CURRENT ACCOUNT: There seems to be no end to the good news at Ryanair. The low-cost airline, which a few months ago flagged its intention to seek a place on the FTSE 100, is in the running to land a spot on another prestigious index, the Nasdaq 100.
A decision on which companies will gain inclusion in the index will be announced on December 16th but the prospect that Ryanair will be among them has already boosted the airline's shares.
Inclusion in the Nasdaq 100 should prompt greater interest from index-tracking investors in the airline's American Depositary Shares (ADSs). And if the value of the ADSs rise, it could have a positive impact on the ordinary shares as well. But a Nasdaq 100 placing could prove a double-edged sword for Ryanair. Attracting more attention from US investors may not be what it needs right now.
Ryanair was forced to ban non-EU nationals from buying its ordinary shares earlier this year when US enthusiasm for the stock threatened Ryanair's requirement under EU law to have an EU shareholder base of at least 50 per cent.
The company, which must comply with the regulations if it is to remain airborne, has taken a tough stance in enforcing the ban in recent months. It is understood to have even forced some US investors who mistakenly bought ordinary shares, to sell them.
The ban on US investors - whose long experience of the low-cost airline sector has, in the past, made them more enthusiastic followers of the stock than wary Europeans - has been a source of frustration for those who would like to own the shares and for the Irish brokers who would like to sell to them.
No way around the impasse has yet been found. But Current Account was intrigued by a suggestion that a product offering under consideration by Goodbody Stockbrokers might prove useful in the Ryanair context.
The broker is considering offering contracts for difference (CFDs), which are used in Britain for a number of reasons including avoidance of stamp duty. Because the CFD holder does not own the underlying share, there is a feeling that it could be used to provide US investors with exposure to Ryanair.
Whether this would stand up to closer scrutiny remains to be seen.
