| Steinhoff International and Ascendis Health both have serious debt problems they are trying to address. Steinhoff hopes to alleviate its debt burden with the listing of its Pepco Group business in Poland. A debt solution is more urgent for Ascendis, which has to reach a deal with its biggest lenders by the end of the week. Both companies updated investors on Monday: Steinhoff with its plan to sell a stake of at least 15% in Pepco Group to investors on the Warsaw Stock Exchange; and Ascendis with a reassurance that it was working towards its looming deadline. Meanwhile, Growthpoint says it agrees with an assessment that a takeover offer for European associate Globalworth is too low. Its shares rose slightly, indicating there's hope that a higher offer may be forthcoming. If you missed it, Episode 22 of the popular Magic Markets podcast looks at the banking industry, and the high risk and high rewards it offers investors. Hosts The Finance Ghost and Mohammed Nalla (Moe-Knows) give insights into this space and how investors should think about banks in their portfolios. You can access it for free by following this link. I hope you have a good day. Stephen Gunnion Managing Editor, InceConnect
The latest from Ingham Analytics Following on from "Shapely gold" the note entitled "Wild ride" looks at Barrick Gold shares, listed both in Toronto and New York, as both a mechanism to gain exposure to gold price movements but also to compare contrast the relative advantages and drawbacks of share ownership versus gold futures contracts in comparison. Also check out their view on US corporate earnings in "There's a coach comin' in, hear those wheel spin". | 