FTSE100 now officially in bear teritory

Graham_Devon

mayonnaise wrote: »

Yes, I believe tobacco billboard advertising is still allowed in Germany and some Eastern Europe states.
I'd be surprised to see topless women on those ads though.

Was a few years ago I'll admit.

But on a more recent trip, the Sloggi string time adverts were truly superb.

Google at your own leisure!

N1AK

kabayiri wrote: »

One thing they do have is a game plan. They never had the objective of just becoming the sweatshop of the world. Manufacturing was a just a way in to the higher value functions.

They already supply half the world's steel. I'd say they are on the way to a monopoly. It's UK steel which is toast.

Half the world's steel isn't a monopoly, that's still plenty of competition.

As steel production has a reasonably high cost of entry, you could certainly make a case for the UK government supporting some steel production as a strategic interest, and even potentially funding the mothballing of some additional capacity.

The trick in this kind of situation is to take advantage of the subsidy another nation is offering you without exposing yourself to price gouging in the future.

Conrad

News from a week on the stock market.
Helium was up, but feathers were down. Paper was stationary, but pencils lost a few points. Lifts rose but escalators continued their slow decline. Switches were off and mining equipment hit rock bottom. The raisin market has dried up. Pampers remained unchanged while Sun peaked at mid-day. Andrex tissues touched a new bottom.

Thrugelmir

Graham_Devon wrote: »

Well I can't tell you the name as I couldn't even pronounce it. However, was in the suburbs in Germany.

So what then? Nothing to do with us in the UK.

Graham_Devon

Thrugelmir wrote: »

So what then? Nothing to do with us in the UK.

I know. But the tobacco firms are not solely UK based.

N1AK

Thrugelmir wrote: »

So what then? Nothing to do with us in the UK.

The fact he said an EU train station, rather than British, was a not so subtle hint to the less inattentive amongst us

Graham_Devon

Graham_Devon wrote: »

It's fallen 20% since it's high in April 2014.

Just sayin.....

Oil and commodities seem to be weighing heavy on the stockmarkets, alongside worries over China- meanwhile people seem to be worried that we are heading for 2008 all over again.

http://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/jan/20/investors-run-cover-repeat-of-2008-financial-crash-davos-bear-markets

What a difference a couple of days makes.

Everything is awesome again! Oil up over 8%. Only reason I can find is that Draghi made a non-commital comment regarding more stimulus.

Draghi has denied that QE is turning toxic and has stated that the EU has plenty of instruments and is ready and willing to deploy those instruments.

However, others are suggesting that balance of advantage (when it comes to stimulus) had already turned negative. There are therefore fears that ever more extreme central bank intervention will create "insideous" new risks.

Either way, the markets are loving it.

"We have plenty of instruments. We have the determination, and the willingness of the governing council to act and deploy these instruments,” he said, speaking at the World Economic Forum.

Axel Weber, the former Bundesbank chief and now head of UBS, said the balance of advantage had already turned negative. "There is a very clear limit to what the ECB can achieve. The problem is that monetary policy has largely run its course," he said in Davos.

"The side effects of the medicine are getting stronger and stronger: the curative effects are getting weaker and weaker," he said, adding that the current turmoil in the markets is the first taste of the hangover, evidence of the price we may have to pay.

Mr Weber said the ECB was likely to keep pushing interest rates deeper in negative territory but this could backfire: "There is a big risk that it may actually drive cash out of the economy."

The answer to every fall in the market seems to be more stimulus at the moment. I guess the question from me is can this cycle be stopped now (without severe economic issues), or are we locked in to ever more stimulus?

mayonnaise

Graham_Devon wrote: »

Everything is awesome again! Oil up over 8%.

Will this impact Aberdeen rents? :think:

Graham_Devon

mayonnaise wrote: »

Will this impact Aberdeen rents? :think:

I'm not sure.

But it's a sure fire thing that house prices in Wood Green will be up another 7% on the news.

kinger101

Graham_Devon wrote: »

I personally couldn't invest in tobacco companies.

However, I can't see any big legislation that will impact them that badly at the moment. In some parts of the EU you still get train station posters of women in suspenders clutching a pack of camels, often topless, to promote fags.

Would take a pretty big shift to turn that sort of thing around.

It reminds me of a fake ad that appeared in Viz. "She gets the blokes because she smokes". I can't condone that sort of thing, but I'd like to see a copy of the Camels advert. Purely for research purposes.