Scottish independence

Ryan_Futuristics

Looks like there'll be a buying opportunity for the Murray International investment trust:

hl.co.uk/shares/shares-search-results/m/murray-international-trust-ord-25p-share

Premium/discount's practically halved in a day (it's under Aberdeen Asset Management) ... Of course, if you think there'll be a Yes, you might prefer to get out

One of the finest trusts available - usually trades at a premium of around 5-6% ... Over the years it's given Small Cap levels of growth, with Large Cap-like dividends and stability

I'd say a global trust is the best passive investment available because it has the most flexibility to adapt to the market - right now it's sensibly underexposed to the US and UK, and has about 3x the exposure to emerging markets as the MSCI World Index

robin61

What an awful situation the Scots have got themselves into. No matter which way this goes almost half of their country are not going to like the decision. I am very pleased I do not live there.

I have significant cash investments in Lloyd's Bank and Halifax and my AVC is with Standard Life. In the event of a yes vote unless there is a very quick relocation to England I will be transferring my investments elsewhere. There is no way I would leave my hard earned at the mercy of the likes of Salmond and his cronies.

Even if there is a no vote I still think that in future I will be unlikely to invest any significant sums with Scottish organisations as I really think that the Nationalists will just keep coming back until they eventually get the answer they want. I wonder how many other individuals and businesses will be thinking along the same lines ?

gkerr4

robin61 wrote: »

What an awful situation the Scots have got themselves into. No matter which way this goes almost half of their country are not going to like the decision. I am very pleased I do not live there.

I have significant cash investments in Lloyd's Bank and Halifax and my AVC is with Standard Life. In the event of a yes vote unless there is a very quick relocation to England I will be transferring my investments elsewhere. There is no way I would leave my hard earned at the mercy of the likes of Salmond and his cronies.

Even if there is a no vote I still think that in future I will be unlikely to invest any significant sums with Scottish organisations as I really think that the Nationalists will just keep coming back until they eventually get the answer they want. I wonder how many other individuals and businesses will be thinking along the same lines ?

I totally agree - its been a terrible process and so divisive of the nation.

There was a suggestion that as it was so close to 50/50 that the referendum should be called off and some common ground found - I totally agree with that. Scotland will never recover from this - an extreme view would be the sort of troubles that we have seen in Northern Ireland over the past few decades.

Im a Scotsman by birth and have lived in North-West England for 22 of my 40 years. I can't quite lose my accent (even if i try! lol!) Everyone assumes i am "totally for" independence and i get comments like "if you don't want to be part of us f**k off back there". I love England but mostly I love Britain. its really quite damaging and worrying.

the economics don't stack up - its such a waste, but the SNP propaganda machine plays on the emotions of the naive and the gullible - as nationalism always has. it'll be a very sad day if a yes vote is carried.

ColdIron

Huge drift in favour of No recently

http://uk.site.sports.betfair.com/betting/LoadRunnerInfoAction.do?marketId=110033387&selectionId=5334893&timeZone=Europe/London&locale=en&region=GBR&brand=betfair&currency=GBP

Was it Mumsnet wot did it or the concerns of nearly every Scottish financial institution and global giants from BP and Royal Dutch Shell to Credit Suisse and Nomura?

zeupater

Hi

Don't you just love how politicians spin issues .....

Creating a situation where financial instability and uncertainty has necessitated a major employer, and crucially in the case of independence, a major potential contributor to future national wealth to announce a relocation ... it's suddenly an issue being caused by Westminster ???? ....

In addition, producing a letter an stating ... “I’ve just been handed the letter that the chief executive of the Royal Bank of Scotland sent out to staff this morning and let me read you it: ‘It’s my view as chief executive that any decision to move our registered headquarters would have no impact on everyday banking services used by customers in Scotland." ... Okay, that may be the case as 'everyday banking services' effectively means what it says .... the banking services which the majority of customers would use on an everyday basis, would it not be logical to say that this is the high-street branches and would therefore exclude supporting services ?? ....

Of course, there's the inevitable claim that it's a simply a case of unscrewing a 'brass plaque' and mounting it somewhere else .... really? ... is it that simple? ... would there be absolutely no revenue or economic implications? ...

Further to the above, I can see much being made of a statement in the referenced RBS letter " ... IT and operations, human resources and many other functions, are here because of the skills and knowledge of our people, and the sound business environment. So far, I see no reason why this would change ..." .... well, considering the uncertainty previously mentioned regarding EU/EEA membership being agreed and finalised BEFORE independence, there's a very big risk which needs mitigation .... there's not doubt in my mind that "IT and operations, human resources" have been specifically highlighted because their exposure to risk of data protection implications is somewhere towards the front of current thinking .... why else would a statement be so obviously qualified by the use of the term "So far" ....

Of course, there are those who will read this post and consider the points made, then there are others who will simply brush it aside as being irrelevant .... irrelevant?? - really?

robin61

gkerr4 wrote: »

the economics don't stack up - its such a waste, but the SNP propaganda machine plays on the emotions of the naive and the gullible - as nationalism always has. it'll be a very sad day if a yes vote is carried.

I agree it will be sad. Actually I have always been a Euro sceptic but I am re-thinking that stance now having seen the potential impacts on currency, jobs and investments that a major change such as this can have.
I also think if there is a yes vote then we will be moving to a whole new level of bitterness when you start trying to divide up assets and liabilities.

zeupater

robin61 wrote: »

... I also think if there is a yes vote then we will be moving to a whole new level of bitterness when you start trying to divide up assets and liabilities.

I'm in total agreement there ....

If that's the outcome, the 'Yes' supporters will be bitter with the 'Westminster' and 'The English' who haven't just rolled over without protecting their own positions ... add to this a realisation that guaranteed assertions were nothing more than a negotiation wish list ...

The 'No' supporters will be really annoyed (to say the least) for years to come .... think of the reputation of the Tories in mining communities and then scale this up by a logarithmic factor ...

And those south of the border, including a couple of million disenfranchised compatriots .... what about their reaction? ... business as normal, or a little more careful consideration in any decision making process ??

Anyway, there's a couple of eventualities that are almost guaranteed if the result is 'Yes' ..... If promises aren't converted quickly it'll be very hard to find may wearing clothing or insignia proudly proclaiming "I voted yes" and probably many wouldn't even admit to the fact without the feeling of bitter self-loathing, whilst, if all turns out as promised and a utopian society is delivered, it'll still be a generation or more before bitter family arguments subside ...

I'm happy to be outside the process, but still expect (/demand) my position to be robustly protected if necessary .....

In_For_A_Penny_2

gkerr4 wrote: »

I totally agree - its been a terrible process and so divisive of the nation.

There was a suggestion that as it was so close to 50/50 that the referendum should be called off and some common ground found - I totally agree with that. Scotland will never recover from this - an extreme view would be the sort of troubles that we have seen in Northern Ireland over the past few decades.

I think a no vote will be much less divisive - after all, nothing concrete will change and after 6 months this will be a thing of the past.

Think your N.Ireland analogy is way out though. . . What happened there can only be described as a war (even if the media chose to portray it as a bit of "trouble"). . . I think Scotland is safe on that front!

rpc

zeupater wrote: »

Of course, there's the inevitable claim that it's a simply a case of unscrewing a 'brass plaque' and mounting it somewhere else .... really? ... is it that simple? ... would there be absolutely no revenue or economic implications? ...

Just corporation tax which would almost certainly follow the brass plaque. That's why (unless Scotland decided to implement double taxation) Amazon, for example, has what little profit it makes taxed at their HQ in Luxembourg and not in the UK.

We've already been told that relocating headquarters puts jobs at risk. By Nicola Sturgeon, no less. Or perhaps it is different when it happens on her watch? http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/4222854.stm

black_taxi_2

if 47% YES is black weds im very happy


Voter registration figures are out today. My colleague Libby Brooks has sent us this.
A total of 4,285,323 people – about 97% of the adult population – have registered to vote in the Scottish independence referendum next week, making this the largest electorate the country has ever known for any election or referendum.
The figures include 118,640 voters who have registered in the last month alone, since August 1, as well as 789,024 postal voters. A total of 164, 829 voters have been added to the register since March 1 this year.