Energy cap to go up again in October

[Dave Plowman (News]

Far beyond what they were before Covid? Or just the owners trying to recover losses made due to lower demand during Covid?

[Chris Hogg]

Good question. I can understand the post-Covid recovery in industrial activity back towards what it was before Covid, but the way prices and possibly demand shot up some way beyond pre-Covid figures puzzles me. It suggests industrial output is now significantly higher than it was pre-Covid. Is this just catch-up, making up for lost business, or what?

[Vir Campestris]

Suppose I scratch your car. That would cause a loss in value of the car, which is why the law protects you against people doing it.

However by your logic you haven't suffered a loss until you come to sell the car, and the new owner knocks money off to deal with the scratch.

I've worked bloody hard for a long time to put money aside so I can enjoy my retirement. Government action is affecting the value of those savings.

If you think that's a good idea I can only assume you've got no savings because you've been living beyond your means.

Andy

[Tim Streater]

Well you haven't, in the simple sense. But a car is nice to enjoy as you own it, so you'd like it to stay looking as nice as it did before it was scratched. Also, if you waited until just before selling it to have it fixed, you are very likely too late to go after the miscreant to get compensation.

[Roland Perry]

In message <t6tfm9$mf6$ [e-mail], at 16:38:49 on Sat, 28 May

2022, SteveW [e-mail]> remarked:

Also the de-coalification of mainly electricity generation meant there was a gap to fill, ie more demand for alternative fuels (because renewables weren't coming on stream faster than coal was being phased out).

[The Natural Philosopher]

And couldn't fill the gap anyway.

I see we are going to throw two fingers at EU regulations and run coal plants hard next winter

[Bev]

Except that I would get the scratch fixed and my loss would then be realised as being the cost of the repair.

That is another assumption on your part and about as valid as your 'loss'.

[Andrew]

Also, the scratches are permanent, whereas the drop in the share price of energy firms may only be temporary. I would be more concerned at the effect of a Labour government on all investments, and worryingly their previous hints that the right to take a 25% tax free lump sum may be abolished (but public servants will still trouser their 3x tax-free lump sum based on their first years pension). There is still an immense chunk of accrued lump sums available to public servants even if from 2011 on many have been moved on to new schemes.

[Tim Streater]

This whole business of pensions being handled by the employer is completely wrong anyway and should be made illegal.

[The Natural Philosopher]

Yes. I was supposed to have pensions from my first three employers. All are now nonexistent companies and I have never recieved a penny. The independent pension I took out is not doing too badly

[Andy Burns]

Until you actually sell, at a lower price than you bought, you haven't "crystallized" the loss.

[Dave Plowman (News]

My pension was handled by my employer and is just fine thanks. But I'm sure good Tories would like to legislate to get their hands on it.

Several where I worked were persuaded by 'independent advisors' their pension pot could do better elsewhere. Every single one regretted taking that advice.

[The Natural Philosopher]

nevertheless in accounting terms you can crystallize losses for e.g. stock or hardware via depreciation or simply being past its usable date.

In the dot com crash at leasts one stupid Yank I knew who had borrowed on some of his company stock he held to buy more tech stocks ended up losing the lot on a margin call when the stocks crashed

think negative equity and houses being repossessed even if the owners haven't sold them at a loss.

However I looked at my Shell shares again today, and they are standing at 80% gain this year so I am not too unhappy.

[Vir Campestris]

My final salary pension from my first employer just took a hit because of government ineptitude.

It's got index linking. Up to a maximum of 5% each year. Which means in real terms it just dropped 4%.

Andy

[Vir Campestris]

But you don't _have_ to get it fixed.

Obviously without any numbers might I enquire where you do have saving?

(I've got an old final salary scheme, defined contribution pensions, and some savings. All of which have fallen in value owing to inflation, as well as this tax.)

Also since this windfall tax has raised some extra money might I ask your opinion of where this money comes from?

Andy

[Fredxx]

Then you are illiterate.

No.

Read the two links. Assuming you can read.

[Roland Perry]

In message <t71ks7$fnt$ [e-mail], at 06:31:51 on Mon, 30 May

2022, The Natural Philos>> In message <t6tfm9$mf6$ [e-mail], at 16:38:49 on Sat, 28 May

Is that an EU regulation, or simply meeting umbrella zero-carbon targets?

[Bev]

In which case I will have lost nothing *unless* I decide to sell and the scratch is bad enough to affect value for a car of whatever age it is when it is sold. But that is an unknown and hypothetical as I may keep the car until such time as it appreciates in value above what I paid for it. In which event I will have made a gain not a loss.

(I remember the 1970's and buying a car new in 1973 and selling it for more than I had paid for it some three years later. Now *that* was a time of inflation!)

Old final salary, property, investments and land.

Until I sell I won't know if I've made any actual losses but some have not kept up with inflation in the shorter term.

[The Natural Philosopher]

It is an EU Directive - the large combustion plant directive. It effectively limits the hours left that a coal plant can run it its lifetime IIRC. Gold plated by Milliband I think. It essentially made new coal plant uneconomic as the kit it had to be fitted with to work cost nearly as much as the backup to a wind farm

[Fredxx]

Given you don't understand, or in denial that gross profit doesn't take into account changing in stock levels, there's little point.