In this issue

How stocks are an economic barometer and an inflation hedge

The direction of earnings growth and the stock market don’t always march in lockstep. In 2023, Sri Lanka is experiencing just that. Stock prices gained 30% in the first six months when analysts expected market earnings - or cumulative listed company profits - to contract 5-15% this year.
How come forecast earnings and the market be headed in opposite directions?
Echelon convened a round table of investment analysts, and one of the questions they tried to address was the divergence of forecast earnings from the trajectory of share prices. Several factors explain this, and all of them support the understanding that the stock market is a reliable economic barometer and real assets, shares in a company, are a hedge against inflation.
Stock markets are a good economic barometer because, as in Sri Lanka now, stock prices are responding to what investors expect will happen in the future. On a second front, most real assets have adjusted to Sri Lanka’s record-breaking inflation of 2022, but not the value of listed companies, according to the stock analysts.
The market is now rerating to account for these two factors. Forecast earnings aren’t driving stock prices upwards. In 2024 analysts expect earnings to rise by as much as 20%.

Echelon Magazine Description:

Intelligent Storytelling

The one thing that will define the Echelon magazine will be the quality of the storytelling. Echelon,published monthly, will cover in depth Sri Lanka’s most successful businesses, examine their winning strategiesand profile their leaders in immersive stories. Great stories are also never limited to words, and our approach includes rich photography, bold graphics and leading edge design which together will make for a compelling read.

But business doesn’t start and end in a boardroom;it extends to the golf club greens, to international travel and to pursuits that blurthe lines between commercial venture and sheer passion. The Echelon team will present the best in business and lifestyle coverage that will appeal to an exclusive and affluent readership: an otherwise hard to reach demographic.

Content will be developed by one of the most experienced and proven teams of editors, financial journalists, photographers and designers in the country.This team has already raised the bar for powerful and expertly crafted business news. Shamindra Kulamannage, will lead the editorial team.

The reputation of Echelon is being built on the separation between editorial and advertising. However we are also looking for the most creative and impactful new formats that can be applied in our magazines, iPad app as well as website to help our clients reach our audience. We are flexible and creative and we will have a solution for every single advertiser who wants to reach our audience.

We are passionate about creative results and about working with our advertisers to help them create bespoke multi platform creative solutions with our in house creative team and of course our sales team.

Echelon will be a great place to show off the products and capabilities of our clients because they will be surrounded by an editorial product that is expertly crafted, full of integrity and intelligence.