Best of the Brokers for 06 January 2014 January 5, 2014 To appear in Best of the Brokers, email your research to notes@cityam.com SERCO Panmure Gordon has named the outsourcer as one of its top picks for 2014, giving the stock a “buy” rating and 560p target price. The broker, whose top picks last year outperformed the market by 19.1 per cent, reckons Serco’s valuation is [...]
London Report: Retailers set to reveal scale of 2013 hangover January 5, 2014 RETAIL figures due this week will reveal whether Britain’s major brands are going into the New Year with a Christmas hangover. Marks & Spencer and Tesco are both set to report on Thursday, and J Sainsbury on Wednesday, with figures likely to show retailers faced a dismal festive season. Debenhams has already set the tone, [...]
Wall St The Week Ahead: Investors await Fed’s minutes and jobs data January 5, 2014 INVESTORS in US stocks will be looking to Washington this week, awaiting key jobs data and minutes from the Federal Reserve’s most recent meeting, when it decided to cut its unprecedented monetary stimulus. Minutes from the Fed’s 17-18 December meeting, when the central bank announced its plan to reduce monthly asset purchases by $10bn to [...]
Global Politics: India and Mexico will rise as Europe dies but the US will reinvent itself once again January 5, 2014 I HAVE long strongly advocated a modest proposal for my clients regarding global political risk: judge analysts as you would a plumber. If we do a good job, rehire us. If not, show us the door. For only by assessing real world outcomes can clients separate snake oil salesmen from the real thing. As I [...]
The World Economy: Why forward-looking markets may soon start to anticipate a difficult 2015 January 5, 2014 GLOBAL growth picked up in 2013, ending the year at a solid pace. This strength should carry over into early 2014, but momentum is likely to wane. The global economy may be entering the late stage of the cycle, characterised by rising capacity constraints, increased inflationary pressure and tightening liquidity. Monetary trends predicted recent economic [...]
British Politics: The 2014 events that will settle the next election January 5, 2014 WE ARE in a state of unusually high political uncertainty. By this stage in the electoral cycle, one usually has a sense of who the next winner is likely to be. But this time we have a high level of unpredictability. The 2015 election will be the first ever with the date known well in [...]
Letters to the Editor – 06/01 – Gold speculation, Payday lending, Best of Twitter January 5, 2014 Gold speculation [Re: Here’s why Capital Economics thinks gold will bounce back this year, Thursday] Buying gold at current prices is speculation, and not just over the potential removal of Indian import restrictions. Its price tells you about fear in an economy at any given point – and there just isn’t that fear around that [...]
Monetary Policy: Why 2014 should be a turning point for western economies January 5, 2014 SINCE the 1970s, years ending with a 4 have seen turning points in the global economy and had a particular significance for central bankers. This year is the fortieth anniversary of 1974. This was the most turbulent post-war year for the major western economies before the global financial crisis. The first recession in the global [...]
Investment Trends: A year for stock-pickers: 2014 investment winners and losers January 5, 2014 AFTER a surprisingly strong 2013 in many equity markets, I am cautiously optimistic for 2014. One of the key reasons for my slight wariness is that most of the predictions I am reading at the moment are unambiguously positive. There is an unusual consensus around a generally bullish outlook for stock markets, in particular those [...]
Head to the glittering lights of Glasgow for culture and cuisine January 5, 2014 Helen Ochyra gets acquainted with the food, and cattle, of the city set to host the Commonwealth Games in 2014 IF YOU had asked me last month which UK city has the best shopping district (apart from London), I’d have gone for Brighton, with its bohemian boutiques, or Newcastle for its vast Metro Centre. I’d [...]
