Euros prove real winner
When analysts at blueblooded fund manager Schroders decide it is time to circulate a note on the euro 2020 tournament, you have to accept that something exceptional is going on.
The argument presented is that historical data about football tells you no more about outcomes than previous episodes in finance.
Just because england has a history of being beaten by Germany post-1966, this is no guide to 2021 – because the composition of the teams and the quality of coaching change dramatically over time.
As nobel prize-winning economist Robert J Shiller has observed, data from the rise and fall in railroad shares in the late 19th century tells you little about the fate of the current boom in technology stocks.
What is more certain is that england’s victories, so far, are making a commercial difference. Bookies entain, owner of Ladbrokes, report record bets on the outcome of euro 2020. To those who pronounce the end of terrestrial television, ITV achieved a record-breaking audience of 27.6m during Wednesday night’s england v Denmark semi-final, making the advertising breaks hugely valuable. Confidence in food service Deliveroo has been in the doldrums ever since its float flopped in March. The governance of the group still needs attention. But neither consumers nor the riders are fazed.
It just had its best Wednesday since the company was formed, with Danish pastries a huge draw. The tournament has given it a fillip at a moment when growth might have faltered as lockdown restrictions eased.
new guidance to investors shows that gross sales climbed 76pc to £1.7bn in the three months ending June 30, 2021.
It is now raising full-year sales guidance to 50-60pc from 30-40pc. On the riders front, the Court of Appeal ruled in favour of the Deliveroo view that its workforce, on average putting in 15 hours a week, is selfemployed. The issue may still go to the Supreme Court. The company reports that even though much of the hospitality industry is finding it hard to recruit as the world re-opens, it is inundated with applications. The court verdict does not change the potential liability for £112m of compensation arising from past employment disputes.
Slowly, Deliveroo is winning back market sentiment. The shares plummeted 30pc on introduction, and have clawed back half their losses. Among founder Will Shu’s reasons for going public in the first place was to acquire the equity to exploit growth opportunities. Indications are that the easing of lockdown has not damaged consumer appetite for food to the door.
Deliveroo, which is working for Sainsbury’s on super-fast service, should not be counted out just yet.
Money maven
ReMeMBeR Safari Bob? As chief executive of Barclays, Bob Diamond rediscovered the bank’s connection to Africa.
After being fired by the Bank of england over Libor trading, he turned his attention to Africa full time, building Atlas Mara. now he is making a comeback as Crypto Bob.
Diamond is to bring USD Coin creator Circle to the new York Stock exchange through his special purpose vehicle Concord, placing a value of £3.3bn on the enterprise. The float is backed by a distinguished cast including tech guru Cathie Wood of Ark Investment.
USD Coin, a stable currency directly pegged to the US dollar, looks to be at the respectable end of the crypto spectrum.
The goal is to offer a crypto-currency which is trusted by consumers and can be used as security. The potential problem for USD Coin is that central banks around the world are rushing to develop their own digital currencies, which could become alternatives to the private deposits held by commercial banks.
Would an investor rather hold ‘Fedcoin’ created by the US central bank or Crypto Bob’s alternative? By the time that choice has to be made, Diamond will be long gone.
Asthma hope
eASY to forget that Astrazeneca is more than a vaccine developer, although it is the out-of-control Delta variant in the US which is infecting the share prices of life science companies at present.
AZ, in combination with Amgen, has won a speedy review from the hard-to-please US Food and Drug Administration for its experimental drug tezepelumab, effective in treating severe, uncontrolled asthma attacks. It could be approved by the first quarter of next year. For acute sufferers, that can’t happen too soon.