Following the Federal Reserve’s downbeat forecast, markets duly gave up some of the gains they have enjoyed in the past few trading sessions since the US Employment figures of last week Equity markets were down and the S&P after close in Europe by 5% which bodes badly for the end of the week in Asia and Europe, Oil fell back to $38, USD improved markedly across the board. Incoming and helmets on, as we used to say at the German bank I once worked at!
Amazon’s takeover of Deliveroo is still ongoing or rather it will be once the UK Competition Authority opines on the Competition Rules governing that deal. But yesterday the take out market was electrified by Amsterdam based Just Eat Takeaway agreeing a USD 7.3 Billion price tag to acquire US company Grubhub. Analysts were chewing on their pencils rather than their pretzels on this one as they cannot make it worth more than USD 6 Billion and so Just Eat Takeaway shares duly declined by 13%. This may all seem out of this world, but the move towards further home delivered food and the increased valuation of any company in that sector with distribution and brand is another wave to catch.
It is not just Covid but it certainly has speeded up the requirement to achieve further efficiencies and cost savings across the financial world. Santander is already ahead of the banking average in terms of its overall level of efficiency but have announced a couple of eye catching targets: First:Cost savings of EUR 1.2 Billion worldwide of which EUR 1 Billion to be in Europe. Second: Recruiting 3000 I.T professionals worldwide of which 1000 to be in Europe. Readers with enquiring minds will query the apparent dislocation of these two targets, but the answer is that Santander already has a very significant I.T. Department in Spain. What is clear is the inexorable drive to automate and digitise financial services even more widely.
SGM-FX I.T. guru and cactus lover Michael had a gleam in his eye and a spring in his tone of voice as he reported this trend towards I.T. Nirvana (his words) during yesterday’s in house daily Video Conference.
This marks the 17th anniversary of the establishment of T20 or Twenty Twenty in the cricket world. Purists of the game may shudder but most cricket fans whether players or spectators welcomed what was essentially a marketing ploy in 2003 to create a resurgence in interest in what had become a flagging sport. It worked and has given joy and excitement to crickets of all generations.
Have a great, sunny and healthy weekend!
Discussion and Analysis by Humphrey Percy, Chairman and Founder
Click Here to Subscribe to the SGM-FX Newsletter
Related Insights
Daily Brief – Two tales of a weaker Dollar
Charles Porter
Thu 5 Sep 2024
Two tales of a weaker Dollar As the week that should decide the fortune of the US Dollar continues to unfold, this brief looks at the two very different legacies of a weaker Dollar. For emerging markets-EM and other high beta currency classes, a weaker Dollar can both act as a tail wind and a […]
Daily Brief – Not just about rates
Charles Porter
Tue 10 Sep 2024
The focus of next week’s Bank of England-BoE decision will not just be about benchmark interest rates. At a time when central bank meetings are most often scrutinised for clues regarding the outlook for domestic interest rates, this particular BoE meeting will have an important distraction. The next monetary policy decision is due next Thursday. […]
Daily Brief – Enough Labour Already!
Charles Porter
Tue 3 Sep 2024
Enough Labour Already! And no, I’m not talking about UK politics here. Despite the new UK government attracting significant attention in markets and the press ahead of the awaited/feared Autumn budget, this briefing is about the labour market. This week holds in store a plethora of US labour market data which is likely the biggest […]
