Opportunities thin on the ground for leisure sector

James Abate, manager of GAM American Star, believes the rally in the US hotel and leisure sector has ground to a halt and short-term opportunities appear limited. Company share prices in the sector bombed immediately after the 11 September attacks, with many people fearing a strong recession. However, US consumer confidence in the economy and in their ability to travel safely recovered swiftly afterwards as there were no further attacks on the US, says Abate. 'Many of these stocks are significantly off their lows,' he adds. 'One of the things that drove sentiment towards the sector and ...