Week Ending 24/05/2024 - Barbarians in the Boardroom - UK PLCs under siege

Gareth and Jeremy discuss the economic news that UK inflation is not falling as fast as expected, and the big political news about the UK  General Election.In the US, Nvidia is a sprinting giant that rose one HSBC in value in the minutes following its better-than-expected Q2 earnings release. They also discuss the growing M&A activity in the UK market and the barbarians in the boardrooms of UK PLCs, in the cases of XP Power, IQGeo, Keywords, and Hargreaves Lansdowne. The UK is under siege by PE and strategic buyers looking for attractively priced assets. Going forward, expect shareholders to put up a stronger fight, but at the same time, UK PLC boards need to be transparent about what their true cost of capital is and what value these external investors can bring.    Next week, the macro news will likely be dominated by US GDP data, which will be closely analysed for signs of a decelerating US economy. Brought to you by Progressive.