Recency bias is alive and well. “At long last, normal profits are becoming normal for airlines”, so says the IATA in its June 2018 industry update titled “Solid Profits Despite Rising Costs”. After a couple of years of improving margins and ROIC, is this a paradigm shift for investors to jump aboard? Unfortunately, it feels […]
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Equity markets were widely reported to have bounced on Friday after the solid May private sector job growth, albeit the accompanying rise in average hourly wage growth presages another rate rise by the Fed. With EU’s grip on its southern flank unravelling as friendly regimes in Spain and Italy are replaced however, the prospects of […]
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Good grief, there’s a lot of tosh spouted on where oil prices are going after Russia and Saudi Arabia pulled the plug on the current rally, once Brent oil hit the magical $80/bbl target. The prize however, must go to Goldman’s straddle, where it seems the ‘technical’ analyst (someone who can draw straight lines) is […]
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Being long into the M&S results, I was understandably happy to root for the old girl as she struggles to re-invent herself for the modern world. The numbers themselves were broadly as expected and while it was comforting to have the dividend not only held, but forecast to remain that way, I was never in […]
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Many companies resemble sharks. Not just for their need to keep eating new prey to grow, but to keep growing to stay afloat. The capital intensive airlines are perhaps the most glaring example of this in action, particularly given the additional scale advantage that can be secured. The problem for investors however, is being able […]
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Markets love corporate activity. Bankers love them as shifting assets around companies earns them big fees. Managements love them because they provide opportunities to earn big bonuses. Investors therefore are encouraged to believe all this will enhance shareholder value, so as to endorse the merry-go-round. How many times have we seen acquisition led growth disguise […]
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There seems to be a whole industry that has emerged to pore over the monthly US non-farm payroll numbers, but ultimately there are only two things of interest. Are US corporate sacking enough employees to signal an impending recession, or employing so many and paying so much as to spook the Fed into tightening monetary […]
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When a slow, or no growth company offers stock to acquire a faster business, then there is always a risk that time value will whittle away the initial bid premium. For AT&T’s offer for Time Warner, this has been accentuated by the drawn out litigation with the DoJ to get the deal approved as well […]
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