Argonautica

Argonaut has been an investor in EADS since 2009 when the shares traded at €13, compared to €30 before the proposed merger with BAE was announced yesterday. Our investment rationale has been based around the attractiveness of the Airbus franchise which today accounts for over half of all new civil aeroplanes sold each year. Civil aerospace is an attractive industry with demand driven by emerging market passenger growth and the replacement of ageing aircraft with more fuel efficient planes. Over the…

As widely expected Draghi yesterday outlined the framework by which the European Central Bank (ECB) will make purchases of Euro-zone sovereign bonds in the secondary market. The new programme to be known as “Outright Monetary Transactions” (OMT) will replace the previous Securities Markets Programme (SMP). Under the SMP the ECB purchased €211bn of peripheral sovereign bonds. Purchases were “sterilised” by the ECB issuing short-term bonds to commercial banks. No new money was created as the ECB…