UK M&A activity drops nearly a fifth in 2023
UK M&A activity in 2023 fell below 2022 levels as economic headwinds continued to affect the number of deals completed in the year, according to PwC’s latest Global M&A Trends 2024 Outlook. In total, the UK saw 3,628 deals across 2023, compared to 4,362 the previous year, a 17% decline. The Technology, Media and Telecommunications (TMT) sector saw the most activity for 2023 (955 deals), accounting for just over a quarter of total output for the year.
Gen X impacted by emotional trading
A survey1 delving into the trading psychology of new traders has revealed that the demographic most likely to have their trading decisions consistently influenced by emotions were 41 to 60-year-olds (Gen X). Over a third (35.4%) of the Gen X group considered emotions to be a significant factor in their trading approach, which compares to 10.1% of the 18 to 24-year-olds surveyed.
BRICS gets a boost
BRICS, the alliance of major developing countries, gained five new members this year – Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The population of the expanded group is around 3.5bn or 45% of the world’s inhabitants. The combined members’ economies are worth over $28.5tn, about 28% of the global economy. Originally coined as an asset class in 2001, the original members Brazil, Russia, India and China (BRIC), were later joined by South Africa in 2010 to become the BRICS acronym we know today. Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, many BRICS indexes dropped Russia from their portfolios.
1City Index, 2024
