News & Insight Weekly Newsletters

18 June 2021 | William Buckhurst

That Was The Week That Was

MACRO

  • A setback for Boris Johnson as the Chesham and Amersham by-election, a Conservative stronghold since its creation in 1974, saw a 25% swing to the Liberal Democrats
  • UK inflation jumped again, overshooting forecasts and the Bank of England target, as the price of consumer goods rose 2.1% in the year to May, up from 1.5% in April and the highest level since July 2019
  • Shares on Wall Street had their worst week in nearly four months after comments from Federal Reserve policymakers signalled that the US central bank was acutely aware of growing inflationary pressures

 COMPANY NEWS

  • Royal Dutch Shell moved higher after it was reported that it was conducting a review into its assets in the Permian Basin by looking at potentially raising as much as $10bn. The news follows the Dutch Court ruling that it must accelerate its emission reduction plans
  • JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon suggested that trading revenue would decline, stating this quarter would be “more normal” for its fixed income and equities trading units
  • Oracle ended the week lower after guiding revenue growth lower, noting they would increase cloud investments to drive longer term growth

FUNDS

The UK’s most prominent investor in technology companies, Baillie Gifford, has endorsed a decision by the founders of Wise, the fintech app, to pursue a public listing which will give them super-sized voting rights. In an unusual move, founder, Kristo Kaarmann, is boosting his voting power from 19.8% to 49.9% and, once listed, his shares will carry nine times as many votes as any new investors buying in

SMALL-CAP NEWS

Marlowe continued its acquisition spree by buying an employment law compliance specialist, Cater Leydon Millard, for £2.25m. Elsewhere there was a very positive update from Volex which was ahead of guidance. Strong consumer electronics, electric vehicle charging solutions, and data centre product demand have been key drivers of the sequential acceleration in H2 revenue growth and results for the year that are higher than the upgraded guidance provided in April

THIS WEEK IN HISTORY

1970: The UK conservative party led by Edward Heath wins the general election. The win was considered unusual because all the opinion polls had predicted an easy win for the Labour party led by Harold Wilson

1983: The IPO of Amgen at $18 per share, valuing the company at $190m before falling more than 60% after the first five months of being publicly traded. Today, Amgen is worth more than $135bn and is one of the largest bio-pharmaceutical companies in the world

RE-OPENING TIMES

This week saw a tougher stance from bank bosses on staff returning to the office. In the US, Morgan Stanley chief executive, James Gorman, said “If you can go into a restaurant in New York City, you can come into the office.” The same day saw Goldman Sachs order its US based employees back to the office, while other rival JP Morgan Chase & Co’s July deadline for staff returning is fast approaching

MARKET DATA

% returns

1 Week

1 Month

1 Year

5 Years

UK Equities (% return GBP)

0.41

1.83

18.27

40.79

World Equities (% return GBP)

0.73

4.38

22.72

110.92

10 Year US Treasury Yield (%)

1.45

1.64

0.71

1.62

GBP / USD (fx rate)

1.38

1.41

1.24

1.44

 As at 18th June 2021. Source: Financial Express

 Download the PDF here

 

 

 

 

 

This publication has been produced by Vermeer Investment Management Limited (VIM) trading as Vermeer Partners. It is provided for information purposes only. VIM makes no express or implied warranties and expressly disclaims all warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose or use with respect to any data included in this publication. VIM will not treat unauthorised recipients of this publication as its clients. Prices shown are indicative and VIM is not offering to buy or sell or soliciting offers to buy or sell any financial instrument. Without limiting any of the foregoing and to the extent permitted by law, in no event shall VIM, nor any of its officers, directors, partners, or employees, have any liability for (a) any special, punitive, indirect, or consequential damages; or (b) any lost profits, lost revenue, loss of anticipated savings or loss of opportunity or other financial loss, even if notified of the possibility of such damages, arising from any use of this publication or its contents. Other than disclosures relating to VIM, the information contained in this publication has been obtained from sources that VIM believes to be reliable, but VIM does not represent or warrant that it is accurate or complete. VIM is not responsible for, and makes no warranties whatsoever as to, the content of any third-party website referred to herein or accessed via a hyperlink in this publication and such information is not incorporated by reference. The views in this publication are those of the author(s) and are subject to change. VIM has no obligation to update its opinions or the information in this publication. This publication does not constitute personal investment advice or take into account the individual financial circumstances or objectives of the client who receives it. Any securities discussed herein may not be suitable for all investors. VIM recommends that investors independently evaluate each issuer, security or instrument discussed herein and consult any independent advisors they believe necessary. The value of and income from any investment may fluctuate from day to day as a result of changes in relevant economic markets (including changes in market liquidity). The information herein is not intended to predict actual results, which may differ substantially from those reflected. Past performance is not necessarily indicative of future results.

This material has been issued and approved for distribution in the UK by VIM. ©2021 Vermeer Investment Management Limited. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or redistributed in any manner without the prior written permission of VIM. VIM is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FRN: 710280) and is incorporated in England and Wales (company number: 09081916).

Back to News & Insights