Member Info for lordloadsoflolly

At the risk of being flamed for referring to DOGE again, Musk is claiming $150bn in cost savings, having originally promised "at least $2 trillion" last October.

Yet the following Guardian article suggests "Musk’s claim of $150bn in savings is a vast overestimate because it fails to include the considerable costs of Doge’s moves, said Stier. Stier’s group estimates that as a result of firings, rehirings, severance pay, paid leave and lost productivity involving more than 100,000 workers, Doge’s maneuvers will cost taxpayers $135bn this fiscal year. And several public policy experts said the increased wait times and hassles the public will face due to Doge’s cuts should also be subtracted from the $150bn."

Yes, it's a completely different case. But how many times have we been told to expect vast "efficiency savings" by UK governments? And how many times have they actually delivered?

The whole thing would be a huge, costly distraction. Even if many would agree the current PR outfit seems permanently out to lunch. Far better ways to achieve the same end methinks.

Yes, AI can be a right tool sometimes.

I can almost hear Tim reaching for his book of excuses as we speak.

Deal taking slightly longer than expected

Lots of big pharma cos very interested

Patent lodging almost complete now

Just need a bit more patients/patents

2026 definitely the year of delivery

A few left field surprises on the way

Attending several more biopharma conferences in the coming decades to get my Airmiles up

Grateful for shareholders’ continued support

Revised P3 trial starting any century now

This time next year, we’ll be millionaires

Er, have they fallen for it yet. I’m running out of excuses

Great. Wake me up when someone bids for IMM.

MysticMike - so every time a company waits until its normal results day, then releases figures higher or lower than previous guidance, they can be sued, can they?

On that basis, it’s hard hats all round chaps.

Letitrun - agreed.

TW’s probably just hacked off SOH isn’t attending his latest weekend p!$s up. I mean invaluable, thought -provoking Sharestock Investival.

Unless of course he’s the one outstanding “to be announced” CEO.

Whatever your politics, I still think the analogy relevant.

TW is basically trying to do a DOGE on Opti. We can beg to differ on whether that would be a good idea or not. But that doesn’t stop it being his objective.

Aquae - I think the company’s moving in the right direction, without change being needed or even desirable at this stage.

Morepen & Nouri are examples of how Opti has already changed direction in terms of the partners it chooses and the products marketed.

Progress on Sweet has certainly been slow. But that’s probably more down to the size of the companies Opti’s talking to than the quality of their negotiators.

Look what happens when you get the likes of DOGE coming into an organisation with their chainsaws. All sounds great in theory. Cost savings, reduced inefficiency, yada yada.

Then people start losing their jobs, some things don’t work any more ‘cos those roles you slashed were - in certain cases - actually doing something useful. And the much heralded cost savings & efficiencies suddenly don’t appear to be quite as great after all.

Meanwhile, your interim Musk-lookylikey-NEDs decide they’re bored with this game now and move on. Leaving others to clean up their mess.

Aquae - Farage & Trump are both in the same mould anyway.

Only likening TW to Trump makes him even worse.

Of course TW doesn’t want the Chairman role. That would actually involve doing some work & being accountable. Far easier just to call for others’ heads.

There may be better NEDs & Chairs out there. But TW certainly ain’t one of them. He’s more the management consultant type. And as we all know, they’re a bit like castrated bulls - all they can do is advise.

Aquae - I agree with you that Opti is vulnerable should anything happen with SOH’s health.

Not that he’s perfect by a long way. But he strikes me as a bit of a control freak. So proper succession plans are unlikely to have been put in place.

TW, on the other hand, strikes me as another Farage-type populist. Quick to criticise elsewhere and tell everyone else he could do better. Yet totally incapable of delivery.

Not so long ago, Farage - after all - was leader of the Brexit party. He promised the world, then simply blamed everyone else when none of the policies on migration, new trade deals etc were delivered over 5 years on.

I wouldn’t trust TW as far as I could throw him & certainly don’t want him anywhere near Opti. As I’ve said many times before, SOH would have done far better to distance himself years ago.

Sparky - yes, bit of a random question there. And not sure what relevance to Hex?

But in response, I imagine most PIs vary the amount held in cash depending on how they view global markets at the time.

If they sense they’re looking toppy, they’ll likely topslice, park the proceeds & hope to reinvest (there or elsewhere) lower down.

Most I’ve been in cash within my stocks & shares pots was c. 35%. Currently c. 10%. Doesn’t make sense to stay in cash too long though, as you won’t normally be earning any interest & market timing is notoriously hard to get right.

Tigger - don’t s’pose any translation’s available for your latest post: “Your intergalactic.. allow me to gracefully express that if you have invested 5 k plus . Unwilling make some serious money”.

Afraid no-one here (except you) has had the patients to learn intergalactic.

Tigger - has GoldGirl given you the cold shoulder?

At least she’s finally come out from the cold again this evening.

Takes a PhD student to realise that “Big news will be very rewarding to shareholders”. No news, on the other hand, might not be.

Tigger - "can you all imagine ... shares now suspended as we are being taken over by a big fish".

That wouldn't happen to be a lying fish now, would it?

Rebarm - agreed, the big players' "business has been built on sugar and fat and their addictive properties and they're not going to give it up".

Least, not 'til government legislation forces their hand.

That's beginning to happen here at least. But it's a pretty slow process and there are always plenty of well-funded lobbyists pushing back.

Friedman - I know what you mean!

In terms of confidentiality, I suspect SOH was referring more to any detail in the agreements than the actual players. As you say, brand names have previously been mentioned. In any case, it doesn't take a brain surgeon to work out who you might be referring to when mentioning leading global beverage companies.

I hope you're wrong about Sweet though. But I agree we really only have SOH's words of reassurance to go on. It would be helpful if there were at least some estimated timelines. Or measurable progress milestones.

3LB - fair enough - no hard feelings!

Shame SOH still hasn't invested in a decent microphone. That podcast sounds more like something out the 80s.

I also thought he came across a bit older & more tired. Compare & contrast with his July 2023 one and you'll soon see what I mean. Not surprising given his recent health issues & I'm sure we all wish him well.

To me, this latest podcast was a bit like a confessional at times, but it's refreshing when a CEO admits to their company's mistakes & shortcomings.

Great news about the Walmart listing, as Walmart's the US's leading retailer sales-wise.

Sweet still sounds a long way off, but the strategy of targeting global beverage brand leaders makes perfect sense. Providing they bear fruit eventually of course.

Supersport - I totally respect your alternative view.

Disagreeing with someone & having a different take on things is to be encouraged. It helps everyone see both sides, before assessing where they stand.

As you say though, using vague derogatory labels to dismiss alternative views gets us nowhere. I’ll try to avoid slipping into this trap in future and hope others follow suit.

3LB & others - it seems you’re going to stick to your “he must be a deramper” conspiracy theory whatever I say.

Everyone suddenly seems to have got a bit touchy on here the moment a non-super-rampy post appears. Even if it’s genuinely just asking why might the SP have consistently struggled to hang onto gains in recent months, despite regular positive newsflow.

And why wouldn’t at least part of Bo’s commitment to a summer production timeframe already be in the price, given a) how often he’s repeated it & b) his excellent track record to date on delivery?

Personally I don’t see much point in these boards if they just become echo chambers for yes-men & women. But I guess it’s sometimes easier simply to go with the flow, particularly if you’re heavily emotionally invested.

The daftest part of your deramper argument is that a single PI’s post (mine being a pretty balanced one at that) would have the slightest impact on the SP.

We’ll leave it there. Shame really. I preferred it when we were enjoying friendly banter about the grouse.