The Italians do not vote every day

Since the chairman had told me to go short the Euro (this is an emotional, if sound, twitch of his) I had sold at 1.07. It was therefore concerning to see 1.085 race into view but the price turned over with all the accommodating speedy athleticism of a supremely fit hooker (I here draw upon my imagination rather than experience) and started to race down. I managed to close at 1.055 and go long (I had to – the Italians do not vote every day). Exhausted, I am now neutral.

Molins (LON:MLIN) updated the market this morning with the news that trade of late has been disappointing. It’s hard to guess just how disappointing – indeed it is impossible from the information here offered. But MLIN advises that the outlook for 2017 is quite bright. None of this particularly bothers me since MLIN is a classic case of a business attached to a pension fund. Here my guess is that the outlook is very bullish as interest rates move to rise. I bought again this morning – this time at 52p.


It’s a surprise to see IG Index (LON:IGG) panned at the same rate as Plus500 (LON:PLUS) and also a mistake. IGG being fully listed attracts 0.5% stamp duty but if one is minded to purchase a spreadbetter, that is the one, now 450p. I read over the weekend that IGG spends an astounding £50m p.a. on advertising. That can be slashed for a start.

BooHoo (LON:BOO) is turning down. It’s a long way to go.

Finally, the Daily Mail on Saturday licensed readers to buy FTSE. This obliged me to open a short this morning. So far, so good.