Covid-19 and “stakeholder capitalism”: actions speak louder than words October 19, 2020 | City Talk The idea that companies should be run for the benefit of all their stakeholders, not just shareholders, is not new. “Stakeholder capitalism”, as it’s become known, was actually the dominant corporate model long before “shareholder primacy” (i.e. prioritising shareholders) really took hold in the Anglo-Saxon world in the 1970s. It remains the norm in some [...]
The maths of why growth companies are beating value October 14, 2020 | City Talk One of the side effects of low interest rates is that, because of the way that companies are valued, investors place a higher value on companies (and investment projects) which have a low probability, high payoff, a long time in the future. This helps explain why investors have been prepared to pay up for loss-making [...]
Has demand for oil already peaked? October 13, 2020 | City Talk Alternative energy sources to fossil fuels have been around for many years. Countries around the world are now harnessing the power of the wind, sun and tides to cut their dependence on fossil fuels such as oil. Energy transition However, this transition to renewable energy is now set to accelerate rapidly, driven by a number [...]
Q&A: The demographic challenge facing European cities October 13, 2020 | City Talk Covid-19 and the subsequent lockdowns around the world have had a devastating effect on global economic growth. However, according to a recent study the most significant challenges facing cities in Europe were present before the pandemic, in the form of long term demographic trends. With birth rates declining in many countries and political resistance to [...]
Trump vs Biden – should investors really care? October 12, 2020 | City Talk There are two things I’m being asked about constantly at the moment: Covid-19 and the US election. As a former politics student who’s always maintained my passion for the subject, I certainly feel more comfortable opining on the latter. But as an investor, how much should I really care if the next US president is [...]
Are you motivated by morals or money? October 2, 2020 | City Talk Investing is a personal choice and a number of influences will hold sway over where you put your money. Your personal value system is one such influence and, for most people, this appears to be non-negotiable. More than three-quarters (77 per cent) of investors refuse to compromise on their personal beliefs when investing, even if [...]
Could decarbonisation be the mega-trend of the next decade? September 28, 2020 | City Talk US equities have led global stock markets higher over the past decade. In the last ten years, US equities have returned a stellar 292%, compared to just 73% for global equities (as measured by the MSCI USA Index and MSCI AC World ex US Index respectively, in US dollar terms, as at 31 August 2020). [...]
The “homebody economy” – investing in your digital back yard September 23, 2020 | City Talk It is clear that UK shares are unloved. No likes, no shares, no new friend requests. The level of gloom surrounding this market is remarkable even amongst UK based investors, who, you might think, should feel more comfortable investing here. This is not just pandemic queasiness. Although the UK economy is service-led to some extent, [...]
Big Tech’s market might in five charts September 21, 2020 | City Talk The largest US technology stocks – Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Facebook and Google (Alphabet) – known as the “FAMAGs”, tumbled sharply at the beginning of this month, after supercharging the US stock market from the depths of the Covid-pandemic in March. These “superstar” firms have largely benefitted from the economic fallout of the crisis, as more people [...]
How Covid changed cyber crime September 18, 2020 | City Talk It might not be surprising that cyber criminals have taken advantage of coronavirus and the rush to remote working. The age of cyber warfare was upon us even before the crisis. New research suggests online fraudsters are boosting their attacks at an alarming pace, and it’s thought multimillion dollar ransoms could be at stake. Interpol, [...]