Feeling better on another hot and sunny day so as to be able to invest another £620K with gilts favoured from my own researches and after advice of De Zoete’s about a forthcoming stock market crash
A rather late start to the day and I ask Diana to call us up a lot earlier in future than the 8 o’clock morning tea we had today. A quick wash, dress and breakfast and eventually to let the ducks out and take my place in the office. The ducks are moulting heavily at the moment but the egg count has returned to four a day and things are looking up. First thing I worked out the investments I wanted to make in gilt edged securities after receiving a very helpful analysis of index linked and short dated yields from de Zoete this morning. I had also been checking with the Prestel business data base and found out that, whilst the equity market had risen sharply today, short dated gilts had not changed. All seem to agree that the present upturn in the stock market has come to a plateau and prices will fall during the next year. Prospect of even less economic activity, which ensures that unemployment will rise even further. By my order later today, £620K of our remaining £930K cash was thus converted, but it still leaves us a £300K+ cash reserve which is more than enough.
This afternoon I spend a fair time getting up the largest part of my BMMG report onto the word processor and end the day with a few Prestel enquiries to see the stock market closing figures. A merry interlude today on live video but somewhat frightening for the risk. In mid-evening to put the ducks away and relax in front of the television to see a documentary on the inefficiencies of US criminal justice and then the news. News today of Thatcher’s cancellation of her September far-east tour because of the industrial disputes. After a very confused series of mass meetings and ballots support is firming for the strike amongst the scheme ports. More arrests and confrontation on the miners picket lines completes a gloomy industrial scene. I am sure the stock exchange is going to react in the morning. In South Africa, riots as the latest apartheid election is rejected by the vast majority of the coloured and Asian population. The weather today still very hot and sunny. My chest slightly better.