Evil Diaries: Bank On Dave
As readers know I am a big fan of Simon Thompson of the Investors Chronicle. And, on Friday last, he published his Benjamin Graham-compliant selections for 2023. Top of the list was Logistics Development Group (LDG) about which some will think I have been banging on for far too long. They opened up at 16.4p offer and then retired to 15.4p offer. ST comes up with tnav figure of 21p. So the original bull claim stands and is now even stronger. Family Cawkwell is sitting on 2m.
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I freely concede that when I emphasised the need to stay short of Footsie when that index stood at 6,900 or so I blundered.
Older readers will recall that Alan Greenspan described the Dow some twenty-five years ago as exhibiting “irrational exuberance” since when that index has gone up at least 500%.
The same cannot be said of Footsie which, after adjusting for inflation, is well below its level of twenty-five years ago. As a result I am beginning to wonder whether we might be on the cusp of a sustained bull market in UK-listed stocks.
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Poppy of (DARK)trace still keeps slotting away at DARK stock and, as I mentioned a few days ago is making it difficult for the shorts to emerge with confidence. But they will: trust me that it is only a matter of timing.
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Ed Comins of Webis (WEB) came by last week. He was fairly tight-lipped about prospects. But he did not seem downcast to me. Now 2.5p.
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For readers who like banking stories, I offer the fact that I have had an HSBC Gold Credit Card for 35 years. I have always paid it off in full each month since I am not prepared to pay the extortionate interest that would otherwise accrue. I pay in round sum amounts to the nearest £1,000 since I always keep my cash book in round thousands – it is much more easily remembered in the heat of battle.
However, fifteen months ago, the statement was late (if it ever turned up at all) and I got charged £12 for paying nothing. This irritated me intensely but not quite sufficiently to cause me to take the matter up with HSBC at board level. After all, they are busy fawning to the Chinese government.
My payment “strategy” therefore became always paying to stay in credit at all times. Seemingly as a result, I recently got a letter from HSBC Gold Credit Card pointing out that their terms and conditions precluded my being in credit and as an incentive to my feeling sympathetic to their view (unlikely) they would cream off the credit balance to a (GET THIS) separate account upon which interest would be paid. Say the average balance is £500, the interest I would earn would be of the order of £10 a year and subject to income tax. I would also have the duty to myself of following my account over the internet to switch surplus funds come pay day. A thrill such as this is really too much and therefore I shall have to follow up ditching these barmy oiks without delay. Question: where are these people bred? Not in any normal venue known to me.
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Separately, although I decline to subscribe to Netflix, I have become aware of a Dave Fishwick of Burnley Savings and Loan. He wants to promote this concern but, needless to add, he seeks an economic deposit-taking base. The obvious way is to take deposits over the internet, bidding for funds as and when necessary. But here our Dave hits British regulators whose sole purpose is to get in the way of the people who, albeit indirectly, have to pay the regulators’ salaries. The result is that depositors have to deal with HSBC (see above) and their ilk. Vast yawn.
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Finally, I stayed up into the early hours of this morning to watch Super Bowl. I observe as follows: (i) American football is a misnomer since the game is entirely conducted by hand save perhaps for penalty kicks. (ii) Rihanna, the midgame entertainment slot filler, was incomprehensible. (iii) This game will never catch on here.
The FTSE 100 at record high. Surely the risk of it falling from here is much more likely than it rising and holding it for long.
Mr market seems to believe that the Chinese nation exiting lockdown/ COVID (at great cost) will balance the fed sending USA into recession. I think that is unlikely, the Chinese government wants to refloat it’s own economy after bad boy COVID.
The fed really do want to get inflation down to 2 per cent. They will hold rates higher for longer. This will hurt. The old addiction to stocks with no revenue or no profits will be broken. Investors love what they used to know (and worked).
Monies can be put in credit, bonds, banks and five per cent had with no risk. No brainer, unless you are an addict.
It will be painful, but there will be a new model for investors.
Ps Thanks for the note re HSBC not allowing credit card to be in credit. I overpay every month … Never had my fingers re arranged by my card provider, yet !!!!
Looks like a case of keeping-it-simples clashing, and where the individual’s clashes with the institution’s, ..
Why not adopt the usual credit card providers’ simple solution of paying the full amount each month by direct debit – I do for all my credit cards from my current account. I allow myself the indulgent complexity once a month of forward totalling all scheduled current account outgoings and income, add a generous cash allowance and whatever I feel is a margin of safety, check the nadir predicted on the current account and if below the margin of safety, top it up. Only takes a few minutes (I still use a very old version of Quicken on a PC to hold the data), but quite therapeutic.
Simon why not a standing order to clear your credit card debt each month. I do it and it seems to work well. Obviously though there is some hitch with this or you would be doing it already. If you have time please say what the problem with a standing order is.
Do you have any comments or information on reasons for the progressive slide in the Logistics Development share price July – October 2023 ?
Other than the recent resignation of non-executive director I’ve found nothing but you seem to have your ear to the ground !