Good morning from Paul & Graham!
Today's report is now finished. We covered most of the things on the to do list.
Superdry (LON:SDRY) - I forgot to mention this yesterday, but there are press reports that this fashion brand has called in Interpath Advisory, to help it restructure & cut costs. That doesn't sound good, does it? It suggests to me that the company must be seriously struggling, which f you strip back the presentational gloss put on its last poor interims results, was obvious from a little digging - see my report here on 27 Jan 2023, where I pointed out the problems. The way I look at it, if the business was trading well, then there would not need to be consultations with expensive advisers. The last update showed that there was some sign of improvement at the stores, but that wholesale orders had plummeted. I'm changing my view from amber, to red, at this latest worrying sign. Thumbs down from me, it's too risky right now.
Banking problems
We seem to be in something of a banking crisis, although not many people in the UK are aware, because our media is instead obsessing over something Gary Lineker said on Twitter.
It's difficult to know where this latest banking problem (mainly SVB) ends. On the upside, swift actions have been taken so far to contain the problems. On the downside, it strikes me that overly fast interest rate rises have put a big strain on the system, and the cracks are now appearing. What other strains are lurking below the surface at other organisations which held a lot of bonds (which are now worth less)? Might banks be more cautious in agreeing new lending from now on?
At the moment I cannot see any reason to panic sell any of my shares. Let's just hope it all blows over, and it might at least stop the central banks from continuing down their dangerous path of raising rates too far, too fast? You can't have zero rates for 14 years, and then flick a switch to return to normal, without it doing a lot of damage, as we're discovering.
Graham and I decided not to cover the flurry of RNSs yesterday relating to Silicon Valley Bank UK, because it was announced first thing that the bank had been saved, with…
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