Good morning, it's Paul here with today's SCVR.
As usual, I'll write the article gradually throughout the morning. I post it in sections, so that my work is saved & doesn't disappear in the event of computer problems, etc. Also some readers like to see the earlier sections as they're written, because I try to write first about the most price-sensitive announcements - e.g. positive or negative surprises.
Please see the header for today's running order.
Estimated timings - should be finished by 1pm today, as the workload looks just about right.
Update at 13:20 - today's report is now finished.
Futures fell overnight, which my broker tells me is on continued concerns over the spread of the virus in China & elsewhere. This looks set to cast a cloud over things for some time, both in terms of human misery, and economically. I see this disrupting a lot of shares, because the world is so interconnected these days. Let's hope some kind of cure or effective treatment/prevention is found fast.
Here are a couple of snippets to start with, of interesting things that caught my eye.
Tesla (TSLA) - I see the bandwagon here continues, with shorts being massacred by its continued rise. It rose from $580 per share to $650 in extended trading last night, on a positive update. By my calculations that makes the market cap now $117bn. That valuation seems complete madness, but there's nothing to stop it going higher still, once it has already detached from reality.
Plus of course, it was very heavily shorted (nearly a quarter of the shares at one point apparently), so the short squeeze we're seeing now means that there is a huge supply of forced buyers. A fascinating situation & a good reminder of how dangerous shorting can be.
Frasers (LON:FRAS) - seems to have largely resolved its Belgian VAT dispute, so that's a big potential financial hit which now seems to have been dealt with.
Walker Greenbank (LON:WGB) - announces that it is developing a new range of fabrics with the National Trust. How twee! I don't suppose this would be price sensitive on its own, but it does highlight the value of the company's design catalogue & history. It did a lucrative licensing deal for clothing with…
