Weekly Newsletters
19 June 2020 | William Buckhurst
That Was The Week That Was
MACRO
- The Federal Reserve stepped in once again to stave off falling equity markets with an announcement that it would start buying non-financial corporate bonds
- Investment grade bond yields in the US fell to an all-time low of 2.23%
- There were unequivocal messages coming out of the White House that there will be no second lockdown in the US
- In the UK, retail sales rose by 12% in May
- Stock market sentiment fell at the end of the week when Apple said it would be forced to close some stores in US States that have seen a new spike in coronavirus cases
STATISTIC OF THE WEEK
Nikola, the start-up that’s developing electric and hydrogen powered trucks, recently went public and is now valued at more than Ford, despite having no product. Why is it called Nikola? Well it is named after a certain Serbian-American inventor of the same name, Nikola Tesla to be exact
COMPANY NEWS
- Ashtead beat reduced expectations and maintained their dividend
- Travis Perkins announced they were closing 150 stores
- National Grid warned of a £400m coronavirus hit to profits as its US business suffers particularly badly, but maintained their dividend
- Wirecard shares plummeted when auditors revealed that€1.9bn was missing from their accounts
FUNDS
A call with a specialist fund investing in sovereign and quasi-sovereign bonds issued by so called “wealthy” nations that run large current accounts. This is an asset class offering comparable yields to US high yield corporate debt without the same risk of default, they argue. They go on to say that a country’s traditional debt to GDP ratio is too simplistic and investors should distinguish between that country’s domestic and foreign debt and therefore their ability to repay.
THIS WEEK IN HISTORY
1815: Nathan Rothchild, armed with advance news of Wellington’s victory over Napoleon at Waterloo, makes a fortune in the London gilt market
1998: Disney acquired a 43% stake in internet search engine and Google competitor Infoseek.com, valuing the company at $900mn. Three years later Infoseek was practically worthless
LOCKDOWN LOWDOWN
One asset class that has benefitted from the pandemic has been pedigree dogs. Google searches for “buy a puppy” have increased 120% during lockdown and in a rare case of the UK outperforming overseas markets, British bulldogs have gone from costing around £5,000 to £9,000 in the space of a few months
MARKET DATA
|
% returns |
1 Week |
1 Month |
1 Year |
5 Years |
|
UK Equities (% return GBP) |
2.93 |
4.79 |
-13.16 |
11.77 |
|
World Equities (% return GBP) |
3.54 |
6.37 |
6.80 |
80.95 |
|
10 Year US Treasury Yield (%) |
0.69 |
0.70 |
2.03 |
2.26 |
|
GBP / USD (fx rate) |
1.23 |
1.23 |
1.27 |
1.59 |
As at 19th June 2020. Source: Financial Express
Other Recent Weekly Newsletters
That Was The Week That Was
13 May 2022
That Was The Week That Was
06 May 2022
That Was The Week That Was
29 April 2022
That Was The Week That Was
22 April 2022
That Was The Week That Was
15 April 2022
That Was The Week That Was
08 April 2022
That Was The Week That Was
01 April 2022
That Was The Week That Was
25 March 2022
That Was The Week That Was
18 March 2022
That Was The Week That Was
11 March 2022
That Was The Week That Was
03 March 2022
That Was The Week That Was
25 February 2022
That Was The Week That Was
18 February 2022
That Was The Week That Was
11 February 2022
That Was The week That Was
04 February 2022
That Was The Week That Was
28 January 2022
That Was The Week That Was
21 January 2022
That Was The Week That Was
14 January 2022
That Was The Week That Was
07 January 2022
That Was The Week That Was
17 December 2021
That Was The Week That Was
10 December 2021
That Was The Week That Was
03 December 2021
That Was The Week That Was
26 November 2021
That Was The Week That Was
19 November 2021
That Was the Week That Was
12 November 2021
That Was The Week That Was
05 November 2021
That Was The Week That Was
29 October 2021
That Was The Week That Was
22 October 2021
That Was The Week That Was
15 October 2021
That Was The Week That Was
08 October 2021
That Was The Week That Was
01 October 2021
That Was The Week That Was
24 September 2021
That Was The Week That Was
17 September 2021
That Was The Week That Was
10 September 2021
That Was The Week That Was
03 September 2021
That Was The Week That Was
27 August 2021
That Was The Week That Was
20 August 2021
That Was The Week That Was
06 August 2021
That Was The Week That Was
30 July 2021
That Was The Week That Was
23 July 2021
That was The Week That Was
16 July 2021
That Was The Week That Was
09 July 2021
That Was The Week That Was
02 July 2021
That Was The Week That Was
25 June 2021
That Was The Week That Was
18 June 2021
That Was The Week That Was
11 June 2021
That Was The Week That Was
04 June 2021
That Was The Week That Was
28 May 2021
That Was The Week That Was
21 May 2021
That Was The Week That Was
14 May 2021
That Was The Week That Was
07 May 2021
That Was The Week That Was
30 April 2021
That Was The Week That Was
23 April 2021
That Was The Week That Was
16 April 2021
That Was The Week That Was
09 April 2021
That Was The Week That Was
02 April 2021
That Was The Week That Was
26 March 2021
That Was The Week That Was
19 March 2021
That Was The Week That Was
12 March 2021
That Was The Week That Was
05 March 2021
That Was The Week That Was
26 February 2021
That Was The Week That Was
19 February 2021
That Was The Week That Was
12 February 2021
That Was The Week That Was
05 February 2021
That Was The Week That Was
29 January 2021
That Was The Week That Was
22 January 2021
That Was The Week That Was
15 January 2021
That Was The Week That Was
08 January 2021
That Was The Week That Was
18 December 2020
That Was The Week That Was
11 December 2020
That Was The Week That Was
04 December 2020
That Was The Week That Was
27 November 2020
That Was The Week That Was
20 November 2020
That Was The Week That Was
13 November 2020
That Was The Week That Was
06 November 2020
That Was The Week That Was
30 October 2020
That Was The Week That Was
23 October 2020
That Was The Week That Was
16 October 2020
That Was The Week That Was
09 October 2020
That Was The Week That Was
02 October 2020
That Was The Week That Was
25 September 2020
That Was The Week That Was
18 September 2020
That Was The Week That Was
11 September 2020
That Was The Week That Was
04 September 2020
That Was The Week That Was
28 August 2020
That Was The Week That Was
21 August 2020
That Was The Week That Was
14 August 2020
That Was The Week That Was
07 August 2020
That Was The Week That Was
31 July 2020
That Was The Week That Was
24 July 2020
That Was The Week That Was
17 July 2020
That Was The Week That Was
10 July 2020
That Was The Week That Was
03 July 2020
That Was The Week That Was
26 June 2020
That Was The Week That Was
19 June 2020
That Was The Week That Was
12 June 2020
That Was The Week That Was
05 June 2020
That Was The Week That Was
29 May 2020
That Was The Week That Was
22 May 2020
That Was The Week That Was
15 May 2020
That Was The Week That Was
08 May 2020
That Was The Week That Was
01 May 2020