Member Info for fleccy

What does a Repayment Project Engineer do, what's their job description?

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/miami-commissioners-reject-mayor-push-122547037.html

"Yesterday, we had Mayor of Miami, Francis Suarez share the progress they’re making towards paying employees in Bitcoin, as well as investing in it as a city. Miami has played a central role in"

https://www.cityam.com/miami-nice-is-crypto-returning-home/

Like the FED and US Government will allow Cities and States to pay workers in Bitcoin. This will be presented as a positive for Crypto, but it could spell the end of crypto as currency. If this happened and other states started looking at it, the US regulators would see it as a threat to the dollar and stop crypto in its tracks imo.

"can you explain why, once they become management grade they will more than likely be sent all over the country to fulfil roles they have zero experinence with until they are pushed out for not reaching management targets, probaly what happened to you when you worked there and got the sack for being useless."

I've never worked for BT, but my guess would be that they want them to hold supervisory positions. It may be that BT want them to manage other staff in other roles, I don't see the problem. I don't know why you're so emotionally affected Faultsman, as Rod stated Unions are a shadow of their former selves. The reason I joined the CWU was for legal cover, much like an insurance policy. If someone doesn't like the role they're in, they should look for a job elsewhere and move at the first opportunity. The days of companies like "W.C. Boggs & Son" are long gone.

I'm not being funny, but I'm not sure what the CWU are hoping to achieve. I'm sure BT are quaking in their boots.
The issue appears to be regrading current Engineering roles into a management role. Some of the BT guys, who post on here, may have a view. Personally, I don't see where the problem is as long as their overall terms and conditions are maintained. I read somewhere that BT offered the staff a wage increase as part of the regrade. I was a member of the CWU myself, but the company I worked for didn't have collective bargaining. I was regraded several times in my career, which entailed change of job titles, but I was never worse off as a result. My personal view is that these 170 Engineers should go with the flow, or they may find their jobs restructured away completely.

"Armed with the strongest possible proof of RPEs fury at management’s unilateral decision to take the role out of the CWU-represented NewGRID grading structure and place it on the lowest rung of the managerial ladder – something the highly skilled engineers believe represents a dangerous mismatch to their skill-set and responsibilities – the CWU immediately gave the company five days to break the impasse."

"Barring genuine movement by bosses to address a raft of serious concerns that have been consistently flagged up by RPEs since the move was first announced last July, the first industrial action to be witnessed anywhere in BT Group since November 1999 will take place on Wednesday February 24 and Thursday February 25.The initial two days of strike action – which will involve all of the union’s 170 D1-graded RPE members – follows one of the most overwhelming rejections of management contempt for legitimate workforce concerns to be witnessed in an industrial action ballot in generations."

https://www.cwu.org/news/rethink-now-or-face-strike-action-in-a-fortnight-openreach-bosses-told/

Position Holder~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Share Issuer~~~ ISIN~~~~~~~~ %~~ Date
BlackRock Investment Management (UK) Limited BT GROUP PLC GB0030913577 0.50 5/2/2021

"Hi fleccy, if you click on the link you have provided the info is under Name of Share Issuer. I have just looked at it now."

I see it now, I had to open an in private window in my browser and download from there. For some reason my standard Browser window was downloading a sheet from the 1st Feb. From an In private window the 11th Feb sheet downloaded, which does indeed show the BT short.

I need some advice from someone who's in the know, or might have access to information I don't.
I've been checking the FCA daily update for UK short positions and still can't find the Blackrock notified short position. I may be looking in the wrong place, or the information may take time to show on the daily update. The various Tracker websites state that they get their information from "FCA Short Interest data", so what am I missing?

According to the latest daily update Blackrock don't have a short position in BT, here are the current short positions listed on today's daily update:

https://www.fca.org.uk/publication/data/short-positions-daily-update.xlsx

Position Holder~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Share issuer~~~~~~~~ (%) ~ Position Date
BlackRock Investment Management (UK) Limited BRITISH LAND CO PLC 1.01 ~ 25/1/2021
BlackRock Investment Management (UK) Limited CLINIGEN GROUP PLC 0.52 ~ 18/8/2020
BlackRock Investment Management (UK) Limited DIGNITY PLC~~~~~~~~ 0.72 ~ 29/12/2020
BlackRock Investment Management (UK) Limited EQUINITI GROUP PLC~ 0.89 ~ 16/11/2020
BlackRock Investment Management (UK) Limited FDM GROUP PLC~~~~~ 0.50 ~ 15/1/2021
BlackRock Investment Management (UK) Limited JOHNSON MATTHEY~~ 1.56 ~ 20/1/2021
BlackRock Investment Management (UK) Limited JUPITER FUND PLC~~~ 1.03 ~ 4/11/2020
BlackRock Investment Management (UK) Limited MARKS & SPENCER~~~ 0.68 ~ 25/9/2020
BlackRock Investment Management (UK) Limited N. Brown Group~~~~~~ 1.19 ~ 19/1/2021
BlackRock Investment Management (UK) Limited PETROFAC LTD~~~~~~~ 3.04 ~ 28/1/2021
BlackRock Investment Management (UK) Limited SAINSBURY (J) PLC~~~ 2.79 ~ 29/1/2021
BlackRock Investment Management (UK) Limited STANDARD LIFE PLC~~~ 0.59 ~ 21/1/2021
BlackRock Investment Management (UK) Limited ULTRA Electronics~~~~ 3.02 ~ 1/7/2020
BlackRock Investment Management (UK) Limited VICTREX PLC~~~~~~~~~ 1.58 ~ 25/1/2021
BlackRock Investment Management (UK) Limited WANdisco PLC~~~~~~~~ 1.00 ~ 6/1/2021
BlackRock Investment Management (UK) Limited WM MORRISON~~~~~~~ 1.70 ~ 19/11/2020

"converged offerings around mobile and Broadband."

Just to clarify that statement, I'm talking about a full communications package, where you use mobiles while out and about, and automatically move to VOIP upon entering the range of your home broadband router. It's possible that households will be accommodated under a single provider, rather than the current disjointed ecosystem. I'm not suggesting that will happen, but it's a possibility.

"I mean a package where everyone in the family / household has EE unlimited data mobile and BT broadband inc pos BT Sports."

I think BT sports will always be an add on, but it's possible that they could put together converged offerings around mobile and Broadband. I suspect the converged offerings will become more common post PSTN switch off, and will be combined mobile and FTTP packages.

I meant 4G router as backup.

You could use BT's business offering if you require critical backup to your normal connection.

https://business.bt.com/products/broadband-and-internet/4g-assure/?msgtype=03&s_cid=btb_ppc_essence_google_brand_core_sme-c-1708557077-68213044073-kwd-638624741415-&gclid=Cj0KCQiAyJOBBhDCARIsAJG2h5frYUZTfyXtm5HhAMXJap13r1LFbgpjaA95DZ4BrIuyDhGsAgS9CtIaAkU0EALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

Or you could use tethering through your smartphone, or have a Wifi router as backup.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQkpc2UlXdU

https://www.amazon.co.uk/E5576-320-Portable-Networks-Genuine-Warranty/dp/B081S5KRZ7/ref=asc_df_B081S5KRZ7/?tag=googshopuk-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=420647165686&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=17902734772578313624&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=1006539&hvtargid=pla-861040094088&psc=1&tag=&ref=&adgrpid=95220868943&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvadid=420647165686&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=17902734772578313624&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=1006539&hvtargid=pla-861040094088

Services are likely to get more expensive post Covid, makes the case for holding equities rather than cash. There's a possibility that inflation may increase in general.

https://www.ispreview.co.uk/index.php/2021/02/broadband-isp-bt-and-ee-confirm-4-5-price-hike-rate-for-2021.html

tradeTime~~~~~~~~~~~~~currency~~price ~~volume tradeValue type~~~~micCode~tradeType
2021-02-10 12:37:32.457~~GBX~~~~~123.1~~13000000 16003000~Off-Book~XLON~~TNCP
2021-02-10 11:42:43.253~~GBX~~~~~123.1 ~~13000000 16003000~Off-Book~XLON~~TNCP
2021-02-10 11:42:43.253~~GBX~~~~~123.1 -~13000000 -16003000~Off-Book~XLON~~CANC TNCP

"I laugh when I see images of gold coins portarayed as a bitcoin"

Haha well it is mined, just like Gold. Little Oompaa Loompa's have to put on their hard hats, go down the Crypto mine and chip away until Bitcoin nuggets fall away and land in a basket. If Bitcoin disappeared tomorrow, apart from making many investors poorer, it would have no impact. In a World without Bitcoin, phones would still work, food would still grow, and the lights wouldn't go out. At least Gold has uses, I've never heard of a bitcoin filling, or a Bitcoin Necklace, or a Bitcoin watch. Gold has many uses in the electrical industry, for connector coatings in switches/relays/HDMI connectors, etc. Gold is also used in medicine, for drugs associated with cancer and Arthritis treatments, etc. Gold is useful, Bitcoin is useless imo.

I see Tesla's $1.5 billion purchase of Bitcoin has fired up the bulls again. I have to admit, for years I've not seen the investment case for Cryptocurrency, especially at the huge current prices. About 4 or 5 years ago I had a conversation with someone about Bitcoin; He wasn't your typical investor type, more hippy than mainstream, with the look of someone who liked to smoke non tobacco substances in the evenings. He wasn't invested in anything else, but he's been enticed into the Bitcoin investment world. I told him I wouldn't touch Bitcoin, as I didn't see it as having any intrinsic value, but I didn't dent his enthusiasm. Currently my investments are underperforming, and assuming he's still invested he's doing quite well.
I haven't changed my opinion on Crypto and still can't understand the surrealist hype around a soft asset, that could be wiped out over night by central bank action. I reinforce my view, by remembering the hype leading into the dotcom bubble bursting, which evokes feelings of Deja Vu. I'd much rather have my cash invested in hard assets. See what happens to Bitcoin if the World Economy tanks at some point, Blockchain has its uses, but as a store of value, really?

I just looked at an article discussing Paul Dacre, and the article suggests he's not a fan of over regulation. If the article is correct, he may take a light touch view on things. Some of the other articles I've looked at suggest he's the Polar opposite of Sharon White. It'll be interesting to see how views BT going forward, he apparently dislikes the BBC. He might be good for BT.

"Dacre has a known, visceral objection to the statutory regulation of journalists, which is one of Ofcom’s most important jobs.
He has a 20-year record of repeatedly breaching regulatory codes and of failing to improve his conduct in response to regulatory action.
He failed to notice his own Daily Mail staff commissioning unlawful activities and failed to investigate this when it was pointed out to him."

https://bylinetimes.com/2021/02/04/10-reasons-why-paul-dacre-is-unfit-to-be-the-new-ofcom-chair/

https://www.cityam.com/forget-the-bbc-as-ofcom-chair-paul-dacre-would-get-his-teeth-into-tech/

"Can’t agree with you on BTPS. It’s will be seen as negative whatever the valuation."

I wasn't disagreeing with you about the Ofcom decision around pricing in relation to FTTP, I was pointing out that the Triennial Pension valuation is another thread in determining sentiment toward BT. If the deficit turns out to be low, that would be a positive for sentiment. I'm not worried about the threat of strike action either, as telecoms is one of those industries that ticks along when left alone. Much of the external work is done by contractors, and I'm pretty sure a substantial number of the workforce wont want to strike anyway. I don't buy into all the negativity around BT, and Telecoms in general, so I just periodically buy more stock.

"Wait till Ofcom make a noise next month, then we will all know the trajectory"

The BTPS triennial funding valuation is due to complete in the first half of this year too, hopefully the deficit will be low. It's possible that Covid might positively impact the deficit.

"Any thoughts?"

Well I bought more today, that's my thoughts.