News that Russia has dropped its objections to Algeria which currently holds the presidency of OPEC arranging for an early get together to help out its pals Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the UAE is set to liven up the oil market this week with a date now set for Thursday. With WTI at $35.49 on Friday night and the effects of the 9.8 million barrels daily reduction in OPEC production underpinning the price, OPEC+ all have a shared interest in ratcheting the price up to the other side of $40. Shareholders in oil companies either present or future should see some gains in the next weeks.
CNN: The Most Trusted Name in News( their slogan)
The brainchild of mogul Ted Turner, Cable News Network started broadcasting 40 years ago today. It is now worth more than $5 Billion and can be seen in 212 countries having established itself as being in the forefront of world current affairs and in particular the first Gulf War. Bloomberg, the leading financial news service on the other hand was last valued at $22.5Billion in 2008 but as it is privately held it’s current valuation is not easily calculated now, but put it this way Michael Bloomberg is worth USD 60.1 Billion according to Forbes. First mover advantage in the world of global communications does not always succeed…
It was 1977 and I was representing the bank I then worked for at my first lunch at a money broking company. When asked if I would like a Southampton, I quickly racked my brains and other than a large port could not think what my host could possibly mean. Nothing, I concluded and having accepted, was duly served a large glass of port by the butler. At this stage of the lockdown, unopened bottles at the back of the drinks cupboard have, let us put it this way, now graduated to the front. This weekend has been a case in point with The liberation of a dusty bottle of 2005 Vintage Port. Graham’s is one of the oldest of the port houses and dates back to the middle 1600’s and is still part of the Portuguese $500 Million port industry which, while not as fashionable as it was in the 1970’s is enjoying a renaissance particularly among younger drinkers who have no qualms about mixing it with Seven Up. Port and lemonade of course used to be the go to choice for ladies of the night. Just shows that history really does repeat itself: Southampton anybody?!
Discussion and Analysis by Humphrey Percy, Chairman and Founder
Holding on With less than a 10% probability of a cut priced into the Reserve Bank of Australia’s (RBA) latest monetary policy decision, it is unsurprising markets open today to news of a hold. The RBA adopted a lower peak rate of benchmark interest than the likes of the UK and USA with lower inflationary […]
What is the Mar-a-Lago Accord, and should markets care? At heart, the Mar-a-Lago Accord is a proposal for President Trump to weaken the US Dollar. As we know, Trump’s typical deregulatory and risk-inducing persuasion would, all other things equal, increase demand for the US Dollar. As far as the relationship between perceived risk and the […]
Pointless Being the Point Yesterday, UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves delivered her Spring Budget to the House of Commons. Since the government’s first budget last year, bond markets have not been kind to the Chancellor, taking its angst out in the form of higher yields. The selling (and increased issuance) of UK gilts has inevitably created […]