Peter Bennett's Personal View: Mid-Year Strategy Update Part 2
Comment of the Day

August 17 2012

Commentary by David Fuller

Peter Bennett's Personal View: Mid-Year Strategy Update Part 2

My thanks to the author for his authoritative letter, published by Walker Crips. Here is a brief sample on Europe:
The problems need no further comment. Early, possibly 'any', sustainable solution appears a long way off. But, never forget, investors buy companies, not economies. And business is robust and adjusts. This is free-ish market capitalism. Remember, German and Japanese industrial centres were flattened in WWII and...


The overall European market yield is some 4%+ (USA 2½%). Also:
1. Price to book ----------------- 1.2x (2.2x)
2. Price to sales ----------------- 0.7x (1.4x)
3. Price to cashflow ------------ 6 x (10x)

Markets usually get bored with worrying about the same thing after it has been obvious for some time. Clearly this is not to say that there is no more downside to come as matters remain fraught and there is no guarantee that much better comes next as opposed to much worse, which could shift the market.

So the value is good, even if the timing is impossible to judge.

David Fuller's view On reading Peter Bennett's reports, which I commend to subscribers, you may sense that he is a rather stern, academic character. Having known him for decades, I can assure you that he is a charming, mild-mannered, intellectual and well grounded chap, except when indulging his current passion for flying lessons.

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