Gold and Brent crude were off to a flier at the start of the year, with the latter moving into technical backwardation, as the US and Iran cranked up the rhetoric following the assassination of one of Iran’s leading military figures. The country’s envoy to the UN has rejected a US offer of talks “without preconditions” to de-escalate tensions between the two nations, so increased geo-political risk could feed through into volatile trading conditions as we move through the first quarter of 2020.
Trading updates are beginning to trickle in ahead of the main full-year reporting period, but that should transform into a torrent by the end of the month. Retailers will dominate through January in the aftermath of the key Christmas trading period, so attention centred on Wm Morrison’s (MRW) report on seasonal performance. Click here to read analysis from Tom Dines.
Christmas trading would have done little to cheer shareholders in Marks and Spencer (MKS), with growth in food being held back by trading in clothing and home. Click here to get the bare bones of the M&S release ahead of a general retail update in the upcoming issue.
Perhaps a morally defendable sausage roll is the way to go. Greggs (GRG) has once again raised profit guidance, this time through record performance in 2019. Vegan doughnuts are obviously the order of the day, with what appears to be an ever-expanding customer base of vegan doughnuts willing to fork-out for Greggs’ meat- and guilt-free delicacies. Click here for the latest update from Tom.
Anglo American (AAL) has presented shareholders in Sirius Minerals (SXX) with a potential lifeline after the financing crisis it suffered last year. The proposed 5.5p cash offer is at a premium to the current trading price, but well adrift of valuations ahead of the funding issues. Click here to read Alex Hamer’s perspective.
Alex hails from the Australian state of Victoria, which has suffered some of the worst damage from the endless spate of bushfires since last October. Australia is the world’s biggest exporter of thermal coal, so attention has shifted to the government’s export policies as the outback is engulfed. Click here to read Alex’s Sector Focus on the coal industry.
