Disclosure: I own shares in one or more of the stocks mentioned. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from ShareProphets). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.

Harold Lloyd, the Black Horse and High Buildings Don’t Mix, but the Dark Nag could Still Be Worth A Punt.

By Malcolm Stacey

2 January 2015 04:23

More:

Hello Share Seekers. You may remember Harold Lloyd, the famous silent picture star, who climbed tall buildings and kept falling off them.

Already a member? Sign in

• All premium articles

• Tom Winnifrith’s Bearcast

• Access to all the entire nearly 13 year archive

• ShareProphets Daily Newsletter

Cancel any time

This area of the ShareProphets.com site is for independent financial commentary. These blogs are provided by independent authors via a common carrier platform and do not represent the opinions of ShareProphets.com. ShareProphets.com does not monitor, approve, endorse or exert editorial control over these articles and does not therefore accept responsibility for or make any warranties in connection with or recommend that you or any third party rely on such information. The information available at ShareProphets.com is for your general information and use and is not intended to address your particular requirements. In particular, the information does not constitute any form of advice or recommendation by ShareProphets.com and is not intended to be relied upon by users in making (or refraining from making) any investment decisions.

Comments

Fullerbull

4 January 2016, 08:23

Hi Malcolm,
No offence, but:
1) On what numerical basis do you regard Lloyds rising to £1?
2) “The Government will not let it fail” only means that it is unlikely to go bust (i.e. not reach zero p), but does not assume that it will hold at 20p, 50p, or whatever level it has fallen to in the next “bust up”!
3) “Compensation claims MUST also be declining” Why? The whole problem with banks is that their affairs are opaque! How do you know that there is no new devastating revelation impending? Track record says that there will be some.
4) “Government said … that investigations into past bank misdemeanours were to be scaled down.” Since when have you believed anything that politicians say!? The first sign that political advantage can be gained by bashing the banks, they will be at it again!
5) “All those irritating threats to break up Lloyds … seem to have gone away.” See 4) above – they could come back at any time!
6) I wonder what special knowledge/skills that newspaper pundits have that make them really worthy of particular attention? (I know you qualified that by saying “for what its worth”)

Cost cutting and some breathing space to concentrate on the proftable end of their operations, as you rightly say, should help to improve matters. However, I don’t see the future as “rosy”, but I do hope you are right, as I have a five figure sum invested in the shares. My hope is that that the good old “boring” bank of pre-HBOS days will return (on the basis that this way of thinking is still embedded in the culture and the idiots,who took an uncharacteristic and hastey gamble at the behest of Brown, have gone).
Rgds
Fuller