THE GHOST TRAIN
THE FINANCE GHOST: Europe goes defensive
The seismic shift in global geopolitics opens up pockets of opportunity as the UK and EU aim to reduce reliance on Uncle Sam
The US market really has been all the rage since the pandemic. As the home of the technology giants Faang — Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix and Alphabet (Google) — that became Faang+ and then the Magnificent 7, US indices have ridden the waves of cloud computing and now AI with the most success (and therefore the highest rewards for investors). Over the same period, European governments have been doing a spectacular job of throttling any form of innovation on the continent, unless it relates to force-feeding electric vehicles to consumers.
If you look at the top constituents of the S&P 500, you’ll find names such as Apple, Nvidia, Microsoft, Amazon, Meta Platforms, Alphabet, Broadcom, Berkshire Hathaway, Tesla and banking giant JPMorgan Chase at the top of the list. Flick across to the Stoxx 600 and you’ve got ASML Holding and SAP heading the list. They also happen to be the only IT companies in the top 10. There are a bunch of pharmaceutical houses, accompanied by Nestlé...
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