Right, intention is to stick about 3.5k into some BP shares, since I think they're through the worst now and we're still going to need petrol this time next year. Having never done this before, how do I get started?
I'm assuming that it's done on computer nowadays and no-one in a silly blazer frantically waves a number in the LSE any more. Any recommendations?
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BP's 12 month high is £6.50, and currently tracking at £4.04, so is about 60% of its peak.
Given that is planning to shed 30% of its resources (selling its US refining and other assets), is likely to loose its Russian business, and will never get a license to drill on any US territory, I would say BP is priced about right.
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www.tdwaterhouse.co.uk/
But 3.5k is going to buy less than a 1000 shares, so even a healthy rise is not going to make you much dosh after commission and stamp duty.
I myself have had a nice touch on Lloyds having bought in at 49p, and seen a nice rise today.
I would wait for a pullback and buy those, because the results will be out in early August and it may rise up till then and pull back again.
Timing is most important though and don't forget that in a couple of years they may start paying out a dividend again.
BP has quite a few uncertainties hanging around it's neck and personally I would not bother, but investing/gambling in any company, is of course a decision only you can make.
Good luck.
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i would rather invest in llama meat
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Never buy American sourced meat, have you never seen Prime Cut?
www.imdb.com/title/tt0069121/
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give up guys
that hurt my tear ducts
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I take it that this is your first ever share purchase? I'm not sure that putting quite so much money into a risky stock like that is terribly sensible.
I think BP is priced about right.
Shell (buy RDSB, not RDSA) however is 10% off where it was before the spill yet doesn't have the problems of BP, so looks like a much better buy.
Buy it into a stocks and shares ISA.
I suggest going to your bank's online banking, and they will 99% certain have an online share trading account that you can open.
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I'm no expert, but I think BP shares have further to fall.
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>> I'm no expert, but I think BP shares have further to fall.
The 'experts' get it wrong a lot of the time.
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I think banks are the place to be. Lloyds looks seriously underpriced to me.
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They will announce that they have started to kill well in a couple of days if goes OK shares up if does not work shares will go down. If first attempt fails a second relief well is nearly in position. Check out also Transocean (rig ownwers) stock and Drilquip (wellhead manufactures) stock. To be honest they have a 50/50 chance, it depends on the integrity of the casing and formations above the zone where the blowout is coming from......that is why they are checking the seabed for seeps......this is not Hollywood a happy ending is not guaranteed.
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BP are going to be a smaller outfit at the end of this, so dont be under any ilusion that they will rise back to 6.50 when they are through the worst of this. They are already quite some way up from their 2.95 low so I think you (and I) have missed the boat. I considered them, but have now decided its to late.
I am not into holding shares for any period, I tend to use CFD's
I would advise that banks such as Lloyds look a much better investment as they are in effect govt backed so wont fail and are on the road to recovery. Give it a couple of years and the banks will be very strong
Halifax offer a straight forward service, but so do most high street banks
www.halifax.co.uk/sharedealing/share_dealing_home.asp
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>> I think banks are the place to be. Lloyds looks seriously underpriced to me.
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Aha, the same Lloyds that is up 30% since the start of this month...
Edited to add: Not, I add, that I disagree with you.
Last edited by: Mapmaker on Thu 29 Jul 10 at 09:39
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Hate to be a wet blanket, but surely it goes against the grain to profit from somebody elses' misfortune?
Oh look, there's a HUGE environmental disaster... let me see how i can make a few bucks out of it.
May I suggest you consider Chernobyl Nuclear Fuels ltd, Zimbabwean Corn Ltd and Haitian Government stocks?
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>> May I suggest you consider Chernobyl Nuclear Fuels ltd,
their fuel escaped
Zimbabwean Corn Ltd
their corn is dead
and Haitian Government
>> stocks?
the ones they use to whip people in.
Of course its perfectly acceptable to buy BP stock, if its been forced low by an environmental event, and you expect it to rise again.
In this case I wouldnt, because BP willno tbe the same comany after the event.
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Many peoples pensions are exposed to BP, and not by their own choice, so I don't think they're taking advantage of an environmental disaster.
>>May I suggest you consider Chernobyl Nuclear Fuels ltd,
Uranium looks good.
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If BP are being forced to sell £30bn of assets then surely that will impact the value of the company and therefore the shares. Had this disaster been fixed with the first attempt then it probably would have recovered it's value. But now it's going to cost them around £20bn or more it doesn't look so positive.
I wonder if their decisions to cut corners/cost will ever be repeated by anyone in the industry again? Probably....
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>> I wonder if their decisions to cut corners/cost will ever be repeated by anyone in
>> the industry again? Probably....
They're being forced to drill in ever more hostile areas, so the chances of another disaster, especially given past history, is pretty high.
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And where they will next drill of Libya is even deeper below the surface. Should something go wrong it will be even harder to fix.
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BP cost cutting was not the major factor, some bad design but other operators used the same design. Major factor was ......as usual people, the well had been talking to them for hours and nobody did the correct things. BOP was closed too late, should have been closed as soon as well started doing strange things...at least a couple of hours before the blast. American Well control training is a joke, I sit an invigilated exam (IWCF) every 2 yrs ...no pass no work. The really guilty people (OIM and BP Company Rep) have pleaded the 5th and are sitting back letting BP take the heat. After 35yrs in the industry I am appalled that our profesionalism has been destroyed by a bunch of cowboys ignoring basics. The truth will eventually come out but nodoby will bother as it will be old news, sorry rant over.
BP will be lucky to survive their only hope is to kill the well asap.
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Share.com is, in my opinion, a good broker but I would consider InteractiveBrokers.com too. The benefit with Share.com is that you can put it in an ISA.
I bought BP just over 3 quid and sold for 4 quid, which I think is high enough for now.
There are no doubt risks with BP, which you should take into account, and which have been fairly well listed above.
Consider also though, that the only time to invest in a stock is when people are fearful of investing in it. No point putting money in when people are very positive.
The market overreacted to push the price down to 3 quid, and a fairer valuation is probably 5 quid, when you consider the actual impact of the costs.
Still, there are a lot of unknowns, not least of all a potential 7 year US offshore drilling ban.
I will likely invest in BP again, but I am waiting to see if there is another dip.
You can pull out all the usual quotes about buying when others are fearful and buying when there is blood in the streets (or oil on the water?) - follow that advice, but just don't have too much exposure in one stock.
You could also consider buying their bonds, or options. If you buy the stock you can always hedge with options too (although it can be an expensive way to do things).
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Buying BP shares - how to get started? - Zero
