The Sunday Times - UK (2022-05-22)

(Antfer) #1

10 The Sunday Times May 22, 2022


BUSINESS


Who cares if Miami is six metres
underwater in 100 years?

Amsterdam has been six metres
underwater for ages

Stuart Kirk, head of responsible investing
at HSBC Asset Management, was
criticised for his climate change remarks

Yes

73%


No

27%


Annual meetings are usually
a chance for shareholders to
point the finger at chief
executives — and grab a free
sandwich at the same time.
But the tables were turned
this month when Amanda
Blanc criticised some private
investors at Aviva’s annual
showdown. One investor said
Blanc, 54, was “not the man
for the job”, while another,
Ted O’Toole, said women
were “so good at basic
housekeeping activities”.
Investor Michael Mason-
Mahon, meanwhile, asked
whether Blanc should be
“wearing trousers”.
At the end, Aviva’s
chairman George Culmer
said some of the comments

were “simply inappropriate”.
Blanc said it was a wake-up
call for the City.
Mason-Mahon has finally
broken his silence on the
matter. The man who once
waved handcuffs at HSBC’s
former boss Stuart Gulliver
over its money laundering
scandal says his comments
were “taken out of context”.
He insists: “I certainly was
not being sexist.”
The activist says he was
trying to make the point that
the share price was lower
than when Blanc’s
predecessor Mark Wilson was
in charge, and her speech
was “the cheapest imitation I
regret ever seeing”. That’s
cleared that up, then.

Fender’s gripes


strike a chord
To Grosvenor House on Park
Lane for the Ivor Novello
awards, the Oscars for
songwriters. The guest list
included Colombian
songstress Shakira, guitar
legend Nile Rodgers and
singer Peter Gabriel. Culture
secretary Nadine Dorries also
made an appearance at a
time when the competition
watchdog is investigating
whether the big record labels
and streaming services have
too much power.
New Ivors Academy
chairman Tom Gray, the
Gomez guitarist, told
“anyone in this room in any
position of power” that the
trade body for songwriters
was “ready to talk”. After
years struggling with piracy
and falling CD sales, the big
labels have been coining it in
recently, much to the chagrin
of many songwriters.
The wine was flowing in
the stuffy ballroom on a
particularly warm day in
London, and the irony of this
was not lost on Sam Fender.
On winning an award, the
Geordie musician said: “With
all the money the music
industry has, you think
they’d have put the f***ing
air-con on.”

Let’s hope Gary


has his number
He left Manchester United
under a cloud in the wake of
the infamous European
Super League, but Ed
Woodward is back splashing
the cash on big signings —
with his own money. The
club’s former executive vice-
chairman, 50, has invested in
YourBusinessNumber, a
start-up that allows firms to
stick an extra phone number
on an employee’s work
mobile for £4.99 a month,
instead of buying them
another handset.

The company was
founded last year by
Sebastian Lewis and George
Lineker, son of Match of the
Day host Gary, who also
happens to be a backer. The
former footballer, 61, has
teamed up with Woodward
and ex-JP Morgan banker
Andrew Honeyman to inject
a six-figure sum into the
business. Perhaps Lineker
could give Woodward a
second opinion this time if he
has a hare-brained scheme in
mind for the company.

Unions are all


loved up
Now that crowds can gather
safely again after the
pandemic, the unions are
back on the streets. Unison
has come up with a quirky
way of attracting younger
members to arm themselves
with placards for its “We
Demand Better” rally to
battle the cost-of-living crisis.
“Fighting the good fight
can have some positive
unintended consequences
on your love life,” the union
said in a press release,
before adding that the
demonstration could be “a
memorable day for lots of
reasons”. It brings a whole
new meaning to the phrase
“collective action”.

Amanda Blanc: victim of gender-neutral barbs?

Sam Fender had a hot take

Blanc critic: I didn’t


mean to be sexist


6 No one likes being served with an unexpected big bill. Now
imagine getting one from a deal done nearly 50 years ago.
Defence giant BAE Systems is being chased by the government
for £28 million it allegedly owes from an insurance policy
dating back to the 1970s. UK Export Finance (Ukef ), which
helps guarantee loans to businesses to assist in generating
exports, has filed a High Court demand relating to contracts to
supply weapons to Iran.
The 1979 revolution halted deals with Iran, and Ukef duly
compensated BAE’s forerunner company, the British Aircraft
Corp, for losing the work. Now, decades later, it wants some of
the money back. Ukef says it has recovered costs from every
claim made against it since 1991, so don’t bet against it...

TOM STOCKILL FOR THE SUNDAY TIMES

Jamie Nimmo


JUST SAYING...


FUNNY BUSINESS


TWITTER POLL


Were rate-setters at the
Bank of England too slow to
raise interest rates and try
to keep a lid on soaring
inflation?
@ST_Business

58 Sage 667.0 -22.6 853.8 637.6 2.7 24.1 6.8
53 Schroders 2824.0 -40.0 3871.0 2752.0 4.3 12.8 7.7
41 Scottish Mortgage 737.0 -68.8 1543.5 737.0 0.5 2.0 10.6
35 SEGRO 1116.5 +4.0 1436.5 1025.5 1.9 3.3 13.4
191 Sequoia Economic 97.8 -2.1 114.6 96.0 6.4 11.0 1.7
181 Serco 151.7 +3.7 153.1 121.2 1.6 6.2 1.8
52 Severn Trent 3113.0 +35.0 3211.0 2453.0 3.3 N.A 7.8
161 Shaftesbury 568.5 -1.0 662.0 547.5 0.9 N.A 2.2
1 Shell 2336.5 +33.0 2370.5 1339.0 3.3 10.4 174.6
40 Smith & Nephew 1272.5 -3.5 1592.51179.0 2.5 26.6 11.1
71 Smiths 1513.5+10.5 1635.0 1355.5 2.5 24.0 5.7
159 Smithson Investment 1245.0 -36.0 2025.0 1232.0 0.0 4.0 2.2
138 Softcat 1327.0 -2.0 2240.0 1266.0 1.6 26.0 2.6
117 Spectris 2976.0-58.0 4083.0 2458.0 2.4 9.8 3.3
55 Spirax-Sarco Engineering 10395.0-790.0 17135.010230.0 1.3 32.7 7.7
25 SSE 1912.5 +61.5 1920.0 1445.5 4.3 7.6 20.4
178 SSP 234.8 +1.2 325.5 207.8 0.0 N.A 1.9
60 St James's Place 1235.0 -10.5 1731.5 1180.0 4.2 23.5 6.7
29 Standard Chartered 586.6 +5.2 596.4 410.0 1.6 11.8 17.4
128 Tate & Lyle 754.5 -21.5 814.4 629.4 4.8 74.1 3.0
89 Taylor Wimpey 127.3 +1.8 182.9 120.3 6.7 8.4 4.5
193 Templeton Emerging Markets 145.4 +0.6 1040.0 140.6 2.6 1.4 1.7
27 Tesco 260.3-20.9 303.4 221.8 4.2 13.3 19.8
187 THG 145.0 +28.6 684.0 80.0 0.0 N.A 1.8
148 Travis Perkins 1145.0 -12.5 1830.0 1127.5 3.3 11.1 2.4
106 Tritax Big Box Reit 202.0 -2.0 249.0 193.0 2.7 3.7 3.8
149 Ultra Electronics Holdings 3320.0 +120.0 3370.0 2028.0 0.5 35.5 2.4
5 Unilever 3516.5 -230.5 4360.0 3328.0 4.2 17.9 89.9
94 Unite 1056.0+10.0 1237.0 990.2 1.2 12.3 4.2
54 United Utilities 1130.0 +12.5 1176.5 968.4 3.8 103.4 7.7
167 Virgin Money UK 141.1 -7.0 218.1 139.7 2.5 3.7 2.0
180 Vistry 834.0 +34.5 1346.5 760.5 7.2 7.3 1.9
183 Vivo Energy 142.6 -4.6 149.0 96.4 3.2 16.1 1.8
16 Vodafone 121.1 +3.3 139.5 106.9 6.2 19.8 34.1
163 Watches of Switzerland 901.5 -47.5 1518.0 771.0 0.0 29.4 2.2
104 Weir 1489.0 -22.51988.0 1429.0 1.6 25.1 3.9
171 WH Smith 1520.0 +35.51805.5 1311.0 0.0 N.A 2.0
77 Whitbread 2667.0 +9.0 3438.0 2436.0 1.3 129.1 5.4
105 Wise 369.0 +29.7 1150.0 319.8 N.A 166.4 3.8
121 Wizz Air Holdings 3085.0+18.0 5398.0 2496.0 0.0 N.A 3.2
174 Worldwide Healthcare 3040.0 +0.0 3910.0 2935.0 0.7 15.1 2.0
42 WPP 960.6 -24.01224.0 909.8 3.2 18.3 10.6

64 JD Sports Fashion 121.5 -9.9 1170.0 117.0 0.2 146.7 6.3
146 Jet2 1128.0 -10.01423.0 938.6 0.0 N.A 2.4
194 John Wood 242.9 +23.2 257.1 151.0 0.0 N.A 1.7
91 Johnson Matthey 2360.0 +7.0 3206.01721.0 3.1 29.8 4.3
197 Keywords Studios 2176.0-64.0 3302.0 1952.0 0.1 59.5 1.7
84 Kingfisher 246.8 -8.5 376.0 237.0 5.0 6.2 5.0
74 Land Securities 741.2 +12.2 813.2 653.2 4.0 6.3 5.5
33 Legal & General 250.9 +2.2 307.8 235.2 7.4 7.7 15.0
18 Lloyds Banking 43.6 -0.3 55.1 41.3 4.6 5.8 30.2
15 London Stock Exchange 7270.0 +50.0 8504.0 6370.0 1.3 75.1 40.6
147 Londonmetric Property 246.6 +2.6 285.2 227.4 2.9 5.3 2.4
78 M&G 206.8 -7.1 248.6 178.3 8.8 68.5 5.3
123 Man 236.1 -3.7 243.6 169.8 5.0 8.7 3.1
136 Marks and Spencer 136.9 -4.8 256.9 131.6 0.0 108.1 2.7
141 Mediclinic International 357.0 -5.0 386.6 275.8 0.0 22.3 2.6
68 Meggitt 773.0 +0.2 839.2 397.0 0.0 193.3 6.1
81 Melrose Industries 118.2 +2.1 190.8 107.6 1.5 N.A 5.2
56 Mondi 1477.0-86.5 2068.0 1309.0 3.7 11.2 7.2
164 Monks Investment Trust 945.0 -25.0 1472.0 941.0 0.2 2.9 2.1
13 National Grid 1210.5 -9.5 1245.5 884.6 4.2 20.2 44.1
190 Nationwide Building Society 164.0 -2.0 191.0 164.0 0.0 N.A 1.7
24 Natwest 210.3 +0.3 253.5 192.2 5.0 8.2 22.1
50 Next 6130.0 -350.0 8426.0 5770.0 2.1 11.7 8.0
168 Ninety One 220.0 -25.0 277.4 216.2 6.6 9.8 2.0
72 Ocado 754.8 -56.0 2090.0 727.8 0.0 N.A 5.7
154 OSB 511.0 +8.5 599.0 418.8 5.1 6.8 2.3
137 Oxford Nanopore 322.5 +38.0 716.0 254.5 0.0 N.A 2.7
73 Pearson 758.8 +15.2 869.4 571.8 2.7 36.3 5.7
131 Pennon 1067.0 +3.0 1321.0 992.0 3.2 86.8 2.8
59 Persimmon 2120.0 +9.0 3238.0 2032.0 11.1 8.6 6.8
186 Personal Assets Trust 48250.0-1100.050900.046800.0 1.2 8.6 1.8
135 Petershill Partners 232.5 +11.0 352.0 194.8 N.A 13.5 2.7
65 Phoenix Holdings 626.2 +9.4 752.0 571.2 7.8 N.A 6.3
198 Playtech 539.0 +28.5 770.0 351.0 0.0 2.9 1.7
143 Polar Capital Technology 1886.0 -38.0 2750.0 1848.0 0.0 3.2 2.5
176 Primary Health Properties 144.7 +2.7 169.6 131.1 3.4 14.7 1.9
19 Prudential 1006.0 +46.0 1553.5 881.0 1.4 14.9 27.7
165 QinetiQ 362.0 +3.6 365.4 243.0 2.0 23.3 2.1
169 Quilter 121.9 -3.6 168.9 114.6 4.6 90.0 2.0
12 Reckitt Benckiser 6242.0 -216.0 6624.0 5391.0 2.8 N.A 44.6
184 Redrow 512.0 +2.5 718.8 500.0 5.6 6.4 1.8
14 Relx 2265.0-28.0 2449.0 1838.5 2.2 29.9 43.6
115 Renewables Infrastructure 132.8 +1.6 139.4 123.2 5.1 13.6 3.3
133 Renishaw 3870.0 -98.0 5580.0 3704.0 1.8 22.1 2.8
45 Rentokil Initial 490.5 -27.5 636.2 444.5 1.3 34.8 9.1
86 Rightmove 557.2 -6.0 800.4 533.4 1.4 26.2 4.7
4 Rio Tinto 5449.0 +129.0 6305.0 4375.5 11.6 5.2 90.8
109 RIT Capital Partners 2350.0 -30.0 2765.0 2330.0 1.5 4.3 3.7
57 Rolls-Royce Holdings 83.3 -0.5 147.5 78.3 0.0 56.8 7.0
155 Rotork 263.8 -6.6 373.4 260.2 2.4 28.6 2.3
122 Royal Mail 315.4 -22.7 606.4 300.0 2.1 5.1 3.1
92 RS 909.0 -13.01255.0 868.0 1.8 23.1 4.3
156 Safestore Holdings 1071.0 -9.0 1418.0 927.5 1.9 6.1 2.3

170 Dr Martens 199.4 -0.4 503.5 182.9 0.6 36.5 2.0
118 Drax 798.5 +49.0 831.5 393.8 2.4 61.9 3.2
97 DS Smith 298.3 -16.3 462.3 293.1 4.3 16.9 4.1
196 Dunelm 827.5 -60.5 1551.0 827.5 2.8 11.1 1.7
101 Easyjet 517.4 +18.7 1010.5 439.5 0.0 N.A 3.9
144 Energean 1367.0 +6.0 1391.0 620.0 0.0 N.A 2.4
47 Entain 1403.0 +38.52377.0 1234.0 0.0 31.4 8.3
23 Experian 2553.0 -143.0 3667.0 2506.0 1.6 25.4 23.5
95 F&C Investment Trust 805.0 -37.0 946.0 779.0 1.6 4.7 4.2
26 Ferguson 9332.0 -542.0 13305.0 9110.0 2.2 12.9 20.1
182 Fevertree Drinks 1553.0 -28.02812.0 1460.0 1.0 40.7 1.8
192 Finsbury Growth & Income 775.0 -18.0 930.0 756.0 1.2 15.9 1.7
32 Flutter Entertainment 9188.0 +244.0 15890.0 7922.0 0.0 N.A 16.2
119 Frasers 662.0-23.0 813.5 562.5 0.0 N.A 3.2
69 Fresnillo 784.4+61.0 986.8 622.4 3.7 17.1 5.8
151 Future 1938.0 -122.0 3910.0 1902.0 0.1 27.3 2.3
152 Games Workshop 6975.0 -125.0 12220.0 6365.0 2.9 19.2 2.3
188 Genus 2684.0 +140.0 6070.0 2234.0 1.2 49.4 1.8
10 Glencore 497.4 +36.0 535.6 296.2 4.2 16.6 65.4
166 Grafton 877.0 -32.4 1412.0 873.3 3.5 10.2 2.1
157 Grainger 301.4 +5.0 335.0 269.8 1.8 14.8 2.2
110 Greencoat UK Wind 157.0 +2.0 159.9 126.6 4.6 8.7 3.6
160 Greggs 2156.0 -14.03416.0 2094.0 2.6 18.9 2.2
6 GSK 1764.0 +8.6 1810.4 1337.8 4.3 17.5 89.7
48 Halma 2147.0 -71.03216.0 2080.0 0.8 31.1 8.2
96 Harbour Energy 451.5 -0.6 530.0 20.0 2.0 46.2 4.2
189 HarbourVest Global 2185.0 -50.0 2940.0 2020.0 0.0 1.7 1.7
98 Hargreaves Lansdown 857.2 -27.41689.0 845.2 4.5 15.3 4.1
173 Hays 119.5 -0.6 176.7 112.4 1.8 17.3 2.0
185 HgCapital Trust 393.5 +3.5 454.0 330.5 1.8 2.9 1.8
111 HICL Infrastructure 177.6 -1.6 183.0 161.0 4.6 18.4 3.4
103 Hikma Pharmaceuticals 1738.0+14.0 2690.0 1678.5 2.6 12.0 3.9
200 Hilton Food 1188.0 -16.01250.0 1004.0 2.5 26.8 1.1
116 Hiscox Ltd 944.2 -5.6 990.2 770.0 2.9 21.5 3.3
102 HomeServe 1164.0 +95.0 1164.0 608.5 2.3 104.6 3.9
107 Howden Joinery 652.4-29.4 975.6 652.0 3.0 12.3 3.8
3 HSBC Holdings 490.8 -10.7 567.2 359.8 4.2 10.7 98.7
125 IG Holdings 711.0 -6.0 945.0 702.0 6.1 7.3 3.1
113 IMI 1282.0-28.01838.0 1246.0 1.8 17.5 3.3
31 Imperial Brands 1790.5 +83.51857.0 1486.0 7.8 8.4 16.9
139 Inchcape 699.5 -13.0 933.0 647.0 3.2 23.7 2.6
158 Indivior 314.2 +19.2 336.8 144.7 0.0 18.0 2.2
49 Informa 550.0 +9.0 624.0 464.4 0.0 108.8 8.1
46 InterContinental Hotels 4736.0 -139.0 5338.0 4399.0 1.5 40.8 8.7
99 Intermediate Capital 1396.0 -30.0 2379.0 1338.5 4.1 8.1 4.1
66 International Airlines 125.1 +1.9 209.4 116.2 0.0 N.A 6.2
120 International Group 166.6 -3.4 174.8 156.0 4.5 21.7 3.2
51 Intertek 4899.0 -51.0 5948.0 4735.0 2.2 27.5 7.9
88 Investec 467.6 +15.9 536.8 270.5 4.0 11.8 4.5
179 ITM Power 304.6 +18.0 521.0 228.0 0.0 N.A 1.9
130 ITV 71.5 +1.9 132.5 67.1 4.6 7.7 2.9
145 IWG 241.0 +0.7 380.0 222.1 0.0 N.A 2.4
76 J Sainsbury 232.7 -6.1 340.0 227.9 1.4 8.1 5.4

38 3i Group 1221.5 -88.5 1503.5 1138.5 3.8 2.9 11.9
124 3I Infrastructure 348.5 -0.5 366.5 294.5 3.0 7.7 3.1
140 Abcam 1151.0 +66.01750.0 1049.0 0.0 675.5 2.6
100 Abrdn 185.5 -3.8 299.0 178.9 7.9 4.0 4.0
62 Admiral 2174.0 -75.0 3688.0 2147.0 6.0 11.1 6.5
75 Airtel Africa 145.0 +7.4 160.0 76.7 2.8 10.8 5.4
134 Alliance Trust 926.0-25.0 1078.0 901.0 2.1 5.4 2.8
11 Anglo American 3523.5 +219.04170.5 2470.5 6.6 6.4 47.1
34 Antofagasta 1422.5 +74.0 1781.5 1227.0 8.6 13.5 14.0
30 Ashtead 3848.0 -121.0 6450.0 3765.0 1.3 18.2 17.1
36 Associated British Foods 1614.0 -54.5 2367.0 1548.5 1.7 16.1 12.8
172 Assura 67.3 +1.1 79.8 59.6 3.9 13.4 2.0
2 AstraZeneca 10494.0+208.0 10930.0 7932.0 2.2 N.A 162.6
80 Auto Trader 550.6 -9.2 741.8 536.6 1.4 27.2 5.2
82 Avast 483.8 -12.1 645.4 453.4 2.7 18.0 5.0
61 AVEVA 2179.0 +49.0 4220.0 1924.0 1.7 N.A 6.6
39 Aviva 412.1 +3.9 458.2 370.9 7.0 49.5 11.5
93 B&M European Value Retail 422.4-44.9 644.0 422.4 4.3 9.8 4.2
22 BAE Systems 748.6 +7.4 771.6 516.2 3.4 13.7 23.6
20 Barclays 152.7 +2.4 217.1 140.6 3.9 4.4 25.6
83 Barratt Developments 488.9 +4.1 774.0 459.1 6.8 7.6 5.0
129 Beazley 474.2 +18.2 504.0 294.4 3.0 11.8 2.9
132 Bellway 2283.0 -21.0 3689.0 2232.0 5.6 6.9 2.8
87 Berkeley Holdings 4122.0 +135.0 4943.0 3670.0 0.0 9.9 4.6
153 Big Yellow 1242.0 -16.0 1724.0 1200.0 2.3 4.8 2.3
8 BP 417.2 +2.5 426.7 278.5 4.2 N.A 80.9
150 Bridgepoint 285.0+10.0 569.0 255.4 1.3 17.6 2.3
9 British American Tobacco 3430.5 +1.5 3502.0 2512.5 6.3 11.9 77.9
85 British Land Company 519.0 +17.6 556.4 463.1 3.8 5.0 4.8
162 Britvic 813.5 -40.0 1006.0 741.0 3.1 18.8 2.2
28 BT 185.0 +4.4 205.6 135.2 4.2 14.8 18.4
43 Bunzl 2815.0 -117.03163.0 2251.0 2.0 21.4 9.5
63 Burberry 1586.0 +11.0 2264.0 1482.0 3.0 16.2 6.3
175 Caledonia Investments 3580.0 -135.0 4100.0 3010.0 1.8 3.2 2.0
37 Carnival 976.2 -95.8 1865.4 976.2 0.0 N.A 12.2
79 Centrica 88.2 +11.1 88.2 45.5 0.0 8.8 5.2
177 City of London Investment 411.5 -1.5 425.0 377.0 4.7 6.3 1.9
67 Coca Cola HBC 1688.5-78.0 2784.0 1460.5 3.6 13.3 6.2
17 Compass 1708.0 -100.01820.5 1407.5 1.4 41.5 30.5
126 Computacenter 2480.0 +30.0 3030.0 2390.0 2.7 15.4 3.0
195 ContourGlobal 256.0 +64.0 257.0 178.0 5.6 26.8 1.7
90 ConvaTec 217.2 -4.8 262.6 166.9 2.2 46.6 4.4
21 CRH 3150.0-49.0 4002.0 2910.5 3.1 12.0 24.1
44 Croda International 6730.0 -138.0 10410.0 6524.0 1.5 29.3 9.4
142 Darktrace 363.1 -32.4 985.0 319.8 0.0 N.A 2.5
70 DCC 5800.0 -416.0 6486.0 5500.0 3.0 18.3 5.7
108 Dechra Pharmaceuticals 3450.0 +180.0 5405.0 3148.0 1.2 51.5 3.7
199 Deliveroo 93.0 -2.4 395.0 86.6 0.0 N.A 1.6
112 Derwent London 3010.0 +20.0 3802.0 2786.0 2.2 13.4 3.4
7 Diageo 3598.0 -225.54103.5 3343.0 2.1 27.7 82.5
127 Diploma 2440.0 -164.0 3460.0 2400.0 1.8 41.3 3.0
114 Direct Line Insurance 250.4 +3.9 316.4 231.4 9.1 10.4 3.3

TOP 200 COMPANIES


Market cap ranking
V
PriceChange
on week


52-week
high lowYield P/E

Mkt Cap
(£bn)

Market cap ranking
V
PriceChange
on week

52-week
high lowYield P/E

Mkt Cap
(£bn)

Market cap ranking
V
PriceChange
on week

52-week
high lowYield P/E

Mkt Cap
(£bn)

Market cap ranking
V
PriceChange
on week

52-week
high lowYield P/E

Mkt Cap
(£bn)

Price/earnings ratios are based on historic data, with yield and p/e values
calculated from most recent reported dividends and earnings per share, using
trailing 12-month figures. P/E is not calculated when last twelve months EPS is
less than or equal to zero. 52-week highs and lows are end of day. Excludes
exchange-traded funds. nc = no change. N.A. = not applicable. Source: Refinitiv

THE TIPSTER


HANG SENG
20,717.24
U818.47 H:29,468.0
U4.11% L:18,415.1

SHANGHAI
3,146.57
U62.28 H:3,715.4
U2.02% L:2,886.4

CAC 40
6,285.24
V77.44 H:7,376.4
V1.22% L:5,963.0

DAX
13,981.91
V46.02 H:16,271.8
V0.33% L:12,831.5

DOW JONES
31,261.90
V934.76H:36,799.7
V2.90% L:31,253.1

NASDAQ
11,354.62
V450.38H:16,057.4
V3.82% L:11,364.2

S&P 500
3,901.37
V122.52 H:4,796.6
V3.04% L:3,900.8

NIKKEI
26,739.03
U311.38 H:29,468.0
U1.18% L:24,717.5

FTSE EUROFIRST
1,687.49
V10.41 H:1,917.4
V0.61% L:1,625.9

SENSEX
54,326.39
U1532.77H:61,765.6
U2.90% L:49,564.9

ALL ORDS
7,391.00
U83.30 H:7,926.8
U1.14% L:7,114.5

S&P TSX
20,181.92
U82.11 H:22,087.2
U0.41% L:19,527.3

Is Moneysupermarket
silently egging on recession?
The comparison site thrives
on Britons having emptier
wallets. “Start saving serious
money today,” screams its
home page. Compare your
car, home, life, pet and travel
insurance, it begs. Find a
good broadband, mobile,
credit card or loan deal.
Amid the soaring cost of
living, more of us will now be
using its services to save
money, bolstering the
commission it slices from
each purchase. This makes
Moneysupermarket — whose
shares are down 37 per cent
over the past 12 months,
closing last week at 173p — an
obvious buy right now.
And yet it is not all systems
go for the site. Revenues from
energy, which contributed
£70 million to turnover in
2020, have fallen to nothing
over the past six months as

THE ECONOMY


FTSE 100

7, 8 0 0

6,800

7,000

7, 2 0 0

7,4 0 0

7,600

2021 2022
Source: Reinitiv/Eikon

THE WEEK IN THE MARKETS


record energy costs mean no
cheap tariffs to switch to.
Meanwhile, insurance has
been hit by the regulator’s
move in January to ban
companies from offering new
customers cheap deals that
were not on offer to existing
policyholders. For the first
three months of this year,
revenues from insurance —
the largest part of its empire —
were flat at £41 million, a
sharp turnaround for a
division that has grown every
year since 2009, apart from a
Covid-era blip.
Still, the stock seems to
have been punished too far.
Moneysupermarket has a
7 per cent dividend yield,
while its shares are trading at
about 13 times earnings for
this year. “The worst is past,”
said Citi analyst Ross Jobber.
“The shares should start to
react positively, albeit with

more focus on the second half
of the year.”
The site’s travel division is
now back at pre-pandemic
levels. Its money arm — which
rates credit cards, loans and
bank accounts — beat City
expectations by growing
37 per cent in the first three
months of the year as the
Bank of England started to
raise interest rates.
Moneysupermarket
bought shopping cashback
site Quidco for £87 million last
autumn. It contributed
£14 million in revenues in the
first quarter of this year and
its appeal looks set to grow as
straitened household budgets
emphasise the importance of
small savings. Another
valuable Moneysupermarket
division is Martin Lewis’s
MoneySavingExpert, bought
a decade ago, also for
£87 million, and still a trusted
source of financial advice.
Occasional rumours swirl of
private equity interest too.
But even without that,
“rising interest rates and a
cost-of-living squeeze should
act as the impetus for greater
consumer interest in
switching as the year
progresses”, Jobber added.
Moneysupermarket can
cash in on a lack of cash. Buy.

Beyond


compare


as a stock


to buy


Moneysupermarket

400p

100

200

300

2020 2021 2022
Source: Reinitiv/Eikon

variation 12 months
high low
UK 1.89 U0.15 2.01 0.51

US 2.79 V0.14 3.14 1.17

JAPAN 0.24 0 0.00 0.25 0.00

GERMANY 0.94 V0.01 1.14 -0.50

10-YEAR BOND YIELDS %


DOLLAR
USD > GBP

$1.25
U0.02
12-month high: $1.42
low: $1.22

EURO
EUR > GBP

€1.18
U0.01
12-month high: €1.21
low: €1.13
YEN
YEN > USD

¥127.88
V1.31
12-month high: ¥130.85
low: ¥107.24
OIL
DOLLARS/BARREL

$113.16
U1.61
12-month high: $127.98
low: $65.11
GOLD
DOLLARS/TROY OZ

$1,845.03
U33.88
12-month high: $2,052.41
low: $1,726.11

BITCOIN
DOLLARS

$29,227.99
V521.18
12-month high: $67,707.33
low: $26,350.49
Price at 12.30am Saturday

FTSE 100


7,389.98


V28.17 H: 7,672.4
V0.38% L: 6,844.4

FTSE 250


19,835.95


V85.94 H: 24,250.8
V0.43% L: 19,169.8

RISERS
Contour Global: 256p, U 33.3% on
KKR bid Ferrexpo: 171p, U 16.2%
on sentiment Centrica: 88.2p, U 14.5%
on rising energy prices Premier Foods:
119p, U 10.8% on higher dividend

FALLERS
Baltic Classifieds: 130.2p, V 16.9%
volatile stock Tui: 201.5p, V 15.3%
on fundraising TI Fluid Systems: 156p,
V 15.2% poor trading update Currys:
78.9p, V 11.7% on sentiment
Source: Refinitiv

LUCY TOBIN


Consumer prices index current rate prev. month
9% 7%
CPI including housing current rate prev. month
7.8% 6.2%
Retail prices index current rate prev. month
11.1% 9.0%
Average weekly earnings on prev. monthon last year
£615 U 2.3%U9.9%
Unemployment current rate prev. month
1.26m 3.7% 3.8%
Manufacturing output on the year on last month
U1.9% V 0.3%
Retail sales on the year on last month
V^ 4.9%U 1.4%
UK trade
balance (£bn)

latest 3 mths prev. 3 mths latest 12 mths
-32.53 -6.15 -56.35
Gross domestic
product

latest quarter prev. quarterannual change
U0.8% U1.3% U8.7%
Budget deficit
(PSNB) in £bn

last month prev. month year to date
V 18.1 U 10.6 V151.8
Free download pdf