Paris has overtaken London as the home of Europe’s biggest stock market, new analysis has revealed.
The French stock market now has a combined value of $2.823 trillion, marginally above the UK stock market, which is worth $2.821tn, according to Bloomberg figures.
Five years ago, when Britain voted to leave the EU, British stocks were worth 1.5 trillion more than France.
The fact that smaller and consumer-focused firms have been hit hard by an economic downturn, made worse by the energy crisis, high inflation, and recent market volatility, has dragged down the collective value of the UK’s listed companies, Bloomberg said.
Furthermore, a former Bank of England policymaker, Michael Saunders, told Bloomberg TV that the UK economy has been “permanently damaged” by Brexit, because it reduced the country’s potential output and resulted in reduced investment into UK businesses.
Meanwhile, France’s stock market has bolstered by luxury retail companies enjoying a post-Covid spending boost.
Louis Vuitton owner LVMH tops the French Cac 40 with a market capitalisation – meaning the total value of its shares – of $364 billion, nearly double the runner up, L’Oreal.
Paris is also home to Gucci owner Kering SA, which has seen its share price jump by about a fifth over the past month.
Whereas big retailers on London’s blue-chip index, the FTSE 100, have seen their shares plunge throughout the year, with the likes of Ocado Group and JD Sports dropping by more than 40 per cent.
Bloomberg said the shift in stock market value is more an indication of UK stocks weakening, but it also reflects the resilience of high-end brands.
Burberry Group, a FTSE 100-listed luxury brand, has bucked the trend of other retailers and enjoyed a nearly 10 per cent uplift in its share price this year.
The market capitalisation calculations also reflect currency movements, Bloomberg added.
The pound has taken more of a hammering this year than the euro, dropping 13 per cent in value against the US dollar this year, while the euro has fallen by a milder 9.2 per cent against the American currency.
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
Turkish Ladies
Various artists, Sony Music Turkey
INDIA SQUADS
India squad for third Test against Sri Lanka
Virat Kohli (capt), Murali Vijay, Lokesh Rahul, Shikhar Dhawan, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Rohit Sharma, Wriddhiman Saha, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav, Ishant Sharma, Vijay Shankar
India squad for ODI series against Sri Lanka
Rohit Sharma (capt), Shikhar Dhawan, Ajinkya Rahane, Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Kedar Jadhav, Dinesh Karthik, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Siddarth Kaul
A timeline of the Historical Dictionary of the Arabic Language
- 2018: Formal work begins
- November 2021: First 17 volumes launched
- November 2022: Additional 19 volumes released
- October 2023: Another 31 volumes released
- November 2024: All 127 volumes completed
Spider-Man: No Way Home
Director: Jon Watts
Stars: Tom Holland, Zendaya, Jacob Batalon
Rating:*****
Common OCD symptoms and how they manifest
Checking: the obsession or thoughts focus on some harm coming from things not being as they should, which usually centre around the theme of safety. For example, the obsession is “the building will burn down”, therefore the compulsion is checking that the oven is switched off.
Contamination: the obsession is focused on the presence of germs, dirt or harmful bacteria and how this will impact the person and/or their loved ones. For example, the obsession is “the floor is dirty; me and my family will get sick and die”, the compulsion is repetitive cleaning.
Orderliness: the obsession is a fear of sitting with uncomfortable feelings, or to prevent harm coming to oneself or others. Objectively there appears to be no logical link between the obsession and compulsion. For example,” I won’t feel right if the jars aren’t lined up” or “harm will come to my family if I don’t line up all the jars”, so the compulsion is therefore lining up the jars.
Intrusive thoughts: the intrusive thought is usually highly distressing and repetitive. Common examples may include thoughts of perpetrating violence towards others, harming others, or questions over one’s character or deeds, usually in conflict with the person’s true values. An example would be: “I think I might hurt my family”, which in turn leads to the compulsion of avoiding social gatherings.
Hoarding: the intrusive thought is the overvaluing of objects or possessions, while the compulsion is stashing or hoarding these items and refusing to let them go. For example, “this newspaper may come in useful one day”, therefore, the compulsion is hoarding newspapers instead of discarding them the next day.
Source: Dr Robert Chandler, clinical psychologist at Lighthouse Arabia
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
