The twelve trades of Christmas
The 12 Days of Christmas began as a catechism song for young Catholics when their religion was criminalised in England. Hundreds of years later, The 12 Days of Christmas has been used to promote a magnitude of products and feature in millions of marketing campaigns during the festive period.
Now the famous carol can help you plan your portfolios for 2018, or remind you of some of the weird and wonderful investment opportunities out there.
A partridge in a pear tree
Pears: China is the leading producing country of pears in the world recording a production of 17.3 million metric tons in 2013. The US is the second largest pears producer and recorded 0.795 million metric tons during the same period. Other top pears producing countries include Italy, Argentina, and Turkey.
The pear crop is predicted by European growers to be relatively stable at 2.148.000 tonnes and to only decrease by 1% compared to 2016.
Two turtle doves
Wedding market: The turtle dove might an old symbol of love and faithfulness, but with fewer couples getting married, wedding vendors now have a smaller pool of customers to draw from.
Yet still, a report by IBIS World said that thanks to a stronger economy and higher discretionary incomes, the US wedding industry edged higher to hit $72bn in revenue in 2016.
The report found though that in the past five years, wedding service providers have grappled with a unique mix of limitations. Wedding budgets dropped due to the high unemployment rates that lingered after the recession. More couples are also waiting longer to get married and are choosing to live together before marriage.
US poultry exports struggled in 2016 and 2017. Source: ShutterstockThree French hens
Poultry market: US poultry exports struggled in 2016 and 2017 due in large part to lingering bans and subsequent struggles to regain markets caused by the Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (H7N7) in US flocks that began in late 2014 and became very serious in the first several months of 2015. Those particular US outbreaks were resolved in 2016.
In October, US broiler export tonnage rebounded reaching the largest volume for any month since October 2014.
In the UK, the poultry industry was the fastest growing agricultural sector in the 12 months up until 1 June, according to the latest Defra statistics released in December.
They show that total poultry increased by 5.3% to almost 182 million birds in July 2017. The increase was largely due to the 6.3% rise in broiler numbers to 118 million birds that account for two thirds of the total.
Four calling birds
Twitter and social media: Twitter, once the social media darling, has been criticised in recent months for failing to monetise its stagnant traffic despite getting the thumbs up from President Trump.
Recent figures from Statista show that it has only added 31 million monthly active users over the past two years. In comparison, Facebook added 467 million, Instagram over 300 million and Snapchat 87 million.
In addition, Facebook's advertising revenue posted a 53% year-over-year advance in the fourth quarter whereas Twitter recorded a 4% year-over-year decline in revenue.
Twitter stock, however, recently jumped more than 8% after JP Morgan analyst Doug Anmuth upgraded the stock to "overweight" and named it one of the firm's best stock ideas for 2018.
According to Anmuth, Twitter will begin to reap the rewards of its push into live streaming video, the daily active user growth should accelerate to 10% in 2018, he estimates Twitter will grow full-year 2018 advertising revenue by 8%, and also it will be "GAAP profitable" for the first time.
Gold will emerge unscathed from the digital currency craze. Source: Shutterstock.comFive gold rings
Gold: Unloved in recent years, commodity experts feel gold will emerge unscathed from the digital currency craze and might, in fact, gain if the tide turns. This is because despite the current Bitcoin bubble, for the past 5000 years gold has been the only constant money in history.
Hareesh V, Head, Commodities Research at Geojit Financial Services, said: “The increased acceptability of digital currencies as a safe haven is a threat to gold prices. However, if the present bullishness in Cryptocurrencies turns to bearish, gold would be the top gainer.”
Factors likely to affect gold in 2018 are the US economy, any improved demand for physical gold in China and India and any tightening of monetary policy from the European Central Bank and Bank of Japan as it indicates their economies are improving.
Six geese a-laying
Fabergé eggs: The House of Fabergé is synonymous with wealth and opulence. The ultimate collector's items, Fabergé's fabled gemstone-studded Easter eggs are considered the pinnacle of luxury.
Imperial Fabergé eggs were first commissioned by Tsar Alexander III in 1885 as an Easter gift to his wife. The last time an Imperial egg was sold was the long-lost Vacheron Constantin egg. It was sold for £20m in 2014.
The brand is now owned by Johannesburg-listed Pallinghurst Resources after it completed the compulsory acquisition of mining company Gemfields plc this month, pursuant to the provisions of section 979 of the Companies Act 2006. It now owns 100% of the issued share capital of Gemfields.
Earlier this year, minority investors slammed the fund for its “opportunistic” bid, and said most of Gemfields’ costs stemmed from the loss-making Faberge unit that Pallinghurst sold to the company in 2013 in a controversial $142m (£109m) deal.
The Crown claimed ownership of all mute swans in the country. Source: ShutterstockSeven swans a-swimming
Swans: If someone was looking to trade in swans in the UK, they would be disappointed as all swans are owned by the queen. As early as the twelfth century, the Crown claimed ownership of all mute swans in the country because the birds were highly valued as a delicacy at banquets and feasts.
In the fifteenth century The Worshipful Company of Dyers and The Worshipful Company of Vintners were given the right to own swans on the River Thames.
Swan Upping still takes place once a year during the third week of July on the River Thames. Mute swans are rounded up, caught, ringed, and then released so as to conduct a census of swans and check their health.
Eight maids a-milking
Dairy produce: Dairy farm incomes are expected to recover in 2018 following a 'dismal few years', according to figures from Old Mill accountants and Farm Consultancy Group and this view was backed by Barclays who said UK dairy Farmers are reinvesting after "two years of belt tightening."
With better milk prices starting to filter through, some producers were paying off debt while others looked to be taking on extra borrowing to invest for the future.
Oliver McEntyre, Barclays national agricultural strategy director, said: “Our debt levels are stable, having very marginally increased from last summer to this summer – whether this indicates a degree of confidence in the industry and people reinvesting after two years of belt tightening who knows, but that would be my assumption.”
European dairy giant Arla Foods is one such company and this year announced plans to invest £37.5m in upgrading its UK production facilities. In addition, Müller recently announced plans to invest £100m in new products made from milk produced by British farmers.
Sportswear brands are building up their online presence. Source: ShutterstockNine ladies dancing
Sports and leisure gear: A recent NASDAQ report said that the struggles of the sports goods industry, be it sports gear retailers or producers of sportswear brands, are far from over. Among the various factors plaguing the sporting goods retailers, the prominent ones are changing consumer habits, sportswear brands turning to direct selling channels and increased competition. Additionally, the general retailing backdrop has turned highly promotional, creating pressure on margins and the bottom line.
It said that the general trend suggests customers are becoming more dependent on digital devices and mobile phones for their buying habits. Responding to this trend, sportswear brands are building up their online presence by teaming up with e-retailers as well as improving their website for a chic e-commerce experience.
Ten lords a-leaping
Aristocracy: Earlier this year, Business Insider published a list of 15 aristocrats who are richer than the Queen. Top of the list was the Duke of Westminster and the Grosvenor family with a net worth of £9.52bn ($12.33bn). Hugh Grosvenor became the Seventh Duke of Westminster after his father Gerald Cavendish Grosvenor died in August 2016. The family makes most of their money from inherited land that dates back to 1677, including land in wealthy London areas such as Belgravia and Mayfair.
Property investment in London’s most desirable areas has always been popular. Qatari investors now own £1bn of property in London Mayfair, according to research from Rokstone, an Iranian-owned West End estate agent.
A relaxation of withdrawal allowanced by the Reserve Bank of India has also resulted in more Indian buyers looking for property in London. The latest figures from Black Brick buying agency show that from the 13% of Indian buyers so far this year, 6.5% were owner occupiers and 6.5% were managed sales, buying in Mayfair and Knightsbridge for primary and secondary homes.
Eleven pipers piping
Gas: In the Forbes Natural Gas Outlook For 2018, it said that on the demand-side, growth remains robust in US. Pipeline exports to Mexico are surging, exports of liquefied natural gas have reached 2 billion cubic feet/day, consumption in the chemical sector continues to grow, and utilities are shifting toward fast-cycling natural gas plants to complement increasing amounts of intermittent renewables on the grid.
Prices for energy commodities that include oil, natural gas, and coal are forecast to climb 4% in 2018 after a 28% leap this year, the World Bank said in its October Commodity Markets Outlook.
Morgan Stanley analyst Devin McDermott, however, said that increasing productivity and efficiency and the rise of renewable energy will continue to pressure gas prices in the long-term. He said: “A bet on natural gas is a bet against innovation. While we remain bearish over the medium- to long-term, we continue to believe that short term prices (winter 2017/18) have overcorrected modestly to the downside."
A Ringo Starr drum kit sold for £1.4m. Source: ShutterstockTwelve drummers drumming
Memorabilia: In 2015, a white Ludwig drum kit played by former Beatle Ringo Starr on hits such as "Can’t Buy Me Love" and "I Want to Hold Your Hand" sold for $2.1m (£1.4m).
But if you’re considering adding memorabilia to your investment portfolio, there are certain rules according to Brandon Steiner, Founder and CEO of Steiner Sports Marketing. The value of memorabilia moves up and down with prices in general. And, with the economy in recession, prices have fallen.
He said that memorabilia is often a feel good purchase. “You can’t have any emotional connection with this stuff. To a collector I’d say buy from your heart. Buy something you love and assume that it is not going to go up in value. To an investor, my advice is don’t do what I just said."