Good morning!

Well done to everybody reading this - you've survived a tricky couple of weeks in the markets.

The FTSE has stabilised around 7150, which from my perspective seems to price in lots of bad news, especially with the pound also rather weak.

The papers suggest that this is a critical seven days for Brexit negotiations. I'm sure we're all completely fatigued when it comes to that subject, however, so let's not dwell on it!



Personal trading update

I like to be as transparent as possible when it comes to my personal portfolio, so please note that I have today closed both my short position in Tesla and my long positions in the FTSE Index. That's why this morning's report has got off to a slow start - I've needed to tidy up a few personal matters.

To be clear, this has not been driven by any change in my view of the merits of these trades. I still view them both as extremely attractive. The reason is that I am in the middle of a house-buying process, and need to use the collateral for the deposit and fees. The potential returns from a trading account must be swapped out for the certainty of home equity.

On that subject, I wonder if readers here have any views on the home equity vs. stock market equity question? Do you carry a large mortgage while also building a stock portfolio? Or would you prioritise building home equity first, before venturing into the financial markets? I've always found this an intriguing question, and now I have to answer it.



Today's news

This is what I plan to discuss today:




Duke Royalty (LON:DUKE)

  • Share price: 45.5p (-4.4%)
  • No. of shares: 197 million (pre-fundraising)
  • Market cap: £90 million

Fundraising of up to £20 million

Retail offer via PrimaryBid.com

This was announced on Friday, after…

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