ANYONE KNOW WHY THE ROYAL BANK OF SCOTLAND IS SHOWING A SHARE PRICE AROUND THE 6.59 MARK WHEN IT WAS 18.00 OR SO THE OTHER WEEK OR AM I GOING STRANGE?????????????

My target is 150p within 12 months.

If we see 150p then we are in trouble, I certainly see more weakness ahead in the sector, but am I brave enough to go short. I will have to think about that.

It might happen spitfire if things turn really nasty and they issue a profit warning you just dont know today.

if they go ex-rights at some point in May, then would seem logical to hold off until a bit nearer the time. i assume they will announce a date with an RNS and i will have until the end of the day before that date to hold, in order to qualify for the rights issue. i think it may pay to hold off for a while longer as i think the SP will drift slightly lower. i know this runs the risk of missing the boat.
How is my logic?

i dont currently hold but am thinking about doing so
Alex

Good thinking Robert no point buying now wait till just before the right issue and that way you cut down the risk of losing money between now and the ex right date.

I'm with you Alex

I don't hold any RBS but am waiting for a pullback to take advantage of the rights issue, you can never be sure but I would think a good entry point would occur before they go ex rights.

Unless the sp goes up of course. ;-)

They are down 3% today, but if sp goes up I will miss this opportunity and look elsewhere.

Do I fancy cattles ???????

Not a lot !!!!!!!!!!!

The FSA should be looking at the Board of this company how they can say everything is doing fine and then 2 months later say trading has deteriorated is a scandal.
This is a top Ftse100 company but they are acting like a bunch of schoolgirls.

These schoolgirl bunches - are you meaning the FSA? = our Betters, who forgot to check the taps were turned off at NRK and watched the top-floor bath overflow . . . thinking it would soon be alright?

Or is RBS . . . somehow being Regulated by . . . another group of Betters?

. . . . . . . . . . Maybe, they should all have their collars felt! . . . . . . . . . . .


RIGHTS:
I don't hold (It's too Scottish!), but I guess the time to Buy would be after the Rights - because at that point the Management will have to tell the Market what their position is, after the dust has settled . . . . it's possible the Rights may be Undersubscribed!!!
AT that point, all previous shares become devalued ( by the Dilution), and the whole market will be in turmoil as any gain will be erased by folk selling . . . . ( but this is sometimes made difficult by not issueing shares quickly!). . . . . If they have to sell-off some other Businesses, it will look quite bad IMHO - - is this a Dead Man Walking. . . . . . . ?

Grief - now watch the other Bankers lining up for a hand-out.

. . . . . . . . What a way to run a business!

i didnt realise you were racist, hangon!!!

if u know anything about RBS, then one will know most of their business is abroad! 75% of their profit is abroad as uk has been crap for a long time, mainly due to this dreadful labour government.

i actually worked in aberdeen in past and its half english......but aberdeen has no community cos of it as hardly anyone cares and the people seem to have drink problems as most of them go to earn obscene salaries and then go out and get drunk most nights.....and most of people are apathetic and dont know whats going on in country let alone the world.

at least RBS have just made some mistakes mainly with amro takeover. contrast that with ENGLISH hbos who have a crooked corrupt git at the top.......i say english as halifax are two thirds of the hbos and most of board r from halifax and know NOTHING about banking

If holders are offered shares at a discount they may not want to take up the offer and sell nil or part paid, there will be a period of time when the "New " are traded without stamp duty i think, alongside the old rbs. interesting take on the size and help needed to get the offer away can be seen at ft.com here:http://ftalphaville.ft.com/blog/2008/04/23/12539/paying-to-get-12bn-away/

Clearly a lot of collective thinking has gone into the rights price of 200p. Looking at it from the dividend/yield point of view, RBS has ear-marked funds (shares for the interim) to maintain the dividend. Thus an sp of around 225p would give the 10% yield that has been seen recently. This could be seen as a floor for the sp. In practise, its all in the value seen by the financial market. My personal view is that i still see RBS as second (in London) to HSBC and well ahead of Barclays, Lloyds TSB and HBOS. But perhaps that is not saying much!

i agree robson.

HBOS ARE truely woeful these days if since the so called merger in 2001.
bank of scotland was valued at 10 in 2001.......i have it on good authority that HBOS ARE valued at only 6.50 now...........so halifax have decreased value by 3.50 in 7 years.....i thought people got wealthier as time went on, not poorer ....or poverty stricken in hbos case

Based on current sp ex rights price now around 287p heading rapidly towards 250p. Should be fun trading the nil paid next month.

Dresdner Kleinwort has downgraded its rating for RBS to 'reduce' from 'hold' today, cutting its target to 310 pence from 500, saying that although the bank's balance sheet will be secure after the rights issue, it still faces many 'earnings headwinds'.

I have a substantial holding in these and I am in a quandary.
In common with many others I have insufficient cash to take up my full
Rights allocation, which I am inclined to do based on the substantial discount. The average cost of the shares I hold is 4.34 which at todays close is down 89p or 20%.
Given the above would it make sense to consider selling some RBS now (25% of my holding) albeit at a loss, as a means of raising the required capital to take up my rights in full ?

Any general guidance/thoughts on above would be most appreciated.
Regards.

annie38 if you really wish to take up your rights entitlement without investing anymore cash then you should instruct your broker to sell sufficient nil paid rights to take up the balance. At present the nil paid rights are theretically worth around 90p each therefore to take up some of your rights you would have to sell slightly more than half of the nil paid share allocation. However if RBS share price continues to slide then the nil paid rights will be worth less and the number of new shares you could take up will diminish.

Annie I don't think it makes much difference as the price is adjusted automatically to take account of the new shares. A little better to sell the nil paid as there are no dealing costs (agree Halifax's comment re selling part and using the cash to take up the rest). Its hard to call where the price will head, perhaps a bit further down. I am down about 10% and holding to see where the dust settles. Two or three years down the line they will probably be double where they are now! They will start moving when we can see the end of the tunnel - but it may be a rocky ride before then.

Eric

Hope this isn't a silly question but what are nil paid rights, please?