Sunday share tips: Ashmore Group, Next

Fund manager Schroders recently scooped up more shares in emerging markets-focused fund manager Ashmore Group following a sharp rally in the share price, but there are reasons to remain sceptical, The Sunday Times's Danny Forston said.

By 2013, the fund manager had amassed $75bn in clients' assets which it ploughed into everything from government debt to equities.

Yet, as the decade-long China boom went into reverse that pile of assets shrank to just $49.bn at the turn of the past year.

Nonetheless, shares in Ashmore have rallied sharply from their trough of 196p hit in January, as commodities bounced back, hurting many a short-seller.

Even so, the forces at work are powerful, China is shifting towards a consumer economy, demand for commodities will slow and the US dollar is expected to get stronger.

Hence, the recent jump in he outfit's shares is a chance to take profits, so 'sell', Fortson says.

Next is at it again, exaggerating the challenges the company faces, the Financial Times's Lex column said.

On 23 March the retailer's boss, Lord Wolfson, went as far as repeating the comparison he made in 2011, when he compared the business climate to "running up a down escalator".

Indeed, the share price reaction would seem to indicate that markets are taking him at his word.

As well, his caution on the outlook was starkly different than the relative benign prognosis he offered up after Christmas.

The company is struggling to draw customers to its credit offering and its Next directory arm is maturing and needs investment.

However, the company's clear focus on profitability and returns make it unlikely that it too, like Tesco, will be knocked off its perch, Lex said.