FTSE 100
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Discussion

jonah35

Original Poster:

3,940 posts

187 months

Thursday 18th August 2011
quotequote all
down over 4% today.

a lot of people on citywire and so on seem to be saying now is a good time to buy
however, it could be seen that they say that all the time and never say it's a bad time to buy

its around 5,000 at present

what do the collective think it will do?

theaxe

3,571 posts

252 months

Thursday 18th August 2011
quotequote all
If you're in it for the short-term then it could go either way. If you're willing to ride it for a few years then now is probably a good time to buy.

anonymous-user

84 months

Thursday 18th August 2011
quotequote all
It's a casino, only gamble what you can afford to lose.

jonah35

Original Poster:

3,940 posts

187 months

Thursday 18th August 2011
quotequote all
do you think there is a chance that it could 'do nothing' in the next few years as it has done over say the past 6 or so years, or indeed the past 12 years?

obviously there is a chance but i have spoken to a couple of people who have been told that historically it always goes up but then fast forward 15 years and they have barely made any money


Beardy10

25,444 posts

205 months

Thursday 18th August 2011
quotequote all
We won't see the lows until there are sovereign debt restructurings and bank recaps.....those won't happen until the st really hits the fan and until that happens the markets won't recover. Politicians and Regulators are either incapable or not motivated to do so until forced to....that is the lesson history has taught us. Everything we have seen so far is a short term fix not a solution....

The kind of solutions the French and Germans are talking about would take years....they don't have that much time.

I think they're are individual stocks that are cheap....the market as a whole goes lower.

jonah35

Original Poster:

3,940 posts

187 months

Thursday 18th August 2011
quotequote all
Beardy10 said:
We won't see the lows until there are sovereign debt restructurings and bank recaps.....those won't happen until the st really hits the fan and until that happens the markets won't recover. Politicians and Regulators are either incapable or not motivated to do so until forced to....that is the lesson history has taught us. Everything we have seen so far is a short term fix not a solution....

The kind of solutions the French and Germans are talking about would take years....they don't have that much time.

I think they're are individual stocks that are cheap....the market as a whole goes lower.
ok, insightful, thanks.

could I ask why you think the markets are not already pricing the debt restructurings in because it could be said that a lot of people seem to think that it is now inevitable and the 'can kicking' has to stop at some point.

sarkozy and merkel could be argued to not be doing that much so surely the markets can see this? can't they?



ringram

14,702 posts

278 months

Thursday 18th August 2011
quotequote all
Yeah thats pretty much my take.
Nothing is fixed yet.
We need to see Eurobonds and converging fiscal union in Euroland.
Austerity will also hammer growth. The debt overhang doesnt get smaller with more austerity, it gets extended.
Nobody is spending because nobody has money. Governments cant or wont spend it.
We need total capitulation first before we see a consistent upside, or a proper resolution to the problems, not just occasional circle jerks by political retards.

Ozzie Osmond

21,189 posts

276 months

Thursday 18th August 2011
quotequote all
Don't forget FTSE 100 is hugely lopsided.

These were the 10 largest companies at 9 March 2011, by market capitalisation (£ billion)

1. BHP Billiton - Mining - £148
2. Shell - Energy - £135
3. HSBC - Bank - £118
4. Vodafone - Telecommunications - £93
5. BP - Energy - £91
6. Rio Tinto - Mining - £86
7. GlaxoSmithKline - Pharmaceuticals - £61
8. Unilever - Consumer goods - £56
9. British American Tobacco - Tobacco - £49
10. British Gas - Energy - £49

It's easy to see that BHP is THREE TIMES THE SIZE of British Gas, and that's only looking at the Top 10 of the 100! Also, there are very few different types of business represented.

When you look at what these businesses do for a living you have to take a vERY negative view of the future to think they won't still be there and making money. For instance, have you noticed the price of petrol, electricity and gas going down recently? Or banks paying generous interest to savers? Or Vodafone closing chops?

jonah35

Original Poster:

3,940 posts

187 months

Thursday 18th August 2011
quotequote all
ringram said:
Yeah thats pretty much my take.
Nothing is fixed yet.
We need to see Eurobonds and converging fiscal union in Euroland.
Austerity will also hammer growth. The debt overhang doesnt get smaller with more austerity, it gets extended.
Nobody is spending because nobody has money. Governments cant or wont spend it.
We need total capitulation first before we see a consistent upside, or a proper resolution to the problems, not just occasional circle jerks by political retards.
playing devils advocate here

won't eurobonds and converging fiscal union at least mean something has been done so the markets may start then looking ahead and therefore possibly rising?

surely if you well informed chaps on here feel that the markets have a way to fall then won't that mean all the traders and so on feel that way too

anonymous-user

84 months

Thursday 18th August 2011
quotequote all
jonah35 said:
do you think there is a chance that it could 'do nothing' in the next few years as it has done over say the past 6 or so years, or indeed the past 12 years?

obviously there is a chance but i have spoken to a couple of people who have been told that historically it always goes up but then fast forward 15 years and they have barely made any money
Yeah it always goes up. It was 6950 11 1/2 years ago! So in 11 1/2 years it's gone up by -26.7%.

As long as you're putting your money away for a minimum of 50 years you'll be fine. rolleyes


jonah35

Original Poster:

3,940 posts

187 months

Thursday 18th August 2011
quotequote all
unrepentant said:
Yeah it always goes up. It was 6950 11 1/2 years ago! So in 11 1/2 years it's gone up by -26.7%.

As long as you're putting your money away for a minimum of 50 years you'll be fine. rolleyes
well yes exactly my point. obviously you aren't including dividends but nor are you including management charges too.

however, most IFA's/financial advisers/fsa recommendations recommend investments for at least 5 years. Do you think that should change so that most funds are only recommended if you want to invest for at least 20 years?

amir_j

3,579 posts

231 months

Thursday 18th August 2011
quotequote all
johnfelstead said:
It's a casino, only gamble what you can afford to lose.
yes When looking at most stock/indices at a 5 year level, you can see the boom then the crash and then, scarily, how quickly the markets rose to current levels. Makes you wonder if its a false dawn.


Also one thing a lot of non finance people won't realise is that the companies in the FTSE 100 make most of their money outside of the uk.

amir_j

3,579 posts

231 months

Thursday 18th August 2011
quotequote all
Ozzie Osmond said:
Don't forget FTSE 100 is hugely lopsided.

These were the 10 largest companies at 9 March 2011, by market capitalisation (£ billion)

1. BHP Billiton - Mining - £148
2. Shell - Energy - £135
3. HSBC - Bank - £118
4. Vodafone - Telecommunications - £93
5. BP - Energy - £91
6. Rio Tinto - Mining - £86
7. GlaxoSmithKline - Pharmaceuticals - £61
8. Unilever - Consumer goods - £56
9. British American Tobacco - Tobacco - £49
10. British Gas - Energy - £49

It's easy to see that BHP is THREE TIMES THE SIZE of British Gas, and that's only looking at the Top 10 of the 100! Also, there are very few different types of business represented.

When you look at what these businesses do for a living you have to take a vERY negative view of the future to think they won't still be there and making money. For instance, have you noticed the price of petrol, electricity and gas going down recently? Or banks paying generous interest to savers? Or Vodafone closing chops?
yes From memory think the FTSE 250/All tends to perform better than the 100.

devonshiredave

552 posts

232 months

Thursday 18th August 2011
quotequote all
One things for sure, its going to be a bumpy ride in the near future - save yourself the bother of going outright either long or short - get long a straddle/strangle and enjoy the volatility

jonah35

Original Poster:

3,940 posts

187 months

Thursday 18th August 2011
quotequote all
amir_j said:
yes When looking at most stock/indices at a 5 year level, you can see the boom then the crash and then, scarily, how quickly the markets rose to current levels. Makes you wonder if its a false dawn.


Also one thing a lot of non finance people won't realise is that the companies in the FTSE 100 make most of their money outside of the uk.
markets do tend to bounce back reasonably quickly and I think most people are aware that most ftse 100 companies make a lot of their earnings outside the uk - HSBC, Diageo, Glaxosmithkline, the miners, the oil companies and so on.

but, do you think there could be a point where it is no longer adviseable to buy investments for 5 years. Normally they are sold on the better growth potential over 5 years plus points but could you argue now that they don't really have better potential for growth over 5 years plus so advisers/funds and so on can't recommend them for 5 year terms

it could be the fact that the market drops a lot more and below the 2003 and 2008 lows.

anonymous-user

84 months

Thursday 18th August 2011
quotequote all
jonah35 said:
markets do tend to bounce back reasonably quickly
How do you figure that when the FTSE is still 25% lower than it was at the end of 1999?

Ozzie Osmond

21,189 posts

276 months

Thursday 18th August 2011
quotequote all
unrepentant said:
jonah35 said:
markets do tend to bounce back reasonably quickly
How do you figure that when the FTSE is still 25% lower than it was at the end of 1999?
Which, you are right, is absolutely the point today. It's particularly remarkable when you see how low interest rates are now compared to then.

Hansgerd

1,274 posts

314 months

Thursday 18th August 2011
quotequote all
Beardy10 said:
We won't see the lows until there are sovereign debt restructurings and bank recaps.....those won't happen until the st really hits the fan and until that happens the markets won't recover. Politicians and Regulators are either incapable or not motivated to do so until forced to....that is the lesson history has taught us. Everything we have seen so far is a short term fix not a solution....

The kind of solutions the French and Germans are talking about would take years....they don't have that much time.

I think they're are individual stocks that are cheap....the market as a whole goes lower.
Agree very much but you forgot the dooming inflation in continental Europe. This will be due to the EZB being forced to print Euro money to pay for all the debts of the PIGS plus Italy and maybe France next (with Germany as the biggest economy in Europe following close behind). That being thanks to the idiotic politics in Europe. This will be an inflation machine.

On a funny note... I still like to watch "how the markets really work" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SwRFoxgEcHc

Listen to the last couple of minutes, it's just taking place in reality now.

Edited by Hansgerd on Thursday 18th August 20:44

ringram

14,702 posts

278 months

Thursday 18th August 2011
quotequote all
jonah35 said:
playing devils advocate here

won't eurobonds and converging fiscal union at least mean something has been done so the markets may start then looking ahead and therefore possibly rising?

surely if you well informed chaps on here feel that the markets have a way to fall then won't that mean all the traders and so on feel that way too
Yes you are right, there should be a nice rally at that point. It wont stop countries having to get their books in order, but it will take the pressure off them and buy a lot more time. If they mess that up then there is no hope for the euro. Just look at the US where states issue their own debt, as does the Fed. The same needs to happen in the EURO zone... with the same supernational fiscal management. IMO.. Of course it needs to be done right with limits and controls, but long term it should be very bullish.
In effect creating the united states of europe..

WhoseGeneration

4,090 posts

237 months

Thursday 18th August 2011
quotequote all
unrepentant said:
How do you figure that when the FTSE is still 25% lower than it was at the end of 1999?
Hmm, I think most prefer to ignore that.
Although there is the question as to whether that provides evidence about our true situation.