The Companies & Markets section of the US edition of the FT has the following headlines today:
Apple leaps ahead with 47 per cent surge in profits
Options-driven rally likely if oil prices move above $80
Dutch bank DSB left to fail after run (because regulators were confident it was safe to do so)
Henderson says GM on track for public offering
Daimler accelerates to 470m profit in surprise bounce-back
Sands chief back in the money after $1bn punt
Fed tests tools for draining liquidity
UK’s rebound sparks fears of overheating (the UK commercial property market, that is)
Investors take rosy view in big week for earnings
Bullish climate sees S&P sweep through 1,100 level
All this may be coincidental but it indicates a strikingly bullish mood not only in markets but also among big businesses that suffered badly in the financial crisis. How long it lasts may be another matter but it is worth noting.
Of these stories, I was most struck by Matthew Garrahan’s interview with Sheldon Adelson, chief executive of Las Vegas Sands, recounting Mr Adelson’s near-financial death experience.
He denies ever fearing that the group risked bankruptcy. “Never,” he growls. “Not for a moment. I wasn’t going to cap my career of 64 years with a loss.”
However, he admits the year had some low points. “I bit the bullet and I sold equity. That was the lowest point . . . because I felt that my job was to enhance shareholder value and here I had diluted it, including [my own stake].
“But I paid the price. I put up $1bn to save the company. We were down as low as [a market capitalisation of] $1bn and we’re back to $12bn today.”
The equity sale diluted his stake from 69 per cent to 52 per cent. But the recent revival in the company’s shares has lifted the value of his holding up to $6bn from about $500m at the low point this year.
I imagine there are a few similar stories out there of companies that looked like they might be about to founder last year but pulled themselves back from the brink.
