Premier's Hambidge: strong balance sheets are good news for equities

Strong corporate balance sheets are good news for equities

The global economic outlook is improving and with it corporate profitability. However, in spite of the generally positive newsflow, we have to constantly remind ourselves financial markets are discounting mechanisms and with many stock markets trading at their highest level for around 18 months, we again ask “is it better to travel than to arrive?” The answer to that question is an emphatic ‘yes’ and having benefited greatly from the recovery last year, we feel quite comfortable taking some risk off the table. Following the devastating events of 2008, we find it hard to believe life w...