UK 00:27 Friday, 9 October 2026
Breaking news and expert analysis on fast-moving AIM and LSE listed shares
Disclosure: I have no positions in any stocks mentioned, and no plans to initiate any positions within the next 72 hours. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from ShareProphets). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.
Early this morning Lloyds Bank (LLOY) released a report observing that "business confidence rises to highest level since early 2022". I know, and believe, that the darkest hour is before the dawn and all of that, but it appears the analysts at Lloyds Bank believe that their "Barometer survey" (conducted before the chancellor’s Autumn Statement on 22 November) is a great predictive sage. Actually, I would be more excited about the survey if it was currently its worst since the GFC of 2007-9 and was so fearful that the only smart thing to do was to be greedy.
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