lo(gin)

The internet has probably become one of the most important parts of our day to day (work) life with most of us unable to spend one day without internet. The Internet has made our lives much easier, and for that reason, ‘International Internet Day’ is celebrated worldwide every year on the 29th of October. Since the year 2005 International Internet Day has been famously celebrated to commemorate a momentous day in the history of telecommunications and technology. This was the date that the first ever electronic message was transferred from one computer to another in 1969. In that year on October 29th, just a few months after the 1st man landed on the moon, Charley Kline, a student programmer at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) transmitted a message from a computer housed at UCLA to a computer positioned at the Stanford Research Institute. . Interestingly, the message was a text message comprising the word 'login'. But as it happened, only the letters L and O could be transmitted, as the system collapsed when Kline attempted to send the 3rd letter. Although the 1st website in the World Wide Web would only go live in 1991, Kline was the first to show just one of the many possibilities of this "network of networks”.

Ironically, “International Internet Day” started with a technical ‘lo(gin)’ glitch at Euronext delaying the opening of certain European equity markets. However, the issue was quickly resolved, and by noon, the system was again fully operational. Last trading week global equity markets rebounded with the Stoxx Europe 600 Index experiencing one of its best weeks in over two years. This sentiment boost came after Bloomberg reported U.S. President Donald Trump is interested in reaching an agreement on trade with Chinese President Xi Jinping. A Brexit deal seemingly within reach only added to the positive sentiment and gave equity markets another push.

Last Wednesday Ageas announced it had reached an agreement with BNP Paribas Cardif to sell its 33% share in Cardif Lux Vie (CLV), for a total cash amount of EUR 152m, as well as the repayment of a EUR 30m subordinated loan to Ageas expected to generate a capital gain of EUR 39 million. The divestment of the minority stake in CLV is in line with Ageas’s strategy to concentrate its efforts on further developing businesses where it holds stronger positions or in growth markets. The sale also offers an opportunity to crystallise the value that has been created over past years.

At the end of last trading week, the Ageas share closed at EUR 44.42 or up 2.9% outperforming the Eurostoxx 50 (+2.5%).