Member Info for AllAtSea

Hope you are right, just topped up at 1499.

I'd need a fair bit more than £650.. :-(

That's what we said last year. It had a lot further to fall.

"UK software firm Sage Group plc plumped for finance chief and interim chief operating officer Steve Hare as its new chief executive on Friday, tasking him with propping up slowing growth after the resignation of his predecessor."

"Analysts say the new chief will need to clean up the company's cloud strategy as well as battle to retain and attract clients in a fiercely competitive space that includes specialists like NetSuite, Salesforce and Workday"

"Sage, which was founded in 1981 and now operates in 23 countries, said it had started a process to find a new CFO and in the meantime, Hare would combine his duties as finance head with those as CEO."

Hmmm, not done the share price any harm today.

Sinecure: a position requiring little or no work but giving the holder status and financial benefit.

If it's like last year it'll be an excellent buying opportunity.

How do you know that the CTO is not pulling his weight?

I see you joined on Monday and have made just this one post. A little odd?

"Ocado (OCDO) has advanced its deal to provide platform technology to US supermarket giant Kroger but Numis says there is not enough value being placed on the tie-up.

Analyst Andrew Wade retained his ‘buy’ recommendation and target price of £12.50 on the stock, after Ocado and Kroger signed a contract, with a ‘few surprises’ as more customer fulfilment centres (CFCs) are being rolled out than first thought.

‘We see the initial 20 CFC commitment as a staging post rather than an end game, and see scope for a significant multi-year CFC roll-out thereafter,’ he said.

‘Indeed, since the initial excitement of the Kroger deal, the shares have fallen back markedly and we are not convinced that sufficient value is being ascribed to the embedded long-term value in the deals Ocado has already signed, let alone those still to come.’"

https://citywire.co.uk/money/the-expert-view-ocado-bp-and-next/a1170609?re=59358&ea=222385&utm_source=BulkEmail_Money_Daily&utm_medium=BulkEmail_Money_Daily&utm_campaign=BulkEmail_Money_Daily#i=2

My ear to the ground tells me that the departure followed a presentation by the CEO outlining his plans for the future. The board disagreed and presented an alternative version wherein he was escorted from the premises immediately.

"B&M European Value Retail S.A. (B&M) has announced the acquisition of French brand Babou for 91.2 million euros (80.5 million pounds.) Talks about the deal have long been in the pipeline, with Barou being listed on the London Stock Exchange back in 2014."

It was a disappointing reply and I have gone back to them to explain why (politely).

" thank you for your reply. I am not sure that you addressed the issue to which I was referring. I do agree when you say that "it is vital that the driver remains in control of their vehicle at all times and must carefully observe the traffic situation." and point out that Driver monitoring systems are intended to do exactly what you say is 'vital' i.e. monitor the performance and state of the driver's attention. They are NOT a substitute for driver care.

As a safety campaigner RoSPA will know how often road fatalities are caused by driver inattention and as vehicles become less demanding of physical interaction the need for mental awareness remains. It is that mental awareness that DM systems check and ensure.

Whilst I take your point about the exclusivity currently associated with these aids I would point out that they are to the benefit of ALL road users since road deaths are not invariably inflicted on the driver at fault. i.e. a driver in a semi-autonomous car, not paying attention is a threat to all drivers; thus, if a car is made semi autonomous it is to the benefit of ALL road occupants that its driver is kept aware by a DMS. Semi Autonomous should ALWAYS include a driver monitoring device."

After supplying them with both SM and SE links they still don't get it:

" Dear AllAtSea

Thank you for your email dated 22 October regarding driver monitoring systems and safety aids.



RoSPA recognise that new technology has the potential to enhance driver and occupant safety through systems such as blind spot information, though these systems should never be over-relied on as it is vital that the driver remains in control of their vehicle at all times and must carefully observe the traffic situation. The importance with all new technology is to understand and address unintended risks they pose and not be blinded by the benefits and to ensure that road users are aware of the abilities and limitations of these systems.

Unfortunately, as you highlight, many of these systems are currently an expensive option available on selected new vehicles. Manufacturers should be encouraged to install technology that has potential to enhance safety in all vehicles."

No repy from BRAKE beyond acknowledgement.

Humour me on this one please!

What part will SM play in a fully autonomous vehicle?

"an essential part of semi-autonomous driving systems today and fully autonomous driving systems in the future.”

..and before he arrived?

Well no, it doesn't in that regard. Just look at his performance before he joined Aviva and also at Aviva before he joined.

Wait and see what he achieves after. Aviva sucks. Other good players who it crippled were Patrick Snowball (as I said) and Tidjane Thiam.

More interesting than all the moaning and groaning?

I do blame the board tho'. Wilson is a star player who was appointed by another star player, John MacFarlane who arrived to clear up the debacle left by ANdrew Moss. Wilson did a good job but MacFarlane left years ago and handed over to a 2nd rater. I suspect Wilson's patience ran out and we are left in care of the 2nd rater - will he appoint quality or one of his mates?

In 2012 we had a shareholder revolt that saw the back of Moss. Time for another one? Only the big share holders have the clout to do it.

I've very little that isn't in loss although having done a bit of buying and selling in the ups and downs it's not all bad.

It seems to me that the problem is widespread rather than at HSBC. Just got to sit tight in my view, one sure way to make a loss is sell at the bottom.

Basically they decided to make Wilson walk the plank carrying bags of gold bullion. At the end of the plank awaits not shark-infested waters but a nice berth in the good ship Blackrock. I gather he and Stoddard took a pay cut for 2016 tho' whilst Andy Briggs got a rise. Now Briggs is fave to take over. He is allegedly very much into 'tech' :

Briggs is adamant that digitalisation and robotics are “absolutely fundamental” to where the sector is going. “People are interacting with us digitally. It’s crucial, critical,” he adds. He cites pensions auto-enrolment as being one of the areas that benefited heavily from the use of digitalisation. “It would not have been possible to do at sensible prices without digital.” With its MyAviva app, Briggs says the company can often offer 20 per cent discounts to consumers because of the reduced administration costs. “We are definitely leading the pack on digital in the UK.” November 2017.

Still could be an outsider but that would be a blow to Briggs rather like the one received by Patrick Snowball when the disastrous decision was made to pass over him in favour of ANdrew Moss.

The wide spread appeared on LSE for a while affecting some stocks and not others. It's irritating if you can't trust what you see. I have a share I'd like to dump right now (not AHT).Next time I will get a quote and see how it appears.

True. I have sent them information telling them what a DMS is. Am also awaiting a reply from BRAKE.