These markets continue to throw up some extremely odd valuations. Shares in Cape, which provides insulation and other services to oil and gas, chemicals and other industries, now yield about 7.5 per cent, a level that in any normal market would presage a cut in the dividend. The payout is almost twice covered by earnings this year, though, while that cover will grow as improvement comes back to some of its markets as self-help measures kick in.
That yield is at the top end of what is available in the market. The problem is that Cape shares, with their exposure to the North Sea and oil and gas, remain entirely unloved and at the bottom of their five-year range, with no obvious catalysts to