As fast as the Bank is printing money, it's disappearing down a pension black hole As we know, the funds will pay pensions out over the next 40 to 50 years as people retire and should be funded accordingly. Companies such as Smiths have been doing a good job funding pension liabilities but are now being whacked by QE in a wholly irrational way. If the Treasury reformed the rules, it could have QE and really help growth at the same time. The problem is acute and needs urgent attention. BP's Putin talks are a positive sign This column described BP's announcement in June that it was exploring a sale of its 50pc stake in Russian joint venture TNK-BP as a "bold move" in the long-running chess game against its troublesome business partners, the oligarchs of Alfa-Access-Renova (AAR). It certainly wasn't checkmate, more like an early bit of castling in preparation. At the time, we were not alone in reporting that rival Russian energy giant Rosneft was the only realistic buyer of an asset that had created both rich dividends for BP but a whole lot of trouble, too. News that management of both BP and Rosneft have been to see Russian president Valdimir Putin tells us a number of things. First, the sale talks are alive and kicking. They may still be at an early stage but they are solid enough to risk putting political capital at stake by bothering Putin with them. Second, BP is determined to retain a long-term presence in Russia, albeit with a new partner. That's also going to need some political patronage in the Kremlin and the two companies need to show Putin they will make good partners for Russia, not just themselves. But some high-profile diplomacy will also be useful to square off influential voices in and around the Kremlin who are sceptical of Rosneft's expansion plans. It also sends a message to AAR that BP and Rosneft have thought things through a bit more clearly compared with last year when the oligarchs fairly easily ruined a previous BP-Rosneft proposal that the Russian political elite had been told was a goer. It's a signal, too, to BP shareholders that this time, "we'll get it right." Of course, BP shareholders will have views on what should happen to the proceeds of any TNK-BP sale. A special dividend may be sought as some sort of compensation for the white-knuckle ride of the past two-and-a-bit years. And there's the outstanding bill for the Gulf of Mexico. But, on the whole, the Putin meeting is a positive. A previous occasion when Carl-Henric Svanberg, BP chairman, and Bob Dudley, chief executive, saw a president it was Barack Obama. On the eve of that meeting in June 2010, to try to salvage the company's position in the US after the Gulf of Mexico disaster, this column advised readers to buy BP shares at 355p. They're now up 25pc against an All Share up 14pc. A similar "presidential punt" is now on the cards, with money you can afford to lose, at 444p. Russia remains highly unpredictable for BP and its oligarch foes in AAR can be expected to spring some spectacular surprise before the chess game is over. But even BP can't be gaffe prone forever and this time might be different.