Member Info for TrekMadone

Charles Archer on da budget…

https://open.substack.com/pub/thatstocksguy/p/a-few-thoughts-on-the-budget?utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=email

“ But the bottom line for me with this budget is that it’s not about the ‘wealthy.’

It’s about the ever closing gap between individuals working on minimum wage + benefits, and those working on the median wage.

Minimum wage is up, and the two child benefit restriction is out. The abolition alone will cost £3 billion by 2029-30.

A 40 hour work week on minimum wage will now pay a whisker under £26.5k per year. The UK median wage, outside of London, stands at around £35k per year.

But the minimum wage earner gets benefits top ups, and the median earner gets taxed more.

In fact, the median earner is more likely to be a university graduate. The government has very quietly frozen plan 2 loan repayment and interest thresholds - with interest rates frozen for three years at 7.9% until 2027-2028.

This graduate faces a 51% effective rate of tax on anything they earn above £50,270 (40% income tax, 2% NI and 9% student loan).”

And for me worked 35 years even went the last 25years without any sick pay. Never claimed a penny off the govt. Can’t even get a dental appt!

But taking early retirement DIY and relying on own income the fiscal drag is a pain. Not a complaint it’s my choice but it’s a lesson that the tax system can change one’s situation significantly- like needing 30 years NI contributions for the full state pension and then when you go it alone they change the rules to say it’s now 35years !

I know of many people now that have got the Personal Independent Allowance- £208 a week for what - I have no idea - back issues seem to be a common one. Still it pays for their summer hols abroad! It’s not means tested and it’s not medically vetted outside a clipboard check! Absolutely crazy!

Should be redistributed to those that really do need it! And there are many!

She says they are going to crack down on tax evasion-well I hope so. It’s an epidemic!

I , like Charles consider myself extremely well off in relative terms. No mortgage , kids are sorted etc and actually don’t mind paying tax . We just want to see it fair and everybody paying their dues.

Increasing the minimum wage I think is fine but not with also holding thresholds and ramping up business taxes!

There’s something to be said about income tax - a ski slope tax is fairer and any surplus should go to a sovereign wealth fund imo. Like Norway. But we have squandered our NS oil.

And I aint anti Labour. Far from it the Tories did significant damage. I would like to see capitalism with a conscience and a zero tolerance to those that break our fiscal and civil laws. That should be met with huge relative fines for any fraud.

For every £1 of benefit fraud there's like £14 of tax fraud but it’s honest folk that are paying for each govts successive incompetence to fix it!

High lamp no COIN.PL on ii.

Don’t get me wrong they have pulled the plug on many microcaps but coin was still there when I posted

Trek

Not aware of - I just followed the budget and sold when I heard!

Sorry

Trek

Two London councils hacked…

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/nov/26/london-councils-kensington-and-chelsea-westminster-cyber-attack-emergency

Trek

Nom I have looked and it’s still within the personal allowance. My income just goes over so I pay a relatively high amount of tax on that due to the fiscal drag.

Would much rather they tapered the allowances so it’s fairer and netted out the same income wise. All that’s happened is lower earners are paying more as inflation goes up but the tax thresholds don’t. Apparently the average income now according to the BBC was over 39k!

So for those pensioners on like 13k they are shouldering a disproportionate amount of cost.

Min wage now is over £26k for a 37.5 hour week - from memory on BBC.

Making ends meet from trading/investing but may get a paper round! lol!

Trek

Well I cleared 1p still better than nowt and it’s left me with a lower average for my core holding - which looks better on the spreadsheet at least!

Trek

And bad news govt pulls ECO scheme

Trek

Flogged LIO made 1p lol!

Dumped EARN at a loss, doh, due to govt pulling ECO scheme. Don’t think market has caught that yet.

May buy later if it goes silly low.

Trek

Nothing so far on renewables other than Scotland expansion

Trek

Well I thought holding the ISA totals would help but they’ve gone and added 2% tax to dividends. For those of us that rely on divi tax for our pensions together with the fiscal drag that’s a big tax increase!

Also the wax on about growth being higher but as productively is down a huge 0.3% growth with slow further out….

“GDP will grow by 1.5% in 2025, the OBR forecasts, above 1% expected earlier this year.

But from then on, the outlook is downgraded from what the fiscal watchdog projected in March.

In 2026, the economy is now expected to expand by 1.4%, below a previous forecast of 1.9%

For 2027, GDP is estimated to expand by 1.6% against March's estimate of 1.8%

In 2028, GDP is forecast to rise by 1.5%. In March, the OBR reckoned it would increase by 1.7%

In 2029, the economy will expand by 1.5%, not 1.8% as previously thought”

I see the OBR have now pulled the link to their leaked report! lol!

Anyways LIO dropped 5p but is now recovering… it goes xd tomorrow but is it worth holding now with the extra tax and that the sp gives up the divi as well, but then have paid the trading stamp so need a few p to make my profit! Let’s see lol!

Trek

Budget may help if it subdues bond yields - but the rest is pretty bleak. Which really is why we have renewable energy in our pf…. Or so went the theory!

https://tradingeconomics.com/united-kingdom/government-bond-yield

Trek

Budget bet…

I picked up some LIO - high beta and on its backside atm. It’s really a ftse 250 market leverage play.

If there is any relief rally - remember US closed tomorrow - so ftse gotta think for itself! Then LIO could be a bouncer.

Of course with reeves adding even more costs to employers onto of the NI hikes it could tank as unemployment heads up and growth down…. Mmmm isn’t that what they re trying to avoid…. A rhetorical question!

Usual caveats

Trek

Hoping for a relief rally late with the budget out the way.

IF that’s the case LIO being high beta could bounce strongly. Can’t believe it went below 290 so wtfdik!

Anyways doubled down at 261-263 to get my average below 300p.

But does seem to have been a seller of late - anyways see where it goes.

Usual caveats

Trek

Big spread today - makes trading this more difficult

Trek

Ii have killed this by removing trading!

It’s another of a long list of companies that mainstream brokers are refusing to take on their books. Ultimately making it far more difficult for microcaps to grow, raise capital and have liquidity.

The regulator should step in and stop them from just taking the cream and push some liquidity to the conference division as well!

Usual caveats

Trek

It’s on 3rd Dec for results. See RNS here. And it’s usually their best period. Summer sun etc.

But remember last year Dec-Jan I think it was - awful irradiation. A really dull period. But it’s bounced back strongly.

A budget tomorrow with little shocks and there should be a relief rally.

So many businesses have plans on hold while the govt try and make up their flip flops!

They just don’t get it that dilly dallying and testing sentiment with continuous leaks undermines confidence and growth.

Their fiscal policies have been ladened with ‘unintended consequences’. Seems everyone else sees them apart from the govt!

Still they’re all one as bad as the other as far as I am concerned.

Capitalism with a conscience anyone!

Nah nobody would vote for common sense! lol!

Trek

I bought SEIT down to an average of 48p. Was similar insane yield 13.36%!

It’s bounced strongly now to a tad over 60p.

So guess what I just today sliced 25k shares there and put em in here!

Trek

Agree added 4250 got a good price as unknown trade!

Now at 106

Trek

Not had notice of interims - I thought they’d be in first week of December

Trek

I think I can buy on ii, it’s not stopped me with any warnings but I haven’t hit the buy button as it goes straight to market on Aquis. There’s no countdown like on AIM. It let me set a limit order ok.

Trek