40,100,000,000
the amount in US dollars raised by IPOs in London so far this year. The figure is 12% higher than that for the same period in 2006. IPOs from 89 non-UK companies raised $26.6 billion, well over half the total. The volume of international listings has risen 26% compared with the same period in 2006.
13
the point rise in the State Street Global Investor Confidence index this August.
The index measures confidence by analysing the buying and selling patterns of institutional investors, associating confidence with their allocations to riskier assets.
"Given the recent market dislocation stemming from the sub-prime mortgage crisis, this month’s Investor Confidence readings may seem paradoxical," says Ken Froot, a professor at Harvard University. "They appear less so, however, once it is remembered that for every seller, there is a buyer. Many market participants sold heavily over the past fortnight, but institutional investors were not among them. Instead, they took the other side of the trade, and accumulated assets at relatively attractive price levels across a broad cross-section of markets."
Confidence rose most among North American institutional investors, whose risk appetite rose by a full 21 points to 116.5.