BAE selling its stake in Airbus...

Well let's leave the childish, pointless and deeply simplistic US v EU/UK nationalistic baiting aside as the ridiculous embarrassment it so obviously is.

I am greatly displeased with this BAE decision but, as Waynos rightly said, the history of wrong-headed and short-sighted decisions by elements within (all of) British industry is well documented and sadly very well know.

No doubt the biggest shareholders will make their short-term gains over this but I'd bet the house that within 10 - 20yrs all we are left with is a company plate on a wall somewhere fronting a small sub-section of a mainly American parent corporation.

It is the ultimate result of putting markets in charge.

It is a very sad end to what was a great company (made up of very great pioneering companies) that, post-privatisation, never could work out whether it looked to the USA or Europe and had utterly lost sight of the idea of any underlying 'British strategic requirement' long long ago IMO.

(......and for those wondering what the difference I see is I'd say that at least as a partner in cooperation within the EU they stood to exist as a separate and 'sovereign' entity.
The ultimate fate of becoming swallowed up, stripped out and reduced to the status of an 'arm' of of a US corporation is very much a worse option.)

Has anybody stopped to think that maybe BAe are just trying to make a few odd billion by selling off there shares and then, if by some chance they have a option to buy them back at a fixed price and maybe even the option of a few more shares (24% instead of 20%), buy them back with an even greater profit margin!

Maybe some of you stocks and shares guru's might know of deals like this which have happened in the past....does it happen?

Just a thought from a hardworking brit on the A380 F.A.L in Toulouse!!!!

Sv........Out!

We had a get together of the grad class last thurs, a 'meeting of the minds' over alot of beer so to speak.

While some of the guys thats doing consulting work were quick to point out some of Airbus' design work is a pure shambles, we were all agreed on one thing.

Both Airbus and Boeing are completely up s__t creek - the imminent fuel price explosion will wreck both companies, and pretty much devastate the airlines within 5 years or so.