There's still no sign of any imminent correction in the markets and most of the bad news seems to be old news. A downward lurch the week before last caused by S&P US bond watch was swiftly corrected and many markets have finished near their recent highs. I'm not quite sure what all the optimism is about, given the recent anaemic UK and US growth figures, unless royalism is a more pervasive force than I thought.
On the month, Sterling fell from €1.1391 to €1.1250 but, owing to the weakening dollar, rose from $1.6023 to $1.6638. UK 10 year gilt yields continued to fall from 3.58% to 3.49%. Gold has climbed from $1436 to $1536 per ounce, reaching record levels, although some of this is a technical dollar reaction. Brent Crude future has risen further from $115.85 to $124.98 per barrel but copper fell from $9722.50 to $9367.50 per tonne as inflation in China causes concern. The FTSE100 rose strongly from 5900.76 to 6069.90 and the FTSE250 from 11629.31 to 12013.88.
Equity Portfolio (+4.56% on year, FTSE all share +2.83%)
I've not done any trading this month nor spent much time on research. Now, while it's always nice to see one's investments rising, it's not what I need right now. When QE is withdrawn in the US during the summer, we mght get to see a real market decline which, speaking personally, would be good timing.
Some interesting news for me concerns the famous UK company name Lonrho (LONR). Once the "unacceptable face of capitalism" for its sanctions-busting activities with regard to the former Rhodesia, Lonrho was a big African miner which turned itself into a conglomerate by buying the Harrods department store and the Observer newspaper amongst other things. After numerous boardroom and business shenanigans, the bulk of the business became the platinum miner Lonmin.
How do you create a small conglomerate? Easy, start with a big one. The rump of the original business retained the name Lonrho and now, under new management, runs a plethora of small businesses throughout sub-Saharan Africa including agribusiness, logistics, tranportation, support services and leisure. It also has a big stake in LonZim, the Zimbabwean conglomerate. Unfocussed, maybe, but perhaps that kind of structure suits the business right now. Hell, what do I know?
I bought the shares in summer 2009 at 8p and now they are at 17p, having transferred from AIM to the main market just a few days ago. The company made a maiden profit this year and has relatively low gearing. However, there are all sorts of risks, not least the political risks arising from the countries in which it operates. Growing peace and prosperity in the region, should it occur, would favour Lonrho's success as it concentrates on the nuts and bolts of society. Not for the faint hearted though.
Ah, thanks for the reminder on Lonrho -- been meaning to look at them again when they moved markets.
ReplyDeleteMark Slater (son of Jim) holds btw. Lots of nuts and bolts as you say.
>> How do you create a small conglomerate?
ReplyDelete>> Easy, start with a big one.
Brought a smile to my face. Reminded me of a very old non-PC joke from the 80s.
Two trophy wives meet in a party. One asks the other, "So, what's your husband do?". The other says, "Oh, it's terrible. He's just a millionaire!". The first one is puzzled and goes, "Surely that's a good thing"? The second one replies, "But darling, he was a multi-millionaire before he married me"!
George Leonard speaks of our life being an endless pleateau punctuated by small blips of "mastery" or "climax moments". Thank you for spelling it here. :-)
P.S: How come none of my comments appear here? I have used every permutation from the "Comment as" list! :-S
@Surio, Just a variant on the the old market joke of making a small fortune out of a big one. Your version I had not heard before, but I suppose there is parallel thinking going on.
ReplyDeleteSorry to hear about your comment problem. It seems to be okay now.