. After all, if I buy shares today with the aim of just taking the annual cash to help fund my old age, and never intend to sell them, who cares if the share price falls? I’m thinking about Vodafone and BT Group in particular here. Both were a lot more resilient in the face of the pandemic slump, so they have that going for them. And it might not be fair to compare such different businesses. But they don’t exactly help build a positive working environment. The planned job cutting is probably a necessary evil. But I’d like to see it completed as soon as possible and the fears of further cuts recede.

Even Unilever, known for steady rather than big dividends, is on 4%. And that’s about the Footsie average right now. Cheap banks I’m just not sure there’s enough safety margin in the current Rolls-Royce share price to cover the risks. Business risks But the value of our investments is what counts, not the price. And it’s vital that we don’t confuse the two. I already thought Lloyds shares were among the best value in the FTSE 100. But after these falls, the market puts them at only around half the average Footsie valuation. That just can’t be right. Of course, there’s also artificial intelligence (AI), which has received a lot of attention this year thanks to the success of ChatGPT. In the years ahead, this technology is set to have a big impact on every industry. Some experts believe that AI could be bigger than the internet.

I think that’s exactly the right thing to be doing, and it gives me confidence in how they might manage my money should I ever buy Rolls-Royce shares. The right way? The world might be turning from oil and gas. But Shell‘s P/E is under nine, with BP‘s at only six. Dividend yields are only around 4% to 4.5%, but there’s growth on the cards. Perfect buy time? I think some of the fear is well placed too. Vodafone, for example, has paid high yields for years but with only bare cover by earnings at best. Target Healthcare is an interesting one. It’s a real estate investment trust (REIT), so the property squeeze will have had an effect. But it’s more than just an investment in property values. Target holds a portfolio of freehold and long leasehold care homes, which bring in long-term rentals. I think that focus provides safety.