Brian Bollen's Blog

Boris Johnson is insane: discuss

That's all I have to say on the matter...

I meant natural, not integer

Blain’s Morning Porridge

“The Road goes ever on and on, down from the door where it began… ”

Tomorrow morning I start my charity walk along the South Downs Way – Winchester to Eastbourne - which means no Porridge next week. Thanks for all the donations. I do urge all readers to think about Cardiac Care. I got the shock of my life when I found out I was in trouble a few years ago. I’m walking 100 miles-plus next week to raise awareness of coping with heart disease and its consequences. Wessex Heartbeat do a superb job helping people cope! I do hope you never need their help, but others will.

Eurekahedge fund August report hits the streets

The August issue of the Eurekahedge hedge fund report has just been issued. Highlights include the following.

The Eurekahedge Hedge Fund Index was up 0.62% in July, bringing its year-to-date return to 6.48%. Roughly 30.8% of hedge fund managers in the index have recorded double-digit gains over the first seven months of the year.

Global M&A deal volumes down but transaction multiples remain robust

Global deal volumes fell by 18% from 18,443 in the second half of 2018, to 15,076 in the first half of this year according to new research into global M&A activity by Deloitte.

Meanwhile transaction multiples remain strong, with increasing competition for quality assets, and mega-mergers driving over £50bn of UK transactions announced during July alone.

If your enemy is temperamental

Blain’s Morning Porridge 

“If your enemy is temperamental, seek to irritate him. Pretend to be weak, that he may grow arrogant.” 

So much to think about… but mostly China..

Things you don’t normally see in The City of London: This morning I spotted a young lady walking down Fenchurch Street – elegantly dressed in a business suit and carrying a surfboard under her arm. Summer must be coming back!

The big question: Is Donald Trump a visionary with some vast all-encompassing plan which we mere mortals simply don’t have the imagination to understand. Or has he just lost it? Cancelling a trip to Denmark because the government won’t discuss selling him Greenland sends some very aggressive signals to Denmark and thus Europe.