29 June 2019 FT — Articles to Read

Question: As a percentage of GDP, what was student in 2006 vs. Q1 2019?

Notre-Dame restoration experts warn cathedral remains at risk of collapse – Pg. 3

  • …questions remained over the “stability” of the arches in the cathedral’s interior
  • “Gothic buildings have two walls flanking a central nave.  These are supported from the exterior by flying buttresses.  If the arches are not solid enough, there is a risk of the building falling down”
  • “The big donors haven’t paid, not a cent”.  He said they were waiting to know exactly how their money was being spent before they agreed to hand it over, and not “just to pay employees’ salaries” (Prof Note: This is exactly the issue I have seen in many, MANY, new ventures.  So many have employee salaries first which is problematic with many investors.)
  • Precious relics and paintings were rescued and taken to the city hall for safe-keeping; and the great organ and the great medieval rose windows on the west, north and south sides of the cathedral escaped serious damage

US investors cheer promise of reward after stress test success – Pg. 10

  • The largest US banks promised share buybacks and dividends totally $136bn over the next 12 months, equivalent to a tenth of their aggregate market value, after they passed the Federal Reserve’s stress tests
  • …banking shares close to 2% higher…
  • The Fed announced on Thursday that every US-listed major bank had passed its annual stress test without requiring further revisions to their plans for returning capital to shareholders
  • Fed officials said the results showed that the stress test regime, put in place after the crash in 2009, had successfully made American banks stronger and better capitalized without trimming profits.  They pointed out that in the last 10 years, the largest and most complex banks have doubled their common equity capital – a measure of financial health – from about $300bn in total to about $800bn
  • Since the beginning of 2018, bank shares have left investors with a loss of 5%, compared to a 13% rise in the S&P 500 over that time

Answer: 3.54% (Q1 2006) vs 7.59% (Q1 2009)