Knight turns to defence and energy

Govett US Opportunities' Gil Knight is turning to energy and US defence stocks as he looks to make positive returns against a backdrop of a war with Iraq, a slowing economy and huge corporate pension liabilities. Knight is expecting US GDP to drop from 3.3% to 2.7%, with a lack of capital expenditure among businesses the primary factor in the slowdown, but still expects consumer spending and unemployment to remain resilient. While he says the war is not having the same impact on consumer confidence as the first Gulf war in 1991, it is hindering economic recovery and a prolonged conflic...