Updated 10:54am 11 February 2012:

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Andrew Miller

Andrew Miller

End of equities trough is nigh

EQUITY markets broke into new highs for the year last week. The recent strong gains in markets have been led by a much stronger-than- expected second-quarter earnings season in the US.Read

Equity investors should think about what lies ahead

AFTER a somewhat lacklustre June, global equity markets made good progress in July as investors’ confidence was buoyed by a generally encouraging start to the US second-quarter earnings season.Read

Good options for growth investments

BHP – BHP offers good exposure to rising commodity prices, high-quality assets and a superior operational track record. It has relatively low gearing for a large-cap miner.Read

Inflation-linked bonds looking more attractive

LAST week saw the release of inflation data in both the US and the UK. In the US, inflation – as measured by the Consumer Price Index – again surprised on the upside (the fifth time it has done this out of the last six releases) at -1.43% annualised compared to consensus estimates of -1.5%.Read

The global economy is doing much better than expected

THIS year is turning out to be one in which the global economy – and for that matter financial markets – are performing much better than expected. As a result, investors’ fears of a Second Great Depression have receded somewhat.Read

It’s still best to play safe with markets

AFTER a dire start, 2009 has seen a strong recovery in “risky” asset markets – reflecting the fact that investors are no longer worried about a “Great Depression”.Read

Export-led German economy has been hit hard by crunch

IT seems like an eternity since Germany was regarded as the powerhouse of Europe. Indeed, since the end of its post-unification construction boom, Europe’s largest economy has significantly underperformed its continental peers.Read

Investors have reasons to be cheerful

BAE Systems – BAE management is said to be confused by recent share price weakness, but it is responding in an appropriate manner by focusing on delivering growth in earnings and dividends.Read

Aviation industry faces more turbulence

OF all the industries affected by the recession, it’s perhaps of little surprise that civil aviation has been among the hardest hit. Commercial airlines had barely got to grips with the surge in the oil price to nearly US$150 a barrel last year when the sub-prime storm hit, pushing the financial system close to collapse.Read

Optimistic signs but economic situation will remain volatile

OVER the last few weeks, signs that the world economy is turning the corner – or, at least, not deteriorating quite so quickly – have become easier to spot.Read

Look east for big investment

IN recent columns we’ve highlighted our preference for Asia (excluding Japan) over other major equity market regions, reflecting the fact that Asia is still poised to deliver reasonable GDP growth this year and stronger than average in the long term.Read

No sparks from Marks

AS we struggle through a painful recession, the state of the UK’s retail sector is even more important than normal. Any revival in spending will be taken as evidence that consumer confidence is on the mend, and – rightly or wrongly – that the worst is indeed over.Read

Cheer at last from the markets

At the time of writing, the S&P 500 has risen virtually uninterrupted for nine weeks, gaining over 30% since the lows in early March. We now feel that the rally is becoming increasingly defendable, as there has been a notable improvement in some of the ‘leading indicators’ of economic activity. Furthermore, news from the corporate sector has, on balance, been fairly positive in recent weeks, with few disappointing earnings reports coming from the US and Europe.Read

Why China must lead the recovery

ALTHOUGH the media remains focused on economic policy developments in the United States, Japan and Europe, we believe that South and East Asia (excluding Japan), led by China, should lead the global economy into any potential recovery.Read

Long-term gilts may lose their lustre

ALISTAIR DARLING did something impressive last Wednesday: He managed to shock the bond market, even though it was well prepared for bad news.Read

Size of rally still surprising investors

LAST week’s rise in markets (another 4-5% across most of the major indices), left the current rally for equities in its sixth consecutive week.Read

Optimistic outlook for equities

EQUITY markets have staged an impressive rally since the recent lows in early March, with some of the major indices making gains in excess of 20%.Read

BHP is a safer choice in uncertain times

BHP Billiton: We continue to see BHP as the safer choice in mining in uncertain times, thanks to its very strong balance sheet, ongoing progressive dividend Policy and high-quality assets.Read

Equity rally comes as little surprise

EQUITY markets had their best week for some months last week, with the S&P 500 gaining close to 10%. The return of risk appetite was spurred by a rally in the financial sector.Read

Steady as she goes for BP forecasts

BP – The company recently held a strategic presentation, where they expressed a more cautious view on the medium-term outlook but delivered a strong message on capital preservation.Read

Author Profile

Andrew Miller is regional office head of Barclays Wealth and formerly worked for Gerard Investments. He writes regular opinion pieces in The Journal where he analyses the North Eastýs listed companies.

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