The main news flow for Ageas last week was of course the press release issued on Monday evening in which Ageas informed the investment community that in the context of the Fortis Settlement, no final agreement has yet been reached within the timeframe proposed by the Court. An extension to the filing period was therefore requested and granted. Discussions are continued in view of reaching a balanced solution for all stakeholders. Ageas also decided to make a final additional effort of EUR 100 million, which should allow to address the Court’s main concerns, and take into account the previous commitments made. The initial share price reaction was one of “disappointment”. The day after the announcement shares opened -0.43% at EUR 40.06. However, this disappointment was short-lived, as by 10:00 AM the share had already recovered this loss and even rallied through the rest of the trading day to eventually close 0.57% higher at EUR 40.47 which, at that point, even meant the Ageas share price had reached a new high for the year. This bullish trend persisted throughout the rest of the trading week with the share closing 2.76% higher at EUR 41.28, the highest point so far this year.

Also in the news last week, and quickly becoming a recurring news item, was the Dow Jones Industrial Average index (DJI) reaching yet another milestone. On Wednesday, for the first time ever, the benchmark crossed the 23.000 points mark closing at exactly 23.157,60 points. At the end of 2016 the Dow closed at exactly 19.762,60 points, so this is already the 4th 1.000-point milestone crossed this year, after crossing (1) the 20.000 points mark in January, (2) the 21.000 points mark in March and (3) the 22.000 points mark in August! Quite an impressive rally to say the least! So far in 2017 the DJI is up +/- 18%.

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The current rally on the DJI is a far cry from the “Black Monday” crash of Oct. 19 1987 that last week ‘celebrated’ its 30 anniversary. That Monday more than 600 million (!) shares were traded and U.S. stocks dropped almost 23%, which was more than twice the daily loss of the other well-known Wall Street crash of 1929. For context: On Oct. 16, 2017, this Monday, the Dow closed at 22,956.96, on trading of 247 million shares.

The crash of October ’87 began in Hong Kong, with the Hang Seng index falling more than 11%, quickly spreading to European markets (the UK FTSE 100 Index fell by nearly 11%) and eventually reaching Wall Street.

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The precise causes of the crash are still food for discussion but Black Monday is considered as one of the most unloved bull markets in history and the first global financial crisis of the Modern age, where financial derivatives and increased computerised trading amplified the depth and magnitude of the crisis. But although the causes behind the sharp decline remain unclear, the reason behind the subsequent recovery seems clearer. On October 20, US Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan affirmed the “Fed’s readiness to serve as a source of liquidity to support the economic and financial system” and basically averted an impending economic crisis. That week, the Dow recovered part of this loss and eventually closed the week 13% lower.