Anthony Bondain

A lost decade for Reckitt Benckiser

By losing 15% in a single session last Friday, Reckitt Benckiser was back where it was 10 years ago. Shares lost ground in each of the last three years. The coupons mitigate shareholder disappointment a little, and bring average annual performance down to the level of inflation. It's not much.

March 20, 2024 at 10:18 am EDT

Improbable portfolios: investing in stylish tickers

Having explored a totally inept investment strategy based on funny stock names - inept but more effective than indexes - let's get down to some much more serious business with a portfolio composed entirely of evocative tickers. Some pretty, some well-found and even some dirty. So let's get to FIZZ, BOOM, WOOF and co.

September 07, 2023 at 10:29 am EDT

Renewi plc: a small cosmopolitan recycler

The British company renewi, which is emerging from a difficult period, is firmly established in Europe in the world of waste treatment and recycling.

August 01, 2023 at 05:02 am EDT

Vitrolife AB (publ) : A pioneer in in vitro fertilization

Celebrating its thirtieth anniversary, the Swedish group is one of the few listed companies operating in the assisted reproduction market.

July 26, 2023 at 03:53 am EDT

Microsoft, a rejuvenation cure based on artificial intelligence

The tech giant, which often is generally considered less innovative than its Californian neighbors, has taken the world by storm with a bold bet on AI.

April 26, 2023 at 10:23 am EDT

Strange times

These are not fun times. Under the veneer of macroeconomic stats that, while deteriorating, are not so bad, we can clearly see that a lot of things are going wrong behind the scenes. Without government support, the situation would be much more complicated. Hence this rather curious atmosphere.

September 07, 2022 at 12:18 pm EDT

Finding the tipping point

Today is a busy day for investors, with public speeches by central bankers, important economic statistics and several earnings reports from large companies. Yesterday, Wall Street suffered at the end of the session, divided between the continuation of an opportunistic rebound, disappointing economic data in China and, to a lesser extent, in the United States.

May 17, 2022 at 10:29 am EDT

Should you buy on the cannons?

Investors are regaining their appetite for risk by buying stocks in the hope of a ceasefire in Ukraine, after a round of talks described as positive yesterday by both sides. In general, one should "buy on the cannons, sell on the trumpets". But the old stock market adage is struggling to find its place in the current context.

March 30, 2022 at 09:00 am EDT

The glass is half-full

Green continues to dominate equity markets, more concerned with post-correction buybacks than with cautionary signals from some parts of the economy. So today, I propose to confront some arguments in a list that includes Margareth Thatcher, the Fed, Beijing, Ukraine and an anvil.

March 29, 2022 at 09:14 am EDT

Wall Street opens lower as investors worry about Ukraine and stagflation

Wall Street starts in the red, hampered by tech giants as investors weigh the consequences of the Fed's hawkish turn and the effects of the Russian-Ukrainian crisis.

March 23, 2022 at 11:13 am EDT

Bulls are back

The (good) results published by companies, coupled with an ambitious outlook, have contributed to making investors forget their troubles after a failed start to the year. In other words, profits have taken precedence over inflationary fears, less generous monetary policies and tensions in Eastern Europe. Between Alphabet's results last night and the meeting of two of Europe's central banks tomorrow, I offer a collection of financial stereotypes in times of stock market tension.

February 02, 2022 at 09:51 am EST

Today on Wall Street: Need help?

Wall Street fell back yesterday, especially technology stocks, while waiting for the US central bank's verdict on its monetary policy this evening. Europe held up better and is heading for a good opening this morning, after the results of Microsoft or Texas Instruments. But volatility remains high and the content of the Fed's speech this evening will be of great importance for the financial world.

January 26, 2022 at 10:13 am EST

Today on Wall Street: Backlash

Wednesday's excellent reception of a more austere monetary policy by the Fed was reversed yesterday in the United States, via technology stocks. While investors are balancing between too much inflation and a return to monetary orthodoxy, other asset classes are shaking without breaking their recent limits. The dollar is down a bit, gold is up a tad and bond yields are stagnant.

December 17, 2021 at 09:08 am EST

Today on Wall Street: The Fed cannot stop Covid

Wall Street was subdued at the start of the Thanksgiving week. Technology stocks lost ground yesterday after setting records at the end of last week. However, this should be put into perspective as the broad S&P500 index only lost 0.3%.

November 23, 2021 at 08:52 am EST

Today on Wall Street: Trading is the new online gambling

Wall Street experienced a small slump yesterday and it seems that the return of fears about inflation is to blame. This year, perhaps more than in any other, stock markets are operating with a remarkable insouciance that allows them to continue their relentless march forward.

November 18, 2021 at 09:33 am EST

Game of Tesla

Asking Elon Musk to speak at a meeting of Volkswagen executives is a bit like Doug McMillon calling Jeff Bezos to come and galvanise executives by explaining why Amazon is dominating Walmart online. But that's what happened last week. Herbert Diess invited Elon Musk to interact remotely, which the Tesla boss agreed to do.

October 22, 2021 at 05:15 am EDT

Today on Wall Street: Employment and realpolitik in America

The monthly employment report in the United States, due at 08:30 am ET, will probably set the course of indexes for this session. It remains to be seen how it will be interpreted, since too strong a figure would make the wolves howl at a premature change in monetary policy. Stocks continued to trade in relatively tight bounds, with the exception of some Nasdaq stocks that turned a more outright shade of red.

June 04, 2021 at 04:56 am EDT

At Boeing, stock buybacks are blurring the reality

Boeing had probably the worst year in its history in 2019. At least in its recent history. And it's probably not over yet. The company has managed the B737 MAX crisis in a catastrophic way. And obviously, also, the industrialization of the aircraft, according to the first elements that emerge from current surveys - without giving excessive credit to the "good phrases" of employees recently published by Congress. In the end, its shareholders have only suffered moderately from the situation, thanks to a questionable policy of share buybacks.

January 15, 2020 at 10:36 am EST

Billionaire-owned companies do better

Listed companies controlled by billionaires have had stock market performance almost twice as better as the average over the past 15 years, according to data analyzed by UBS and PwC in the sixth annual version of their "Billionaires Report", the first of which addresses this subject. The "Billionaire Report" identified 2101 ultra-rich countries in 43 countries in the Americas, Europe, Africa, Middle East and Asia Pacific regions.

November 08, 2019 at 09:31 am EST

A selection of British stocks to play the Brexit game

If Brexit was a song, it would be the Clash's "Should I stay or should I go" or the Beatles' "Hello Goodbye". But what if it was wallet? Liberum had a go at answering this question, and it is quite natural since the broker was born in the heart of the British capital.

October 16, 2019 at 11:26 am EDT

Luxury: Hong Kong could cost the sector up to 1.2% growth

What will be the impact of the persistent unrest in Hong Kong on the luxury industry? About 0.6 to 1.2% on the growth of the sector in 2019 if the turmoil persists by the end of the year, according to Bernstein's projections. It also cites the key players who will, from its point of view, be the most and least affected.

October 11, 2019 at 10:23 am EDT