any comments, thoughts, on this stock.

Great so after reading all that we're looking at yet another expense this time in the form of a public enquiry.... Just hammer the last nail in and leave it alone..

I'm a bit confused over how shareholders can do any moaning. They invested knowing the risks and it went tits up. So what. They knew the risks and thought they might make a quick buck. No-one cares less about (ie) SEO shareholders, what makes the rock any different?
With UK PLC buying it, they may get a few bob back. If UK PLC didn't it would be allowed to go bump and they'd get nowt.
Would the same shareholders wanting compensation for their losses be as quick to offer extra taxation to the government had they rocketed to 12 a share? No. So why should they be compensated when it goes down?
Unless its on the back of the bloke suing William Hill for 2m. He lost big on a gamble as well.

People who dabbled in this recently can't complain it was a gamble ,i got hit on Biofuels and it was a lesson learned ,i now stick to rules of what i buy or sell ,if you bought in over the last few months it was heads or tails ,and i don't like those odds.

Tonights Dispatches said that Barclays is in big trouble with sub prime and they may have to raise more money.

See who is right tomorrow!!

Looks OK to me.

Barclays tops estimates
MoneyAM
Barclays reported a 1% decline in its 2007 profit, still slightly ahead of analysts' estimates.

Barclays, the UK's third-biggest bank, said its total pretax profit for the year to December 31st 2007 came in at 7.076bn, down from 7.136bn the previous year.

Mitzy what do you think of Barclays results?

u pay u money and take u chances,so we lost this time or have we time will tell,might win next 1,prty good buy

Hi halifax

Barclays results in line for 2007 but still rumours of a 5b rights issue.

Alan,

'No-one cares less about (ie) SEO shareholders, what makes the rock any different?'

The difference is that 'the rock' is situated in Labour's heartland - jobs would have been lost (over 6000), votes lost.

If it had been the 'East Cheam and Epsom Bank' it would have been left to sink.

Gotta disagree there, Oblo (not like us to disagree).
Any major bank would have been rescued to prevent all the banks going tits up.
The ones bleating are the major shareholders, ie investment banks located in the square mire (sic).
The geordies are used to being unemployed, thats why they all grow such wonderful marrows, but the institutions have real problems with the idea of not being able to hold a company to ransom and make a big profit.

Definately gotta disagree, Alan.

NR going bust wouldn't have had a further adverse an effect on the major banks. People already know it has been kept afloat artificially - the damage is already done.
If they had been allowed to sink their customers would have to go somewhere else = more business for existing banks.

They wouldn't have sunk, anyway, if Branson had been allowed to take over.

Pretty small beer compared to the top 5 before the fall - even smaller now. Due to their customers being Geordie Marrow farmers, no doubt!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banks_of_the_United_Kingdom

This rescue is definately, IMO, an attempt at vote saving in the NE. Southern Rock wouldn't have had the same help.

Southern Rock? Hell, whats the ticker, i want to short it...!

For Southern Rock try AL.!

Very firmly disagree!!!!
Firstly, people queued to take money out and keep it out. It didn't all transfer to another bank. If a major retail bank was allowed to collapse, then the queues to withdraw cash at all the others would be huge. Not loans obviously, but therein lies a recipe to turn every bank into a rock clone.
Secondly, I hear rumours of a certain large bank, based in London, who are restricting their policy on lending to existing channels, which is exactly how the rock first reacted last summer. If they are in trouble, HMG will do exactly the same.
Finally, most of the banks have applied for or taken emergency funding, either from HMG or the ECB, just much more quietly.
As a footnote, the sub prime crisis is showing signs of abating. A smaller lender has developed a product to fill the niche, using the Swiss LIBOR markets and hedging the currency. The client is left with a product with no currency risk and a rate for someone with unlimited credit problems of just 7.39% tracker. Lower than some high street standard variable rates.
Suddenly money is affordable again and accessible for those who have fuelled the economy for a decade. If it works then others will follow suit.

We await AL' s results tomorrow should make interesting comparisons with NRK.

thought they were thursday..???

Tomorrow.

Agree with the Swiss Franc comment, this currency could well be the next carry trade.

Hoping for nice figures from Alliance, Lloyds and is it HSBC next week???, just so i can short the finance/bank sector after the rise, its my belief that despite what they announce, America will still be the cause of a lot of financial pain in the coming weeks...