News & Insight • Weekly Newsletters

08 October 2021 | William Buckhurst

That Was The Week That Was

MACRO

• In the US, the 10-year treasury yield hits 1.6% for the first time since June in the wake of a weaker-than-anticipated September employment report
• The UK wholesale gas price hit a record high before falling after Russia said it was boosting supplies to Europe
• Ireland agrees to fall in line with the 15% global corporate tax rate
• India eases off QE by suspending their bond buying programme

THE POLITICAL WEEK

Tory peer and Next boss Lord Wolfson warned that shortages are a 'real problem' and prices will spiral unless firms are allowed to recruit more foreign workers

COMPANY NEWS

• A pill from Merck and partner Ridgeback Biotherapeutics that keeps Covid patients out of the hospital made headlines and moved the share price at the start of the week
• Tesco released a good set of numbers with cash flow ahead of expectations and a £500m share buyback
• Melrose says it is being hit by a worse than expected crunch in the global supply of semiconductors, which is causing turmoil for car manufacturers

SMALL-CAP NEWS

Much like in the football world – Howay the Lads! – acquisitions were the order of the week with both Marlowe (regulation compliance services) and Volex (cabling) making approaches. Marlowe have been very busy since they withdrew their offer for fellow listed peer Restore and added three new businesses with VinciWorks and Hydro-X for a combined consideration of £84m and then Sterling Hydrotech for £1.75m later on in the week. These will add to their eLearning software, technical compliance services and water treatment services respectively. Volex also announced two Canadian-based acquisitions for CAD22.5m out of existing cash and debt facilities

THIS WEEK IN HISTORY

• 1990: Japan’s Nikkei index has its best day in history, rising 13.2%, 2,676.55 points
• 2008: President George Bush signs the TARP (Troubled Asset Relief Program) bill into law. The $700bn dollar bill provided an infusion of capital into the troubled banking system by purchasing subprime mortgages from banks

RE-OPENING TIMES

The world's biggest carbon-capture plant Orca — which sucks carbon dioxide out of the air — was turned on two weeks ago after more than 18 months of construction. The fans are embedded in shipping container-sized boxes and, once the carbon dioxide is separated, it gets mixed with water then travels through snaking, fat tubes deep underground where the carbon cools and solidifies. It can trap and sequester 4,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide per year — making it the largest facility of its kind in the world (though there are currently only two running). Sadly, there was some realism from climate scientist Peter Kalmus: "If it works, in one year it will capture three seconds worth of humanity's CO2 emissions”

Meanwhile, there was a 1000% rise in google searches on Stagflation

MARKET DATA

 As at 8^th October 2021. Source: Financial Express

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