BP - taken an almighty beating.  I'm staggered by the lack of leadership, direction, PR awareness, and competence at BP.  The fundamentals remain solid - but I have no confidence that the company can manage either the current disaster or its future assets.  There is still minimal clarity over the scale of this disaster, but it looks likely to be the worst oil leak ever.  More oil continues flowing into the ocean - BP have managed to capture 24,000 barrels on their best day, but the consensus is that 35,000 to 60,000 barrels are leaking each day.  

The most critical factor is going to be how far BP can claim against its suppliers for their mistakes.  I think there’s a real risk that BP moves into a pseudo-insolvency position, or is essentially taken into public ownership temporarily.  This has already happened in a way, through the establishment of the $20bn fund the US government has essentially said “We’ll take all your profit until you’ve solved this problem”.  ie. We own you until you’ve paid up.  I’m jumping ship on the next rise because I think there’s a real risk that BP becomes a trust fund for the next five years or longer.

Google - down a little but it’s a long-term bet, I’m not worried at all.  One change of note - 160,000 Android handsets are now being sold every day.  

Begbies Traynor - I’ve bought into Begbies at 58.75.  It’s hovering around this floor level but I am feeling relatively confident that insolvencies should rise over the next year.  Vantis, a competitor, looks likely to fold in the next month or so.

Netflix - Bought in. Netflix have led the pack on digital film delivery.  I like their management, I like the business.  I also think they’re a serious acquisition target for a number of companies, including Amazon, potentially Google, or even a group of studios themselves. There is a risk that Hulu moves into their business, but I don’t see any reason why this is a winner-takes-all market.  

On the bright side my losses over the last couple of weeks on stocks are offset by profits from betting on the World Cup using various free bets, cashback etc.