Hello Everyone,
Success is sometimes the result of a whole series of failures. (Van Gogh)
I hope that the above saying applies to our Government, the Opposition, the Civil Service, the Media propaganda and the many Directors and Managers of our “denationalised” industries. They are certainly putting the above to the test, and I wonder how long the failures will continue before we see the first hints of sunrise!
This week we have been told that nearly 10% of the working population are now employed by the State in some form or other. This probably accounts for why so many management decisions are slow in arriving and frequently wrong or misplaced. In my opinion, the above are simply over-staffed and sometimes overpaid in the hierarchy, and under-staffed and sometimes underpaid at the coalface. I used to believe that five directors was the perfect number of people to make major business decisions. Five guaranteed a decision with no abstentions, and made them accountable. It also made them seek accurate information from their own support team.
Today it has become the norm to accept that major tax financed projects will go over the budgeted time, costs are likely to double, and the end result will be flawed. Think aircraft carriers, tanks, HS2, the Cross London Elizabeth Train Line, and no doubt all of you can easily add to this list.
When these failures are revealed, the stock action taken is to hold an enquiry, which is rather like putting Dracula in charge of a blood bank! I find it really frustrating because who is going to successfully challenge this corruption, for that is what it is, and head the UK back to honest capitalism and an improving economy able to support and energise the population? I am not blaming today’s lot as these decisions were taken many many moons ago by other people, but they are continuing with the tradition!
It was John F. Kennedy who said that “Change is the law of life. And those that look only to the past and present are certain to miss the future.” This may be a wise statement, but it still leaves me feeling distinctly uneasy.
Sorry for this rant, but I have now been waiting fifteen months since my Neurology and Vascular teams gave me the all clear for the medical section of the DVLA to return my driving licence. I have been told on numerous occasions that my application has gone upstairs and joined a queue. Perhaps this means with St. Peter! Overworked and understaffed is the reason given for the delay. Really!
Today’s investment climate, as we all know, is not pleasant. This is the third time since Saltydog was started that we have experienced these conditions. At the beginning of a correction, markets and their investment sectors fall steadily, and then later move to going up one month and down the next, with no consistency to get behind, except perhaps one. Provided you acted early in this correction, then cash and money funds are a good place to be. This should have secured the bulk of your investment monies before they were eroded, leaving them for future use when the markets settle. It is all a question of nerve and reading the numbers. I am not always successful in this exercise.
The Financial Industry by and large advocates “passive investing”. In other words you make your investment and then ride out the ups and downs. I have never understood this approach. It is like Snakes and Ladders, you move forward by spending more time on the ladder and less on the snakes, and at the moment cash is waiting at the bottom of a ladder.
Those that have been reading my “Thoughts” articles will perhaps remember that around two years ago I had the” hots” for hydrogen as a solution to providing the world with green energy. Maybe not for electric cars in any volume, but certainly for most other energy purposes.
At the time there were three companies in the spot light, all on the AIM. ITM Power using a proton exchange membrane and Ceres Power using solid-oxide technology to run electrolysis plants, along with AFC Energy which makes alkaline fuel cells.
It was then that I broke my principle of only investing into funds. I bought into all three of these companies not knowing which would come out on top and lead the field. Well, this seemed to be the signal for the share prices of all three to drop like a stone. It has been a rout, although the companies are still there with plenty of major company money having been invested. I no longer hold any of these shares whilst still believing very strongly that hydrogen energy will take over from fossil fuels.
I do hold the “HydrogenOne Capital Growth” Investment Trust. It also suffered the general hydrogen knock back, but its price is now recovering. I feel more comfortable leaving the manager and his team to make the decisions on which businesses to hold.
Finally, one more thought …
“The budget should be balanced, the treasury should be refilled, public debt should be restricted, and the unnecessary assistance to foreign lands should be reduced, lest Rome become bankrupt. People must again learn to work, instead of living on public assistance.” Cicero 55BC.
It doesn’t sound that different to some of the problems that we’ve got today.
Success is sometimes the result of a whole series of failures. (Van Gogh)
I hope that the above saying applies to our Government, the Opposition, the Civil Service, the Media propaganda and the many Directors and Managers of our “denationalised” industries. They are certainly putting the above to the test, and I wonder how long the failures will continue before we see the first hints of sunrise!
This week we have been told that nearly 10% of the working population are now employed by the State in some form or other. This probably accounts for why so many management decisions are slow in arriving and frequently wrong or misplaced. In my opinion, the above are simply over-staffed and sometimes overpaid in the hierarchy, and under-staffed and sometimes underpaid at the coalface. I used to believe that five directors was the perfect number of people to make major business decisions. Five guaranteed a decision with no abstentions, and made them accountable. It also made them seek accurate information from their own support team.
Today it has become the norm to accept that major tax financed projects will go over the budgeted time, costs are likely to double, and the end result will be flawed. Think aircraft carriers, tanks, HS2, the Cross London Elizabeth Train Line, and no doubt all of you can easily add to this list.
When these failures are revealed, the stock action taken is to hold an enquiry, which is rather like putting Dracula in charge of a blood bank! I find it really frustrating because who is going to successfully challenge this corruption, for that is what it is, and head the UK back to honest capitalism and an improving economy able to support and energise the population? I am not blaming today’s lot as these decisions were taken many many moons ago by other people, but they are continuing with the tradition!
It was John F. Kennedy who said that “Change is the law of life. And those that look only to the past and present are certain to miss the future.” This may be a wise statement, but it still leaves me feeling distinctly uneasy.
Sorry for this rant, but I have now been waiting fifteen months since my Neurology and Vascular teams gave me the all clear for the medical section of the DVLA to return my driving licence. I have been told on numerous occasions that my application has gone upstairs and joined a queue. Perhaps this means with St. Peter! Overworked and understaffed is the reason given for the delay. Really!
Today’s investment climate, as we all know, is not pleasant. This is the third time since Saltydog was started that we have experienced these conditions. At the beginning of a correction, markets and their investment sectors fall steadily, and then later move to going up one month and down the next, with no consistency to get behind, except perhaps one. Provided you acted early in this correction, then cash and money funds are a good place to be. This should have secured the bulk of your investment monies before they were eroded, leaving them for future use when the markets settle. It is all a question of nerve and reading the numbers. I am not always successful in this exercise.
The Financial Industry by and large advocates “passive investing”. In other words you make your investment and then ride out the ups and downs. I have never understood this approach. It is like Snakes and Ladders, you move forward by spending more time on the ladder and less on the snakes, and at the moment cash is waiting at the bottom of a ladder.
Those that have been reading my “Thoughts” articles will perhaps remember that around two years ago I had the” hots” for hydrogen as a solution to providing the world with green energy. Maybe not for electric cars in any volume, but certainly for most other energy purposes.
At the time there were three companies in the spot light, all on the AIM. ITM Power using a proton exchange membrane and Ceres Power using solid-oxide technology to run electrolysis plants, along with AFC Energy which makes alkaline fuel cells.
It was then that I broke my principle of only investing into funds. I bought into all three of these companies not knowing which would come out on top and lead the field. Well, this seemed to be the signal for the share prices of all three to drop like a stone. It has been a rout, although the companies are still there with plenty of major company money having been invested. I no longer hold any of these shares whilst still believing very strongly that hydrogen energy will take over from fossil fuels.
I do hold the “HydrogenOne Capital Growth” Investment Trust. It also suffered the general hydrogen knock back, but its price is now recovering. I feel more comfortable leaving the manager and his team to make the decisions on which businesses to hold.
Finally, one more thought …
“The budget should be balanced, the treasury should be refilled, public debt should be restricted, and the unnecessary assistance to foreign lands should be reduced, lest Rome become bankrupt. People must again learn to work, instead of living on public assistance.” Cicero 55BC.
It doesn’t sound that different to some of the problems that we’ve got today.
Best wishes and good luck with your investments.
Douglas
Founder & Chairman
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