Buxton: Why FTSE could hit 7,300 this year

ON UK GROWTH

Old Mutual's Richard Buxton is tipping the FTSE 100 to climb as high as 7,300 this year if companies start to play their part in the recovery. Below he explains why he is so bullish.

Capex A key focus for investors in 2014 is whether CEOs feel confident enough to start increasing capital expenditure. For the past five years, this has been the piece of the economic recovery jigsaw that has been missing. Even though consumer spending typically accounts for 60%-70% of GDP, it is changes in corporate spending patterns, historically much more volatile in nature, which can contribute more to changes in economic growth rates at turning points in the cycle. UK balance sheets are now extremely healthy, and are estimated to have a near record high of around £488bn in cas...