Boot (henry) Share Discussion Threads

[limpsfield chartist] 10/4/2002 16:04

7 quid is the next big level - a break through here and I reckon we are looking at 800 medium term.

LC

[darkman_uk] 22/3/2002 22:27

Maybe they are really going to split Halfords into a seperate company! Paperwork is done and ready to sign...

[limpsfield chartist] 22/3/2002 10:31

Another 1/4 Million bought back yesterday:

[limpsfield chartist] 21/3/2002 10:38

Still in and clearing the 650 hurdle today. Long term hold for me - good yield and upside to 700 minimum I think. They have been busy buying their own shares back over the last few weeks.

LC

[limpsfield chartist] 23/1/2002 11:07

Lovely jubbly - still looking for 680/700 medium to longer term on these.

[limpsfield chartist] 22/1/2002 00:59

exactly - the market would seem to disagree. Good luck.

[taipan_ho_tung] 19/1/2002 23:11

agree - short

[atomic trader] 18/1/2002 16:59

looks good to short

[limpsfield chartist] 18/1/2002 09:51

Breaking out over the last few days - a return to 680 seems likely from here:

[honiton] 15/1/2002 22:20

Probably up. The spin off of Halfords should increase shareholder value.

How can it not?

[coolharp] 10/1/2002 17:40

any one got any ideas where it going from here......

[harvester] 07/11/2001 12:48

ashton: maybe after todays rate reduction Boots trustees are switching all their pension bonds back into equity and will tell us in 18 months time , eh :-)
Seriously, they may have gone too far with that switch .

[ashtongray] 30/10/2001 03:17

Switching a pension fund mostly or entirely into bonds is by no means without risk, simply different types of risk. Although it secures the income to pay pensions (subject to default) there are clear risks to the capital value of the fund in the future. In particular, the current concerted efforts to avoid wordwide recession by lower interest rates and pumping in liquidity through tax cuts have implications for inflation somewhere down the line, with all that implies for longer term interest rates, bond yields and therefore bond pricing. In that event, fund trustees might have some awkward questions to answer regarding preservation of capital.

[calleva] 29/10/2001 15:15

Apparently Boots achieved an average rate equivalent to a FTSE1000 of 6000. Good timing, eh?

[calleva] 29/10/2001 11:07

So, Boots' Pension Fund has sold £2.3bill in equities over the last 15 months, presumably much of this in the healthcare sector. What effect has this had on the markets and what if this becomes a trend??

Bonds appeal to Boots
FT Your Money; Oct 29, 2001
BY ALEXANDER JOLLIFFE

BONDS could become more popular in the wake of the move by Boots pension fund out of equities and into bonds.The GBP2.3bn pension scheme has sold all its shares and put its money into AAA rated, long dated bonds.

Boots said it made the switch partly to eliminate the risk that it would have to make additional payments into its pension scheme when it was underfunded because of falling stock markets.

Actuaries said other schemes might also sell shares to buy bonds - some had already been raising their bond holdings - and this would create demand for fixed income securities.

"Companies will try to capitalise on the demand for highly rated corporate bonds," said Philip Skottowe at Higham Nobbs, the actuarial firm. He said Tesco, the retailer, had recently issued a bond likely to appeal to pension funds seeking to match their assets with liabilities.

Boots added that it sold its equities partly because of a forthcoming accounting standard, FRS 17, which will require companies to reflect their pension fund surpluses or deficits on their balance sheets. That could make companies' good trading results look bad, if weak markets left the fund in deficit.

Finance directors with share options have an incentive to make trading results look as good as possible, Mr Skottowe said.

Companies were telling pension funds they could not make up all deficits, he said. "The boards are saying to pension funds: you don't have a blank cheque."

Boots and its pension fund trustees have agreed to keep company payments into the scheme at GBP50m per year for the next three years - down from GBP55m in the year to the end of March.

A further benefit of the switch to bonds would be lower investment and dealing charges, Boots said. They would fall to about GBP250,000 per year from GBP10m.

The retailer could not say whether the likely lower returns from bonds would oblige it to pay extra money into the pension fund to meet pension promises. It expected to clarify the answer at its interim results on November 8.

Boots' decision follows concern that falling stock markets will leave pension funds underfunded and oblige many companies to pay extra money into them.

The National Association of Pension Funds said this year that some promises were in danger of becoming "increasingly unaffordable".

Many companies have limited their pension liability by opening money purchase schemes.

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