Evil discusses new highs, GLI Finance, Private & Commercial Tyratech, AO World and Sir Malcolm Rifkind… New High: if one adjusts the previous FTSE high of c. 7,000, attained in 1999/2000, with an uplift for inflation of, say, 40%, the high to attain is closer to 10,000. This statement of the bleeding obvious is slightly…
A competent adviser remarks to me: “As at September 30th 2014, SBAC (SBAC on Nasdaq) had long-term debt of $6.8 billion and net current liabilities of $0.7 billion. Net PPE was $2.7 billion and so they were balance-sheet insolvent. You can add their intangibles and they still have a balance sheet deficit. This is a…
Evil discusses Quindell, Afren, Kenneth Grundlach and Birdman… I really do not know what to make of Quindell (QPP). Today’s RNS is a little coy remarking that a material premium is to be expected above Friday’s closing price. Certainly, the price had been suspiciously buoyant in recent days. Where does this go now? I do…
Evil discusses Quindell, Tyratech, HSBC and Philip of Macedon… I owe readers an apology in that when I declared that Morgan Stanley had bought 25m Quindell (QPP) there had already been an RNS issued to the effect that they had sold back to below 3%. I am told that they had 4.9% ex Tosca and…
Evil discusses Phosphorus Holdco PIK Toggle bonds, Afren, Quindell and the Grand National… Back on Phosphorus Holdco PIK Toggle bonds, it has been pointed out to me that BC Partners are not fools and would not have seen this £205m dividend paid away unless they had taken advice to show that such payment would be…
Evil discusses Phosphorus Holdco, William Hill and HSBC… Phosphorus Holdco, a subsidiary of Phosphorus Jersey Limited (controlled by BC Partners) and the holding company of Phones4U issued in September 2013 £205m in PIK Toggle notes. The purpose was to finance Phosphorus’s £200m dividend payment ultimately to BC Partners and which was paid the same week.…
Evil discusses Phosphorus Holdco Plc senior bonds, South African kleptocrats and the Miliband-Fink tax avoidance spat… I have bought Phosphorus Holdco Plc £205m Toggle PIK 10% 2018 at 3.8p. It comes in lots of 100,000. My reason to buy is that this is the senior bond outstanding on the liquidation of Phones4U and this debt…
Evil discusses Dominic Strauss-Khan, Amira Nature Foods and Geiger counter… It is recorded that a long dead British prime minister, on learning that a 65 year old government servant had been caught in flagrante in St. James’s Park with a lady of the night in sub zero temperatures, declared that it made one proud to…
Fifty or so years ago, when Panorama kicked off, it was a respected programme. The edition I saw last night covering HSBC’s customers who may prefer not to pay tax (there’s a surprise) was pure garbage. As it happens, wearing my accountant’s hat, I used to do back tax cases and know a bit about…
As readers know, we last week featured Crispin Odey’s review of the prospects for Western economies and, quite possibly, others in the coming years. There is no obvious explanation as to how this despairing prospect has come to settle in. However, one feature stands out: we are grossly overgoverned by centre-left drivellers. These dreadfully silly…
