Panmure Gordon's David Buik and Simon French talked about how labour and skill mismatch is also leading to low productivity problem in UK. Simon particularly called for revamping school education with more thrust on financial literacy and coding. Tip TV host Zak Mir explained how difficult it is for labour to stay updated especially in the IT sector and software industry.
Simon French also took note of growth areas in the UK economy like construction, engineering, IT and Tech but said labor markets do not necessarily have the skill set.
Coming to financial markets, most at the retail level are perplexed about the equity market rally since mid-February. David Buik took note of a 15% rally in the mining heavy FTSE index since February 11 and talked about Dow Jones and S&P trading just 2% away from their record highs. Both Buik and French said valuations are all over the place since the growth estimates have been revised lower across the globe and questioned whether the rally would be extended or we have hit the plateau through May to September period.
While addressing the confusing action in bonds and equity markets, Simon French both appear to be complementing each other perfectly. He said there are negative yields not only on government bond markets but also on corporate bonds and thus despite
Anaemic corporate earnings growth in the US and UK, the investors are prepared to pay premium in equities.