Comments on: Large profits,dividends and rights issues

By: Daniel Lang

Daniel Lang — Fri, 16 May 2008 23:01:59 +0000

What I find quite interesting is that the majority of the members in the Rockefeller family have recently announced publicly that they would like to find a cheaper and cleaner source of fuel. I don’t know quite what to make of it. What do you all think?

Reply: they are sensibly moving with the times - of course we need new fuels.

By: Thortung

Thortung — Thu, 01 May 2008 02:40:27 +0000

I think it would concentrate a lot of minds if petrol retailers took to itemising on receipts (or even better, at the pumps) how much was being paid for the fuel itself, fuel duty and VAT.

Imagine the shock when people are reminded every time they fill up they are being charged approx Â£20 in tax for every Â£10 of fuel they’ve boughtl.

By: Steven_L

Steven_L — Thu, 01 May 2008 01:11:28 +0000

The one I’m finding amusing at the moment is the HBOS rights issue. A few weeks ago they were complaining that rumours regarding their funding problems were malicious, now they are cap in hand to their shareholders for more funding. I note that the HBOS share price closed today, after the market had a chance to react to the rights issue, at a similar level to the bottom it hit after the ‘rumours’.

By: Bazman

Bazman — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 20:02:36 +0000

It’s all easy to say when you are not getting made even more poor by all these companies with their precious directors who’s share performance has been abysmal of late.
When was the last time the head of a privatised UK utility was lured off to run Microsoft, Mitsubishi, Mercedes, Honda or Toyota?
Never! It’s all a con….and worst of all you know it.

By: mikestallard

mikestallard — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 18:54:57 +0000

Was it the Telegraph or the BBC that mentioned, quite casually yesterday that Â£100,000,000 was going to be pumped into the banking system by the government? The figure used to be just half that.
So where did this behemoth come from then? Or did I mishear?

Reply: Up to Â£100 billion was the figure, to be done by swapping government debt for some of the banks’ assets

By: Matthew Reynolds

Matthew Reynolds — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 15:53:33 +0000

The Oil Companies as John rightly points out get taxed heavily and have to spend much money on getting the oil out of the ground or from under the sea . The investment needs to be high as a result . Regulators did take their eye off the ball during the good times .

But like them or loathe them the economy needs banks & oil companies to keep going . The economy needs borrowing & saving and requires energy so that goods & services can be produced and sold . To change Britain for the better one must be conservative and frame policy so that financial regulation is clear cut & kept to a minimum so that responsiblity is clear and that either another Northern Rock is avoided or it can be dealt with a la Bear Sterns . BP is already going green by calling itself BP - beyond petroleum ( they are looking at eco -friendly energy these days ) and is a major contributer to employment levels & tax revenue .

I laugh at Dallas as much as the next person but after it has finished & the credits have rolled I know that oil is essential and that banks are also important . They where mocked in Dallas - but the consequances of the oil companies not pumping or the banks failing are too dire to think about . We need them - why can the left not have the sense to see this !

By: Acorn

Acorn — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 15:49:00 +0000

John
Please see this wiki article:- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reserve_requirement

I have read elsewhere that changing “cash reserve ratios” is/was considered to be a sledgehammer tool to control the amount of money supply in an economy. The article is saying that the BoE does not have a required ratio of reserves, is this true? And, that the actual UK ratio, has dropped from twenty percent to 3.1 percent in the forty years to 1998!

Meanwhile, last week, India upped its rate to eight percent and appears to use this mechanism frequently as a market operating control. Which is getting it right?
Reply: UK banking regulation includes solvency and capital ratios requiring banks to keep so much cash and near cash. Nor has the ration fallen as much as you suggest!