NationStates Jolt Archive

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/5050932.stm

Airports operator BAA has confirmed its support for a takeover by Spanish building group Ferrovial.

BAA, which runs seven UK airports, has agreed to an offer of 950.25 pence a share offer, valuing it at £10.3bn.

Why the hell does our government just sit by and let this happen? They seem to enjoy seeing Britain's economy being picked to the bone and sold to foreign countries. Then look at the governments of European countries like France, who actually have the guts to stand up and make sure French business stay French. Instead we have a government that just sits back and lets us become the laughing stock of the continent and turning us into a foreign dependency. The rest of Europe must be rubbing their hands with glee as they decide the next steps in carving up this country's economy.

Yeah, because British companies keep to themselves and have no foreign interests. :rolleyes:

Goddamn Spanish dogs! Only pure Anglo-Saxons should manage British companies.

Yeah, because British companies keep to themselves and have no foreign interests. :rolleyes:
I didn't say that, but I just think that we should be trying to make sure that British companies stay under British control, like other European countries do with their own industries.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/5050932.stm



Why the hell does our government just sit by and let this happen? They seem to enjoy seeing Britain's economy being picked to the bone and sold to foreign countries. Then look at the governments of European countries like France, who actually have the guts to stand up and make sure French business stay French. Instead we have a government that just sits back and lets us become the laughing stock of the continent and turning us into a foreign dependency. The rest of Europe must be rubbing their hands with glee as they decide the next steps in carving up this country's economy.


Greetings

The French economy doesn´t exactly perform well does it?

Europes highest unemployment rate and lifetime jobs doesn´t seem like the way to me

BTW: £10.3bn sounds like busines to me

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/5050932.stm



Why the hell does our government just sit by and let this happen? They seem to enjoy seeing Britain's economy being picked to the bone and sold to foreign countries. Then look at the governments of European countries like France, who actually have the guts to stand up and make sure French business stay French. Instead we have a government that just sits back and lets us become the laughing stock of the continent and turning us into a foreign dependency. The rest of Europe must be rubbing their hands with glee as they decide the next steps in carving up this country's economy.

Why the hell should they? [edit: intervene that is]

I didn't say that, but I just think that we should be trying to make sure that British companies stay under British control, like other European countries do with their own industries.
The same problem exists in the U.S. There are a couple reasons why. First are the unions. They extort enormous benefit packages from their employers. Second is the government. It extorts enormous tax payments from the company. An offshore company can avoid the local taxes and a new owner can re-negotiate union agreements.

But, protectionism doesn't work all that well. The government _should_ work to make the economic climate more favorable for the native industry.

I didn't say that, but I just think that we should be trying to make sure that British companies stay under British control, like other European countries do with their own industries.
Nationalism is not really keeping control of their own industries. Eventually it can lead to foreign investment leaving the country, which is not good. As long as the state enforces the laws of good business, taxation, and property they'll have control over the economy, no matter who owns the companies.

The same problem exists in the U.S. There are a couple reasons why. First are the unions. They extort enormous benefit packages from their employers. Second is the government. It extorts enormous tax payments from the company. An offshore company can avoid the local taxes and a new owner can re-negotiate union agreements.

But, protectionism doesn't work all that well. The government _should_ work to make the economic climate more favorable for the native industry.
So what's your solution? Bring pay and workers' benefits down to the level of the third world? Reduce business taxes to the point that our public services are nearly non-existant? No thanks, I don't want this country becoming an even greater shithole. I'd sooner use other methods to make sure that these greedy bastards don't have any incentive to move abroad.

Why do you think it benefits the country to have the goverenment interefering in compnay ownership?

So what's your solution? Bring pay and workers' benefits down to the level of the third world? Reduce business taxes to the point that our public services are nearly non-existant? No thanks, I don't want this country becoming an even greater shithole. I'd sooner use other methods to make sure that these greedy bastards don't have any incentive to move abroad.
Like jailing them all? It wouldn't be disastrous as you describe. Just lower, not eliminate. More will stay and tax revenue will increase.

So what's your solution? Bring pay and workers' benefits down to the level of the third world? Reduce business taxes to the point that our public services are nearly non-existant? No thanks, I don't want this country becoming an even greater shithole. I'd sooner use other methods to make sure that these greedy bastards don't have any incentive to move abroad.
Glad you asked. My solution in the United States would be to adopt the Fair Tax, as proposed in HB 25. That would eliminate all taxes, save for a retail sales tax of about 23 percent. That simple act would bring business back to the United States faster than a bunch of Mexicans crossing the Rio Grande. Don't know why it wouldn't work in Great Britian.

[edit]
That's all federal taxes -- payroll and income. The states are on their own.

BAA is a strategic company. In other words it is central to one of our main trading systems.

The Gov approved this...otherwise it would never have gone ahead

Excellent.

You know, with every one of those 'strategic' firms changing ownership, the risk of a war is a little bit less.

Our economy would benefit from 3rd party ownership actually. Even the big fat John Prescott agrees.

Is the UK government legally allowed to stop such a takeover anyway? I remember France getting a bollocking from the commission for law regarding strategic industries. I think the only grounds that the UK government would be allowed to block a takeover is if it was concerned about the implications such a takeover would have on competition.

Now considering that the office of fair trading is considering investigating BAA for it's position in the market, it seems odd that the UK gov have okayed (or not blocked) this takeover, seeing as Ferrovial already has stakes in other British airports.

Odd, I could have sworn Ferrovial was a construction/engineering company...

Odd, I could have sworn Ferrovial was a construction/engineering company...It is/was. The company's website says how wince 1998 it has invested 6 billion euros in expansion. 80% of which was in infrastructure and services. It's profile has changed so much that it now 63% of it's revenues come from infrastructure and services.