Five charts to start your day

The number of listed companies in London has fallen

I was in London last week, if you didn't notice. I had a good old rant on LinkedIn about my cancelled Swiss International flight back to Zurich. They cancelled the flight, rebooked me on an indirect flight via Luxembourg the following evening and told me they had run out of hotels to put me in.

To be fair, this isn't really a Swiss airline – it's a German airline (Lufthansa owned) that is ripping off the Swiss brand. Germany, if you don't know, is almost as lousy as the Britain when it comes to public transport – potentially worse if you catch a German train. And yes, German trains are potentially worse than the ones in Britain, so quit complaining.

Anyway, I digress. London seemed very different this time I visited. There was something incredibly depressing about the post-Brexit and post-Covid version I encountered back in 2022. And, I think this first chart spells this out. Take a look.

Source: Financial Times

Britain's brand took a massive bashing from Brexit. As you can see, London's stock of listed companies is on the decline. The pressure is on for the Capital Markets Industry Taskforce, who need to revitalise the UK's languishing capital markets thanks to Brexit.

Led by London Stock Exchange CEO Dame Julia Hoggett, this task force is pushing for sweeping reforms to stem the tide of companies fleeing to New York and reignite domestic investment. Let’s hope they succeed.

Coming up:

• US outpaces Europe and UK with 30% higher GDP per capita

• Electric car industry's dependence on the Democratic Republic of Congo

• American workers leave vacation days on the table

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