Royal Ascot is over and the last house guest has gone. The wine cellar has taken a pounding but the 1,400 bottle capacity ensures that we will not go thirsty. The guests seemed to have a wonderful time in the beautiful weather. We noticed that none of the house guests boasted about their winnings at the races and we can therefore assume that the bookmakers were the only ones not sweating. Ever since a horse which we were backing fell in a flat race we have confined our speculations to the stockmarket. We will not miss the helicopters almost permanently overhead and just before you ask, we never again saw the stretch limo with the dazzling eastern European hostesses which tried to open for business at the bottom of our drive. "More's the pity," commented our male visitors. But while the ladies at Ascot delighted the eye with their stunning outfits, it was business almost as usual in the Euromarkets and behind the scenes the major players were jostling for position. The summer holiday season is barely a month away. The main investment banks want to close a few more deals before scarpering off to sun-drenched five star beaches. No wonder that the attendants at the Euromoney Borrowers and Investors Forum were besieged with offers to be wined and dined in London's most expensive restaurants and clubs. For the time being debt is king, and the major borrowers, even with slightly iffy credit ratings, can call the tune. What a change this makes from the situation for most of the last three years when bond specialists were treated as second-class citizens who had to bow whenever they met their social superiors from equities or investment banking.
June 29, 2001
