Global Stock Writeups

Agco. The agricultural machinery firm is in the middle of a sweet spot as it enjoys surging demand for combines and tractors on the back of historically high grain prices. Approximately 65% of sales are generated from tractors. Geographically, 56% of sales come from Europe, 17% from Latin America, 17% N. America, and the balance from Asia. We expect acceleration in earnings and free cash flow over the next two years, as grain prices remain high, boosting farmers' pockets.

Sedol	Type	Price	Date
2010278	Buy	USD 66.00	05/03/2008

Aggreko. A global provider of critical power generators, the company has grown quickly on the back of emerging market infrastructure projects, where its generators can be installed for months, or even years, whilst permanent power installations are built. Economies of scale also make its local businesses competitive in a fragmented market serving smaller, non-residential construction customers.  Having acquired General Electric's energy rental business in 2006, it has been particularly well-placed to provide back-up power in the aftermath of hurricanes Ike and Gustav. Recent equity market falls brought the stock price into buy territory.

Sedol	Type	Price	Date
147899	Buy	£ 6.121	19/09/2008

We have bought back into Agnico-Eagle. Since we sold out over a year ago, the company has acquired two new mines and the prospects look good for both. The company plans no more equity issuance and its gold is completely unhedged, making it a great play on rising prices. With the dollar set to weaken further, and increased uncertainty on the global financial outlook, the prognosis for the yellow metal is good.

Sedol	Type	Price	Date
2009834	Buy	US$ 42.112	30/07/2007

Following near bankruptcy and state-led bail-out in 2003, Alstom is a much cleaner company than it used to be, with non-core assets sold off, leaving the power and transport businesses. The real earnings driver is the power business. The company stands to benefit not only from rising Middle Eastern and Asian power station building but also from a boom in construction in Europe. The order backlog now stands at 18 months' worth of sales. This increased revenue, coupled with margin improvement, makes the stock a buy.

Sedol	Type	Price	Date
B0DJ8Q5	Buy	EUR 114.786	11/06/2007

The stock was sold as it hit our revised (-down) target price. Although the company is growing strongly, margins aren't expanding as fast as we had expected as cost pressures rise. We were struggling to square the circle on valuations, hence we've exited.

AMBEV (ADR). Formed by a merger of Brazil's two largest breweries, Ambev is now one of the world's top five brewers. It dominates the Brazilian beer and soft drinks markets, has a strong position in Argentina and, through its ownership of Labatts, is number one in Canada. Latin America is the fastest growing beer market in the world and management have a fantastic record of controlling costs and driving up profit. The combination of surging revenue and rising margins makes the stock a buy.

Sedol	Type	Price	Date
2634797	Sell	USD 71.00	31 December 2007
2634797	Buy	USD 71.00	05 July 2007

Australian Agricultural Company is now faced with very negative headwinds. A strengthening Australian dollar is hurting imports, while continued drought is depressing cattle prices; finally rising feed costs are also hitting margins. The company is now fully valued so we exited.

Australian Agricultural Company is the world's largest beef producer, with a herd of over 550,000 cattle and a land bank the size of Ireland. During last year's drought the company consolidated its position by buying up the smaller herds of cashless farmers and began to move into the premium-branded beef market. With beef prices on the rise and costs being well contained, 2007 should be a good year. The value of the cattle and land alone justify the share price. In addition the company has a strong position in the Japanese market and it will be a beneficiary of any yen strength.

Sedol	Type	Price	Date
6382285	Sell	AUD 2.533	22/10/2007
6382285	Buy	AUD 2.479	09/03/2007
6382285	Buy	AUD 2.417	08/03/2007