5/16/2023 0 Comments Keep it between the linesA perceived lack of liquidity has also made domestic investors look elsewhere. Aside from valuations, London’s listing requirements place a heavy emphasis on governance which is putting off cost-conscious boards. Shortly after, British computer-chip giant ARM – bought by Softbank for $32bn in 2016 – also chose to list in New York over a return to London. Building material company CRH – one of the largest companies in the FTSE 100 - recently announced it was re-listing in the US. Companies already listed in London are also going elsewhere. In 2022, London saw just 45 listings, a 62% decline from 119 listings in 2021, and weaker than the global picture which saw a 45% decline in the volume of transactions. The UK has seen its weight in global indices declining, with companies leaving the London market and increasingly choosing to list elsewhere in the first place.Īccording to EY’s market tracker, IPO Eye, the decline is clear. However, their performance is masking a less positive reality. These sectors have done well in the past couple of years – boosting the overall returns of the FTSE 100. The FTSE 100 Index has a heavy concentration of banks, pharmaceuticals, and mining stocks. However, this is not the full picture and it is important to look beyond the headline figures. Over the 12 months to the end of February, the FTSE 100 Index returned 9.6% compared to a return of 3.2% for the MSCI World Index. On paper, the UK has been one of the best performing equity markets in recent years. Between the lines is an easy way for you to understand how a current topic might be impacting markets and influencing your investments. With violinist Tiger Bell’s demonic fiddling leading the way, the band members freely careened through other styles of music, with pianist Bruce Harrison emulating McCoy Tyner in places, while guitarist Darren Favorite showed how Jeff Beck might approach bluegrass and Tommy Hannum took a space excursion with bent harmonics on his pedal steel guitar.All investors use insights, trends, and data from across the globe to help them make decisions. The hottest moments in the show arguably came when Shelton wasn’t singing at all and turned his band members loose to do their stuff on two extended psycho-bluegrass instrumentals. He had to read the lyrics off a sheet, as it was his third time singing it on a stage. He did several songs from his most recent 1994 album, “Love and Honor,” including the kiss-off tune “Baby, Take a Picture,” “Thanks a Lot,” “Then for Them” and the warmly rocking “Lola’s Love.”įor his encore, Shelton sang “Junk Cars,” a novelty tune about a fellow who just loves a car up on blocks. While not quite claiming them as his own, he also did commendable versions of Harlan Howard’s sad ballad “Life Turned Her That Way” and the old Ned Miller hit “From a Jack to a King.” Other covers included the Beatles’ “Yesterday,” Bobby Womack’s “It’s All Over Now” and the Killer’s “Great Balls of Fire.” While the actual Roy Orbison tune in the set, “Pretty Women,” was done in rote, bar-band fashion, Shelton and his band put some unique rhythmic movement into the Hollies’ “Bus Stop,” which Shelton sang as Gene Pitney might have done it, which is not too shabby at all. That he was able to make a bravura, Orbison-style showstopper out of fare as vacant as a “Statue of a Fool” suggests that Shelton can achieve more with his voice, as did his delivery on some of the covers in the set. Instead, much of the time he sounded like a voice pulled out of a chorus, able to sing well, but without the personality or palpability of the great country singers. With such depth-defying material, it’s no surprise that Shelton’s strong, full voice only rarely injected feeling into the proceedings. The latter, for instance, is part of a whole slew of recent mawkish formula tear-jerkers in which a parent or grandparent shares a cliched encouraging catch-phrase with a youngster, who then gets to repeat it back in a new ironic context decades later when Dad or Gramps is a drooling wreck, and then God gets a few licks in the last verse, reprising the phrase with inspirational overtones.Īfter you’ve heard the formula in a half-dozen songs, it’s enough to make one want to go have a good manly barf-out by the tree Bobby Goldsboro planted for “Honey.” It’s nigh on impossible to listen to songs such as “Love Without You,” “I’ve Cried My Last Tear for You” and “Keep It Between the Lines” without picturing teams of cynical hacks sitting in air-conditioned offices cranking out the tunes like they were ad copy or legal clauses.
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