Tycoons fold on old-economy assets

Some of the smartest business people around are dumping old-fashioned stocks – investors should too, says Matthew Lynn. Before it's too late.

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Richard Desmond: love him for his timing
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Richard Desmond has sold the Daily Express to Trinity Mirror. Philip Green is looking at selling out of Top Shop, with China's Shandong Ruyi rumoured to be the likely buyer. Rupert Murdoch is selling out of his controlling stake in Sky as part of the deal to sell Fox to Disney. That might just look like routine wheeler-dealing by some of the country's best-know tycoons. But it is more than that.

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Matthew Lynn

Matthew Lynn is a columnist for Bloomberg, and writes weekly commentary syndicated in papers such as the Daily Telegraph, Die Welt, the Sydney Morning Herald, the South China Morning Post and the Miami Herald. He is also an associate editor of Spectator Business, and a regular contributor to The Spectator. Before that, he worked for the business section of the Sunday Times for ten years. 

He has written books on finance and financial topics, including Bust: Greece, The Euro and The Sovereign Debt Crisis and The Long Depression: The Slump of 2008 to 2031. Matthew is also the author of the Death Force series of military thrillers and the founder of Lume Books, an independent publisher.