| It is interesting
to note some of the changes which have altered
the composition of the FTSE 100 Index over just
the last 8 months since netPEP was launched. A
total of 9 companies have dropped out of the
index in this short time three of which came from
the Consumer Group sector which fell in numbers
from 11 to 8. The sector weighting is now 15.5%,
10.5% of which is made up of pharmaceuticals. Other
companies to drop out included well known names
like Imperial Tobacco, Smith & Nephew and
Tate & Lyle. Their places have mostly been
taken up by financials including a long list of
high street names such as Alliance &
Leicester, Halifax and Woolwich. All of the new
additions account for over 4% of the Index moving
the sector weighting up from 22% 8 months ago to
28% today.
The most striking newcomer is a
name which very few will have heard of before -
Diageo. Sounding more like a chain of pizza bars,
Diageo is the marketing men's idea of proving
that success is all in the name. This is a no
lose bet since Diageo is the prodigy of two
highly successful companies which recently merged
- Grand Metropolitan (which owns a well known
pizza chain!) and Guinness which helps to wash
the pizzas down.
We have yet to learn which
company will fill the gap created by this merger.
Another Financial perhaps.
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