Investors divide speculation over travel takeover – London Business News

To taper or not to taper, that question has been answered quite neatly by the ECB today with a crowd-pleaser strategy of slowing its pandemic bond purchases but about to turn things into the opposite.

Slow and steady with plenty of forewarning seemed to be exactly what global investors wanted to hear, and the rapid decline below the magical 7,000 mark for the FTSE 100 today was short-lived.

Danni Hewson of AJ Bell said, “Europe’s economy mirrors that of many of its Western counterparts. Recovery with a touch of supply chain anxiety, a touch of delta uncertainty, and a pace slightly below expected.

“The bullish note also carried through on Wall Street when the latest US unemployment figures hit a pandemic low, suggesting that the much-discussed slowdown in growth may not be quite as much as some had expected. There are major problems in the labor market, especially for companies looking to recruit, and these problems need to be addressed quickly if they are not to have a fundamentally negative impact on recovery and growth plans in both the US and the UK.

“After EasyJet’s little tidbit, that a takeover was being considered, there was speculation about the future of the travel industry. The smart money has always been with Wizz Air and many news outlets have reported that they were indeed the scorned admirer. Whether investors were worried about this decision or were unsure that the low-cost airline was again tapping shareholders for additional cash stakes in EasyJet, broke in and Wizz Air and Jet2 also reached the red zone. But British Airways owner IAG enjoyed a nice little bump. The talk about opportunities, potentials and mergers has whetted the appetite and IAG is the beneficiary today. The travel industry has had a hot time and the fact that EasyJet is positioning itself to buy up companies that fall by the wayside speaks volumes. Some businesses will fail, others will grow, and those that come out best are sought after by investors and consumers alike. The bottom line is that Britons like a sunspot and there will be plenty of rain-soaked dreamers tempted to search vacation pages today. “