Letter from Lex: The good, bad and ugly

A funny old week, all in all. On the one hand there were signs that the world economy is firming up. The mega deal between BP and Rosneft for the UK oil major's 50 per cent stake in TNK-BP is impressive, having been done in this environment. Likewise, there were impressive earnings results from many of the big US banks, as well as companies ranging from Arm Holdings and Philips and Electrolux to Syngenta of Switzerland. Spatterings of macroeconomic data were better, too. The UK moved out of recession and investors seem fairly calm at the moment over the eurozone.

Yet on the other hand there are plenty of things to fret about. China growth for one. And even if you think the eurozone is not about to implode, the region is unambiguously weak. There were Europe-related cuts to earnings forecasts all over the place. Telcos, carmakers, advertising companies and consumer goods manufacturers released revisions to growth one after another. Equity markets were not slow on the uptake.

Which left, once again, the technology industry to produce the razzamataz. Apple released its new iPad Mini, while Microsoft launched Windows 8. Both moves were worrying from an investor viewpoint. The former hints at lower margins ahead for Apple, while the latter is a big test for a generally sluggish company. The truth is that both Apple and Microsoft should start thinking about employing their balance sheets better. If only banks were allowed to.