Member Info for skier1

It was a good call from Theosus.

The LLOY shareprice has declined an average of -4% per year since the start of the century. It fell -6% again in 2022. So, somewhere in the mid-40s this year was always (statistically) on the cards.

The housing hysteria on here is getting a bit old.

The number of UK private landlords has declined around -8% during the past 6 years. There is no great "landlord takeover".

As for the "housing shortage" -- as of 10mins ago, there are 1 million UK homes for sale on Rightmove, Zoopla, etc. Plenty of choice. Pretty much 100% of UK citizens have a roof over their head. There is no housing shortage in the UK.

Please, stop the housing hysteria on here. It is getting old.

Goodies123

UK govt always struggles with new tech. There's a recent report in the Spectator, showing investment in new medical machines by the (govt-run) NHS is something like 50-80% lower than most other major developed countries. We have a civil-service culture that looks back, rarely forward.

... "I actually think if the government wants a better society it has to recognise we need an economy that is the right blend of democratic-socialism and capitalism. Whether that can be achieved I do not know?"...

The problem is, who to vote for.

Vote Conservative today, and you get Marxism. Vote Labour, and you get Trotskyism. All the other options, like Reform, are gerrymandered away from power.

What you're left with is a "choice" between two failed communist ideologies from the previous century. It's not really an inspiring outlook for the economic future of the 21st tech century.

Investors can't keep burying their heads in the sand of "Britishness"!

The UK supermarket industry is in freefall. Like the UK car industry of the 1970s. It is being smashed by superior German and American companies.

Tesco was the world's no.3 retailer in 2011... Today, in 2022, it is barely inside the global top 20... Tesco's UK grocery marketshare has declined almost every year of the past decade... Tesco's LSE share price today is lower than it was last century...

Tesco's worldwide, UK, and stockmarket performances are collapsing, before our very eyes.

That FT mortgage article reads like confected hysteria. Just a minuscule 0.3% of UK households today are in mortgage lateness. An overwhelming 99.7% are not.

Regarding Wales -- it simply beggars belief that the govt does not mandate warm and insulated houses in the first place. Firing in wall insulation after the fact is just a sticking plaster. Wales is one of the coldest and wettest places on Earth. They need to build warm houses from day 1.

As posted before, there is nothing wrong with renting a home. Switzerland -- by far the richest major country in Europe -- is a nation of renters (>60%).

Looking at the very latest Kantar UK grocery numbers, the short- and long-term downtrend in Tesco is clear.

* Nov 2012 = 31% share
* Nov 2021 = 28%
* Nov 2022 = 27%

For German supermarket Aldi, it has tripled in a decade...

* Nov 2012 = 3% share
* Nov 2021 = 8%
* Nov 2022 = 9%

UK consumers are ditching British grocers and switching to German discounters.

You, too. MC + HNY.

Currently in the French Alps, near the Italy border, and it's been pouring with rain up to 3000m!

Courmayeur usually gets its best powder from late Jan to early Mar. Some of the steepest lines near the summits don't fill in with snow until Apr or even early May.

Yes, you do have to travel for the best pow in Courmayeur (and Chamonix). Lots of lifts, hiking, or driving. That is a downside. For easier access to Mont Blanc off-piste, then Chamonix / Argentiere is better (but pricier or crowdier).

Zurs in Austria, or Verbier in Switzerland, are excellent alternatives.

For "real" powder, the mecca is North Japan (such as Kiroro). Gets 3-6 times more snowfall than Europe, drier / fluffier snow, and much (much) deeper. Best place on Earth for powder. Nothing else anywhere on the planet even comes close.

Goodies123,

Courmayeur is a tiny ski resort, but with good access to the steep off-piste of Mont Blanc and Chamonix.

Not much on-piste, you can ski it out in a weekend -- but the off-piste is as good as it gets in Europe.

Beginners = no
Intermediates = maybe
Advanced = yes (if prepared to travel)

To be fair, we are already well on the way to a UK communist lifestyle.

The 150% council tax for successful people with 2 houses. The upcoming ban on short-term lets. The rentee rental for life. The free cash for your heating. The siren calls for free mortgage cash.

Envy taxation, trade oppression of free markets, what's yours is mine, central govt quietly taking control of your house... All the red signs are already there.

And that "Marxist creep" is only going to get worse in the future.

Looking again at the recent CBX results, fair value here, based on 1 x revenue, is around 0.01p... This one could have another -99% to fall.

HFEL has plunged -30% in the past 5 years. Even with dividends, it barely breaks even (0%).

A similar investment in the Nasdaq would have returned +150% in 5 years.

The only hope here for HFEL is that China rebounds post-covid in 2023.

Another year gone...

Another year without gold on sale...

Another year where the share price has collapsed an astonishing -55%...

Merry Xmas, everyone...

As predicted -- back in 2021 -- CBX is now plunging under the 1p level.

Tiny revenues and high costs for an overpriced tub of cream are never a good look.

Will keep an eye on this one and may buy in if they do a fundraise in 2023.

Looking at the charts, the 0.1p level is very doable here.

..."err because of capital appreciation"...

Hate to break it to you, but the TSCO share price today in 2022 is lower than it was in 1998 -- a quarter of a century ago. TSCO is one of the worst-performing shares for "capital appreciation" the world has ever seen.

Good grief. Does the self-loathing and hysteria ever stop.

As of 2mins ago, there are well over 1 million UK homes for sale or rent on Rightmove, Zoopla, etc. A huge choice. Something for everyone. From £20k to £20m. There is no housing shortage in the UK.

Last night dropped to -35c in Calgary (southwest Canada) and -50c in the Yukon (northwest Canada). A bit chilly.

Epro
It's clear as day. The US govt talks their country up. The UK govt talks their country down.

Contrast the tone of today's two press releases.
* US = growing + strong
* UK = shrinking + weak

Contrast today's growth stats.
* US = +3% YoY
* UK = +2% YoY

The UK govt (and media) deliberately goes out of its way to place the UK economy in the *worst* possible light on the international stage.

We are one weird country.