Liverpool celebrated their first Premier League victory in thirty years last week, before producing a lacklustre display against Manchester City on Thursday evening, in a heavy 4-0 loss. A severe hangover from the week long celebrations was probably to blame for their performance. Whether you are a Liverpool fan or not, it was heartening to see them crowned champions in a season that at one stage looked more likely to be declared null and void than to restart. COVID-19 has affected all sporting calendars, but at least some sporting national bodies are using the pandemic to rethink the annual sporting agenda, with the chance to break the status quo. One such example can be seen in the Southern Hemisphere where there are plans for the All Blacks to face up to the Australian Kangaroos in a hybrid form of union and league, to be played in December. Both the Kangaroos and the New Zealanders have dominated their respective codes, well... forever! The game, which could turn over as much as AU$15 million may well be no more than a sporting enthusiast's pipe dream, but at least it will provide a hypothetical topic of conversation now the pubs are back open!

When The Weekly last reported on the mood of the St Bride's Global Alliance partners in Hong Kong, Australia and the US, they were all being tested by stormy seas, thunderous rain and mutinous passengers and crew. Now, nearly three months on, despite still being pretty gloomy, the odd ray of sunlight seems to be breaking through. The Weekly has put together a few extracts from the minutes of the Alliance’s last meeting:

Overall Capital Markets:

The recent recovery in the global stock markets is generating unjustifiable optimism. Don’t be fooled.
Direct property values need to fall much further before any recovery can be seriously contemplated. And that will take time.
Patience. Patience. Patience.
The sharp rise in the number of special servicers being hired in the US to sort out CMBS defaults, especially in the lodgings sector (resorts and hotels), is an ominous sign.

Recovery:

The publicly-listed property markets will prosper first, and there should be some good opportunities in secondary units in pooled funds because of their discounts.
In the short term, the yield gap between central and suburban offices may narrow. But it will be short-lived.
After 9/11, a number of major companies headed out to the suburbs. They soon realised that they couldn’t find the right staff there and returned to the city. The same will happen this time.

Office-working:

Our road network doesn’t have the capacity to allow everyone to drive to work and staff will not tolerate crossing town. Anyway, the environmental consequences would be catastrophic.
Before you can say ‘London Underground’, we will all be using public transport again. It’s a matter of sanitation and confidence.
There is no chance that home-working will threaten the ‘traditional’ office. Staff will always want to interact.

Lockdown has generated an unending stream of dog pictures, baking videos and house renovation posts on social media over the last few months, as people attempt to make ‘staying at home’ look interesting for their followers. Unfortunately for most, they won’t be becoming millionaires every time they post! The same can’t be said for Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, who this week topped Instagram’s rich list as the celebrity thought to be able to charge more than anyone else for a sponsored post. According to social media marketing firm Hopper HQ, the WWE wrestler turned actor, can charge advertisers up to $1m per post to promote their product! Those figures may seem obscene (and The Weekly agrees!), but each of his posts are published to all of his 187 million followers, a seriously impressive audience. The Weekly is always looking for innovative ideas to increase its readership. Maybe Mr Johnson would take an IOU..?