Mike Wilson, the chairman of St James’s Place, highlighted a slew of “all-weather” fund launches yesterday, including cautious managed and bond funds that diversify St James’s away from equities. Yet the shares still trade at a 20 per cent discount to net asset value. Buy on the drop, recommends the Times.

Understandably, and to an extent justifiably, Inchcape once again sought to flaunt its international credentials yesterday. All eyes are on Russia, where the "transformational" acquisition of Musa Motors earlier this year will help the emerging market make an expected £1bn of revenue next year. A strong performance there would make the prospective price/earnings multiple - which after yesterday's sell-off is only seven times - look cheap, although in the short term the UK market will continue to weigh, says the FT.

Inchcape cannot get away from the gloom that is dogging a large part of the car market and as such its warning that profits this year would be flat should have come as no surprise. Even so, the company is a better balanced business than many of its competitors and therefore warrants a “hold” recommendation, adds the Times.

UBM is well-positioned to grow further through acquisition, with net debt below one times earnings. It also benefits from the fact that Informa, its rival, could be sold soon and that Reed Elsevier is hoping to sell off Reed Business Information, its trade magazines unit.

Overall, wide geographical spread and strong presence in the growth areas of events and exhibitions make UBM relatively resilient. Hold, says the Times.

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