Making money: what the experts think

Shorts season

“Stocks are on a tear,” said John Authers in the FT. The three most widely quoted US indices – the Dow Jones, S&P 500 and Nasdaq – all set all-time highs last week, for the first time simultaneously since the top of the 1990s dotcom boom. And the FTSE 100 is now up 14% from its February low. Yet Markit figures show “a marked increase” in short bets since the referendum, with companies including Ocado, Wm Morrison, J. Sainsbury and Thomas Cook among the “most shorted”. According to IG market strategist Joshua Mahony, many investors remain sceptical about prospects for the UK economy. “There is a perception that the market is running on borrowed time.” Certainly, if recession is in the offing, “supermarkets and leisure companies would be the first to feel the squeeze”.

Salut! The “Brexit effect” has also moved the wine market, said Hugo Greenhalgh in the FT. Last month’s Bordeaux sales were the best for five years. Many top wines are held in bonded warehouses in the UK and priced in sterling. When the pound plunged 10% after the vote, “everyone just piled in – and now the market is really moving”, said Gary Boom of fine-wine merchant BI. The BI Livetrade Index, which tracks the 250 top Bordeaux, is up almost 15% this year. The collapse in demand among Asian buyers after China’s crackdown on ostentatious luxury seems to be abating. Still, there’s some way to go. A case of ’82 Château Lafite Rothschild, loved by Chinese collectors, cost around £45,000 in 2011. You can snap it up now for £26,000.

Sneakerheads

“For the novice, understanding trainer chic can be as hard to get your head around as Libor,” said Zoe Wood in The Observer. But sneakers have become hot property as an “alternative investment”, aided by new trading platforms such as Stockx and K’lekt. What sends collectors and traders, aka “sneakerheads”, into “a frenzy” is limited-edition shoes from major brands such as Adidas and Nike, ideally with a celebrity tie-up: an Eminem-branded Nike pair went on sale for $17,000. Naturally, they must be “deadstock” (box-fresh). There’s money to be made. The Stockx portfolio of one trader who betted heavily on Nike Air Jordans is up 256% to more than $366,000.