+144k net private sector job additions in December may a little below the trend, but with the previous two months revised up by +53k, this is probably where most of the headlines will stop, although Fed diehards may also point to the further rise in average hourly wages to a ten year high of +2.9% […]
Continue reading
Reading the notes to company releases is always wise, even if it can seem numbingly dull as you wade through the IR padding and still can’t find what you want. Sometimes however you stumble across something buried deep in the notes that stops you in your tracks with one of those ‘WTF’ moments. One such […]
Continue reading
To pay for the Christmas presents, I’ll be closing a couple of long positions in the GrowthRater portfolio when markets open. One because it has done what I had hoped for and more (FedEx) and the other because it is increasing looking like dead money, or worse, in the face of deterioration in its markets […]
Continue reading
Yes folks, we live in the most heavily surveillanced times ever. Not only are our communications increasingly monitored, but almost every aspect of our lives from our movements, our associations and now with ‘smart phones’ and internet TV, the ability to snoop even on our private conversations. So when you unwrap that new gizmo, such […]
Continue reading
Embroiled in litigation and a war of words over Mediaset Premium, Bollore’s has parked his proverbial tank on Berlusconi’s lawn by announcing a 2o% stake in Mediaset on the 14th December (http://www.vivendi.com/en/press/press-releases/vivendi-reached-the-20-threshold-of-mediaset/) and if he didn’t get the message, a further announcement yesterday (19th December) of his intention to take Vivendi’s stake up to 30% […]
Continue reading
The gold price might be troublesome to predict, but at least the relationship between this and the share price of gold miners such as Barrick are proving to be more reliable. Back in July when I initiated coverage, I suggested markets were applying what seemed to be a ridiculously simple valuation methodology. Forget IRR with […]
Continue reading
After raising its Federal funds target range to 0.25-0.5% in December 2015, Yellen has waited exactly a year and now edged up rates a further +25bps as the target range is raised to 0.5-0.75%, while also signalling that these could rise to around 1.4% by the end of 2017, thereby suggesting three further +25bps increases […]
Continue reading
Reading this morning’s press reports on Murdoch’s £10.75 per share agreed offer to buy out the outstanding 61% of Sky he doesn’t already own, one thing becomes clear. With the bid coming from 21st Century Fox this time rather than News Corp, the consensus narrative is that this is expected to reduce the regulatory risks […]
Continue reading