Without getting in to the rights and wrongs of it there is a massive pile of hypocrisy
about this 3rd runway. Usually people (quite rightly imo) complain that politicians never plan beyond their 5 year term in office. Now they have decided to build a 3rd runway the same people are giving Ravin Rache grief because its too long term and wont be ready til 2030 (more likely 3030 and bankrupt the whole country).Cant have it both ways. |
Spot on Sig. |
 Fool article posted this morning not a good read. My view currently is to holdLloyds Banking Group (LSE:LLOY) has enjoyed an electrifying start to 2025. At 62.5p per share, the FTSE 100 bank has risen a whopping 13.4% in value in just a handful of weeks.Yet even accounting for this rise, the Lloyds share price looks dirt cheap. At least on paper, that is.Its price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio for this year's a modest 9 times. But the Black Horse Bank doesn't just look cheap based on predicted profits. With a price-to-book (P/B) ratio of 0.9, it trades at a slight discount to the value of its assets.Throw a 5.5% forward dividend yield into the mix too, and Lloyds shares seem to offer terrific all-round value.However, it's important to remember that a cheap share price is common among high-risk companies and/or those with poor growth prospects. With this in mind, should investors consider cut-price Lloyds shares next month?Growth issuesTimes are tough for the high street banks. And things could get more difficult as subdued economic conditions dampen credit demand among consumers and businesses. On top of this, the traditional lenders' margins are under threat as the Bank of England (BoE) gears up to make further interest rate cuts and market competition increases.Lloyds' net interest margin (NIM) - the difference between what it charges borrowers and the interest it pays savers - dropped to a wafer-thin 2.94% as of September. It could plummet in 2025 if the BoE's ratesetters (likely) slash interest rates multiple times this year.Lloyds chief executive Charlie Nunn has tipped three interest rate reductions by the end of December.Cost-cutting increasesIn this environment, retail banks have little room to grow earnings. So in recent days, Lloyds has announced more branch closures to give the bottom line a boost and further its pivot to digital banking. By next March, the bank plans to shutter another 136 branches to reduce its cost base. This will take the number of Lloyds, Halifax and Bank of Scotland branches to 757, down significantly from 2,200 a decade ago.As I say, the overall loan outlook for the bank's pretty gloomy. However, signs of recovery in the housing market are a good omen for its mortgage unit. Lloyds is the UK's most popular residential home loan provider with a market share of around 19%.Car crash coming?Based on all the above, I feel investors should think about buying other value shares instead. And especially when I get onto potentially the biggest threat to Lloyds in the short-to-medium term.As a major car finance provider, Lloyds faces potentially billions of pounds in fines if found guilty of mis-selling motor loans. HSBC thinks the Financial Conduct Authority probe into the non-disclosure of dealer commissions could cost the sector a staggering £44bn.If so, this could cause shockwaves for Lloyds' profits, dividends and, as a consequence, share price. The bank might be cheap, but I think this reflects the high degree of risk it poses. |
this is sad even though he voted for Trump.
hxxps://www.soapcentral.com/human-interest/news-let-s-work-something-out-florida-trump-supporter-begs-president-let-keep-wife-ice-deports-back-venezuela |
Min Pong and Scruff1
latest poll surprised even me as an arch remainer . Only 30% of those who voted for brexit say it was correct decision to leave the EU . I thought it might be much higher but trending lower at every POLL ! When it gets to 1% you two thickies will be in that 1% no doubt :) |
Lone Russian hacker exposes covert arms delivery to Ukraine
Norway secretly agreed to provide additional NASAMS anti-aircraft systems to Kiev, leaked documents reportedly show
A Russian hacker claims to have obtained highly sensitive documents exposing covert Norwegian arms deliveries to Ukraine, after accessing the servers of defense company Kongsberg. The documents allegedly reveal not only the type of weapons involved but their location and plans for their movement, according to the hacker.
Known under the alias PalachPro, the hacker told Russian media that he obtained the leaked documents on Tuesday, and detailed how he hacked the defense firm.
According to the documents, the company reached a secret deal with the Ukrainian government, agreeing to deliver 10 additional Norwegian Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems (NASAMS), worth around $3 billion. The delivery, expected to be made later this year, has not been publicly announced by either side.
The deal was reportedly reached earlier this year by Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, who is currently embroiled in a major corruption scandal involving arms procurements at grossly inflated prices. Apart from the NASAMS systems, Norway also agreed to invest some $66 million to design anti-drone systems, as well as to modernize the Ukrainian fleet, the leaked documents suggest.
The hacker said he managed to get ahold of the sensitive data thanks to social engineering, breaching the company’s file exchange systems with the help of one of its employees. Apart from the arms contracts documents, PalachPro claimed to have obtained other top-secret files related to the deployment of NASAMS systems in Ukraine.
“The information I got was indeed secret. In addition to the documents I have shown, there was something else. These files have already been sent to our intelligence services. The effect will be colossal. Not only the approximate location of their systems is now known, but also their plans. I am sure that our state will do everything to ensure that these plans are thwarted,” the hacker told the NSN news agency.
The NASAMS, which have seen extensive use during the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, is a short-to-medium-range anti-aircraft system that is capable of destroying various aerial targets, including cruise and ballistic missiles. Such systems have repeatedly been delivered to Kiev by its Western backers. Russia has already destroyed multiple units of the system, however. |
no one owns those cars careful- they are all on what i knew in the old days as hp
young people are certainly not richer. they put off having kids because they cant afford the house to have them in. that is a disaster for the whole uk. who the heck will be working in 20 years time to pay for my public service pension? half of oldham's income doesn't even cover half of my expected benefit. so they get delusional about getting rich on bitcoin, because it is their only bloody hope.
only answer is swingeing taxes on amateur BTL landlords to get them all to sell and crucify the housing market, so young people would finally be able to afford a home. but it will never happen because all the mp's get taxpayer funded second homes in london, and they get the benefit when the price keeps on doubling. so their snouts are already in the trough for that.
when will the country learn that the answer is not building more homes? just stop skewing the housing market in favour of those who are already on it. |
There's a difference between richer and better off though. Since the boomers every subsequent generation has been worse off. |
We are richer on average,
Look at the number of cars on the road, sometimes 2 to 3 per family.
By any measure we are richer.
But so many one parent families living on the state.
And those living on benefits.
They are bound to be poor.
I think we are going to be poorer going forward.
It seems crazy that HMG borrows so much to keep it all going,
Taxation not near enough.
All of Reeves grand plans today, another runway at Heathrow which will be open in 2040 if things go well. |
So stop blaming brexit. That has nothing to do with that. We haven't had brexit |
Letting migrants in is part of the problem.
Can't understand the Tories on this issue.
Labour will be worse.
Looking at the old election documentaries from to 60's on.
Nothing changes.
Same problems. |
Why do people think that they have a right to be better off.
Sometimes we shall be worse off as poorer nations catch up.
those who voted Brexit thought we would be better off.
Strike our own trade deals.
Could not get one with India because they drove a hard bargain on student rights after graduation.
Thought they could attract investment from Chine but America objected.
Maybe one day it will pay off, but we must expect to be poorer because of our wide export losses to the Eu. not yet replaced, to say nothing about the fast decline of London as a major financial centre.
We may get back on track and Starmer is trying to re negotiate with India where the Tories failed.
He may be happy to be more relaxed about student migrants.
We shall be poorer, get over it. |
they never put a bloody dry ski slope in my old pit village |
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