Member Info for Santos1

Mswarz- thanks for that timely reminder. Nice to see another Warren Buffet fan on here. Here is another of my favourite WB quotes: ' The stock market is a mechanism for transferring wealth from the impatient to the patient '

...I suppose theoretically it might be possible for directors associated with a future potential buyer to recuse themselves from all board discussions regarding a takeover but in practice it would be a difficult if not impossible position for them given the obvious conflict of interest.

Union Jack- to answer your question, new board members associated with a future potential buyer would have to resign, to avoid being in breach of their fiduciary duty. Under the Takeover Code directors must act exclusively in the interests of the shareholders.

Rolf- your stupidity and arrogance knows no bounds if you think Charlie Munger can be written off as 'facile' - do you even know who he is?

In the words of Charlie Munger ( W Buffett's partner ): 'The big money is not in the buying and selling, but in the waiting'

OK, I might put US Treasury Secretary instead.

Only joking....

One final comment on Scott Bessent's credibility which has been questioned by 2 people. You are not just questioning his credibility but also that of his officials and employees at the US Treasury. Federal employees can be summoned to testify and give evidence before congressional committees. They also have statutory protection under the Whistleblower Act. He has zero reasons to lie and Trump has no leverage on him anyway.

One final comment on Scott Bessent's credibility which has been questioned by 2 people. You are not just questioning his credibility but also that of his officials and employees at the US Treasury. Federal employees can be summoned to testify and give evidence before congressional committees. They also have statutory protection under the Whistleblower Act. He has zero reasons to lie and Trump has no leverage on him anyway.

I'm not going to re-open the argument about SB's credibility. He doesn't need to lie to Trump. He can walk out anytime and get back to his hobby of restoring Charleston mansions.

Yesterday Bessent was bragging on TV that the US Treasury just grabbed $1bn dollars of Iranian crypto wallets

The last news I saw was that on May 27 OFAC designated the Persian Gulf Strait Authority ( PGSA) as an entity linked to IRGC , accusing them of extorting tolls - anyone or any company making payments to PGSA will be sanctioned by OFAC, which comes under the US Treasury ( yes, Scott Bessant).

The US Office of Foreign Assets Control would be sanctioning anyone paying tolls to the IRG- unless that threat has changed in the last 24 hours. Does anyone know whats going on?

Or if they think trump will want to share the take....

A dollar a barrel for a VLCC could be $2m----and $3m if they decide to up the toll rate by 50c for ships they don't like the look of.

If you look at the catch-all wording of the US Office of Foreign Assets Control, it refers to 'maritime industry participants involved with vessels calling at iranian ports'- that could cover oil traders, shipowners and oil companies....

Yes the shipping company would pay the toll but the oil company charters the tanker and the charter rate would likely reflect the toll. Plus both parties would likely be sanctioned.

International law guarantees transit passage through international straits eg Bosphorus, Malacca , Hormuz straits.

Suez and Panama are different and the fees are recognised in international law. Possibly those fees contribute to maintenance, staffing etc. Easily checked.

One main reason why major oil companies will never pay tolls is because there are multiple choke points around the world and they won't be willing to set a precedent. So unless Iran gives up completely any claim to charge tolls, they likely won't be coming back.

....but in general I am bullish on the oil price for various reasons, barring short term weakness due to any kind of major recession. But recessions don't tend to last that long.

Hi Landman, I've simply tried to argue that even if the strait opens tomorrow, war insurance rates are not going to return to normal any time soon, just as they haven't in the Red Sea despite escorted convoys conducted by 12 nations and area patrols. Furthermore I don't think major oil companies will pay 'tolls' / mafia-like extortion money for 'safe passage' ( you may have seen the recent interview given by the chair of Chevron saying just that ). They will take alternative routes and add 10-14 days journey time. I haven't commented on the implications of that for the oil price because I don't know what they are.