Stocks and shares

paddyrg

Generali - completely agree. Insane valuation. The thing that upsets me most is that that valuation WILL affect pension funds etc., some of which will track 'key' stocks.

And for an illegal cab operation, oh very much agree. Just calling something 'ride sharing' does not make it so, it's every bit as much ride sharing as that dodgy bloke who hangs around outside nightclubs with a Datsun Cherry. The sheer arrogance of 'we don't need to obey local laws because 'murica and bald eagles and guns and !!!!' is vile. And it's a couple of arrogant kids behind it, behaving like arrogant kids... It has to all come a-tumbling at some point...

Hailo at least you get a black cab, all legit. They even are offering £20 'welcome back' free travel just now (if you have an old account, log in!).

The valuation represents EVERY SINGLE ADULT in the WORLD making $100 worth of taxi travel through UBER before any overheads.

padington

paddyrg wrote: »

Generali - completely agree. Insane valuation. The thing that upsets me most is that that valuation WILL affect pension funds etc., some of which will track 'key' stocks.

And for an illegal cab operation, oh very much agree. Just calling something 'ride sharing' does not make it so, it's every bit as much ride sharing as that dodgy bloke who hangs around outside nightclubs with a Datsun Cherry. The sheer arrogance of 'we don't need to obey local laws because 'murica and bald eagles and guns and !!!!' is vile. And it's a couple of arrogant kids behind it, behaving like arrogant kids... It has to all come a-tumbling at some point...

Hailo at least you get a black cab, all legit. They even are offering £20 'welcome back' free travel just now (if you have an old account, log in!).

The valuation represents EVERY SINGLE ADULT in the WORLD making $100 worth of taxi travel through UBER before any overheads.

No idea about valuations but that company have changed how I travel. I'm using cabs lots more and never had a driver with a bad then to say about uber. The situation was the old companies would make drivers pay bribes to the fat controller for the best jobs, all the drivers hated it, this has allowed a level playing friend in a game that was bent as hell.

If you're female you can also use it to call black cabs even with no card and no money or without actually having to make a phone call.

Generali

padington wrote: »

No idea about valuations but that company have changed how I travel. I'm using cabs lots more and never had a driver with a bad then to say about uber. The situation was the old companies would make drivers pay bribes to the far controller for the best jobs, all the drivers hated it, this has allowed a level playing friend in a game that was bent as hell.

If Your female you can also use it to call black cabs. Its pretty amazing and as I say, still got loads of sceptics.

That Uber fills a gap in the market doesn't make it legal or worth $50bn.

Cabs are crap in most parts of the world (I actually had a black cab driver say the words, "South of the River at this time of night guv? You must be joking" and London cabs are the best I've ever had).

In Sydney a licence plate (just the number plate) to allow a car to become a cab costs ~$350,000. There are similar costs and restrictions on cabs in most countries. Uber basically make their profit by ignoring that ridiculous cost and operating illegally instead.

Ultimately they will force change on cities by getting rid of cab plates and medallions (anyone remember Taxi?). When they do they will rid themselves of their reason to have such a huge value applied to them.

purch

paddyrg wrote: »

The valuation represents EVERY SINGLE ADULT in the WORLD making $100 worth of taxi travel through UBER before any overheads.

Sounds pretty conservative compared to some Tech IPO's

lisyloo

Really? Uber Have got a poor rep in the UK and hardly anyone I know has tried them but their system is amazing and their cabies love them.

I've used Uber. Loved the fact that I didn't need to get cash and as a single woman in central London I liked the fact that I could identify the diver and the car.
The drivers don't like the fact that they have no person they can speak to (on-line/email support only).
I didn't like the fact that it's all set up to pay no VAT and they milked the tube strikes, but I'd probably use them in future.
One morning (it was about 3:30) I saw a black cab pull up so I could have got that but a drunken bloke got out and I'd feel a lot less safe around loud drunken blokes at 3:30 in the morning.

Generali

lisyloo wrote: »

I've used Uber. Loved the fact that I didn't need to get cash and as a single woman in central London I liked the fact that I could identify the diver and the car.
The drivers don't like the fact that they have no person they can speak to (on-line/email support only).
I didn't like the fact that it's all set up to pay no VAT and they milked the tube strikes, but I'd probably use them in future.
One morning (it was about 3:30) I saw a black cab pull up so I could have got that but a drunken bloke got out and I'd feel a lot less safe around loud drunken blokes at 3:30 in the morning.

Uber may be okay, good or super awesome. That doesn't make them worth $50bn necessarily.

I just don't see Uber being massively profitable as it's just too easy to compete with them on a local scale. I don't care that I can order a minicab in a thousand cities on a single app because I spend almost all my time in one city, as do most people.

What Uber will force through is cab companies becoming a bit nicer and a bit more efficient.

The network effect for Uber that is much touted I really have my doubts about.

Even Amazon can't make substantial profits because there are too many companies around that would simply undercut them with the support of publishers.

Physics

padington wrote: »

What your advice to buy then ?

It depends on timescale, but the advice I'd go by is a diversified, global portfolio of cheap gilts and index trackers, appropriately weighted by your age/timescale/risk aversion. It's terribly boring.

purch

There is no such thing as a cheap Gilt currently. :eek:

Physics

Maybe? I don't know.

But I didn't mean cheap in an absolute sense; I meant cheap regarding the management fees.

padington

Physics wrote: »

It depends on timescale, but the advice I'd go by is a diversified, global portfolio of cheap gilts and index trackers, appropriately weighted by your age/timescale/risk aversion. It's terribly boring.

Why would you track an index in the face of rising interest rates ? Surely it's time to be more targeted ?