Member Info for Glasshalfull

A takeover would do for me; figures looked good till yesterday, net asset value alone is nearly £3, but grossly mis-managed so ideal conditions for regime change, complete clear out, restore trust and goodwill, the funds would back it, put the divi (now possibly under threat I gather) at 5%, a steal at £2.

I dread to say I dont think mis-management, error, incompetence ie human ineptitude, even on this cretinous level was solely behind this; lack of any checks on these sums, not just one but over a year? It's hugely embarrassing and makes us all look like mugs but this is starting to stink.

Ive been lucky the last couple of years short-term investing in far smaller, more volatile companies and diving into Barclays, big numbers, just 10 days ago was a rest from all that and a sit still for a year once I'd established they had no exposure to Russia and had a look at their recent history. I figured the £800k fine in Feb was any bad luck out of the way and funds were holding big. But this.. is not an accident or a typo, these transactions went on for a year I read and obviously not by some single individual, at this level it all beggars belief, this a massive corporate structure. Who, how many, are responsible for this? It's beyond embarrassing incompetence, its a disgrace to millions of shareholders. I said early today 'am I dreaming?' Apparently not.

I just read their no doubt very carefully worded statement referring to 'assessing the impact on prior ..' etc so now, are in the realms of accounting irregularities??!

I wondered why the sp has drifted, the mkt is never wrong - how much were the bonuses?

I only understood that a ****-up, an over issuance of shares, is going to cost the company 450m. Am I dreaming?

I only understood that a ****-up, an over issuance of shares, is going to cost the company 450m. Am I dreaming?

I don't see it either, it seems unless the sp is less than £4 one is bound to be worse off - I had the same thing with Vod way back, I thought yummy until I did the maths.

There aren't any now, the share market has changed so much this last year or so, I've been banging on that fundamentals count for little now and never more than with this share. Automated volatility - from 610p to 640p in an hour? that LSE plc loves - it's not an intelligent guess based on research anymore, it's a casino. Feel lucky?

There's an article by Iain Day 'the tail is wagging the dog' that makes a sound argument that 'the stock market is broken' or certainly the market that I thought I knew for the last 30+ yrs. Automated algirhythm systems magnify any bad news & Brussels' Mifid11 regulations have effectively cut the amount of genuine research by independent stock analysts being done, more by fund managers working for investment firms who if they see a current or future problem will simply sell its shares. I've said, here I think, that this year, to my great cost, brokers recommendations are totally worthless, Capita had 'buy' signals at 450p I think, just 3 weeks before tilt. He also claims that the level of shorting is a major 'sell' signal, they can of course get it wrong eg Ocado but they do do decent research. If I thought these forums had the remotest effect on sp I wouldn't post this because I am so seriously down with my BAB shares and am dreading Tuesday, well everyday at the moment, but it's worth reading and very sobering. I haven't read the Telegraph article, I'm worried enough already.

Thanx, yes I got that far too but, increasing paranoia, maybe there's a devil in the detail. Manageable debt, no pension probs, decent margins, full order book, low p/e, good divi, accounting seems kosher, don't see the PFI froth as relevant here.. it's arguably a �9 share, but that stuff seems irrelevant in the current climate of shorts and rumour, it's a bit Hello magazine and not for me now.

Can somebody explain what these two regulatory notices regarding the voting rights of what seems to be a substantial batch of BAB shares actually means, and had it anything to do with the drop of 40p over two days? Further, how does the conjecture about PFI and value for money for the taxpayer reflect on Babcock? I didn't think they were using govt funding, simply winning work by tender; if the jobs are satisfactorally completed at the lowest price on offer then isn't that the very definition of the best deal for the taxpayer. Am I missing something here, (always highly possible)?

More good news and a later sudden drop; why, again, do I fear there is something these shorters know, especially in the light of recent events. It can't be the profit margins on these orders, I understand they are a healthy 8-9%. If we are being fed correct info. The intraday chart looks alarming

Yes, I didn't fully understand the blurb with the director sales at the time, now I do, but it obviously didn't disturb me; the shorting does, paticularly after CLLN and knowing a little about BBY 3 years back with a decent order book and tiny, some negative margins. Im sure BABs are healthier but I've been more wrong than right this last year...

Kenji I appreciate the post; I did spot the director sells but because of, then, overwhelming broker buys, all �10+, some new orders and the odd boardroom reassurance thought I new better. And in fact it still looks a good bet - from what's currently published. I'm loath to jump, I bailed out of DC. too early losing a bunch but I thought they could Woolworths, but BAB seems more solid, stolid actually, which is ironic as it's why I bought them after years of reasonably successful short-term trading - for safety and peace of mind. ! I certainly haven't got that, it's the bigger figure.

Thanks again - yes, of course, I was forgetting LSE is a plc not an institution with no agenda. To bail or not to bail, that is the question, but it'd be a big ouch, I bought 16k in Jan and kept my nerve because the fundamentals always looked healthy, but they weren't shorted then.

Kenji thanks for that, I understood the principle of the borrowing to buy back cheaper, or a bet on a price drop, but I simply couldn't believe the %figure was of total share issue, but it seems it is. So these pros are risking a lot of money on a BAB pricedrop, which obviously begs two questions: what don't we punters know? when any BAB news I, at least, read, seems solid and, secondly, isn't the LSE there to facilitate investment? Shorting doesn't seem to benefit companies, just facilitates price manipulation for short term speculaters. In my naivety, I'm surprised it's sanctioned.

Hi re the Track Plant Award, I can't find anything on a new JV contract, where can I find the news item?

Would somebody explain to me this figure, currently up to 2.12% today regarding declared short positions on BAB. I understand the basic idea of selling at a predetermined date share that you think you'll buy cheaper later, so making money out of a falling share price, but what's the 2+% bit, it can't be 2% of the share issue because that'd be billions, so what is it? And is 2.12% really bad news or a nothing; I know Carillion had a declared short position in the 20+%, and I didn't understand that figure either, other than gathering someone was betting correctly on a big drop.

�15k's worth bought by Kate Hill @ 6.93; it all helps, if only a bit, onward & upward, unfortunately to �9 in my case. eek.