ShareSoc Blog
The ShareSoc blog provides news and informal commentary from directors, members and other contributors. Entries reflect the personal views of the authors, which do not necessarily reflect ShareSoc’s formal position. Contributors may hold shares in the companies mentioned. Nothing in this blog should be viewed as financial advice. You may submit comments on blog posts, but ShareSoc reserves the right to remove or edit inappropriate or defamatory submissions.
There is more news given in the News page of our web site and more analysis of news is provided in our monthly newsletter for members – see the Newsletters page.
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ShareSoc and UKSA’s joint response to the FCA consultation on Illiquid Assets is available here
The trading statement this morning (17/12/2018) from ASOS (ASC) has caused the share price to fall by 40% at the time of writing. Other internet retailers such as Boohoo (BOO) fell in sympathy.
ASOS reported that revenue was up by 14% over the previous year, but warned that they “experienced a significant deterioration in the important trading month of November and conditions remain challenging. As a result, we have reduced our expectations for the current financial year”.
In effect the previous forecast sales ...
Today, 17 December 2018, ShareSoc and the UK Shareholders Association submitted to the FCA a joint response on behalf of individual investors to this consultation. The key points we made were:
UKSA and ShareSoc represent the 5 million people who own shares and have investment accounts with platforms in the UK. We represent the individual investors who own 12% of the UK stock market: they own 30%, if you include their investments via funds, pensions, etc.
Our view is that better labelling of these ...
A report commissioned by the Labour Party has advocated the break-up of the big four audit firms that dominate the audits of FTSE-350 firms. The report, co-authored by Prof. Prem Sikka et al, even goes so far as to suggest that their share of that market should be limited to 50% and that joint audits be promoted. In addition it argues that audit firms should be banned from doing non-audit work for the same company, and an independent body to appoint audit ...
Today I attended the Annual General Meeting of Blancco Technology Group (BLTG). This technology company is now focused on the data erasure market which is surely a growing one. I have commented on this company before (see links below), particularly as the company, and its shareholders, seemed to be a victim of false accounting – an issue that is way too prevalent of late.
The legal framework under which companies, their directors and the regulatory bodies operate just seems to be too ...
by Cliff Weight, Director, ShareSoc
The FCA have launched a new consultation on CFDs and “retail derivatives”: https://www.fca.org.uk/publications/consultation-papers/cp18-38-restricting-contract-difference-products-sold-retail-clients-and-discussion-other-retail
We are circulating this to members to see if anyone has specific experience and competence to be able to respond – and is willing to help.
The FCA have asked 17 specific questions. Our approach to consultations is to only answer those questions where we have particular knowledge. We usually write a covering letter highlighting our views about the key issues and then give the answers ...
Yesterday (6/12/2018) was another sad day for those who would like to stop false accounts being published by public companies. Two former executives of Tesco who had been charged with their involvement in the inflating of Tesco’s profits by including supplier credits were discharged by the court on the basis that they had no case to answer. The judge, Sir John Royce, said the case was so weak that it should not be put to a jury.
It appears that the problem ...
I have received this feedback from the FRC "Thank you very much for rounding up a great audience on Monday, we are very pleased with how the event went. Please find attached the slides and feel free to circulate them to attendees." So, here are the slides.
Lifting the Lid Event Slides - 3 December 2018
The FRC stressed they want to hear our complaints about companies and auditors. If you have a complaint then send it to the FRC complaints email oversight@frc.org.uk. If you wish to ...
Neil Mitchell, who ran Torex Retail before he blew the whistle on an earlier fraud at the software company and RBS’s Global Restructuring Group took control of the business, has applied for a judicial review of a UK Financial Conduct Authority decision in July that its options for taking action were “limited”. Neil, who claims to represent 530 complainants affected by alleged wrongdoing at GRG, alleges in his judicial review application that the FCA has been “unlawfully refusing or failing” to ...
Should Annual General Meetings of companies be held at reasonably convenient locations and on convenient dates and times so that as many shareholders as possible can attend? Most private shareholders certainly think so. But Bellway (BWY) seem to be taking the opposite approach.
Their 2016 AGM was at the very sensible and easily achievable time of 2pm in the afternoon so all shareholders hoping to attend could actually meet the directors and ask questions. They could travel from all over the country ...
