Earnings, Takeovers, Buyouts & A Hidden Gem on the FTSE 100

What REIT has Steve W been buying? Find out in this week’s Playing FTSE Podcast!   As is usually the case, we’ve got a game to start off with. This week it’s Steve W with a game about the FTSE 100. Paul and Steve D take turns at naming stocks in the FTSE 100. Smallest market cap wins. Nice and simple. Find out why there are 101 stocks in the FTSE 100 and find out what Paul looks like when he gives a good answer to a quiz question. Is Associated British Foods bigger than ITV?   Following our game, Steve W leads us through a quick whip through the recent US bank earnings. There were some winners, some losers, and one bank that wasn’t really either. Rising non-interest expense (wages) put pressure on JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs, while Bank of America and Wells Fargo went flying high. Citigroup continues to be something of an unknown quantity. But we all have different ideas on which banks stand out to us. Find out which one’s catching Steve D’s eye, which one commands all of Paul’s attention, and which one Steve W is attracted to.    Next up, we have our say on the Microsoft/Activision deal. Steve D saw Microsoft raising capital a while ago now and has been quietly wondering what they were getting ready to make a move on. Paul has his say on Activision’s games roster and what Microsoft are getting for their money. Steve W points out the implications from an antitrust angle and the timing of Microsoft’s move with shares in Activision down significantly from this time a year ago.    UK news follows, with a discussion of Unilever’s attempt to acquire GSK’s consumer products business. During the week, news of Unilever’s attempt to buy GSK’s consumer products business as part of a pivot to sectors with more growth emerged. Steve W’s been looking at this story with some interest and has some thoughts about Unilever and its prospects.   Last is a big deep dive on a company that Steve D has his eye on. The London Stock Exchange Group sounds like a boring company. So why’s it been catching the eye of the show’s growth investor? Turns out there’s a lot more to LSEG than you might think at first. There’s an infrastructure company with an impenetrable-looking moat and a data business with software-style margins and capital requirements over the top of it. Steve and Steve talk about the stock, the business underneath it, and why it might be one of the best stocks for UK investors to have a look at. ----------   Hey, Paul here. I think you should try Genuine Impact, they make choosing good investments simple. You'll get 30 days free trial to all Premium features, no card required. Plus, use my link below and we both get an extra 1 month free Premium (worth £3.99)! https://genuineimpactapp.page.link/Ajup