Whilst the coronavirus sadly shows no signs of abating, the epidemic started to have a meaningful impact on the world of sport this week. The Hong Kong and Singapore legs of the World Rugby Sevens Series were rescheduled from April to October, whilst several other Asian-based sporting events have also been postponed, including April's Chinese Grand Prix. This impact comes immediately on the back of Storm Ciara hitting last Sunday's UK sporting programme, with several football, rugby and horse racing fixtures all being called off. The latest storm, Dennis to his friends, is now threatening to impact much of today’s sporting calendar. These extreme weather events, not forgetting Typhoon Hagibis at the Rugby World Cup, have got The Weekly thinking about the more unusual reasons for postponing sports events. And there are plenty out there. Remember the Foot and Mouth epidemic back in 2001 which caused havoc for the Six Nations? Going back further, exactly thirty-five years ago in fact, how about when Sheffield United's game with Oldham was called off just before kick-off after the discovery of an unexploded Second World War bomb just outside Bramall Lane? But if this recent spate of sporting postponements is becoming a source of deep frustration, spare a thought for the fans of Airdrie and Stranraer, who due to the Big Freeze of 1963, saw that football match postponed thirty-three times, a British record still to this day!
Perhaps it’s not every Weekly reader’s other ‘go-to publication’, but the data provided in Calastone’s Fund Flow Index Review of 2019 certainly grabbed our attention this week. Whilst it came as no great shock to read that 2019 saw very mixed fortunes for the UK funds industry, it was a tad surprising to learn that across all asset classes, investors only added a net £23.1bn to their holdings, a decline of two fifths compared to the five-year average of £37bn. Of the four main asset classes, equity funds ended the year with a small surplus, thanks mainly to some post-election appetite for UK equities. Fixed income funds maintained healthy inflows throughout the year, whilst mixed asset funds were the big winners, enjoying another strong, steady year of attracting new capital. And so what about property funds? Not a good read. They suffered their worst year on record, as investor cash fled the sector at the rate of £1 for every £15 invested. In fact, overall over the last five years, property funds have shed a net £1.2bn of capital, the only asset class to lose funds over that period of time. However, the good news is that since the General Election, pressure has started to ease on the open-ended funds. Only £78m was withdrawn from property funds in January, down from £329m in December. Slim pickings perhaps, but hopefully a sign of better times for 2020 and beyond.
What do Premier League football managers and Ministers for Housing have in common? Tough jobs? Tick. Unreasonable expectations from their bosses? Tick. No job security whatsoever? An even bigger tick. The average lifespan of a top-flight football manager today sits at just over two years. On Thursday, Esther McVey lost her job as Housing Minister, a role she had only held since July. She was the ninth Housing Minister to have served since May 2010. That’s ten changes in ten years! So, what are the prospects for the new incumbent, Christopher Pincher, being able to hold onto his job for long enough to provide the certainty and stability that the housing market craves? Slim, at best, The Weekly suspects. Given the well-known challenges facing the UK property market, the lack of consistent leadership from the Government is hardly helping. Mr Pincher’s housing credentials are, apparently, thin. But for what it’s worth, his parliamentary voting record shows he was against the tenant fees ban, but in favour of both phasing out secure tenancies for life and reducing taxes on property transactions. He has also consistently voted for charging a market rent to high earners renting a council home. Whether Mr Pincher is given enough time to implement any of his views, let alone oversee the ongoing proposed reform of the house buying process or proposals to introduce mandatory qualifications for estate agents, very much remains to be seen!