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Contents Click on the links below to get to the stuff you really really want. USA – Tech stocks lead rises despite somber words from Powell; US virus death toll exceeds 200,000 (#USA) UK – Rising dollar helped UK exporters; Oil price rises lifted Shell and BP; Kingfisher up on profit boost (#UK) Continental Europe – Spanish banks and retailers down; Rest of region like UK (#Europe) Elsewhere – Australian stocks up on rate cut hopes; Rest of region pensive (#Elsewhere) WTF – Hollywood woman (#WTF) Links (#Useful) Numbers (#Numbers) Ts & Cs (#Ts+Cs)
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USA
As is so often the case after a big move in one direction, the next day stocks move a little in the opposite direction. The S&P 500 closed 1.1% higher yesterday following Monday’s rout. Technology stocks continue to do well as investors bet on them to benefit from further lockdown measures.
Gains were limited by remarks from the Federal Reserve (equivalent of the Bank of England) that suggest a slow economic recovery. Fed Chairman, Jerome Powell, said that a rebound without further stimulus would be “highly uncertain”. In other words, there isn’t a great deal more the central banks can do, so the Democrats and Republicans need to get their house in order and agree on a financial support package sooner rather than later.
Meanwhile, the virus continues to take lives no matter what the naysayers might be saying “nay” to. The death toll in the US has exceeded 200,000 people.
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UK
In the UK, the falls in stock prices slowed down yesterday. Some of the stocks that had done particularly badly recovered ground, but the main support came from across the Atlantic. The value of the dollar rose which provided a boost to UK exporters, hence the FTSE 100 closed 0.4% higher on the day (it’s dominated by companies that export a good chunk of what they produce).
Oil prices also nudged up to help the likes of BP, Shell and Premier to recover some lost ground. The two big risers of note were retail group, Kingfisher, which jumped 9.9% after posting higher quarterly profits, and Network International Holdings which leapt 25% after the company’s chief financial officer bought a load of shares.
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Continental Europe
It was a similar story across the rest of Europe with the Euro Stoxx 50 and German DAX just about clinging onto gains of 0.1% and 0.4% respectively. The higher value of the dollar and higher oil prices helped.
Spanish banks were down; they yoyo on a frequent basis as folk worry about the prospects of the Spanish economy and the Latin American prospects relating to the countries in which Santander and BBVA (the two major Spanish banks) have substantial interests. Add to that the disappointing results from Spanish clothing conglomerate, Inditex (owner or Zara and others), and the Spanish Ibex 35 was the region’s under-performer for the day, closing 0.7% down.
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Elsewhere
Australian stocks were up fairly sharply this morning after an influential banking analyst predicted an interest rate cut by the country’s central bank (making borrowing cheaper and spending more likely).
The rest of the region appears more concerned with the Fed’s sombre comments about economic growth.
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WTF (What’s The Fact?)
Hollywood woman
What many people have suspected for years was confirmed today; Jackie Stallone, is dead. The team of palaeontologists that worked on Boxgrove Man, determined the status of the biomass that was Jackie Stallone (Latin: plastic-eye-sore us wrecks) had indeed ceased to function on a mitochondrial level.
Ms. Stallone, Sylvester Stallone’s mother, who was best known for being Sylvester Stallone’s mother, made a career from being the mother of Sylvester Stallone for which she was reasonably well qualified.
In a statement, her agent said, “No one could be Sylvester Stallone’s mother in quite the same way”. Sylvestor Stallone himself added, “She was like a mother to me”.
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Links
Investopedia (www.investopedia.com/dictionary/) – Loads of free explanations of financial terms including some helpful videos. Not 100% accurate, but a good starting point Guffipedia (ig.ft.com/sites/guffipedia/) – Lucy Kellaway of the FT has collected some painful examples of corporate people disappearing up their own analogies Guardian (www.theguardian.com) – Free to access website with a couple of decent columnists (e.g. Nils Pratley and Larry Elliott) Times of India (timesofindia.indiatimes.com) – Why use five words when 37 will do? Daily Mail (www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2016/07/the-war-on-stupid-people/485618) – Click it. I dare you.
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———————————————————— IMPORTANT This is my opinion. Yes I read a lot and share what I’ve read with you, but this content remains my opinion. It’s NOT advice. If you take my advice – don’t take my advice. Any decisions you make about investments, your hairstyle or whether or not to eat marzipan are entirely at your own behest. If you are too stupid to recognise the devil’s ear wax when you see it, then you’re on your own.
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