RBS and Bradford and Bingley Class Actions

Interesting developments worthy of a mention are that some shareholders in the Royal Bank of Scotland and Bradford and Bingley are working on a class action for misleading them in prospectuses leading shareholders to subscribe to rights issues.

I have had a look at the RBS shareholders' action group web site and whilst there are some good details there, there does not seem to have been much to report there since August. Still, more power to them if their cases are valid and they make some good progress: this assumes that the shareholders were misled and so on.

For the RBS Action Group web site: http://www.rbsactiongroup.co.uk/

The B&B shareholders' action group has put together a similar case and similar web site and their site seems to contain a lot more up to date information and news. Not that that necessarily means anything. Also, the feel of this site is less professional looking than the RBS action group site: again, that might mean little of substance but I noticed it!

The B&B action group web site is here: http://www.uksa.org.uk/BradfordBingley.htm and you might notice that it is being hosted by the UK Shareholders' Association, which is the leading independent organisation which represents the interests of private shareholders in the United Kingdom.

Now that I have been to the B&B action group site I see there is a site for Lloyds' Bank shareholders as well as for Northern Rock.

Well, could be worth watching this development after all.

Duncan Williamson

Who said railways are dead?

In the business section of today's Gulf Today newspaper there is an update on the development of a railway network for the Gulf.

Between them the UAE and Saudi Arabia are to spearhead a new $20 - 25 billion railway network that will take in their two territories plus Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman and Qatar.

The proposal is for a 1,940 kilometre network that would run diesel powered rolling stock and carry passengers and freight at speeds of up to 200 kph for the passengers.

Whilst it is not yet clear whether it is part of the larger network, the report infers that the newly opened Dubai Metro network is a beginning of thinking about this new railway network.

All being well, work will start on this new network in 2010 - 2011 and I would love to be a passenger at some stage: a forthcoming great railway journey of the world, no doubt.

Duncan Williamson