The United States hold a strategic reserve of oil.

https://www.energy.gov/fe/services/petroleum-reserves/strategic-petroleum-reserve/spr-storage-sites

America began setting aside emergency reserves of crude oil, the largest in the world, after the 1973 oil embargo by Arab members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, or OPEC, triggered an oil crisis and sent the U.S. economy into recession. President Gerald Ford signed legislation in 1975 to establish a strategic reserve that would hold up to 1 billion barrels of oil to mitigate the damage from any future shortages in global supply. The Strategic Petroleum Reserve currently has about 645 million barrels of crude stored deep across four underground caverns created in salt domes along the Texas and Louisiana Gulf Coasts. Maintained by the Department of Energy, the caverns can hold up to 727 million barrels of crude. The stockpile is sufficient to cover “the equivalent of 143 days of import protection.”

What is the value of this crude ?

Today, crude trades are $68.78  a barrel.

So, what is the value of the current inventory of the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve ?

$68.78 a barrel x  645,000,000 = $44,363,100,000

That is $44bn.

Yesterday, Standard Life Aberdeen, paid out its September dividend.

www.standardlifeaberdeen.com

7.3p a share.

https://www.londonstockexchange.com/exchange/news/market-news/market-news-detail/SLA/14172142.html

The total number of voting rights in the Company, as at 31 July 2019, is 2,409,829,466

Thus:

2,409,829,466 x £0.073 = £175,917,551.018

That is £175m.

Today, Royal Dutch Shell pays out its September dividend.

www.shell.com

It pays out:-

RDSA Royal Dutch Shell A $0.47 (38.01p) a share

RDSB Royal Dutch Shell B $0.47 (38.01p) a share

Royal Dutch Shell plc´s capital as at 3 September 2019 consists of 4,272,923,983 A shares and 3,735,785,448 B shares, each with equal voting rights. Royal Dutch Shell plc holds no ordinary shares in Treasury. The total number of A shares and B shares in issue as at 3 September 2019 is 8,008,709,431

https://www.londonstockexchange.com/exchange/news/market-news/market-news-detail/RDSA/14212523.html

Thus: 8,008,709,431 x £0.3801 = £3,044,110,454.7231

That is £3,044 Million = £3.044 Billion.

A yield of over 6.3%

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s03V8Wm0UrM

Tomorrow,, Friday 20th Sept, BP pay’s out its September dividend.

www.bp.com

$0.1025 (8.3475p) a share.

The total number of voting rights in BP p.l.c. is 20,376,656,701

https://www.londonstockexchange.com/exchange/news/market-news/market-news-detail/BP./14208936.html

Thus:- 20,376,656,701 x £0.083475 = £1,700,941,418.115975

That is £1,700 million = £1.7 billion

6.38% yield.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b1i3biFBjXs

The Legal & General UK Smaller Companies Trust is a £289m unit trust.

The fund objective is to provide growth above that of the Numis ex-Investment Trusts Index Net TR, the “Benchmark Index”. The Fund aims to outperform the Benchmark Index by 3% per annum. This objective is before the deduction of any charges and measured over rolling three year periods.

Its top ten holdings are:-

Safestore Holdings 3.5% of the fund

Genus 3.4% of the fund

Discoverie Group 3.3% of the fund

Energean Oil & Gas 3.1% of the fund

Dechra Pharmaceuticals 3.0% of the fund

Cranswick 2.7% of the fund

Euromoney Institutional Investor 2.5% of the fund

ITE Group 2.4% of the fund Workspace Group 2.3% of the fund

Ultra Electronics Holdings 2.3% of the fund

Today, Lloyds Banking Group pays out its September dividend.

www.lloydsbankinggroup.com

1.12p a share

https://www.londonstockexchange.com/exchange/news/market-news/market-news-detail/LLOY/14208524.html

The total number of shares issued by Lloyds Banking Group plc with rights to vote which are exercisable in all circumstances at general meetings is 70,128,674,524 ordinary shares of 10p each

Thus: 70,128,674,524 x £0.012 = £841,544,094.288

That is £841 Million.

6% yield.

Today, the world’s leading TV and Telecoms company pays out its September dividend.

http://www.bt.com

10.78p a share.

The total number of voting rights in BT Group plc on that date was 9,882,151,936

https://www.londonstockexchange.com/exchange/news/market-news/market-news-detail/BT.A/14208476.html

Thus:- 9,882,151,936 x £0.1078 = £1,065,295,978.7008

That is £1,065 Million.

That is £1.065 Billion.

The objective of this fund is to provide a combination of income and capital growth and to keep the fund within a pre-determined risk profile. While this will be the fund’s focus, it will have a bias towards investments that pay a higher income. At least 75% of the fund will be invested in other authorised investment funds. The fund will invest at least 50% in index-tracker funds which are operated by Legal & General.

TOP 10 HOLDINGS (%)

L&G UK Index Trust 8.2% of the fund

L&G Emerging Markets Government Bond (Local Currency) Index Fund 8.0% of the fund

iShares UK Dividend UCITS ETF 8.0% of the fund

L&G Emerging Markets Government Bond (US$)

Index Fund 7.4% of the fund

LGIM Global Corporate Bond Fund 6.6% of the fund

L&G High Income Trust 5.8% of the fund

L&G European Index Trust 5.2% of the fund

L&G US Index Trust 5.0% of the fund

L&G Managed Monthly Income Trust 4.7% of the fund

L&G UK Property Fund 4.7% of the fund

Another month, guess what, take a lucky guess, it is the same old story, HM Government, spends more money than it receives via taxes and duties. Another deficit month, thus to bridge the gap, needs to borrow on the bond market

In August 2019 , the HM Government had to borrow money to meet the difference between tax revenues and public sector expenditure. The term for this is The PSNCR: The Public Sector Net Cash Requirement. There were “only” 3 auctions of Gilts (UK Government Bonds) by the UK Debt Management Office to raise cash for HM Treasury:-

06-Aug-2019 0 5/8% Treasury Gilt 2025 3,000.0000 Million

13-Aug-2019 1¾% Treasury Gilt 2049 2,299.9970 Million

20-Aug-2019 0 1/8% Index-linked Treasury Gilt 2028 3 months 1,264.9970 Million

When you add the cash raised:- 3,000.0000 Million + 2,299.9970 Million + 1,264.9970 Million = £6564.994 Million

£6564.994 Million = £6.564994 Billion

On another way of looking at it, is in the 31 days in August, HM Government borrowed:- £211.774 Million each day for the 31 days.

We are fortunate, while the global banking and financial markets still has the confidence in HM Government to buy the Gilts (Lend money to the UK), the budget deficit keeps rising. What is also alarming, is the dates these bond mature 2025, 2028 and 2049 All long term borrowings, we are mortgaging our futures, but at least “We Are In It Together….”

I think that the feeling that some people feel when listening to this song comes from the fact that the song has some reminiscence of the nostalgia that hurts the most, the one of what could have been, but never was. And in this case it was “complicated” for something to happen, it was better to leave the key and go and think what could have happened. I think the song brings us something of the perfume of our own youth and what we could have done and everything that happened, that’s why a knot forms in our stomach, because we realise the finitude of our own life

Hey little girl, is your daddy home?

Did he go away and leave you all alone?

Mhmm

I got a bad desire

Oh oh oh,

I’m on fire

Tell me now, baby, is he good to you?

And can he do to you the things that I do?

Oh no

I can take you higher

Oh oh oh,

I’m on fire

Sometimes it’s like someone took a knife,

baby Edgy and dull and cut a six inch valley Through the middle of my skull

At night I wake up with the sheets soaking wet

And a freight train running through the middle of my head

Only you can cool my desire

Oh oh oh, I’m on fire Oh oh oh, I’m on fire Oh oh oh, I’m on fire Woo ooh ooh Woo ooh ooh Ooh ooh ooh Woo ooh ooh Woo ooh ooh

The hardest thing in the world to understand is the income tax. Albert Einstein – coolfunnyquotes.com