It’s half-term and your regular host Andrew Alexander is enjoying a well-earned few days break with his family. Andrew offered me an opportunity to provide you with some finely tuned market analysis…
Which I would have been more than happy to provide, had I not been distracted by a story that appealed to me on many different levels. It is a story all about technology, animals and the quest for true love. I’m talking about ‘Tudder’, a recently launched dating app…. for cows!
I can hear what you are thinking. “Pull the udder one!”
But Tudder is an actual thing, no bull. The start-up business, launched shortly before Valentine’s Day, has raised £3m from investors (one of whom being legen-dairy tennis star, Andy Murray) so the steaks are high.
So why the need for such an app? Well, where do you start if you are young, Friesian and single, looking to play the field or to make a moo-ve on a particularly fine Bovine? They aren’t likely to suggest a meal at (Old) McDonald’s and flattering chat-up lines such as ‘I can’t look pasteurised’ have already been milked for all they are worth and aren’t likely to lead to a stable relationship.
The website is an online trading platform for breeding cows, because a well-matched couple, in terms of milk-yield and protein content, are more likely to produce healthier and more productive offspring. Then the benefits for farmers and their livestock are that the process can bypass auctions, saving time, costs and unnecessary travel time for the animals themselves. This data-driven approach being considered to be an accurate predictor to increase the chances of the cattle getting in the moo-d.
Moo-ving onto markets, this week the FTSE 100 closed on Thursday at 7,167, down 69 points and 1% from its starting point on Monday of 7,236, but significantly 439 points and 6.5% higher than the 6,728 which greeted us on 2nd January 2019.
And on that note, to see you into the weekend, some outstandingly cool music from Three Counties’ outstandingly cool Associate Director, Corryn Wild, though don’t be fooled, the only CD she has in her car is the soundtrack to Annie!
Have a great weekend!
Martin
