This is the last update until Monday because of course I am off to Ireland for a few days. I hope you don't miss the updates too much but don't worry the time will fly by till then.
Laurent writes: Just wanted to email someone that also felt my pain. I changed my portfolio and then read your site to feel some comfort of someone else who I knew would be in the same position as me.
And I realised I did the
same as you. Of my 8 positions I closed 1 and adjusted a few others -mostly in
my spread betting. My real shares I left alone.
Anyway I thought your "I choose tea and toast behind the couch" statement
as quite funny. I'm choosing the same thing. If markets go down a lot more
tomorrow I will adjust again, and when eventually they rebound (whenever that
is) I will look to get in quick. That's all we can do hey.
Markets
I've been behind the back of the sofa since
Monday - 84 teas and 44 pieces of toast consumed. What's happening in the
markets? Anyone know? Probably quiet I expect, usually is back end of February.
Yawn!
So take your pick as to why the markets are down. People were selling cos
of China (which said today it wasn't going to do what people were scared of
anyway) and Iran.. and er.. look we've all been dying to take profits for ages
so this is it.
I'm a bit upset naturally. It's very stressful when stocks go down. I was
expecting this to happen in April-May and had carefully planned to be mostly out
by then. Shame about the timing.
I'm sure there are lots of you at home on your own so I really hope I can
share you the pain and indecision that I am sure many of you have had. Sell?
Hold on? Short? I've learned over the years not to panic, sentiment changes
fast.
Remember we are still in a bull market. Bull markets are markets where the
market goes up most days with the occasional tumble. Bear markets are when
markets go down most days and then have a sudden upwards correction.
So while no forecaster the bull market
stays intact for now. It's a question of when people stop selling, when buyers
are brave enough to come in.
Anyway my reaction has been: reduce positions especially spreadbets and
FTSE 250 shares. I would like to hang on to the smaller cap ones in my Isas
because I feel in three months time they will almost certainly all have come
back and gone higher.
Do I want to pay dealing costs and
commissions to close and then get back in? Not really. I'll sit those out
mostly. I'm, also keeping an eye open for any oversold bargains too.
So here we go: I took profits on a short at last! Paragon bought back at
585 for a profit of £180 . So at least that is a profit handed to be by the
downmove! I thought I'd never get out of that one with a profit intact. Phew!
Now a little bargain hunting:
I bought back Hanson (HSN) that I'd sold for a small loss for a tenner at
803 because it really looked oversold this morning. Target 870 stop 780.
If there's a bounce back this could figure
well. So far it's gone up but it could be a short-termer. I'll get out if the
slide begins again.
And I bargain hunted Unite (UTG) which I'd also sold and got £15 at 509.
Target 550 stop 490. And I nipped some Chime (CHW) - 7,500 at 45.45p Target 55
stop 40. This looks to have been oversold in the run up to results.
I sold Walker Crips at 397 for breakeven on the basis it's my most
illiquid one and if it did go down it could easily do 30p in ten seconds.
Elsewhere I have some stocks going UP!! Dmatek goes a lot higher
today and continues to look like one to hold during any turbulence for the
eventual rewards. Harvey Nash has been solid throughout the down move and is
nicely up.
Good old Domestic and General that I topped up in yesterday looks very
strong with plenty of good buyers in there. Bodes well for results.
Vislink looks oversold - it's a favourite with Private Investors and I
think stop losses were hit and they sold. I'm in long term and I'd buy more but
I already have quite a few! Renold has held up well and looks set for a rise
again. McBride is a star and has stayed rock solid.
Oil services: Hunting reports tomorrow. I guess the report is going to
have to be very good in current conditions for the stock to rise. We shall see.
It will also affect Sondex and Petrofac.
Carclo has held well, Alterian is fighting back as is Celsis. So generally I am
happy with the performance of the smaller ones in the face of a volley of
selling.
More recent 250 buys I'm keeping under close watch and will fold if the
downturn begins again. However it's fairly obvious conditions are going to be
volatile for a bit and I'll continue to be wary of midcaps and trade those while
remaining calm and invested in the small caps.
A difficult and stressful time - I wish all readers the best of luck with
any decisions - remember of course there is never any right or wrong answers.
Pete writes: Been following your adventures with your kitchen we have just had ours completely refurbished and we are now in our sixth week!
Granted we are all now
connected but we had no sink / water for 5 wks I blame the plumbers for that
ahhh well nearly there now.
As for Gordon "Gofer" Brown and the rest of them I'd willingly take them
all on but who is going to back you. No matter who you speak to everybody has
had enough of these modern day Dick Turpins saving the environment what a lie,
if they want to do that why not convince the Chinese, Americans and Indians who
are polluting as much as you want.
Think of the poll tax
riots we're far worse off now (granted the WORLD economy is much better) and yet
we are just standing by...why not just pay your monthly wages over to HMRC and
ask for some pocket money....
Sorry but you got me on a roll now but did you see Hazel Blears being
interviewed over the weekend after announcing she is standing for deputy leader
everything is a bed of roses since new labour came in 10 yrs ago apparently.
Where do these people
hide do they bury their heads in the sand or what more money spent on the
essential services, billions of pounds and yet a day does not go by without
CRISIS NHS, LAW N ORDER COLLAPSE, ROADS A NIGHTMARE, I know we will charge
motorists more they wont notice.....god that feels better.
BTW your site remains one of the best, I keep following your daily
rambles..... anyway must return to my studying, 2 wks until the exam oh dear
guess I will be working longer to pay for that ever decreasing pension !
Thanks Pete - hope that rant made you feel better!! Good luck with your
exam. Oh and good luck with the kitchen, know how you feel!
Louise writes: I noted previously your target for selling Petrofac was
£4.00 and that it is now sitting at £4.09. The results are due on 5 March and
the trading statements seem good. I have been keeping an eye on them as I think
they will rise up before and on announcement day. Do you still hold these
shares?
Hi Louise, well I topped up on PTC recently and hope for around 450 or
more. I am often happy to let targets be exceeded on the good ones and I think
results will be above expectations.
Markets
Look, I've had an absolutely great year so
far and shares have been hit today. It's no big surprise - it's mainly due to a
big sell off in China last night and various other fears including Iran.
Is it the time just to sell up and come back in another day? Should one
hang on? Take some profits? Hide behind the sofa? Buy on weakness? (Well I've
been hiding behind the sofa with tea, toast and a copy of The Sun.)
I wish I knew. Perhaps you can tell me. I don't know except I always
choose the strongest shares I can find and so actually it's not that bad. It's
classic Fear Vs Greed. So I've succumbed to some fear and some greed.
Fear.. I've sold mainly spreadbets because they are the ones that can get
you into trouble the most and erode capital. I've also reduced stakes on pretty
much everything spreadbetwise.
However I will just show the sales here.
Greed.. I've held onto as much as I can because I think there is plenty of value
in them yet.
And I bought something - albeit yesterday afternoon - I couldn't resist a
top up in Domestic and General (DGG) (banged on about it looking good yesterday)
and bought a further 350 shares at 1207.9p. Target 1390 stop 1090.
This was actually December's seminar pick of the day and it's done pretty
nicely. And my buy yesterday is looking good already as it's amazingly up today.
This is the company that does those
extended warranties. I love the mark ups on them and especially the fact people
take them for their plasma TVs yet plasma's rarely go wrong.
I suspect given the number of sets sold around Xmas their next statement
is going to be rather good and there is still more upside.
I've taken bits of profits today but until the picture becomes clearer I
have resisted buying on the downmove. I took £305 profits in Halfords selling at
385.25. It's had a good run - could be a bid target this year so I'd like to buy
back sometime on weakness.
Also took a little bit more Charter off the table, we'll call it the
position at 747.48 - sold at 877 for a profit of £648. The other 710 position I
will keep.
I sold out of some of the more recent spreadbets as they are most likely
to be hit by any further selloff. The recent Hanson buy sold at 840 on the basis
that if the market sell off continues it'll get hit hard and better to take the
loss now with a view to getting back in quick if need be. Sadly it was already
down quite a bit when I came out. Loss is £160.
Similar reasons for Unite sold at 542 for a profit of £210, Cranswick at
1003 for a profit of £50. I've just given Spectris the benefit of the doubt. All
of which action brings profits to the site today of £1,053.
Macro4 reported today and a superficial read shows it a bit disappointing
and I was tempted to cut and run but reading further into the report there's
plenty positive there and after the fall the shares are at the very least fair
value and I'll take a chance and hold for longer.
Always interesting to see shares going UP on a day like this - these are
shares to note and hold onto. In fact the portfolio has a good number of those
only down slightly which is great.
Hardest hit of the day for me is Hunting which reports this week. I can
only think it was a shorting raid as I can't imagine the results being anything
but great. So holding on in there! Wish I'd bought some on the amazing dip to
590. That one really seems overdone. Sondex and Petrofac down a little but not
worried there just yet.
Real estate shares have taken a hammering, however current prices are well
above what I bought and I think they will come back fast enough. Otherwise it's
not too bad.
Domestic and General, as above is doing well and Renold is absolutely
dying to go up - it opened up 4p but could not sustain it in a sell off market.
Still confident there.
McBride holds very strongly around 10p higher than my buy last week.
Shares like Trifast, Alterian, Carclo and Dmatek are all holding up well enough
or down a touch.. Biffa is close to being biffed.
As always very hard to know what's ahead. Some would argue to get out now
and wait for a further pullback, others will buy on weakness and others will
short. For the time being I'll watch to see what unfolds.
I usually do this on the basis I have build up some brilliant profits and
though obviously don't want to lose them I also don't want to sell out of
brilliant companies because of a couple of days of markdowns. Tomorrow will be
interesting.
And I of course will continue to be here with my thoughts even if it's a
market meltdown. For newcomers this might all be a bit of a shock - we should
always try and learn what we can and realise shares can suddenly go down from
nowhere.
Yet another weekend with no kitchen.. and rubbish everywhere until the
kitchen's finished in the middle of next week. So more takeaways and ready
meals.. I think I'm turning into a ready meal. There is so much salt in them I
have to drink buckets of water.
Had some very dull things to do this weekend. My VAT - luckily Elizabeth
is good with that so thanks to her that was done quite quickly and I must pay
online tomorrow.
Also had to pay some bills on behalf of my mum - who is a lot better but
hasn't really come to terms with the fact she won't be able to walk again.
She went to a day care centre last week. 'How did you get on?' I asked.
She shrugged: 'It was full of old people..' (she is 85).
Shadid writes: I am a newborn
in this world of trading, For last 2 months just reading and exploring and more
I read more I got confused till I read you Book, very simple no jargon, I have
recommended to my friends in Canada and USA.
How and where I can invest in the FTSE100 as a whole not just individual
companies?
Hi Shadid. Plenty of ways to trade the FTSE - you could spreadbet the
index, buy CFD's or covered warrants. If you're new to it I suggest you be
careful as it is very difficult and perhaps get some advice. It's not something
I tend to do.
Markets
Well, yet another good start to the week which is pretty amazing after this great start to the year. One new buy to report in FTSE 250 company Spectrix (SXS).
This is yet another great one I was keeping
for Friday's seminar but yet again it's going up and I have to get in! I bought
it with a spreadbet for £10 a point at 880 this morning. Target 1090 stop 820.
Looks a cracker with increasing profits and a beautiful chart. It
announced last week a 26% increase in FY profits but even better there are big
hints of even better to come. So I'm looking at holding for around 3-5 months
and I am hoping for around a 200 point profit.
Even given recent rises it looks cheap and
the fact there are good buyers around after results is a very good sign. Just
wish I'd got in cheaper on Friday!
One sell to report - that's in RE where I sold at 390 for a profit of
£130. Been holding this for a while and have simply run out of patience
A great day for many of my stocks - where to start? Last 2 buys McBride
and Hanson are both going extremely well today - Hanson looks good for another
50 points.
McBride has been climbing steadily all
morning after announcing what looks like a pretty decent acquisition. Looks like
management at McBride are determined to grow the company and it should be
reflected in a giant share price rise this year. Bunzl has leapt 25p on a very
decent statement indeed and now happy to hold and wait for more.
Went to the extremely
posh and even more expensive restaurant called the River Cafe last night. It's a
quick walk down the river. The food there is terrific though you have to book a
few weeks in advance usually. I was taken there by a couple of chaps who
recently set up a new financial website that's doing very well already. Alex writes: In your
experience is it worth taken up a rights issue? I at present hold Galliford Try
current price 185 but there is a rights issue of 2 for every 11 held at 150. Do
shares tend to drop towards the rights issue price thereby negating the
discount.
Markets
Some activity to report after my day off
updating. I bought 2,500 McBride (Feb 20th) at 206.83p. Target 235 stop 190. MCB
provides a lot of those own labels you see in supermarkets.
The shares could easily shift quite quickly
up to the 235p area. I also wonder about its bid prospects. In any event the
Burns nose is out and there is something going on there with more big buys this
morning. Level 2 shows it won't take much for the MCB share price to grow
further.
Afraid I have to go to
the dentist tomorrow morning - it's a way away and I just won't get the time to
update. Come on, stop moaning, you've had 5 updates a week since Xmas! So
no update Thursday but I will be back on Friday with a bumper update! Neither of these
statements are true' and further he says most pertinently 'the stock market will
make victims of the unconvinced'). I must be the only person in recent years to
take a loss on Lookers as a result. I bought after much
research 2 years ago at 60p (post split) and I sold for a small loss after 3
months only to see the damn thing go to 1.90 odd where it is today. It is not against the
law. As long as you have the account no and password you can trade an Isa for
your partner. I trade one for my sister and her husband. So, yes, go for it!!
Markets
Well. The FTSE may be down but who cares? I
don't play FTSE stocks! I am having an absolutely sensational day with tons of
huge gains.
This week's buy Marchpole is steaming ahead
today with some good volume. MTL Instruments is up strongly today (again
patience paying off). It can move fast on the way up and 600p could be on the
way.
Hunting reaches new highs and Petrofac is
not far behind! Recent buys RPC and Unite also go extremely well. So all in all
I am an extremely happy bunny today!
What bad luck! I went
for a swim yesterday at the gym. Was Holmes Place now Virgin Active though no
changes so far. (Basically slightly crap). Just as I put my coat on to leave,
'There ain't no party like an S club party' song came on. The head of the
Nationwide says he thinks bank charging on current accounts should come back in!
Mr Beale said that, currently, so-called delinquent customers carry the cost of
financing the running of branches and cash machines through large penalty
charges. He suggested it would be a 'fairer proposition' if these costs were
shared across everyone through monthly fees.
Markets
As mentioned yesterday I was about to buy
Sondex (SDX) as a top up and I did, getting a further 1,500 shares at 330.4p.
Target 370, stop 280. I've been making a fortune out of Sondex ever since it
listed a couple of years ago.
I originally bought in at 120p. It has a
history of making new highs and then pausing for breath. Trading Sondex is
always a question of working out when the pause has ended because when it does
it can sprint up.
I hope I caught it at the right time. I did
put in a direct market access trade hoping to get 2,000 shares at 329.25p but
no-one was willing to sell to me.
Ok, fair enough to say
the wife was missed this weekend and we were glad to see her back! She had a
great time meeting all her old school friends. They had a whale of a
time apparently and she really enjoyed the reunion with all her old mates from
Innes in Co Clare, Ireland. He's obsessed with Noddy
right now. He was also happy to fight off all comers for the Noddy seat. The
rest went on food, drink, entry fees and other games. I'm not quite sure who was
most tired when we got back. We live next door to
Fulham FC which means match days are a bit hectic round here. What amazes me is
the difference between BBC coverage and Sky coverage. When the BBC broadcast a
game there are usually just 3 or 4 small little lorries and maybe 12-15 blokes
walking about.
Markets
One new buy to report. It's a short-termish
momentum play in Bunzl (BNZL) for £10 at 677. Target 699 Stop 660. This one
continues to build nicely and is rising quickly with decent volume of buying. As
I said a purely momentum play - let's see how it goes.
Help! I am on my own with
Christopher for most of the weekend when I pick him up from nursery tonight.
Elizabeth is off to Ireland for a reunion with some of her old school friends.
(Girls only).
Markets
More trades to report (what a busy week!)
First a buy and that's in Chime (CHW) where I bought 10,000 shares at 49.2p this
morning. Target 55 stop 42.
I sold because with results due soon there
have been few buyers. I will now await results and get back in if things look
back on track.
Elsewhere a good end to a good week!
Yesterday's buy Celsis is going well, a classic market-maker treeshake going on
this morning (short of stock? Push the price down to get some!). Still looks
good for a return to at least 235 to me. The apartment now looks like
a bomb site. There's drilling going on, and a bemused looking cleaner. My power
keeps going on and off, the cat is hiding under my feet. Remember last week a
writer called me from Shares Magazine asking my views on results day? They
quoted me today (page 21) - however here are the quotes they didn't use.
Markets
Quite a lot to report today, are you sitting
comfortably? New buy to report which is 3,000 Celsis shares (CEL) at 214.45p.
Target 235 stop 195. I made quite a lot on these recently - buying I think at
160ish and selling at 200ish.
They still look incredibly cheap. They ran
all the way up to 235 recently but couldn't hold there and I suspect this is a
second attempt at getting to and past 235 which would open up 260.
My initial thought is to hold through to
235 and see what happens there with the next target 260. Good results could see
a push up to 300p.
There's little chance of bad news in
results and 200p looks a good bottom. It's risen a bit more since I bought this
morning on some decent steady buying. Could this be Celsis's year?
Just want to say I love you
all - and yes I mean you. You're all lovely. Love is in the air (everywhere I
look around). Mrs NT got a card from me and Christopher and a box set of Sex And
The City (the shoebox edition every episode ever made).
Markets
A new trade to report - 2,000 shares bought in
Macro 4 (MAO) at 245p this morning. Target 320 stop 210.I've been eyeing this
one up for a while - a sudden rise in the shares got me going (as it were) and I
jumped in. They then burst up another 10p but then came back again and I'm
wondering whether to add a few more.
Dmatek should head higher again once the
profit-takers/panickers are out of the way. Real estate continues to go well
especially Quintain which has proved a superb buy!
There's been a lot of banging
going on in the apartment today. (Honestly, your mind, please..!)That's because
two blokes are currently knocking the kitchen to pieces in between an amazing
number of cups of tea - and I thought I drunk a lot. Gail writes: I like your style of writing as it was easy to
understand and didn't bore me rigid as a lot of investing books do. I am one of the 5% of
females who loves the stock market and wants to take care of my own financial
destiny. I am tired of having my stockbroker look down his nose at me and try to
frighten me off investing on my own, also I feel that all the money I have with
him is somehow not mine, it's not in my control. Like a lot of people I
made a lot of mistakes in the 90's but now I'm going to be a lot more sensible.
I still don't understand the fundamentals very well, PE's and PEG's still
confuse me but I will re-read your book as well as other books and hope it
starts to sink in. Thanks for your sound, down to earth advice, I'll let you
know how I get on!!!
Markets
One new buy and a return to a very old
favourite of mine - VP Group (VP.) - almost completely ignored by private
investors for years but as you know I made a fortune out of this over the last 3
years buying all the way up from 125p and recently taking profits at 335p or so.
Now we have a reliable
babysitter who unbelievably also does the cleaning all in for £6.50 an hour
(Want her phone number? No chance!) we are getting out and about more.
Markets
Three new trades to report - one of them a
decent looking high risker for the high risk sipp which I'll talk about to those
who subscribe to the lunchtime e-mail.
A 60% rise in profits at the last statement
and many bullish noises coming out of the company. But perhaps more importantly
is the consistent buying that's going on.
So there I was early
afternoon yesterday having a nice nap (as you can tell I'm a hotshot trader)
when the phone goes. In fact by the time he'd
finished the question I couldn't think of anything to say. Got to be honest and
confessed I was a bit sleepy and couldn't think of anything to say about shares
and results.
Jason writes: I started GAMBLING several years ago, got burned and stopped... deciding it was
a better idea to learn about what I was trying to achieve! SO - I bought your
book about 6 months ago. That's what ex dividend
means - without dividend. So if you hold the day before ex day and sell on ex
day the div is yours. But remember on ex day the share usually falls in the
market to match the dividend payment.
Markets
Well, what a tremendous finish to a great
week, probably the best week I can ever remember! One early buy today in Unite (UTG).
Always liked the business model of this one
but have struggled to find an entry point but the acquisition announcement today
and an early rise spurred me on and I'm in for £15 a point at 528. Target 590
stop 475.
It's on days like this
I'm glad I haven't got a job. Getting to work through the snow? Well, quite easy
when I only have to walk a couple of yards to my desk!
Markets
Dare I say it for the fourth day in a
row.... another good day? Not so good as the other 3 but still good especially
as so many are hanging onto most of recent gains. Stephan writes: I was wondering whether I could
ask you a specific question. I was lucky to buy Corus
shares a while ago and as you know, Tata steel has made a ludicrous offer. I see
however now that the price is not changing at all since the takeover and the
volumes are minimal. Does this mean that I
cannot sell or should I wait to hear from the company? Apologies for my stupid
question. I hope it does not bother you that I ask you such a question. It's really up to you!!
Personally I would sell, take the money and move on rather than waiting some
time for a bit extra..
Markets
Yet another sensational day! And with the
FTSE not moving up much that makes it all better! One new trade to report - a
return to MTL Instruments (MTI) where I bought 1,000 shares at 520 this morning.
The fundamentals look good and strong and
the shares have got to be worth around 550p anyway. So I feel it's fairly safe -
results are due next month and I hope they are decent. My Target is 650, stop
430.
Sue writes: I recall once (posted on your web site) where you advised
someone against binary betting. Could I ask you why and is binary betting the
same as fixed odds? There may be one or two
really sussed traders that possibly make money but you would really need to be
tied to your screen all day. My view is the bookies
love it and make money from most people who try it and it should be left well
alone. It certainly could not be called investment!
Markets
Another excellent day, the profits just
keep rolling in (he said the day before the famous February Black Wednesday
crash).
On top of that shorters should be hurting
badly and with the price up again this morning they will really have to close
out or face further heavy losses. I bought a spreadbet this time for £20 at 496.
Target 550 stop 470.
Wow! Is all I can say
about the rises for the portfolio today with some of the biggest gains I have
ever recorded in just one morning - more on that after some rambling.. So me and Christopher
spend Saturday on our own, watching sport, eating takeaways, you know, boy type
things. As the Mrs was due back at 7pm I put in an emergency call to our cleaner
who raced down and sorted things out. Fascinating look
at Las Vegas casinos from Louis Theroux last night. And it just emphasised to me
that casinos are for losers. You will never win in the end.
Markets
A really spectacular day today - I'm
up more than 6k already so no complaints. There are two shares in particular I
am really very much interested in.
One rose too much and is now falling back -
so I am in waiting mode for both to pounce at the right time!
Telecom Plus bounces well off 200p to gain
strongly. Real estate too climbs a lot higher for me! Havelock Europa after a
quiet spell climbs 4p as it heads towards resistance which maybe it'll crack
this time.
Christopher awoke at 7am this morning instead of 4am! Phew. But I could
quite easily go to bed now and sleep for the whole weekend... David writes: Just
renewed my car tax as well! But I did it on line, an excellent website
www.direct.gov.uk/taxdisc they automatically have details of my car insurance
and MOT, the disc turned up within two days. Read the papers and the
gossip and add shares onto your monitor that spark an interest. But don't buy
anything until you are sure and even then go in very small to start with. Take
it easy and don't start gambling! Learn the ropes slowly and steadily!
Markets
What an amazing end to a fantastic week
with many thousands of pounds of profits. And it all started pretty poorly..A
new trade in an old friend Fenner (FENR). I bought 2,500 shares yesterday
afternoon at 223.5p. Target 270 stop 205. This adds to the other position at
202p.
Well, that was a fun evening... it was great fun going bowling! Webmaster
Dale started badly but soon got in his stride and ended up an easy winner with
at least 3 strikes. This was pretty impressive given the amount of empty beer
bottles that surrounded him! I started off middling and carried on middling and
came second. Not one strike. Please go Tony!! PMQ's gets more
embarrassing every day. What company could run properly with a chief executive
who has promised he is going soon? No real decisions can be made and everything
feels like it is standing still. I don't think Blair realises it is
better to go while at the top. If he resigned people would feel much warmer
towards him I reckon. It must be driving Gordon bonkers.
Markets
One new trade - and that's a short. Please bear in mind my
last short was a stinker! The short is Paragon (PAG) at £10 a point at 603p
yesterday afternoon. Target 560 stop 625.
Could be an interesting evening.. off
tonight for some bowling with webmaster Dale and his lovely wife Celina. I've
not been bowling for years but suddenly fancy it. The place also does good food
too apparently. So I shall be spending tonight throwing
a large ball at some skittles and trying to knock them down. I'll let you know
how I got on tomorrow and whether I shall be the next UK bowling champion (!).
Markets
Nothing really sparked my interest today.. until I saw some big
buy orders going into Univeral Salvage (UVS) and the price being marked up.
Most investors can't bring themselves to buy a company at a
higher price than they already bought yet they are happy to 'average down'. I
have no such qualms. Target 220 stop 165.
Someone is taking a big interest in these and I wonder as I
did before whether someone is running a sliderule over the company. There've
been a couple of 75,000 buys today.
A busy and enjoyable weekend...We are very lucky and now have a
cleaner/babysitter. Yes, an unusual breed! She loves Christopher and she loves
cleaning, what more could you want. And even better she's happy putting
Christopher to bed on Saturday nights, and cleaning.. while we go out.. Latest Government thinking: hidden
cameras in lamp posts that can see through your clothing and tell whether you
have a gun. Bracke writes: I am attempting to use
volume as part of my trading strategy but have concerns about delaying trade
information. The other thing is some trades go
through plusmarkets and will not be shown on the trades pages! Afraid as usual
the markets are never that simple and there are always things to screw up any
system.
Markets
One new trade - I bought 800 shares in OPD at 490p. Target 595
stop 435. Last time I bought these were at 395 and I sold at 425 for a profit of
£406.
A director sold 10,000 Latchways but he still has over
300,000 shares so I don't feel worried. What is irritating is the ridiculous 40p
spread. Real estate is down a touch today as is oil services. Gyrus got a broker
upgrade and target of 475p.
What a shambles this Celeb BB is turning out to be. I noticed the 'save
Shilpa' instead of 'evict' Shilpa number. How could you get such a simple thing
so wrong?
Markets
I do a fair bit of direct market access dealing these days
especially for the pension - it means I can play market maker and also buy at
the price others are selling at!
I don't mention this here because it's quite complex and
not something I'd recommend to anyone but those who are very experienced.
An excellent trading statement today sees me gain 10% this
morning which gives a profit of around 20% overall so far. Judging by today's
statement there is at least another 10% to be got here so I'll resist the urge
to take profits.
That's it! After months of really being
into Green Aeros, suddenly I've gone off them, and my new amour is.. Crunchies!
This doesn't happen in France or most
other places does it? All the bosses just blame each other and nothing ever
changes. Except, except... Jayne writes in reply to the chap asking
about moving averages...I can do moving averages on Selftrade - look at the
chart page of any share and then adjust the parameters to right of the screen. I invested in Tate & Lyle five days ago,
the fundamentals looked good and had good ratings by brokers etc, I thought they
were solid. As you probably know they took a huge dive today on the strength of
a poor new release today. I held until lunch time but then sold at a loss of
16%.
Markets
Sometimes you get a bit lucky.. (well we'll see if it ends
up being lucky). A while back I sold off my MS International shares (MSI) after
a bit of a disappointing though not disastrous update. I've been keeping an eye
on them and they've fallen since and I was thinking they were looking a bargain
and nearly bought last week.
When all is said and done the company though a bit boring
makes decent enough profits and their order books look strong. Worth 180p at
least.
Ahhhh! Snow!! Didn't notice it for a
while, wasn't expecting any..Christopher was the first to spot it. He's only
seen it on Thomas The Tank Engine and The Teletebbies but never for real.
Markets
And one new buy, well actually a top up. I bought a further lot of Renold
(RNO) yesterday afternoon - 4,000 shares at 112.76p. Target 130 stop 96. I
already have a decent holding bought at 75p, 90p and 101p and this is probably
my final top up. It's been a lovely winner.
It got a bit ahead of itself racing up to the 130p mark a
few weeks ago and this looks a good time to pick up some more at about the same
price directors were buying at recently.
Sods law will inevitably dictate they'll start to tank
again tomorrow but experience tells me to shut down and move on. Still no real
damage done and I've saved myself a few quid by getting out early (ish).
You always know when a writer who writes
regularly runs out of stuff to to say when they start talking about the
weather.. I just love these cold sunny days, much better than the mild rainy
days doncha think? Days without a parking ticket: two. Christopher is full of beans at the
moment and we are really enjoying his antics. Unfortunately he seems hell bent
on destroying my office most days but the computer's till working though
goodness knows how with the stuff he's been trying to cram down it. If I was in charge I would look at all
traffic lights and start to remove ones that weren't necessary. Of course
control freak London Mayor Ken Livingstone is busy adding as many lights as he
can.
Robbie, I have been following the antics of Vislink and ,
like you I thought their trading statement showed further improvement in the
company. However this evening the bid price has fallen to 80p and the offer
price is 90p. Can you explain why there is such a difference. I follow your
pages with great interest every day. Susan.
Markets
Two trades to report: One new buy: That's a spreadbet in
Headlam Group (HEAD) at £10 a point at 592 yesterday afternoon. Stop 565 target
645.
Feeling miserable today? Don't worry -
so is everyone else!! Today is officially the most depressing day of the year.
So if you're feeling blue, stop a moment, take a deep breath, relax. Deep
breath, relax... feel better?
Pete writes: When I first started trading I was told that If I held shares
in a company and that company changed its name I should sell the shares as
quickly as possible because the SP would start to fall.
Occasionally, a name change would seem to prompt a quick
run up in the share price ("hurrah, with this new name everything's going to
change"), offering a short term trading opportunity, before the rot set in
("uh-oh, not it's not").
Markets
What a battering yesterday! I had to sit in
the car with Christopher for more than an hour to get to my mum who is only 4
miles away in London.
Elizabeth writes: I love your site. I am an 'old' lady of
74 (the excuse for my forget fullness at the ATM - your wife doesn't have the
same excuse) and since a heart bypass four years ago when I had to give up my
golf and other strenuous activities, I have become very interested in shares. I
am the only woman in my local investment club! I have read your latest book -
it's a great read, thank you.
Markets
Two buys to report! First is Alphameric (ALM) bought today. I
bought 10,000 shares at 52.5p. Target 59 stop 45. It's not one I would normally
consider because it's recently given out a warning - and it's had a rough time
falling this year from 100p to 40p. Once it hit 40p the market seems to think
that was too far.
No update tomorrow (Thursday) I'm
afraid. We are giving up some of the day to take my mum out in her wheelchair.
She's not been out properly for many months while in care so we're taking
Christopher over there and letting her see the world again. I'll be back as
usual on Friday.
So unless someone took the money out of the machine after
you but before the machine sucked it back in you MIGHT be alright.
Markets
In the first three months of every year I look for a bit of
a 'spring clean' and over the next few days will be taking profits/losses and
getting a bit of cash together as insurance against market wobbles.
Investor confidence seems low at the moment and I'd like to
have some firepower ready in the event of a wobbly February which often happens.
The shares have reacted as if a profits warning had been
issued. Since it went SETS/MM the shares have been falling but at 86p to my mind
must be at very worst fairly valued.
Judging by this statement I think it unlikely I'll lose
them and the best thing that could happen for holders now is if the shares 'go
quiet' and stabalise. Very few brokers cover the stock but one, Goodbody's says
the shares are good value after this statement and they should be added.
Now remember the awful Saturday night out I
had? We put it right last night!! On Saturday we had McDonalds.. last night we
had fine dining!
Steve writes: I've sat here best part of the day watching
VANCO (van) going up steadily (not that I'm complaining) all day to a total mid
price gain of about 32 1/2 p. Yet looking at all the Buy/Sells on the ADVFN
(freebie) trades page I notice that the total Sells = 945,595 whilst total Buys
= 164,133 ??.
There seem to have been many large Sells going through
which outway the Buys, yet the price has gone up by so much?. Any clues as to
why this is happening.
Happens all the time and basically you can't trust trades
pages on any system as being accurate. No-one really knows whether they are buys
or sells except the market makers and those making the trades!
Markets
However I believe there is much more to come and I'll end
up doubling my money on the shares by the end of the year - a very decent 14p
rise so far today. Robbie Burns has been trading successfully for over 7 years, having spent 1996 to 2001 as finance and general editor for Sky TV's text services. Robbie has started this commentary page on Sky and Channel 5 text in 2000 and ran it until summer 2002, during which time he made profits of more than £50,000, even during the bear market from 2001. Robbie now runs an independent cafe and catering business, but trades more or less full time. He uses ISA's and PEP's to avoid tax liabilities and runs his own pension fund in a SIPP. Visit his site here
Domestic and General looks set to reward my patience - some good buyers
appearing on the order book today - it's one of those that could leap 50-60p
just like that.
Carclo looks set for another run, now showing massive profits but there is
more to come there. Renold looks set to leap at any time as it's really breaking
up now.
Oil services continue to bring home the big money. Petrofac looks on the
verge of a another good run as does Sondex. Hunting reports soon and if the
report is good expect all 3 to surge.
Property looks good with more rises for my favourites in that sector.
Recent top up Marchpole continues to surge and a breakthrough 150 could open up
170-180 in due course. Alterian begins another climb as does Telecom Plus. So
yet again, extremely happy with the way things are going!
Friday 23rd February
Nice to meet people who really love what they do and the enthusiasm really
shined from them both - they are also highly entertaining and we had a good
evening.
Hi Alex - depends on the sort of company. It if's a bit crap and it's
raising money to stay in the game I tend to ignore and sell.
If it's a decent company raising money it can be a different matter.
Sometimes the price comes down to near the rights issue but if it stays well
above that is a very good sign.
Mike writes: With a portfolio of around £20,000, what split in pounds of
individual shares would you be looking at? Great Website.
Cheers Mike. I can't advise you personally really but if it were me, I
would probably go for 10 companies at about £2k each to give a reasonably
well-balanced portfolio. Put it this way, I wouldn't put much less than that
into each one. Good luck!
While not appearing obviously cheap, there is a sense to me of a company
that's going places and I really like the volume going in.
I also took out a spread bet in Hanson (HAN). It's been going up a lot but
there could be much more to come and this is quite simply a bid target.
Plenty of rumours starting to fly around and I don't think Hanson will
survive this year without being taken out. Could even be a bidding war. I got in
yesterday for £20 a point at 848. Target 1050 stop 780.
Elsewhere some pretty terrific rises again for a second brilliant week in
a row. Star of today is Renold (my second biggest holding) which has well and
truly broken out - another few points and I'll have doubled my original trade in
quite a short time.
Macro 4 is really going for it today after a quiet spell. And Alterian is
starting another lunge up. Real estate has been going very well and Quintain and
Shaftesbury looking good.
Hunting reports shortly and has rocketed over the last two days. Oil
services still goes well with Petrofac about to break up and Sondex very strong
indeed. If Sondex can get through 350 that would be extremely bullish.
Mouchel Parkman seems about to run up. Fenner is goins strongly and Carclo
is still growing. Unite is gradually creeping up towards the 600 level and is
proving a nice buy. Mitie is also gradually going higher.
Vislink looks interesting and could be set for a run. A lot of sell orders
have disappeared from the orderbook and institutions have increased their
stakes. Could jump higher next week.
Wednesday 20th February
Went to a posh fish restaurant last night with Christopher and he behaved
himself quite well. Elizabeth and me shared a whole Brill (£37). Christopher had
real fish fingers (£3.50).
Actually it was really good the fish is well sourced. It's like a
fiishmonger's with a restaurant at the back. Don't think I ever had Brill before
but it was Brill!
Christopher was so tired when we got home he practically put himself to
bed. He's starting to put words together. Favourites at the moment are: 'I like
that!' 'Hallo, little girl!' and 'Stop it, boys!'
Francis writes: I think that you too suffer from the problem of being
shaken out of great shares for small profits when they should have been big ones
I am now out of are Rok, Tolent and Galliford try (one of yours once I
know and still heading for the moon after spectacular interims and takeover news
).
Robbie what do you do to stay in a good shares rather than let the market
(or the sector) shake you out when it has its inevitable declines? Do we have to
become more like peter lynch who says incidentally - 'your stock goes up 20% you
feel like a hero. your stock goes down 20 % you feel like a fool.
It is so hard sometimes to watch profits disappear and then to watch the
good stocks bounce so forcefully. thoughts? ideas? strategies?
Hi Francis - Actually I wouldn't worry about it so much! All investors get
shaken out from time to time but I do tend to stay very patient with ones I
like. Such as Croda where I am rewarded today with a 9% gain. I don't think
there are any strategies except using stop losses, and targets and knowing when
a treeshake is a treeshake!!
Mike writes: Quick question about making full use of your ISA
limits.......is it ok to use your partners name, if your own name has been used
for that ISA year..
Hi Mike - as long as your partner is happy about it! I always use the
wife's isa allowance too. Of course the money is now in her name so she could
run off with it!
First a new buy to report - in Alterian (ALN) where I picked up 3,400
shares at 132p and 3,000 at 135p. Target 165p, stop 120p.
Had this one on a shortlist for a while - I did have this lined up as a
possible buy on Dublin seminar day next Friday but movement and buyers were
coming in this morning so that forced my hand. Sorry delegates! I was going to
show how I did my research on it and why it's undervalued in my opinion.
This looks like an excellent recovery play with losses turning into
profits and a very bullish last statement which shows the next statement could
show a big increase.
It sees 'significant growth' and a strong new business pipeline. As long
as all this is true, the shares I think have further to go even though they've
done well recently.
I took profits in Rightmove. It was struggling to get above 520 and was
starting a downward move this morning. My 1,000 shares were sold at 509.75 for a
profit of £498 and the spreadbet at 510 for a profit of £280 making a total
Rightmove profit of £778. Nice trades!
It was thanks again to level 2 for revealing the sellers/profit-takers
coming in behind the scenes for making me sell as the shares have gone down more
since. Looks like a 'sell on the news' profit taking.
Wow! Is all I can say about the rise in Croda today - my patience paid off
and I now sit on profits of nearly £10,000. Excellent statement and obviously I
am bordering on taking profits.
However there has been some quite massive buying this morning and I've got
a rise of over 10%! It's been tempting to sell a few times when it's been doing
nothing for weeks. I'll keep an eye open but I think I will carry on holding.
Another big riser for me today is Dmatek after yesterday's treeshake. I am
grimly hanging onto my shares! Oil services is still a strong market with Sondex
breaking out very well today, plenty of upside left.
Tuesday 20th February
I speeded up my exit but it was too late. This rubbish song has been going
round and round in my head ever since and I can't get rid of it. If this carries
on I am going to need psychiatric help...
After being with Christopher for 3 days it was very odd when he went to
nursery - I missed him! I've worked out a decent early morning TV schedule for
him - He's allowed an hour a day which I think is about right.
7.30am Teletubbies (tape). 7.45pm Noddy (ch5) 8am Little Red Tractor (CBeebies).
8.10am Higgeldy House (CBeebies) and 8.25am Thomas Tank Engine (Ch5).
Talking TV what a pile of crap that documentary was on Tescos. Shoddy
work. I was looking forwards to it too. It really came up with no damning
evidence at all except Clubcard collects your shopping habits (so what?) and it
flouts planning laws (they all do).
And what was the point of a family only buying stuff from Tescos for a
month? Er, no point at all. There was no mention at all of the real issue:
Tescos hammering suppliers and exactly how good or otherwise is the quality of
meat and veg, say compared with the more expensive Waitrose.
He said the Nationwide would not be the first high street name to impose
such fees. But he said the society would follow others.
Well I think this is rubbish!! Why the hell should good customers who
never get into trouble have to subsidise those who do?
In any event this argument is bull. They just want to make even more
profit - and all the banks are floating the 'idea' now so we get used to it when
it inevitably comes in. They will all gang up together to do it. When it happens
we all need to act as one and move accounts to whoever remains free.
Sondex is in my favourite oil services sector and this company together
with Petrofac and Hunting have made me a fortune. And I think there is still
more to come with all three.
The sector is absolutely booming today with both Hunting and Petrofac well
up. One suspects a merger or a bid somewhere. My guess is either Hunting or
Petrofac will bid for Sondex.
I also topped up in Marchpole (MPH). I got 4,500 shares at 134p. Target
160. Stop 114. I've made a killing on this one over the last couple of years and
my current position at 13p (before a 1-5 split) shows an excellent profit of
£7,000. Now I feel is the time to get in again.
The shares rose rapidly after an acquisition announcement and I got in as
they appeared to start another leg up this morning. Management appears to be
slowly winning respect and the company could get a bit of a rerating here. It
seems well worth a top up to me and the next leg up could be quite quick.
I sold my last position in MS International at 155p for a profit of £425.
My reason was quite simply a lack of buyers to take it up and over 160 and it
could just sit here for a while. I may as well use the cash elsewhere and
comeback, maybe close to results time.
Outside the exciting oil services sector a quietish day. Harver Nash,
Quintain, Vanco and Telecom Plus are all up a little. Probably though the most
exciting riser today is RPC where my patience could be about to be rewarded.
After doing nothing for a bit it is rising strongly today. Celsis, MTL and Vanco
all try and rise.Monday 19th February
She came back with lot of old memories from home.. diaries, etc. Even an
old 'o' level exam maths paper. My goodness they were tough! They really do look
like a lot tougher than the exams sat these days.
Due (mainly) to the fact the kitchen is out of action Christopher and
myself lived off takeaways and microwaves. Fish and chips played a major role.
The two of us spent one morning at a kids play centre where, believe it
not I was relieved of nearly £50 in three hours. £25 went on Noddy Car rides.
I'm not kidding, £1 for three short rides.
He was so tired he rolled over onto the floor of the living room and was a
goner. I put a blanket over him then I rolled over and went to sleep too. We
also went to the park, visited Grandma in the car and all sorts.
Much though I love him, he's at nursery today and I could do with a rest.
Trading shares is nothing compared to rearing children.
Talking of shares glad to say the many positions listed here are all in
profit (bar 2). Top 4 money-making open positions are: Burren (profit £16,000)
Vislink (profit £13,000) Renold profit £8,000) Mouchel Parkman (£11,000).
When Sky cover a game like yesterday there are 8-10 massive great big
trucks, wires all over the place, security blokes, parking blokes, usually
around 100 in all. They take 2 days to set it all up.
It doesn't matter as being by the Thames it's quiet around here and plenty
of room for all the trucks. But do they really need them all?
The 'congestion charge' no one wants except the politicians came into
force today in London. It means rich people can travel around London without a
care in the world and the poorer ones suffer.
If my mum was still in hospital I would now have to pay £8 a day to see
her (or £4 on the bus!). If Christopher goes to the school we want him to go to
that's £8 a day too.
All the roads round here at the edge of the zone are completely congested.
The whole thing is incredibly stupid and costs a fortune which may never be
recouped. That's my moan over.
One sell: and that's in CSR at 745p for a profit of £273. Easy reason
here: fear! It reports later this week and it'll probably either rocket on an
encouraging report or fall away on another negative one. So, a gamble I don't
want to take - profit locked! There also seem to be quite a few sellers around
in the 350 area on level 2.
As I write I think I'm about to top up in Sondex (SDX) - it looks primed
for a big move up - if I do I'll give details tomorrow. I'm also going to take a
loss in the Paragon short if it climbs much through 640.
Elsewhere a great day for real estate with Shaftesbury and Quintain both
well ahead. Last week's buy Chime rises very nicely with some good buyers seen.
Biffa and Harvey Nash both rise well. Celsis retreats back to the 215 area - it
usually bounces from here!
Market makers try another fright to get some profit-takers in Dmatek but I
think there is more in the tank there. It was another classic shake - will be
covering treeshakes in depth at the seminars.
Cranswick starts to motor and still expect good things there. The market
continues to be extremely benign, but the US closed today I don't expect much
action this afternoon.
Friday 16th February
I guess they will be eyeing each other up to see who has aged the best.
Elizabeth looks pretty darn good so I think she'll have a good time! She's
bought a special dress to show off her figure. I'm sure they'll all have a great
craic!
So it's just us lads for the weekend. I have plans. There is a large kids
playcentre so I think I'll cycle him down there on Saturday and we'll go and see
my mum on Sunday.
However I'll also have to change nappies, feed him and generally give him
a good time. Maybe we'll kick a football around as he's starting to enjoy that!
We shall definitely miss mum that's for sure. Lucky for us the builders
are in doing the kitchen and making a mess so we don't have to tidy up. And with
just a microwave oven left, it's ready meals and takeways this weekend only.
Shame!
It's one I've made money on before and it's come up at the seminars a few
times as an interesting buy candidate. It went up all the way to nearly 60p and
I'm buying on a recent pullback. It probably went just too far for now at 60p.
It's one of those companies that ticks all my boxes. Business going well,
all the relevant figures going higher, good profit maker, not an awful lot of
downside and a decent statement almost certain.
It's a wee bit on the volatile side being a smallish share on SETS/MM but
I think around the 50p area is a good price to get in - there seem to be some
decent buyers around (one of 50,000 this morning) which with results close is
interesting.
I think if results are at the top end we could see 60p again and perhaps even a
break up to 65p.
A tricky decision but I flogged Dialight yesterday at 223 (could have got
a better sell price today!) for a loss of £210 on position 1 and £215 on the
second.
I really thought this was going to be my share of the year until a recent
trading statement sounded a note of caution. It was odd because it was kind of a
cautious we've got a few problems but everything will be ok type statement.
I took profits on my spreadbet in Bluebay, selling at 400p this morning to
take a nice profit of £1,200. My reasoning is the inability for the shares to
close convincingly above 400p. There seem to be a lack of buyers above 400p too.
Anyway it was a nice enough spreadbet and a profit worth banking. Total profits
banked today are £775.
Recent buy Macro 4 has also seen treeshaking - that's now over and it's
moving a lot higher today. Dmatek continues its wonderful rise higher and I feel
another 20 points or so are there for the taking.
Oil services look strong. Hunting looks set for another run - Sondex looks
like it's about to burst up any day. A strong statement from Vanco today sees
the shares higher - it's an excellent long-term tuckaway with the rewards there
for the taking.
VP and Dyson hold well at higher levels and Domestic looks like it could
close above 1200 at last which would bode well. Gyrus has the profit-takers in
today after a good run, same with Telecom Plus but both shares will come back
easily and indeed it could be argued they are both a buy on the dips.
Carclo heads higher every day and Renold is tantalisingly poised at what
could be a major breakout with 25 points possible upside coming. So an excellent
end to what has been an amazingly profitable 2 weeks. Good old February!
Thursday 15th February
Even making tea and toast is a problem. Where's the kettle gone? Where's
the milk? It's a good 15 minute job. But it'll all be good in the end when the
Mrs gets the kitchen she'd set her heart on.
What's next after that though? I think it could be a car. There's always
something that needs money to be spent on isn't there?
The cleaner asked me how much the new kitchen cost. When I said £27k she
nearly collapsed in horror. That was a really bloody stupid thing to tell her
because she's going to ask for a pay rise now deciding I'm a rich bastard who
should be paying her more.
Christopher got taken to Harrods yesterday and he had a great time in the
toys department especially after he found plenty of Thomas Tank Engines.
He is definitely going to become an actor. We asked him to pretend to cry
and he put on an amazing show then laughed his head off.
I don't really believe Robbie Williams drinks 20 Red Bulls a day and I
definitely don't believe 36 double espessos. I really think if anyone really
drank that many a day they'd be six feet under quite quickly.. And there just
isn't enough time to make and drink them. It would be a full time job. Best to
ignore what the tabloids say - they're making a lot of it up.
Burns said: ' I just woke up, had a really good sleep.'
'I've got no idea, in fact to be honest I completely forgot the question
you asked as I'm still half asleep. What was it again?'
'Oh blimey... er.. can't think of anything... oh, ok I know you've got
space to fill, er.....'
'Results days.... oh yes, erm, let me think... great dream I had by the
way....'
Lucky for me none of these quotes appeared and somehow they made me sound
quite authoritative which is good. In fact some bloke from City Index agreed
with whatever it was I came up with which I can't remember.
But I was so sleepy I forgot to say a condition of any quote would have to
include a plug for the website or the book. And as I forgot I was labelled:
'Trader and investor'. The reporter must have thought I was a right dozy pillock.
Anyway I helped him fill some space didn't I?
Talking of pillocks... the words Russell and Brand come to mind. Lousy
host for The Brits, lousy lines. The music wasn't much better either and what
happened to Joss Stone? She came across really badly.
Dragons Den remained as fascinating as ever and Jamie's Chef was
interesting in that it shows actually how difficult running a catering business
is.
It might seem a lovely dream to run a cafe or restaurant but these
businesses are very tough - it is really hard to make a decent profit. I think
the lad who won the pub is going to struggle to create a viable business.
It's a lot of work - handling staff, customers and suppliers. Forget it if
you don't get on with people. Then there's health and safety, trying to set
prices, it's a minefield. I did make a huge profit on selling my cafe last year
but I really wouldn't do it again!
HI pre-tax rose 12% and that news was accompanied by an extremely bullish
statement and I like the recurring revenue business it has.
A very strong year end performance is promised and it isn't out of the
question that really excellent results could see a real boom in the shares.
I topsliced some MS at 160.9 yesterday afternoon just to lock in a bit of
profit. For web purposes we'll call it the 146 position which makes a profit of
£521. The 142 position remains.
I got bored out of OPD and sold yesterday afternoon at 475.5 for a small
loss of £138. I sold Havelock Europa at 164.03p after it started to slide. Looks
like there was a 20,000 seller out there today.
Could be a bad decision but I have built up some decent profits here and
it seems to be struggling much past 170 for the moment. So for now I have
exited.
Profits are decent: £868 on the 139.25 position and £1,776 on the 141
position - a total of £2,644. I still like the company and will probably be
back.
That's a profit banked for the site today of £3,027 bringing banked total
profits since the site started of a not bad
£293,489
(this excludes the massive paper profits built up in the current portfolio).
Elsewhere not a bad day. Recent buy Dmatek continues to do extremely well
- my buy at 147 looks good now we're at 163 already! I'm looking for an initial
180.
Macro 4 is trying to decide whether to break through 150 properly or not.
Doesn't much matter for now as the value will come out here over the next few
weeks.
Gyrus has just been awesome. It's pushed easily through 450 and I wish I
had more even though I have a lot. Cranswick goes well as it tries to settle
above the tenner. Mitie looks promising as it tries to bust the 250 area. Dyson
is being terrific as is Hunting which soars over 600p.
Biffa heads higher as does my real estate stocks where profits are now
getting pretty good. Diploma goes well today and Carclo just keeps quietly
rising...Petrofac looks in good spirits.
Wednesday 14th February
Of course the great thing about Valentines Day is.. no more flipping
commercial crappy e-mails coming in about.. Valentines day.
To those of you kindly asking my mum is a lot better. Sadly she will not
walk again but she is now talking again, eating well and listening to the radio
and watching TV.
Of course I am still very sad this proud strong woman is now confined to a
wheelchair. But at least she is living some kind of life again.
This company seems to be in turnaround mode with management keen to
improve revenues and profit as shown in the last statement.
It's winning more rights and contracts and all this should feed through to
some decent news this year which should get the share price going up to around
300p.
Macro 4, an IT services company, has also boosted its sales team and it
appears to be doing everything right. A nice little tuckaway with the only
downside that the market makers have this one well in their control and so the
price can go up and down like a yo yo. I'll ignore any moves unless the stop is
hit and stay holding.
I topsliced a little Telecom Plus selling 2,500 at 224.15p this morning.
Just a bit of profit taking after a big run - I'm still holding my main bulk
that I bought at 105p. Profit on the shares bought at 161 are a decent £1,554.
Others seem to be taking a bit of profit today but another few points lower and
it could be another good time to buy in again!
I sold the BskyB trade at 559 this morning for a magnificent profit of, er..
£15. I had bought because it was showing good momentum but it's just not going
anywhere for now and I feel there is better value elsewhere.
A bit of a sluggish day though most stuff in the portfolio is up a bit.
Mouchel reported that things are going fine and it remains a decent hold.
Yesterday's buy VP continues its slow and steady rise and I hope for a
breakthrough 400p soon.
Dyson has been a real star recently and glad I topped up with the
spreadbet already up more than £1,000. Looks a good thing for another 30p up to
300p.
Gyrus holds very well 40p above where I topped up recently and more than
100p over when I started buying. Lovely one.
Marchpole burst higher today on the back on an acquisition announcement
which looks a good fit. The higher price today now means a profit of more than
£7,000 on my buy of about a year ago. Not bad!
Domestic And General looks like it's about to shoot higher if it can break
this just above 1200 level. Recent buys Cranswick and Unite are both heading
higher.
Tuesday 13th February
Once they're done another set of people are going to come and hammer in a
new kitchen. It better be good as the cheque was rather large, in fact it still
hurts!
In the meantime it's hell broken loose here with the coffee machine
sitting in my office, washing up transferred to the bathroom and the fridge in
the spare room.
In fact I'm not quite sure where anything is - but as long as I know where
the Noddy and Thomas Tank Engine DVDs are I'll be ok.
Hi Gail...Good to hear from the minority! I reckon a lot of women make
better investors than men. Much less likely to gamble and bet on dodgy stocks.
Men tend to rely too much on taking a 'punt' on a whim. So good luck and let us
know how you get on!
Looks like I banked too early. But I've put that mistake behind me today
by re-buying a little higher getting back in with 1,300 shares at 366.4p this
morning. Target 450, stop 315.
Written about this great company so many times. It's all you could want -
a great business, booming turnover and profits and a bid target thrown in for
nothing. Its latest profits were up more than 40% mainly due to recent
acquisitions bearing fruit.
My temptation is to simply stick this one away again for six months or so
and watch the profits roll in while sleeping at night. It can be a bit volatile
but it doesn't much matter - I expect to hold tight and pick up at least 20%.
The only downside is a bit of volatility given the market makers tend to
push it around a bit and sometimes widen the spread but not much worry there for
longer-term holders.
Been tempted to do a bit of top slicing today but just about resisted the
urge. Some good movers around on a generally upbeat day. Gyrus is the top star
of the day reaching new territory with another hefty rise.
Domestic and General begins to look interesting again with a rise above
1200 for the first time in a bit. Recent buys Cranswick and Dyson both go well.
Cranswick seems to be settling above the 1000p mark and I hope for 1100p in
short order. Dyson is shooting ahead with a good-looking breakout which I hope
will take it nearer to the 300p level.
Dtamek gives back a few of the recent gains but it's been tipped a lot
recently so I would guess the market makers are playing a few games to get rid
of weak holders.
Vislink tries again to conquer the sticky 100p area - once sellers are
cleared out of this area there's a chance of getting up to the 110 level again.
Halfords has been booming recently and Havelock attempts to start another
rise. RPC seems to be coming to life after a spell of doing nothing.
Monday 12th February
So a Friday night out with a very old and lovely friend - we went to a
Thai restaurant for bog standard food and then onto the brilliant Electric
Cinema in Portobello. Big leather seats and footstools. That's the way to watch
movies.
Saw Notes From A Scandal. Great movie - go and catch it. Judi Dench was
just amazing and deserves an Oscar nomination. I'm surprised it didn't pick up
any awards last night.
Jonathan Ross: what a terrible host. A load of really feeble quips written
by his scriptwriter didn't get a single laugh. That's because the audience was
intelligent I guess. Ross realised quite early on the jokes weren't up to
scratch so started rushing through them. How much do we pay him again. Oh yes,
£18 million!
What's Christopher been up to at nursery? He's been exclaiming 'Stop it
boys' all weekend. Was he a ringleader in the trouble or just a follower?
Hopefully a ringleader!
My first buy is in Cranswick (CWK). There seems to be no stopping this
food producer at the moment. I like shares hitting a tenner - they tend to go
straight through and up to £11. Don't know why, probably psychological.
Cranswick is growing by acquisition and seems to be making the right ones.
Sales, profits and dividends are going up - the only problem seems to be selling
bird feed!
Once its recent acquisition Delico is integrated into the business, that
should help bump profits up even more. Looks like a nice grower this one and one
I'm tucking away feeling pretty confident.
I took out spreadbet on this one Friday afternoon for £10 a point at 998.
Target 1100 stop 940. The only real problem here is the spread which can be
anything from one point to 12 points so I had to time my entry carefully and
it'll be the same with the exit.
Second trade made this morning is a top up in Dyson (DYS). I already hold
at 214 and 244 so this is the last top up! I bought 2,000 new shares at 247.99p.
Target 295 stop 214. This one looks a real good recovery story after having a
rubbish time for a couple of years.
The recovery should continue to at least the 300p area. It's a share I
have learned to be patient with as it can move very slowly but suddenly it has
cracking days and moves a lot.
Elsewhere a pretty good day considering the market is in a foul mood, on
days like this it's nice to own shares just down a touch or staying even and I
have quite a few of those.
Scott Wilson was tipped by the Mail on Sunday so shares are up a decent
enough 5p. A long-term hold so don't mention them that often but a stock that
should hold its own in troubled times.
Gyrus goes well too breaking out into a new high and glad I topped up the
other week. Big profits being generated here. Diploma, Bluebay, Domestic and Marchpole all head higher. Dmatek continues its
excellent run and is up another pee.
In fact nothing is really disappointing me today given market weakness.
Plenty staying even. Headlam perhaps a touch disappointing given its strength
last week. Friday's buy Unite is going ok.
Friday 09th February
'Hi it's Geoff from Shares Magazine!'
I was in a bit of a daze after coming out of a very nice sleep and so he
launched into a long question about trading shares before results day.
However as I was a journalist and know how he feels and that the poor chap
probably is part of a small staff and has loads of blank pages to fill I tried
to help out basically giving him the option of putting any quote in for me as
long as I didn't sound stupid.
But good for him he tried again. So I mumbled something about everyone
sells on results days so results have got to me damn good for the shares to go
up and an in line statement sparks a sell signal to investors.
Anyway I think he went away a bit disappointed and I have no idea what I
was going on about. Anyway I am sure a strange quote from me will appear next
week...The moral? Never phone me after lunch for a quote!
Off to see a movie tonight and a meal with friends while Christopher has
the services of a babysitter. He'll probably have her running all over the place
and she'll earn her money that's for sure!
What's all this rubbish about BA trying to 'save time at check in' by
charging £240 for an extra bag? It doesn't take any longer to stick two light
bags on the conveyor belt than one massive heavy one. They just want to take
more of our money and that's it. Just admit it!
And guess how much time is going to be wasted by people turning up with
two bags emptying out one bag to cram it in the other?
I am getting married next week, after which I will get stuck in to
expanding my learning. I currently trade safe shares while I learn which - feels
better! Anyway, please can you answer a simple question for me.
When do I need to have bought a share and how long do I need to hold it
for to receive the dividend payment? I presume I must buy before the Ex-Div date
and hold until after the record date. BUT Do I then need to hold until the
actual payment date or not?
Hi Jason - glad you stopped gambling! Yes you must buy before Ex date but
you don't have to hold till record date. You can sell the next day and you are
still entitled to the dividend.
This company has a great niche in student accommodation and today
announced yet another acquisition. It has a superb portfolio of accommodation
that will always be in demand.
Barring a market crash, this solid play has a lot going for it and this
seems a good time to buy at a good price - I feel there is a good 10% here at
least in time. Looks to be one of the most solid shares on the market and happy
to be in.
Elsewhere another spectacular day. Recent buy Dmatek rises a good 4% -
market makers have successfully shaken out some recent weak holders/buyers - I
expect a few more shakes on the way to 180p.
Harvey Nash rises again - been a great stock for me this one and I'm
holding out for another 10% or so. What can I say about Bluebay except I'm very
glad I bought and it is rocketing today. Plenty of further value in this hedge
fund manager.
Gyrus just keeps rising, really glad I topped up recently. Halfords is
going great guns and is in the frame as a bid prospect.
Hunting has soared over 600p and there could be no stopping it now. Real
estate looks terrific with big gains by Quintain and Savills and Shaftesbury.
Now doubled my money and a bit on Telecom Plus and that recent top up at
161 looks pretty good! Star award to Croda - it's risen from 580 to 640 this
week and as I have a large spreadbet position and good other positions it's made
me a good deal.
MS International and Fenner are on the rise again. CSR is rising very
rapidly and my buy at 710p now looks rather good after at one point looking
rather bad.
So, a week of quite spectacular gains which I didn't expect in the first
week of February, let's hope the good times keep rolling.
Thursday 08th February
It's made Christopher very happy and later this afternoon we'll get his
wellies on and have a good tramp through it. It makes the river view here over
the Thames very picturesque.
Christopher has also just thrown his first snowball at Daddy. I'll get him
back - us Scorpios have a long memory for grudges apparently..
Plenty of shares on the radar and nothing tempting me in this morning so
for the first time in a while no buys or sells! I would hate to buy something
just because I wanted some excitement... not the way to invest!
CSR probably gets top billing today - nearly 10% up on that one now with
some big gains over the last 2 days - and while tempting to take profits I'll
stick with it while it's strong.
Mouchel Parkman moves very nicely today and looks set to head back to its
all time high. My two buys of Rightmove are paying off handsomely though I'm not
far off taking profits.
Vislink looks strong - needs to crack 103.25 to move higher. Renold looks
set for another shift up after some decent buying yesterday.
Diploma's been quiet for a while but now starting to surge. Fenner's
creeping up again, better for that one to rise slowly and surely rather than in
a giant leap.
Domestic and General looks like having a new stab at cracking 1200 soon.
Gyrus goes well. Carclo continues to make new highs daily and has been a good un
ever since I bought.
Bluebay is having an excellent day, can it stick over 400p? Dtamek holds
onto its gains well and it won't be long until there's another shift up. Mitie
is performing mitie well today.
It'll be interesting to see if MTL Instrumente can break through 530 -
plenty of upside if it can..Finally a couple of very large buys in Trifast today
and I suspect it's about to rise quite strongly any moment..
The portfolio really is in cracking shape - I would guess there is a good
£40,000 profit or more stacked up there waiting to be taken.
Wednesday 07th February
Of course it doesn't bother me! I don't follow Corus but I believe the
deal has been done - the stock is not moving because the bid price is settled.
So you either sell now at near to the bid price or wait for the cash.
After making some money on it the year before last, this one has been very
frustrating to follow - it always seemed to be a good one, a great business with
bid prospects. But somehow the shares never really moved much and with an often
15 point spread there wasn't much point in buying even a good business.
However looks like there is something happening here. Don't ask me what
because I don't know but there are suddenly buyers coming in from nowhere and
picking up good amounts (one buyer today of £40,000 worth at 525). So on the
basis that these people are buying for a reason I've joined in.
Another smashing day. Yesterday's buy Dmatek is already going well, up 5%
today - I think 180 looks an easy target here.
Recent buy MS International is going great guns too, some very decent
buying arriving here which could herald something interesting. The shares are
fairly valued nearer 180 anyway.
CSR is really going for it today with a massive rise. Glad I held my nerve
and staying with them. Telecom Plus holds well at a much higher level which
bodes well for eventually more rises.
Quintain is absolutely surging for me - the papers report some stake
building and it's got to be in the frame as a bid target this year.
Havelock, Croda, Fenner and Mouchel are all on the up. Rightmove carries on
moving right and shorters must be having to close out losses.
And Renold should now break through 130p and head for 150p after
announcing way better banking facilities which should save a lot of money and
enable it to grow much faster. Great deal.
Tuesday 06th February
Hi Sue. I believe it's just gambling - it is similar to fixed odds trading
- You decide whether FTSE will be up or down by the end of the day and the
spread changes all day.
I'm playing a very patient game with about 3 shares I like but none of the
three gave me the buying signal I am looking for - how I look for buying signals
I'm covering fully at both seminars..
Two buys and a sell to report! First is a buy in Dmatek (DTK) - I bought
5,000 shares at 147.5p. Target 180 stop 125.
I kept getting mails from their PR people in my inbox talking about all
the contracts won, good results, and I thought it looked a good company but
thought it was on AIM so dismissed it.
Then the other day I happened to look at it again and realised it had a
full listing was ISAable and very liquid (normal market size on level 2 is 5,000
shares).
Its markets are basically tagging equipment for those on release from
prison and the elderly and electronic surveillance equipment. I would guess a
growing demand for these products.
On top of that it's growing very nicely by earnings-enhancing acquisitions
and all reports are extremely bullish. It should be reporting next month and I
wonder if results then will bring this fairly quiet backwater company into the
spotlight. If it does the shares could easily race away to 200 and more. Could
be a good un!
The shares raced up too fast to 154 the other day so I waited patiently
for the inevitable profit taking drop - it seemed to bottom out here and a
slight rise has seen me get in here.
Second buy: I topped up with more Rightmove (RMV) yesterday afternoon -
the countrywide deal should continue to give the share price a good lift.
I took profits in Abacus - my main reasoning is the failure to get through
the 200p mark with sellers coming in around this point.
That's a profit of £604 on the normal position selling at 200.5p and a
profit of £880 on the spreadbet position selling at 199p. That's a total banked
profit of £1,484 - though it took a bit of time coming!
I expected a few falls today after an amazing time yesterday but it's
gains again today. MS International shows a great gain today - it's one of those
that stays still for a while but when it moves it moves! Good value still after
the director buying.
A placing in Havelock Europa has introduced five new institutional
investors and the fact the price was so close to the current price shows trading
at Havelock is strong and investors confident. One of those to hold tight for an
inevitable if perhaps slow rise up to 200p. The placing was substantially
oversubscribed.
A massive rise for Telecom Plus yesterday afternoon and it's jumped 10% in
the last couple of days which means I've more than doubled my money. More to
come and I'm sticking with it.
Renold is up yet again, it's reached the point which it couldn't pass
before - 130- and while tempting to take the massive profits I've got, I think
it will get through 130 and open up 150 at which point I would be tempted to
sell half. Carclo is doing me proud with a good rise above 100p and heading
every higher - another nice one!
Vanco announced a further series of contract wins today which should
support the price. Not sure whether 'Evil Knievel' has taken his losses yet, if
he hasn't it's good news as when he does it should push the price up more.
Fenner has come back a bit on profit taking but as long as 230 holds there
should be another leg up. Real estate is surging and all my real estate buys are
showing handsome profits now. Mitie is rising fast today.
I think the current huge profits I'm gathering in tends to show my
strategy of finding good companies and patiently holding them while they
increase in value instead of trying to trade out grabbing a few points here and
there is a good one.
Monday 05th February
Today is 'National Sickie Day' - that is, the first Monday in February is
when most sick days are taken...Of course I am sure all the cases are genuine,
just as genuine as our good leader Mr Blair..
Right, maybe I'll join in and throw a sickie today.. I'll just phone the
boss with a crockey voice and cough a lot then I can stay in bed and watch
daytime TV. Hang on a minute.. I AM the boss. Bugger. Oh, well better do some
work then, hadn't I?
Elizabeth seemed impressed the boys kept the place so tidy. So keep it
quiet eh so I can retain an awful lot of brownie points..
The Casino manager was asked if he minded when someone won. 'No, it's
great,' he said genuinely. 'Because I know they will be back!'
One lady had blown £4 million in seven years. A 'high roller' (high roller
means someone with loads of money which the casino tries to grab as much of as
possible) lost £300,000 in one weekend.
'Are you happy about that?' asked Louis. 'Yeah!' said the high roller. 'I
laugh whether I win or lose...' But you could tell he really wanted to punch
Louis right in the face.
Go to a casino for fun if you want to - take £100 or something and lose
it. But you won't win. The slot machines are the worst. People feed them £100
notes and they get nothing back. It's all daylight robbery!!
I sold out the last of my Universal Salvage today at 186.3p on the basis
that although it seems priced a bit low given the 200p bid, it looks like it
will take ages for any more news to come though and then it would take even
longer to get the 200p that I may as well just use the freed up cash elsewhere.
So the last lot of UVS profit is £86.
Well what brilliant rises for the portfolio today. Star billing goes
jointly to Croda, Rightmove, and Renold all up around 5%.
Croda has bust through 600p at last and is really going strongly.
Rightmove of course went up because of the Countrywide deal as it will benefit a
lot. That could crack 500 this week. Renold is heading back higher after the
recent profit taking - some nice buying coming in.
My last buy Fenner is absolutely racing higher and easily cracked previous
resistance at 230p - as I said last week this one could race up to 270 with no
bother if the market takes note of its excellent business.
Headlam has gone for it today with a massive rise, not sure why but I am
not complaining! Petrofac leaps up closer to that 400p area again.
Vislink confirms its break over 100p - perhaps we can now say a week above
100p and holders can re-think it testing its highs again ahead of its results.
Hunting gushes higher and Abacus has risen an awful lot these last couple of
days.
So I am in seventh heaven today with the biggest ever gains across the
board I can remember seeing in a morning - and that's good going with the FTSE
100 down!
Friday 02nd February
Elizabeth is off to see a friend tomorrow leaving the lads on their own
for a day. What bad things will me and Christopher get up to tomorrow?
Oh, I don't know... I'm sure food will end up scattered all over the
place. And that's just me - goodness knows what the toddler will get up to.
Its not often I praise government services but this is GOOD!! And no
hassle about buying car insurance or even a trip to the Post Office!
Thanks David, a very good tip - that's it no more visits to the ghastly post
office for me (till I hit 65)
Ed writes: I am now at the point of trying to start of picking shares. however
looking at advfn there seems so be so many shares and charts/graphs for every
one it just puts me off. How do you home on to your first shares? do you just
try to get familiar with one market?
Thanks Ed - feel more like the knackered trader right now.. good question!
A lot of it is things to avoid such as penny shares, shares with wide spreads,
loss-making companies and those that are in a slump.
Best thing is to get about 10 shares on a monitor - pick a few FTSE 250, a
coupld of FTSE 100, and a couple of small caps. Get to know them and their
story.
You may think conveyor belts are pretty boring but they are a big and
growing business. I've always felt it was only a matter of time before the
market noticed Fenner and when it did it would go up sharply.
I like the look of some of the big buys that have been going in recently
and wonder whether there is some good news on the way.... it's a share I think
once though 230p could really fly higher and deservedly so.
Great news from Universal Salvage - the company says it is in the early
stages of a bid at 200p. I usually get out of bid situations, take the money and
run without worrying about waiting a couple of months for a better price.
This one was harder because the market makers didn't raise the price by
much. So I sold around half of my holding at 190. For website purposes we'll
call it the 159 position for profits of £369 and the 161 position for a profit
of £425. I'll keep the 182 position open in case of a counter bid for now. Total
profit £794.
Well, what a fabulous day with everything pretty much on the rise. I can't
mention them all but the best risers in no especial order are. Gyrus, strongly
up and as one of my biggest holdings I am very happy.
In particular real estate is having a great day and brilliant rises from
the likes of Quintain and Savills. Some big buyers reappearing in Vislink which
has risen strongly this week and is now pushing 100p again. Patience and a bit
of nerve holding is paying off. Harvey Nash is flying as is Creston.
TT Electronics, Mitie, Headlam, Bluebay, Charter, Renold and Vanco all
flying higher. My Paragon short got stuffed by a broker upgrade and it opened
very high not giving me a chance to get out. I remain short because broker
upgrades don't affect a price for very long.Wednesday 31st January
Dale's wife Celina started really well but tailed off a bit enabling me to
just grab second place. We tried our hardest to distract Dale but it was no use.
He is the bowling champion, darn it!
The place was a kind of upmarket (each game £8 per head) and it's a place
where City boys and girls go to let off steam after work. And spend some of
their bonuses.
The food was disappointing there - it was supposed to be an American Diner
but bore no resemblance to any real American Diner I've been to. Nor the prices
- £140 for 3 for a 'dinner' was a bit steep for average food. They have a private
party area which you can hire and I'm considering it for the launch of the next
book!
Drinks were good, my cocktail was excellent and they've got a good bar
there. There's plenty of atmosphere too and plenty going on. Next time I'd
probably go for a better meal somewhere else and just bowl there.
I don't think Labour can win an election with Brown at the helm. By the
way he is planning to raise taxes by £10 billion AND to slash £10 billion from
public spending to meet his own rules according to The Times.
I'm sure the super casino will help - lots of lovely new money from
problem gamblers. Of course the Government doesn't give a toss about problem
gamblers whatever noises they make. Problem gamblers are great! Look at all the
revenue they raise!
Bad news; Boyzone are going to reform after the success of Take That.
Let's now all hope that Westlife don't follow suit or the radio will have to be
turned off permanently..
Paragon is in a sector that's really being hammered at the moment - it's
struggling to hold the 600p level and if that don't hold I think it could drop
quite quickly if sentiment against the sector continues. I've assumed this as a
quite short-term trade.
Yet again it's pretty quiet out there with the market not sure whether it
should be going up or down but feeling a touch gloomy overall.
Good rises continue for my top up - Universal Salvage which I now hope
will head up to the 200p area over the next couple of weeks. I guess it could
struggle once there but if it did crack it, 220 opens up in time. I think there
is some good news coming given the big buying.
Abacus has been drifting off a bit and I was thinking of selling however a
decent enough statement that they are on track has lifted them quite sharply so
will stay with it.
Headlam shot up yesterday but couldn't maintain the rise this morning - it
seems to move higher in the last half hour of the day for some reason.
Harvey Nash continues its rise today and I'm looking for 85p. Petrofac is
going great guns and looks about to tackle 400p again. Diploma and Domestic both
head up after drifting a bit recently.
Tuesday 20th January
It's all over for the Teletubbies and Balamory. Thomas The Tank Engine is
now the only show young Christopher wants to watch though he can be fobbed off
with a small amount of Bob The Builder.
Like I got to know the Teletubbies I am now a Mastermind-style genius at
Thomas and can answer any question about any episode. It's going to drive me mad
I tell you. I haven't watched any adult TV between 6 and 7.30pm for two
years....
Yes a brand new tax is coming to a place near me.. the 'congestion charge'
(aka new tax) is being expanded in London to close to where I live.
This means if someone I know falls ill it will cost me £8 to go to the
hospital. Or if Christopher ends up going to school around there. Or even if I
want to go to Tesco's.
And of course it means congestion round here is actually going to get far
worse. And all those living in the new enlarged zone get a 90% discount. This
means they can now travel into London again without paying so, er, making London
congested again.
What a waste of space that pillock Ken Livingstone is. He's done nothing
but make it impossible to travel anywhere in London by any kind of transport and
if you use public transport it's amazingly expensive. £2 for a short bus trip
anyone?
Jo off Big Brother says the show has ruined her life and Jade is in rehab.
What do they expect? TV shows like BB don't care and the money you got was a
pact with the devil.
Anyone who has the chance to go on a reality show or any TV show should
think very carefully what could happen if they get edited badly. If you put
yourself in the public eye you will always make enemies. You have to decide
whether it is worth it.
Yes, I know all about nursery costs! Christopher goes three days a week
and it costs a cool £810 a month! Which as the papers say today is as much as if
I was already sending him to a top private school. Oh well at least I am used to
paying the money.
I've already bought twice in the 160 area but happy to top up here now and
bought a further 2,000 shares at 182p after a markup had already happened.
The company which makes money mainly from scrap cars seems on an upturn
with some bullish noises about scrap prices and bigger vehicle volumes.
Though on the face of it it seems fairly valued I like the look of these
buys today and also some previous bigger buys that have been coming in.
Yesterday's buy OPD is interesting: there are good buy orders at 480 and a
seller at 490. So it could be stuck around here for a while. I expect to remain
patient and if it dips down to 450 I might add a few.
A few going well today: recent new issue Bluebay goes well today as it
tries to crack 400p again. Croda recovers from a recent dip with a strong rise.
Headlam tries to conquer 600p.
Fenner looks interesting as it tries to crack 220p and Petrofac is heading
back up towards 400p. The market generally seems unable to know what to do - it
won't push up much or down! I guess it's time to wait and see...
Monday 29th January
This night out was carefully arranged so not to repeat the other week's
disasters and I'm pleased to report it all went well. We got to our favourite
ribs place (The Big Easy in Chelsea) and ate our way through shrimp, ribs and
corn. No parking ticket, we got to the cinema on time and there were seats there
for us. Phew!
We saw The Pursuit of Happyness, the Will Smith movie which was pretty
good. It's about a guy down on his luck who miraculously ends up landing a job
with a stockbroker!
The young kid in the movie was disconcertingly called Christopher.. It's
worth going to see it. Anyway back home with no tickets and a good night out.
Earlier we spent a morning at The Wetlands Centre in Barnes. We cycled
there with Christopher. You wander around watching the birds. Or in
Christopher's case picking up stones and chucking them in the water (and
disturbing as many irritated wildlife photographers as possible)!
Oh, and we took him for a swim as well. He seems a bit annoyed that he
can't do it yet but really enjoys jumping in and pulling faces.
'Only women will check the footage of women.' This has got to be the most
ridiculous thing I have ever heard of. As if blokes won't get hold of it and
pass the pictures around the office and over the internet.
I'm assuming they are floating this idea so that the eventual much more
limited proposal will go through. It's time to say enough with the cameras and
surveillance. Go away and leave us alone.
What is the maximum time that a broker/mm can delay providing information
about a trade and must a trade appear on the volume bar for the day it occurred?
Hi Bracke ! I believe they can delay till the end of day though most
trades are only delayed by an hour. The thing that may mess up your volume
screen is X Trades - this is a stock swap and generally doesn't affect the
price.
I obviously sold too early and this time I intend to be more patient. This
recruitment group appears to be going well and has grown by acquisition.
It looks to have a very focussed management and a recent trading statement
reported everything is on track. Some excellent interim results should be
followed by a good statement in March which I think could lift the shares
another 100p.
Obviously this buy is a little risky given the shares are getting near a
whole number. They came here before and sank back to 450. So they could easily
go down a little again before rising but I will take the chance. 450 looks the
bottom here and a push through 500p could see a good rise whole number
breakthroughs usually do this.
Any push through 500p would also see new buying from those who watch for
chart breakouts. Looks like there was a nice buyer out there early this morning.
One sell - that's Alphameric sold today for 53.25p for a profit of £75.
I'm coming out quicker than I normally would - it's the inability to get through
55p that worries me here and with results out shortly I'd rather be safe than
sorry.
Elsewhere a rather dull day especially in small caps with investors not
keen on buying or selling for that matter and the market-makers are leaving most
stocks alone.
So there's not an awful lot to report. No real gains or losses around the
place. TT Electronic is putting in a good performance as is Domestic and
General.
MSI holds onto its recent good gains and there should be another push up
soon. Same comment really for Renold, Vanco and Harvey Nash.
Friday 26th January
I hope for the main one this year they reduce the time by at least four
weeks and make it more interesting. Why oh why don't they raise the prize money
to half a million for first to ensure really good quality intelligent
contestants?
Perhaps the format is near the end of its life. But perhaps Davina will
still be there in 2040 presenting it still, shouting things about 'Poo'.
Due to Christopher being in charge of the TV I've got a stack of tapes of
TV not yet watched and at this rate will never be watched. Among them 'Ugly
Betty'. Maybe we'll get to watch it over the weekend sometime.
Good news: visited mum with Christopher yesterday and she was in good
spirits for the first time in a very long time... perhaps she is turning a
corner. I hope so.
However on this occasion I'll share one with you, not as a trade to be
published for website purposes but I bought some CSR at 692.5p for a short-term
bounce.
The spread at the time was 692.5-695. So by using DMA I saved 2.5 points
on the spread by buying at the 'sell' price, the deal cost me £20 but there is
no stamp duty.
I'll be covering DMA for the first time at both the Dublin and London
seminars and show all of you coming how to use it and why I think it's something
everyone will be using within ten years.
Despite a weak market over the last couple of days my lot are doing pretty
well and nothing really falling a lot today. Star of the day is one I've been
very patient with - Harvey Nash.
It's sometimes tough to hold onto shares for a long while but patience
with good companies usually pays off in time. And it has with Harvey Nash!
Yesterday's buy MS International still goes well and my feeling is it will
gradually lift back up to the 180 area. Universal Salvage continues to prove
itself and is up nicely again today. More good things to come.
Gyrus is consolidating nicely above 400p and looks good. Rightmove still
looks a good un for the time being. Good old Renold should soon be set for
another run. Market makers look a bit short.
Headlam and Mitie are both trying to make headway today in weak
conditions. And pretty much everything else there isn't much to talk about! So
why waffle?
Some good rises continue for the high risk SIPP shares, more on those to
people who get the lunchtime mail. I wish you all a pleasant and relaxing
weekend..
Thursday 25th January
I've tried to eat half a crunchie, put it away and come back later but not
managed it yet. It's a whole crunchie. The whole crunchie and nothing but a
crunchie. (Today's site is sponsored by Crunchie).
P.S. if you work for Crunchie and want to sponsor the site for a day that'll be
800 crunchies plus VAT.
I used to really like Twirls but gone of them badly. Elizabeth and
Christopher share a Snickers but don't like them either. Oh, by the way
Christopher gets excellent food and hardly has any chocolates at all... You
believe that? It's true, honest)
Taking Christopher to visit mum this afternoon, she is definitely better
but confined to a wheelchair. Still trying to organise her financial affairs and
am going to have to flog a few of her shares to help cover the £500 pw nursing
costs. She'll be glad to see him, everyone seems to be, he is a lovely toddler.
As usual a tiny bit of snow and the country descends into chaos - thank
goodness I am out of the rat race and not forced to travel anywhere. Let's face
it, our public transport systems are a joke and ridiculously expensive.
The post has been arriving at 8am every day for the first time in 4 years.
Could this herald a change? Well, you never know.. (shame some of the post was
meant for another address)
Don't have a clue myself, just read the Welcome to my Trading Room book
and had a fiddle - prefer your methods to TA! really liked the book.
Robert writes: Re moving averages try Digital Look or Finspreads..
Thanks Robert and Jane.
Andy writes: I was just thinking about the traffic lights abolition idea
..re 'The Times' article etc, which sounds a good idea at first, but the only
thing is, what about old people or kids trying to cross the road with the usual
psychopathic white van / Transit drivers rushing home at 4.30 when it's dusk
etc..? you can just imagine what will happen !
Hi Andy! Apparently having no lights makes people drive really carefully
and in fact they specifically look out for old people and kids!
Mike writes: I've been following the advice in your book which has been
spot on, however today I had a disaster and I don't know how I could have
avoided it.
I'm feeling pretty down at the moment, its not the money, I make sure I
only invest what I can afford to lose, its just not knowing where I went wrong?
Has this ever happened to you?
Hi Mike - of course it has! Happened last year with Interserve. Sometimes
a company will issue a profits warning out of the blue which no-one could have
guessed. Sometimes they even go bust out of the blue two weeks after a director
buy (Homebuy last year). What's worse with Interserve is I should have held on!
You really just have to put it behind you and stop agonising. There's no
point wasting energy on it. Just say 'Arrgggghhhhhh' and forget it. It happens
to everyone no matter how experienced...
I just happened to notice a news story pop up and the price was beginning
to rise and saw directors were piling in with buys. I went in fast and got 3,500
MSI shares at 142.86p. Then I managed to get another 3,500 shares as the price
rose fast at 146p.
That proved a good quick move as the price has moved up a little more
since then. The directors bought in at 137p. Target 180p stop 120p
Looks like they they think it's undervalued now and it does look that way.
Tricky one to play as with only 3 market makers the price can get buffeted about
though you can usually deal within the spread easily enough.
A bit of a flat market day today with not a lot happening. Yesterday's buy
Renold is going well, despite the spread being a bit wider than normal. With a
bit of luck the market-makers are short of stock. 130p looks a good target.
Alphameric managed to get through 55p -if it can get through 56p that will
look very significant and open up 61p. Vislink has been coming back very nicely
after panicked investors fled (still not sure what they were panicking about)
and sits in the mid 90s again.
Savills and Quintain both go well as real estate climbs after fears of
more interest rate rises seem to have subsided. Mouchel regains lost ground and
should soon get back up to the 450 level.
CSR comes back up to the 700p level - needs a break through 715 to really
motor. Telecom Plus is having a good day and I'm hoping now I've near doubled on
it, I'll get a double and a half! Fenner and Dragon Oil are both showing good
strength. Nothing especially on the worry list for now.
Wednesday 24th January
But this bright 2-year-old knew exactly what it was and soon alerted his
old parents. 'Snow!' he exclaimed, pointing. Da Da (that's me by the way) got
his head out of the paper and rushed to the window.
It was definitely time for Christopher's wellies to go on and soon he was
out there excitedly tramping in the snow. That's the delight of a child I guess,
you can re-live all these first time seeing/doing things. I got a few snaps too.
One day I'll post a new pic of him. When I get round to it. Don't suppose it'll
last long - looks like it's melting already...
Booked the car in for an MOT. Turned up with it at the allotted hour only
to be told a lot of 'staff were off sick'. (Probably means their one mechanic).
They could have called me. When could I come back? They weren't really
sure. Thursday morning probably. That's British business for you. Don't care,
won't care. Then they wonder why they go out of business.
Thanks for all the mails agreeing with getting rid of unnecessary traffic lights
especially in London!
Jade go to India? I can see the TV show now. 'Jade goes to India'. Coming
soon to E4. The girl really needs to retire from the public eye for a bit but I
guess her agent and advisers want to carry on making their money so that's
unlikely.
Hanover is in there helping to turn things around at this recovery story.
I think there is more to come and even the chance of an index promotion though
it's too early to say.
I deserve a right punch for shorting punch yesterday. However I have
learned over the years to get out of shorts fast if they look like going wrong
and I exited speedily (well, could have been speedier) this morning closing at
1169 for a loss of £108.
FTSE 100 and 250 stocks doing brilliantly today though the small caps
don't seem to be in quite such a good mood. Real estate is doing the business
today with my holdings in Shaftesbury and Quintain rising very well.
Petrofac and Hunting are making up lost ground with some huge rises.
Interesting to see whether Petrofac can get over the sticky 400p area. Bluebay
the hedge fund manager is going well too.
Mouchel is starting a run up. Gyrus is having a good go at breaking 410
and Domestic and General may be getting a head of steam.
On the disappointing front is RPC, which is perhaps because the oil price
has headed back up a bit. Difficult decision here but just hanging on.
Alphameric can't bust though that 54p mark and Mitie is having a mitie struggle
to tackle 250.Tuesday 23rd January
He's been going to bed at 7.30pm and waking up at 8am which has been great
- except last night he demanded to be taken from bed at 8pm and was just so full
of beans we couldn't get him back to bed till 10pm... nothing worked, there was
just so much energy there..Let's hope we don't get a repeat performance tonight,
fun though he is!
Interesting piece in The Times about traffic lights and how it's been
shown if you actually just remove them, the traffic moves more freely and there
is far less congestion. I've noticed that in London, when the lights break down,
we all seem to manage and our journeys seem quicker.
It's time we had a radical policy of removing all this street 'clutter'.
Get rid of barriers, signs, lights. Let everyone muck in without so much control
and see how much better things can be.
Hi Susan. Nothing to worry about. You should ignore the published bid and
offer prices of a share after 4.30pm - orders are withdrawn and the
market-makers take their prices off so resulting in nonsensical prices, so
simply ignore. Only prices between 8am and 4.30pm are real bid and offers!
Kevin writes: If you have time and without making your reply advice can I
use a self select ISA to trade shares I want to trade, when and as frequently as
I want to. It sounds like an ideal way to trade frequently for 5 -10% swings
through the year on some of the FTSE 100 or companies you are familiar with.
Does the capital held in the ISA always have to be invested. I mean can
you go a month or so when there is nothing that meets your investment criteria.
Is there a value threshold to the ISA, save for the £7k per year you can invest.
Are dividend payments within an ISA subject to tax ?
Do they provide joint ISA's for husband / wife or do you need to set them
up individually. If separate can I place orders on my wife's ISA or would she
have to do it. What records would I need to keep to satisfy the IR that these
deals are not to be added to other trading.
Hi Kevin! Agreed anyone not using their self select ISA allowance is nuts.
You can hold cash in an ISA for a bit but it is supposed to be fully invested
generally.
Been eyeing this one up for a while - this is a lovely little company that
quietly goes about its floor covering business gradually building up profits and
raising its dividend.
It also quietly buys up other floor covering companies to grow the
business and management seems superb here. Results are due in early April and it
looks like they are going to be pretty good.
I think the shares which are in a long-term uptrend may well take a little
while to bust through 600p as there is a seller on level 2 at 598. However when
it does get through 600, it could clear up to 620 quite quickly. So while this
share may never exactly set the world on fire, for a medium-term investor like
me it's a nice tuckaway.
One short added this morning and that's in Punch Taverns (PUB). Shorted
for £6 at 1151. Target 1070, stop 1180. Already in a small profit on this one
which is simply in one word.. tanking. It's been going down for quite a while
and you could of course argue I am getting in too late, I think there could be
another 100 points of downside there. We shall see!
Best winner so far today is Gyrus, glad I topped up in this one last week
as it looks like 400p is being left behind. Looks like 450 is on the way here
and building up some really excellent profits.
Oil services is looking strong with both Petrofac and Hunting going well.
Latchways is seeing some decent buying coming in and Universal Salvage is on the
way up again. Trifast holds on well to some recent gains. Much better for this
one to gain slowly rather than try and go up too fast.
Scott Wilson too holds the recent gains and continues to look like a good
tuckaway. Mouchel looks like it's bottomed and should rise nicely from this
area. Everything else looks stable enough though the market is in a bit of a
sour mood today.
Monday 22nd January
I also suggest forget about deep meaningful things today. Normally get The
Guardian? Buy The Sun and Heat Magazine!
Spread some happiness around. Give The Big Issue guy a tenner. Smile at an old
lady. Help someone to cross the road.
What on earth am I talking about? This is all getting far too sickly. Time
to get annoyed again now and I have a good target. At the rate I'm going I'll be
penniless by the end of the year thanks to parking tickets!
To add to the £50 from the one last week, I had to stump up £120 to remove
a clamp for parking outside my own bloody apartment!
We all have a parking permit but what happened was a permit I was using to
visit my mum fell partially across my permit. So I got clamped for parking in my
own space! Even though I can appeal I have to pay up to get the clamp removed.
What I find repugnant is if you want to pay by debit or credit card they
charge 3%, glad I had the cash handy and of course they keep you holding for as
long as possible on an 0870 number. I'll let you know how the appeal goes.
Elizabeth kindly spent the whole of Sunday out with Christopher - they
visited friends, went to parks and had a good time.
At first I thought that this idea was superstitious nonsense but now that
it has happened to me several times I believe it 100% - in fact I now have an
arrangement with my broker that if an announcement of a name change occurs
without me knowing about it he will sell the share immediately what ever the
circumstances.
Pete, I mailed Stephen Eckett, who wrote the Stock Market Alamanac to see if he
knew anything. Here is his reply:
1, In about 50% of cases, changing the name had no discernible affect on the
subsequent share price performance.
2, In 35% of cases, the share price was weak, or very weak, after a name change.
In some cases, the name change itself coincided with the start of a price
decline (e.g. Arcadia), or the shares were already on a long slide and the name
change did nothing to stop that - possibly even accelerating the fall (e.g. The
Big Food Group).
3, In just 10% of cases did a name change coincide with a reversal in a
company's fortunes, with the share price rising afterward. Examples here are: BG
Group, Kelda and Lonmin.
Thanks to Stephen and hope that helps. I must admit generally I don't think name
changes help very much!
Amazing as I mentioned last week how sentiment can suddenly change.
Markets were a bit doom and gloom last week but given this is the most
depressing day of the week it's an excellent start.
Nothing getting me going as a buy or indeed a sell so far today - as I
always say I don't make a trade just for the sake of it - boredom trading is the
way to the poorhouse.
Several having an excellent day. Trifast up 5% as it rebounds - this one
can really move when it starts rising and this looks like the start of a
deserved move back to the early 90s.
Vislink too is recovering nicely as perhaps it sinks in that last
statement was pretty good. Hunting also rebounds of recent lows - has a habit of
falling sharply and reversing sharply but the long-term trend is clearly higher.
Dragon Oil has raced higher in recent days and heading back up towards
200p. Glad I held onto my shares here and my guess is a bid is coming this year.
Long-term hold Fenner looks strong today. Don't know why this one is
always overlooked but patience will pay off with this one one day.
Recent buy Biffa is now motoring higher - the trade didn't get off to a
good start but now into profit along with my other 'rubbish' share Universal
Salvage. Rightmove continues to move well and looks set to get up to the 500
mark.
Recent buys Alphameric and Mitie a bit quiet today but either could easily
move up sharply at any moment. The decent volume in them both makes me think
some good news is on the way.
Friday 19th January
Bits of traffic lights and scaffolding all over the place. We were going
to try and take mum out in her wheelchair but the weather in the end made it
impossible.
It is terribly sad for me to see her in a wheelchair, and worse that I
don't think she fully knows what's going on around her. She's about 30% there.
Awful to see a once proud woman sitting there helpless.
Christopher really cheers her up and she seemed impressed when he counted
one to ten, and sang Jingle Bells and Twinkle Twinkle.
Today, as well as the old cat, I have an old dog here, a Cavalier King
Charles Spaniel called Phoebe. Phoebe is owned by a friend of Elizabeth's. A
lovely dog. However my cat is very unimpressed - she told me she can't believe
she has to put up with being chased by Christopher and now a dog's here too.
I'm giving her special attention while we have Pheobe for a couple of days
and making sure they are kept apart. Christopher of course is loving all the
action!
I gave Pheobe a good walk this morning and she was admired by everyone.
Cat Domino is staging a protest on the balcony and is refusing to come in.
Thanks Elizabeth, good to have you with us - shame you had to give up your
activities but hopefully shares makes up for it!
The company on the face if it appears to be recovering and has started
announcing new contracts. Coupled with some pretty decent buyers coming in the
last few days and a strongly rising share price it's worth a try. This is more
of a gamble that investment for me and a fairly short-term one for a change. I
expect to be out before February results.
The second buy I would term more as an investment in a company that is
unlikely to issue a warning as it's doing so well. So I bought 2,000 shares in
Mitie Group (MTO) this morning at 245.34p. Target 280, stop 220.
I noticed late yesterday a huge flurry of buying which drove it over 250p
and into an auction. I don't think the buyers were buying for no reason!
The shares were down 5p after that this morning and I thought I'd take
advantage of the drop. If it can push through 250 in the next few days there
should be some good further gains.
The company is now growing fast and I see 280 as a pretty easy target
assuming their statements are all fair. A nice growth story here. I have a
longer-term timescale here compared to ALM, probably 3-6 months.
Some excellent performances from much of the portfolio! Universal Salvage
starts to look very good now and cannot be classed as a rubbish buy just yet.
Nicely higher than when bought it's up a decent amount today and really flying -
more profits to come.
Dragon Oil seems to be booming, it's been in quite a tight range but a
recent trading statement seems to have enticed buyers in and there's bid appeal
here too for nothing. Held onto quite a few from way below the current buy price
and could be its year.
Harvey Nash is up 5% on some decent buying. Could be the start of a good
run in the run-up to results. Scott Wilson, one of my real favourites climbs
strongly today making me giant profits. A real good un and I still see this one
up another 100-150p by year end.
RightMove has been a right move for sure since I bought at 459 it's
climbed steadily and is about to knock on 500p at that point I may take profits
but if it busts through I'll stay with it. You'd be pretty brave to be short
right now.
Mouchel Parkman has fallen back of late - I guess it's sellers because no
bid materialised but at the current price it looks a steal again and I'm getting
tempted to top up.
Walker Crips went up nicely yesterday and Vislink as I hoped has quietened
down. With day traders out of the way it will hopefully go back to being a nice
quiet share and gradually move higher towards results day.
Vanco is knocking at 500 and has been a terrific performer (unless you
happen to be Evil Knievel) - but I did point out here why the premise for
shorting was incorrect.
Domestic and General announced a good contract win today and though the
shares and the spread can be volatile, it should carry on showing strength this
year and is a good medium-term tuckaway.
Wednesday 16th January
Thanks to a number of you who've written in regarding the money being left
in the cashpoint machine! Elizabeth got lucky! The cash she forgot to grab from
the machine did go back inside it, that was recorded and her £100 has been
refunded!
So if you ever leave your money in the cashpoint, as long as no-one else
takes it quickly, you get your money back! Elizabeth is delighted!
Eliz's dad has been here so we've been getting help with Christopher. This
morning Grandad managed to get his clothes on with no fuss. So how come his
parents struggle to do it - he either cries or we have to chase him all over the
place.
So well done Grandad. I almost feel sorry for beating him at scrabble last
night (best score 76 for the word redials). With the video and DVD player out of
action I decided to be brave, unscrew the boxes and see if I could spot the
problem...Which became immediately obvious... The DVD player had three DVD's
inside it, 2 five pence pieces and a small plastic toy. The video produced a
10p, a toy car and what looked suspiciously like a bit of toast and marmite.
Now we know what he's up to when he goes quiet. 'Ah, just playing with his
toys...' Er, no, just trying to sabotage all the machinery we have!
See that show last night about the guys who make all the million pound
bonuses? Did you notice one thing! They are all spectacularly boring and self
obsessed? Having so much money isn't really that great.
They slog their guts out and I bet they spend most nights knackered out of
their heads trying to get some sleep rather than swilling champagne. Cash rich
and time poor? Don't like the sound of that. Prefer cash enough to get by and
time rich! Time is always the most important thing. Amazing how it whizzes by,
it'll be the end of January before we know it.
Jon writes: After reading about your unfortunate event with the cash
machine (leaving £100 in there) I think there might be a REALLY SMALL
possibility you MAY be alright. I shall explain.
If you ask for a withdraw from a cash machine the last thing you get is
your money, the machine beeps until you take the money. If you wait long enough
the machine sucks the money back into it and presumably isn't then classed as
withdrawn
Thanks Jon - she got the money back, you are quite right! And thanks to
all of you who wrote in with similar encouragement!
Delta has been sold at 140 for a loss of £239. I was simply holding on in
the hope of a bounce which just isn't happening. Best to take the loss while the
company is putting out such strange mixed messages.
I've sold VP at 330p taking some great profits. That's a profit of £7,648
on the 138 position and £1,241 on the 288 position giving a total profit of
£8,889.
VP still looks a great company but at this point it seems to have run out
of steam and I want to use the money elsewhere. Thanks, VP, and I'm sure I'll be
back.
I've also taken profits on Mothercare selling at 392.25 for profits of
£361. I guess I'm chickening out ahead of Friday's trading statement. I could be
sorry! That's total profits banked for the site today of £9,011 bringing
total profits since the site started of
***£286,637***
A perfectly decent statement from Vislink today which leaves the shares
lower. It says FY profits will be at least £13.5m and it has confidence in the
future.
The main bulk of my holding was bought in the low 50s so it was easy for
me to hold through recent falls and I still retain huge paper profits.
Gyrus continues to look nice and strong - glad I topped up. Universal
Salvage is ticking up again, proved a nice one so far. Trifast has dropped back
to my buying level and considering a top up.
Vanco looking nice at 490, I'd guess the shorters have had to close out.
CSR has climbed very nicely and I'm nearly in profit.
Real estate is ticking along OK and elsewhere it's a fairly quiet day.
Looking for a good re-entry point into Charter. Some interesting larger trades
have been coming into Carlco - interesting to see whether it can top the 100p
mark.
I think for right now caution must be the watchword and I would say I am
more in a selling mode than buying one and any new buys must be dead right.Tuesday 16th January
We booked Eight Over Eight, an Asian Fusion restaurant in Chelsea. Hard to
get into but Monday nights is the easiest night. Crammed with older chaps with
their younger floozies.
I was in a meat mood and had pork belly and beef. And enjoyed every
mouthful. And I don't care how much money I have I'm not paying £4 for a bottle
of water I know they got for 35p wholesale. I should know, I ordered the same
bottles for the cafe! So instead I had an excellent cocktail!
Anyway the bill came to a not too bad £69. We came out congratulating
ourselves that we'd managed a successful night out, no unexpected leaving money
in cashpoints, and £69 was a reasonable price for it...
... Until we got to the car and spotted... you guessed it... the parking
ticket...!
So another £50 added to the evening. I'd managed to leave half a wheel
inside a residents bay. Not as if that was stopping anyone else from parking
there. But enough to lose me £50. Of course in a nice world, the warden would
say, it's only half a wheel, let him off! But that doesn't happen in the nasty
real world does it?
Mum is settling in at my sister's house - it's difficult to see her in a
wheelchair and I don't think she even knows it's unlikely she'll ever get out of
it.
Christopher really makes her day when we take him and he's very good with
her.
Hi Steve! An often asked question! Market makers can delay trades that are
more than market size. So the trades you see that look like sells are probably
earlier buys. The computer tries to match the buy or sell price with the CURRENT
price. But the trade probably happened earlier when the price was different.
One new buy to report and one high risk one for the SIPP which those who
get the mail will read about.
I've bought into Biffa - BIFF with a spreadbet for £20 at 340. Target 395
stop 305. Why? First it's a rubbish company. Or should I say a company that
deals in rubbish. And rubbish is sexy right now which is why the company is
doing so well.
On top of that bid rumours are starting to do the rounds, there are
several broker upgrades and the company itself looks like it's doing well. So a
nice one with perhaps a 1 to 2 month view. If the trade goes wrong at least I
can say it was genuinely rubbish... But seriously I'm looking for a good rise
somewhere near the 400 mark.
A pretty damn good day with plenty of big gainers. Nearly all my recent
buys are doing really well now. In fact 90% of the portfolio sits at a profit.
Fabulous statement from Scott Wilson today, a real cracker of a statement.
Glad I topped up again last week and the buys at 217, 222, and 225 look pretty
good with the share price now 314 and profits now of more than £7,000.
They expect profits to be above market expectations - and although some of
this is in the price, at the rate they're going fair value is going to be nearer
400-450. More growth by acquisition likely this year.
Hedge fund Bluebay also reported today. Excellent first statement with the
shares up nicely - that one is a great tuckaway.
Gyrus continues to quietly advance higher - the kind of share to have on
your side! 400p appears to have been left behind and I'm a happy holder at much
lower prices.
RPC is heading nearer to the magic 300p number, expecting a strong
statement if the oil price stays around where it is now.
Latchways is shooting back over the 1200 mark - when you consider the near
40p dividend that's come off the price, it's doing rather well.
After a huge rise yesterday Vanco has rocketed yet again. Another few
pence and I'll be up 100p. One guesses certain shorters must be getting worried
- any closing out of remaining shorts will see 500p hit.
Croda, where I'm sitting on huge profits is up again and battling 600p.
Could rise sharply from there. Carclo heads higher too as does the real estate
shares. So considering the FTSE malaise I'm pretty happy. Past Commentaries
Monday 13th November to Monday 15th January 2007
Monday 2nd October to Friday 9th November 2006
Thursday 27th July to Wednesday 27th September 2006
Wednesday 19th April to Wednesday 26th July 2006
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Thursday 12th January to Friday 17th February 2006
Tuesday 18th November to Wendesday 11th January 2006
Wendesday 24th August to Monday 17th October
Wednesday 20th July 2005 to Tuesday 23rd August 2005
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Friday 15th April 2005 to Wendesday, 13th April 2005
Monday 03rd March 2005 to Wendesday, 13th April 2005
Monday 31th January 2005 to Friday, 25th February 2005
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Tuesday Monday 21th June 2004 to Friday 2nd July 2004
Tuesday 01st June 2004 to Friday 18th June 2004