News & Insight Weekly Newsletters

18 March 2022 | William Buckhurst

That Was The Week That Was

MACRO

  • The Bank of England raised rates again and now say that inflation will reach around 8% in the second quarter, and potentially several points higher later in the year
  • The Federal Reserve raised rates for the first time since 2018 and signalled six more hikes this year
  • The Kremlin stated that an FT report of substantial progress in talks with Ukraine was “wrong” but that discussions would continue

STATISTIC OF THE WEEK

The S&P 500 index in the US staged its first back-to-back 2% rally since the lows of 2015, a feat that has only happened 13 times over the last half century

COMPANY NEWS

  • Prosus closed up 24% on Wednesday following the strong rally in Chinese tech stocks, which had their best day since 2008 following a significant sell off earlier in the week. The rally came after the Chinese government made a push to stabilise markets, promising to ease a regulatory crackdown, support property and tech companies and stimulate the economy
  • Shares in Fevertree finished 9% higher, after opening down 8%. But more importantly, US revenues rose by 33% with progress across both the On and Off trade channels; and in Europe revenue increased by 35%. The rest of the world delivered 6% growth, but the company stated the actual figure was closer to 20% due to shipment timings. We’ll drink to that!
  • Ocado shares fell as they lowered guidance again

THE ART OF INVESTMENT - Vermeer Podcast

This week we look to the future with Mike Seidenberg, Portfolio Manager of the Allianz Technology Trust. Mike describes Silicon Valley to us, and Paul asks him whether we are in another tech bubble and what the long-term tailwinds for the tech sector are.  We also touch on cyber security, semiconductors, Chinese tech, regulatory risk and Mark Zuckerberg’s big bet on the metaverse

THIS WEEK IN HISTORY

  • 1986: Microsoft IPOs at $21 per share (around $0.07 today adjusted for splits and dividends)
  • 2009: Bernard Madoff pleads guilty to all charges

IN OTHER NEWS

Just when we thought we had seen it all, AMC, one of the world’s largest cinema chains, bought a 22% stake in a gold mining company

LOCKDOWN LOWDOWN

As the UK's final Covid legal restrictions are lifted, China's remain in place - why the difference and do we care? “Shenzhen is China’s Silicon Valley, so shutting it down will raise the cost of exporting electronics. Why would China shut down a vital export region? Next door is Hong Kong with currently the highest daily death rates from Covid ever reported.” — Alex Tabarrok of George Mason University

MARKET DATA

% returns

1 Week

1 Month

1 Year

5 Years

UK Equities (% return GBP)

3.67

-1.43

10.92

17.40

World Equities (% return GBP)

1.06

3.45

10.66

68.36

10 Year US Treasury Yield (%)

2.15

1.92

1.71

2.50

GBP / USD (fx rate)

1.32

1.36

1.39

1.24

 As at 18th March 2022. Source: Financial Express

 

 

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