Why cash is (still) not king
Cash is finally worth talking about. Almost two decades of considerable accommodative policy have handed cash a woeful reputation, but despite inflation being still too high for comfort, cash in various parts of the world is managing to offer a real return – but is this really the return of the king? % Cash Yield […]
Another one bites the dust…
The famous Queen song was part of their 1980 album, The Game. It feels a fitting anthem for the way FTSE 100 CEOs are falling in 2023, and how c-suite positions can also be seen as part of a game. The FT reported in mid-September that with already 18 departures this was the second highest […]
It’s not wetting rain…
The Inuit people are said to have 50 words for snow, and in Ireland, we potentially have as many ways of describing rain. On the south-west coast, where I grew up, it rains on average 242 days of the year… It often felt like more. The same source says even the driest month, June, on […]
One foot hurdles
A trip to the supermarket is not a typical way to build wealth. A trip to the supermarket in Neptune Beach, Florida, however, seems to have been just the ticket for one lucky shopper last month, who won one of the largest US lottery prizes in history, scooping a cool $1.58bn (yes, with a “b”) […]
FOMO? No fear here!
If you take a look at our portfolio, something may seem intriguing, maybe even somewhat ludicrous to some – there is no sign of any of the ‘Magnificent Seven’. This is no mistake, not a case of kicking ourselves that we did not catch the rally sooner; there is just no scope for holding these […]
When there is blood in the streets…
In only two generations, the Rothschild family grew their lending operations from their home table in the Frankfurt ghetto into the largest banking enterprise in the world, lending to princes and governments, and sitting at the centre of European commerce. It is no wonder, then, that many investing aphorisms were attributed to the five brothers, […]
Think twice about banks
Since interest rates around the world began to rise in early 2022, the banking sector has seen something of a resurgence in investors’ minds. Underpinning this is the, perhaps simplistic, notion that rising rates are great news for banks whose return on assets (loans) rise as rates rise while their primary cost of funding (deposits) […]
ChatCB – Artificial Intelligence and Convertible Bonds
The concept of Artificial Intelligence (AI) has been around for a while, but is it finally ready to be the Next Big Thing? Over the last 12 months, the release of a large language model to the public (ChatGPT) and a material uplift in Q2 2023 guidance from chipmaker Nvidia based on demand from AI […]
Japan – Back in Vogue
For the first time in my 20-year career, I feel like the cool kid in town. Suddenly, almost everyone wants to know what I think about Japan; about the new Bank of Japan Governor, the Yen, the Tokyo Stock Exchange’s (TSE) focus on low valuation stocks, about what companies I think Warren Buffett will buy […]
A Capitalist Coronation
On May 6th, as the world switched on their live-streams and settled in for the show, I was one of the fortunate few who got up bright and early, and walked through the brisk May air to the centre of town to see the event in person. The crowd buzzed in anticipation of the arrival […]