Member Info for Grayling

In June 2012 RBS shares were consolidated at a ratio of 1 new share for every 10 held. At the time they were trading at 20p (Friday close) and opened on the Monday at 200p. They are now trading at 183p or 18.3p in old money. So that is all that management have to show for over 4 years of supposed "progress"? I sold out in April 2013 losing 36% of my original investment, but was glad to be shot of it and move on. Pity those who stayed in with the vain hope that Hester could turn it around.

Whatever happens to the price this week most holders will be locked in at least until the 11th when the share goes Ex div.

Lots of delayed trades reported after the UT tonight. Difficult to tell whether they are buys or sells but I would guess the latter. It will probably fall below £50 in the morning as people losse their nerve. Next stop.........?

First RR. and now AZN (up 6% at almost £50) is about to breach the Pfizer bid price from 2015. What on earth is going on?

At this rate it will breach the Pfizer bid price by the end of today. I just don't get it. First RR.goes mad and now AZN

People have invoked Brexit to account for the fall in the Aviva SP but without explaining why it has had such a disproportionate and long-lasting effect on the company? Many other shares that tanked in this and other market sectors have recovered some of their value since the immediate aftermath of the vote, with the FTSE 250 roughly back to where it was on the 22nd June. In contrast, AV. has continued to slide inexorably. Any specific reasons why this might be the case? I only got into this share by default because I held Friends Life and am beginning to regret not selling out before the takeover.

Nearly back at Pfizer bid heights from 2015 now.

Just sold the stake I bought at 512p last November banking 6K profit. I am retaining the majority bought at 720p and may buy back in if this falters in the coming weeks.

Lummox, you still in at 840p? Seems to be on the way back up at present having languished a bit since Brexit vote.

Well either the results tomorrow are not going to be as bad as feared, or RR have failed to brief the markets for the shock news. Let is hope it is the former!

Before the Brexiteers get too excited about GSK's 250M pound investment in the UK, it is less a ringing endorsement of doing business here than a reflection of the complete failure of their ill fated China strategy. GSK intended to move a great deal of its R&D activity to China in order to cut costs and had begun to invest in shiny new research palaces in Shanghai etc. This was blown out of the water by the finding in 2013 hat GSK scientists in China had misrepresented data in an important landmark paper in Nature Medicine on the effects of Interleukin 7 on immune cell function.. This resulted in the retraction of the paper, the sacking of GSK's China R&D head and other "resignations". It is this debacle, plus the subsequent marketing corruption scandal in China that has resulted in this UK retrenchment. The only positive outcome of Brexit so far is thhat the weak pound has allowed them to make this UK investment at no additional cost to GSK.

Philpot1001, the headwinds I referred to were nothing at all to do with the hedging but referred to current adverse market conditions, such as the recently announced delays/slowdown in airline fleet purchases. This has largely been caused by the low oil price, which has reduced the pressure on carriers to buy new aircraft with more fuel-efficient RR engines and has also been exacerbated by the uncertainty of Brexit. In other words they could have done with the increased income they would have booked if not for the hedging as it would have helped them over this rough trading patch.

I just saw the Forbes piece as well. I think it is correct but the basic message is still that RR would have been a lot better off if they had not hedged at all. However, the "loss" may as you say be an accounting quirk. Still it puts a drag on earnings going forward that they could well have done without given all the other "headwinds" RR are facing and this drag will only end when the hedging contracts expire. Perhaps we are in for a torrid time over the next few years and Sterling will remain low?

We do enjoy a slight rise compared to last Q if Sterling remains nailed to the floor against the dollar though!

Well it has been a long time coming and it would be nice to think that recent performance reflects underlying strength rather than simply the fact that the pound has tanked and that GSK and AZN book much of their income overseas. Since my purchase back in 2012 this had been an uberdog of the portfolio (apart from the income of course) but now seems to be on a steady rise.

Unfortunately, the problem is not as short term as you think. RR decided to take out long-term (up to 6 year) hedging against the dollar back in 2013, which means some deals still have over 3 years to run. Effectively this means that the company has locked its dollar earnings in at an average of $1.60 per pound until late 2018. Thus Rolls-Royce won�t enjoy any short-term benefit from the 8.8 percent plunge in sterling. In fact sterling would have to remain low for an awful long time for RR to benefit at all. This was described by the company at the time as "swapping some flexibility for a degree of certainty to our cash flows going forward". I guess even the FD of RR couldn't predict the rank stupidity of politicians back in 2013!

The only thing hedging round here is RR Holdings and not very intelligently by the sound of things "These additional costs to its hedging strategy are expected to push the Derby-based firm into a pre-tax loss when it reports its first-half results on Thursday (28 July)."

Showing your ignorance again. St James place is not a "Hedge Fund" it is a wealth management company. It also happens to have a charitable foundation attached to it, which since 1998 has distributed �18M in funds to more than 700 charities, mainly to help disadvantaged/disabled children and support hospices.

Well we don't all have the advantage of your "inside" contact, who incidentally seemed to be ignorant of the fact that RR. have a whole division of 12000 people working in Germany, just because they don't happen to make/service engines. Unlike you, I am not blindly loyal to RR and will hold as long as it provides a decent income and the hope of capital gain. As a hardcore "long termer" are you going to be buried along with your share certificates?

RR will probably report a trading loss when results are posted this coming Thursday. This is due to a �2b hit on currency hedging triggered by the fall in the value of sterling against a basket of world currencies since brexit. Times also forecasts a savage 50% cut in the next dividend as the company frantically tries to make further savings in what has turned out to be very adverse economic conditions, including the postponement or delay of airline fleet expansion and the resulting reduction in new engine orders.