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Even a few of our detractors have now come around
Hello Share Wranglers. Like most infrastructure jumbos, Balfour Beatty (BBY) is making a strong recovery after the setbacks of Covid. So confident is the company that in the first quarter of 2022, it has re-bought nearly £20 million's worth of its own shares. And that's not all. It expects to have repurchased £150 million's of its stock by the year's end. The outfit happily boasts that it will continue to make higher profits for the rest of 2022.
Hello Share Shiners. With the market closed, let’s see if we can deal with one of the big personal problems we encounter as armchair tycoons. It’s one of the seven deadly sins. I’m talking about greed. As a personal sufferer I find it curbs the happiness we all strive for. How can we combat this serious affliction.
Hello, Share Followers. Nobody sees the stock market as a sensible place. It’s about as logical as Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. One of the strangest mysteries is how big oil companies continue to see low share prices even though the cost of the black stuff is soaring. It had a bit of a hiccup few week back, but now it’s aiming for the stars again.
Hello, Share Monkeys. In this weekend’s lesson I look at the possibilities when finding yourself with a share where the price is rising rapidly. Should we sell, hold or buy more? It could depend on the qualities or failings of the individual share. But more likely it’s the momentum, timing and your own personality which are the more important considerations.
Hello, Share Trusters. One of the most uncomfortable aspects of our great game is ‘The Big Decision’. That’s exactly when to buy, sell or hold. We can be driven mad. My son has a portfolio worth £1500. Not much, unless you’re just starting on a career path when losing a few hundred quid can be tragic. He decided to sell his biggest winner this week: the very speculative Avacta (AVCT).
Hello, Shares Graders. After a grim week on the stock markets, let’s not forget it’s the future that counts. And after this current correction, which the City blames on covid fears, even though new vaccines will trounce them, the outlook for shares has probably never been so promising. But we still need to be aware of an important trend that will eventually cause many shares to go over a cliff.
Hello, Share Testers. As a handsome youth, I noticed my father washed his hands an awful lot. I now recognise this as a mild example of OCD. That’s obsessive compulsive disorder. I fear it may affect a lot of other armchair tycoons as well. You, mayhap! Perhaps you see this useless repetitive behaviour in yourself. Like me, you may be checking your shares dozens of times a day.
Hello Share Tuggers. Armchair tycoons like us tend to be attracted to sectors which are in the news. The big ones - like banks and oil giants, for example. And we all know what’s been happening to them over the last few years.
When the Paris massacre happened, I’m ashamed to tell you what one of my first thoughts was. Am I safe attending the Gold Bears and Traders Show at Westminster, London, this Saturday?
Hello Share Shiners. When I was asked to choose a share most likely to rise in the Santa Rally, I was tempted to choose the following company to invest in.
Hello Share Trundlers. The big Royal Dutch Shell (RDSA) and BG (BG.) merger has been the elephant in the room at many a big discussion on current share trading. It was nearly a year ago, or seems like it, that Shell said it wanted to take over BG. (We are not talking about British Gas here, which is really Centrica (CNA). Confused? You will be.)
Hello share snatchers. Our beloved government does like to interfere in profit making business, does it not?
Hello Share Plumpers. Among the eight likely risers for the up and coming Santa Rally (get your FREE copy here) my choice is Debenhams (DEB), the big department store. This is a bit obvious really. You would expect a company at the heart of the jolly bustle of Christmas to attract a rising share price. But maybe there will actually be better Christmas sales this year. You see, I have some evidence of better retail performances, which you may not be privy to.
Hello Share Shapers. It is a dilemma how to treat our portfolios at the moment. The Santa Rally refuses to kick in. (t was late doing so, last year, I seem to remember. But most of us still expect the usual Christmas improvement in share prices, especially for those companies associated with a Yuletide boost in profits because of what they do - big stores, breweries, hotels, entertainers and all that jive.
Hello Share Pickers. When Slater the Great wrote his fine book Zulu Principle in 1992, he could not have known that my book Share Attack, just out (get your ShareProphets Reader Offer Here), would be even better. In my opinion, anyway.
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Hello Share Sorters. It’s important to realise that the fundamentals of a company - it’s latest profits in relation to past shows, it’s debt, its assets, it’s price to earnings ratio and so on - is not the only area we should consider when seeking to buy or sell a share.
Shares were up slightly after a disastrous start to the week. That initial poor show was due, as I explained earlier, to a bout of profit- taking in the US, after a few exceptionally good weeks for American traders.
Hello Share Pals. The Footsie started the week by losing fifty-plus points. This was more or less unexpected as there was no bad news on the economic front.
Hello Share Folk. I’m going to the hospital today to see about my prostate gland. I started the routine tests a few years ago and have been under the eye of a brilliant consultant ever since. There’s a lot of debate of whether we should have these tests done, as it causes a lot of anxiety and their reliability is not always that great. On the whole I would suggest you do have them done, if you’re of a certain age. But what do I know?
Hello Share Fadists. My favourite company in outer space is Inmarsat (ISAT). Yes, I know there aren’t many to choose from.
Obviously, there are going to be a lot of Diageo (DGE) products consumed at Christmas. More whiskey, rum, gin, beer et al all round. The usual festive fling makes no difference to all-round profits, of course. Christmas happens every year. But it’s the perception that counts.
Hello Share Spicers. There is no more important consideration in the grand old art of wheeling and dealing shares than the concept of correct timing. But it’s nigh impossible to pull it off perfectly. I cannot remember one occasion, among the many deals I do per week, that I have ever managed to buy at the very bottom or sell at the pinnacle of share value.
Hello share Mates. Those of us who have big holdings, or even small ones, in BG (BG.) have been on pins for most of a year now. That’s since Royal Dutch Shell (RDSA) announced it was to merge with the big oil and natural gas giant. The $70billion offer was in cash and shares and made BG shares worth about £13.
Hello Share Surfers. I’ve had a very expensive October. And we’ve still got the cost of Christmas to come. But we’re about to begin the fab led Santa Rally and it’s not a good time of year to sell shares. Not in my view, any road.
Hello Share Wizards. As ShareProphets now reaches 61,500 individual readers per week - a record and rising fast - I’m getting bit nervous about the shares I suggest and those I tell you I’ve lost faith in. There’s an awful lot of responsibility there, especially as a readership so large may just move markets.
Hello Share Twiddlers. I can’t get a piano tuner. I have to wait 2 months before I can have a builder to fix my gutter. There’s a six-week waiting list for a chimney sweep. I need a brick-layer to help shore up my back wall. Can’t find one at all. My bathroom cold tap has stopped working. Can I secure a plumber? Can I Fokker aeroplane! What we need to do is welcome a lot more refugees and migrants to do a hard day’s work for a decent day’s pay.
Hello Share Mashers. Are you ready for the Santa Rally? This is the annual situation where stocks rise in response to the usual summer slump in share prices. But it’s not just the fact that so many big traders were away from their desks in the summer that means the first two winter months normally see a jolly rise.
Hello Share Swipers. You have to admire the sheer cussedness of stock markets. Nobody could accuse most of its movements of following predictable patterns.
Hello Share Samplers. I am a text account customer of William Hill (WMH) the big bookies. As such, I make a bit of gelt always betting against British sports people. My reasoning is that the odds are skewed in favour of the foreign party, because so many people bet on UK competitor out of daft patriotism.
There is no doubt in this vintage punter’s mind that Britain is getting slobbier, lazier and fatter all the time.
Hello Share Puddlers. One of the biggest dilemmas in share-shifting is what to do when we’re minded to sell a share in a company that has long been rumoured for take-over?
Hello Share Pushers. Firms with a strong connection to America are doing well at the moment. Signet (SIG), the sparkling jeweler keeps on putting on value. Which is quite understandable, as I sold all my holding last month.
Hello Share Chumeroonis. Wasn’t that another marvellous victory for the grumpy crusader? Uncle Tom did really well (again) by fending off a court case threatened by another aggrieved businessman?
Hello Share Babies. I recently sold a big share of my holding in Cambridge-based Arm Holdings (ARM). This is because I am always nervous of big technology companies. And indeed, small ones.
Long-time readers of this awe-inspiring website will know that I’ve long waved the flag for ITV (ITV) as a reasonable punt.
Hello Share Sorters. I have a holding in the Honkers Bonkers Bank (HSBA). It’s not as big as it used to be, as I realised I was far too overloaded with its shares in the event of another dollop of bad news for banks.
Hello Share Stockers. I came back from a sortie in the Grim North (as Uncle Tom annoyingly puts it). And I find that shares had decayed a bit. Usually, quantum physics kicks in and a spell away from the screens often produces a rise in my fortunes. Which is the main reason I do not consult the share charts when I’m away from my base. But this time the shares had dwindled somewhat. Yet I was soon happy again. That’s because Friday saw a Footsie rally.
Hello Share Pruners. Just over a year ago, I was singing the praises of a little company called. Zytronic (ZYT). Sounds like a type of Dan Dare space gun doesn't it, but bear with me.
Hello Share Monkeys. Good old Morrisons (MRW). It has decided to spend £40 million pounds to boost the pay of 90,000 shop workers to £8.20 an hour. That's a tasty improvement on the present rate of £6.85.
Still on the road to Yockenthwaite in search of Jeremy Corbyn. Not exactly, but I do continue to tread the Grim North. Being out of touch of the Capital's Square Mile has its compensations. There's no news of more AIM scandals to heat the blood, no agonising decisions over whether to sell a poor performer or to dump stock in a company hoping for takeover by a dithering predator
Hello Share Shunters. Well, I’m having a terrible week. My new bed from Tesco (TSCO) arrived with a vital part missing. Then the Internet connection to my new home in York failed to work. And then...oh, never mind let’s look at Tesco.
Hello Share Shovellers. You might consider doing a bit of research into Compass Group (CPG), especially if you are looking for a longer-term investment.
Mining shares are at a nasty low at the mo because the Chinese are not buying as many raw materials as they used to. Their GDP has been slowing down just as their shares have tumbled on the Chinese stock exchange.
Hello Share Slickers. I wonder if you agree with me that our shares are stuck in Nowhere Junction at the mo. And have been for some months, truth be told. This, as most seasoned share shifters will attest, is nothing unusual for September.
Hello Share Sliders.When I chose four shares to recommend to my student son Jack three weeks ago, he did his own research. Then he decided my suggestions were ok and piled in. He had £1,000 to play with, money he’d saved by chamber maid-ing at the holiday flats next door. So that was £250 in each company?
If you are worried about the UK being swamped by refugees, then I don’t blame you. But you’re still wrong to be concerned. Yes, we are already a very populated nation. But we have some very big cities to accommodate newcomers and our beautiful countryside would not be affected.
Hello Share Hawkers. The RSA (RSA) saga has been an unmitigated disaster for me, more or less since I first bought the shares at least 15 years ago.
Hello Share Putters. One thing that really stops us making as much as we should - and worse, can put us off buying penny shares altogether - is the obscene size of some of the spreads.
Hello Share Scrunchers. The four big British banks are looking like bargains to me. And I know that as soon as I say something like that, the many who take an opposite view will be sharpening their pencils.
Hello Share Fans. Well, that was a bummer. There I was expecting Zurich to put in a strong offer for RSA (RSA) the big insurance combine. There was talk of £5.50 from the present going rate of 5.15p which had already been boosted greatly by the preliminaries to merger.
Hello Share People. I’ve really gone off small oil companies. Two in particular have lost me rather a lot of money. I refer to LGO Energy (LGO) and Hardy Oil (HDY).
Feedback (FDBK) is a company going places. And it’s just gone to another one. This is a compact firm, mostly owned by family and friends, with only a small proportion of ordinary share-shifters like us.
Hello Share Thrashers. I know a few of you did your research after I brought the City of London Investment Group (CLIG) to your notice. And I know one or two of you dipped your toes in the water.
O.K. Italy got into deep trouble in the bloody aftermath of the big credit crunch. It was among the top three countries affected worst. At that difficult time, Silvio Berlusconi was in charge and he said there was nothing to worry about the economy, when there clearly was. What can you do with a bury-your-head-in-the-sand leader like that?
Malcolm Stacey arrived in Islington last night in his pursuit of Comrade Jeremy Corbyn’s famous Money Tree. He felt that he was close to his quest. But did he get to meet the great bearded one?
Hello Share Fans. As most shares seem to be falling these days most of the time, it’s probably not the time to bring you any red-hot tips. Even the best of companies wobble when the tide goes out.
Hello Share Takers. It’s a big day for me. The first book I’ve written for a long time is being published. As it’s the fortieth anniversary of the film Jaws (yes, really!) I’ve called it Share Attack.
Hello Share Swogglers. When the markets are racked by uncertainty, the big shares fall. This is nothing to do with their performance. It is everything to do with a nervousness, which pervades all. We all know that the markets hate uncertainty.
Hello Share Cats. Nobody talks about oil shares much anymore. It seems the low price of crude has taken its toll on those of us who have invested big time in oil companies, both big and small.
Hello Share Scribblers. It is the wisest thing you can do with penny shares. If one of your cheeps rises by an awful lot in a day, you must hover over the sell button.
Hello Share Rattlers. There doesn’t seem much we can do with our shares at the mo. Not until the Greek tragedy is resolved.
Hello Share Stalkers. You may have gathered that I favour investing in the big British banks. My main reason is that they were great once, with yummy share values - and that even if we get half way back to the days of glory, our purchases now will be quids in later on.
Hello Share Plumpers. What ever happens in the Greek crisis, it won’t affect our share values. Yes, there’ll be a bit of panic for a month or so. But there’ll be no difference in the long run. So why get upset at the way the European money-movers are treating our friends in the beautiful islands?
Hello Share Shovers. I’ve always thought that I would vote to stay in Europe when we have our referendum. I fondly believed that, as other European countries are our biggest market, it would be daft to cut loose.
Hello Share Milkers. In the classic 'sixties Batman movie - the one before they started to get dark and boring - the caped crusader was seen charging around a harbour trying to find a safe place to throw a smoking big black ball.
Hello Share Splashers. I’ve been trying to de-clutter my over-stuffed home by selling at a car boot sales. After three hours of just sitting on my car seat, I made an easy 60 quid. All very enjoyable in the sunshine.
It’s not easy being an optimist on this sumptuous site. I am supposed to be surrounded by miserable shorters, who need to be pessimistic by the very nature of their calling. But the fact is that only few shorters write for ShareProphets. And when they do, they make their position very plain, so that you can take what they say with a pinch of salt.
Hello Share Shooters. While this Greek farrago continues to make investments in the Footsie and mid cap range a bit scary, I’ll continue with my trilogy on how to handle shares, which are not likely to be affected by the Euro crisis. So I make a few more observations about the best way to dabble in penny shares.
Remember, chums, that famous song from West Side Story - ‘Play it cool’. It’s all too easy to be carried away when a share, especially a penny stock, takes off. Usually the first wave of buying on some tasty morsel of news, is overdone. The good tidings will probably not justify the interest.
Hello Share Scratchers. As the Footsie is blighted at the mo by the Greek tragedy, it’s right that we should turn our attention to penny shares. These blighters, as we all know, can turn into multi-baggers whereas Footsie gains can’t. They can however sink without trace a lot more easily, because their valuations are so near the floor anyway.
As the big shares all decay, as I write, due to the Greek woes, the penny shares are, as usual, largely unaffected. And some of my large stable of cheapie are doing well enough to offset the disappointment in my Footsie collection.
Hello Share Pluckers. As I’m pretty ignorant about the Greek tragedy, I leave the analysis to Tom and others who’re nearer the problem. But I think I might be able to add a very general view on what might happen now, based on a lifetime’s experience of big global threats to the world economy.
Hello Share Sappers. I beg your indulgence to return to Feedback (FDBK), the company which uses whizzo computers to help diagnose and monitor many types of cancer. As reported previously, this could be a topping investment. Though, as per usual, we should always add a cautionary note about medical pioneers.
Hello Share Shovellers. There will be the usual shouts of horror when I mention shares in the four big British banks.
Hello Share Catchers. I’m not invested in Burberry (BRBY) the clothes shop, famous for its distinctive check designs. This is because I am generally fearful of High Street shares. However, I’ve got to admit I am tempted by this one.
Hello Share Masters. I just want to return to Advanced Oncotherapy (AVO) as the boards seem to have gone quiet on this popular favourite among private punters.
Hi Share Sorters. A firm I’m often promoting to your attention is Ashtead (AHT). It’s a very big outfit -on both sides of the Big Pond. It hires out tools and plant, mostly to the building trade.
Hello Share Perishers. When choosing a company which you really want to pay its way then you need one that is very, very likely to make more money year by year. Just one year when profits are not as happy as the one before is a warning sign. One British success story that is expected to accelerate profits from now in is Arm Holdings (ARM).
Hello Share Scoffers. Uncle Tom believes that the present bull market is ‘ridiculous’. There are some other very perceptive and experienced writers on this scintillating website who agree with him. Including the morose, but sharply intelligent Frenchman and Amanda the Golden.
Hello Sharemates. When a share bounces up fast, there is often a report on RNS saying the board knows no reason why the shares should have risen. Sometimes, it will add…’other than comments on bulletin boards’. This was the case with a little £3 million pound set-up, called Feedback (FDBK), which I highlighted this week. Before that, a message appeared from Advanced Oncotherapy (AVO) saying that the company did not know of reasons for a boost in share price after I wrote about it.
Hello Share Plinkers. A share which rises strongly over three days, nearly always drops back. We saw this with Lloyds Group (LLOY) over the last few weeks. It also happened to that darling of the bully boards, Advanced Oncotherapy (AVO) over the last six weeks.
Hello Share Bunnies. I don’t often comment on small mining companies. I’m far too likely to get grumpy about these adventurers. They have over the years lost me a lot of money. Even if one of them, Red Rock Resources (RRR) is on my radar for improvement at the moment, having lost me thousands in the past. But there has been some good news about another of my failures Sunrise Resources (SRES).
As well as choosing different sectors of the market in which to buy your shares, really prudent investors scatter their funds over a large number of companies. If you rely on just four enterprises and one collapses, then it's serious. If you have 20 share certificates with different names at the top, big losses posted by two or three companies won't send you looking for an outside ledge on a tall building. Some brokers urge their clients to buy an interest in just 10 businesses. They argue that this is a nice manageable group and that it's hard to keep track of any more.
Readers of this smasheroo website just get luckier and luckier – if you’ve been following my tips. Sorry, that sounds very immodest – but the only fault I have is over-modesty. Please forgive me, but I’m so excited about that anti-cancer outfit I recommended to you – Advanced Oncotherapy (AVO).
Hello Share Pals: You may have heard me go on about a feisty firm called Photome (PHTM) before. They operate those Tardis-like thingies, which you find in post offices and railway stations. Lots of other places, too, these days. And they do other photographic stuff as well.
Hello Fellow Dabblers: Be careful of taking director dealings too seriously. I know it doesn’t give us a very secure feeling when we see that the director of a firm has sold a bag of shares.
Once I sell a share, I try not to look back to check the share price. If I do, I usually regret it. You can bet your granny to a penny that once a share is sold the price will rise. You’ll feel left behind.
Hello Share Totters. So BP (BP) runs against a US judge who says it has been negligent in that nasty oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico. The shares dropped nearly 6% on the news. Great – as I have a big holding in this British set-up! I don't know, the whole Footsie is rising like a lolly pop stick in a cloudburst – and I am still down today because of one American judge.
Hello Share Sharpers: The Footsie is doing so well that even I'm getting nervous. I've been saying for about six months now that UK shares are largely undervalued. A lot of very distinguished analysts, including Uncle Tom and others on this stupendous website take the opposite view.
The British weather in totally unpredictable. Every forecast for my neck of the woods seems to be widely out. But if the weather is hard to fathom the stock market is even more so.
Hello Share Shovellers: There is no let-up to the stream of anti-share sentiment on our beloved website. Everywhere I read doom and gloom pronouncements on the over-valuation of stocks in Blighty and indeed, the rest of the world. And yet the Footsie keeps on rising. Well, well, well what a surprise.
Hello Share Collectors: There is a growing case for investing in companies, which sell or look for medical cures. I think the big British pharma companies are undervalued and worth a punt.
Hello Share Players; What's the biggest jewellery chain in the UK? Signet (SIG). And in the USA? Signet. And in Canada? Signet. I've recommended this glittering share before, having seen my initial investment rocket. But the success tram keeps on rolling up the high street.
Hello Share Swingers: Generally speaking, I hold no truck with silly supermarket shares. Firstly, they are boring. They go up a bit, the come down and then regain their old value. But they never seem to get anywhere.
Hello Share Grinders: Ashtead (AHT) is a go-ahead company which hires out tools and bigger gear to the building industry.What they supply will always be in demand because this kind of thing is pricey and builders, who often can only keep going by taking big loans, like to keep their costs down. Hiring the heavy stuff is a good way of doing it.
Hello Share Pickers: The bears among us outnumber the bulls. Everyone, it seems, expects shares to fall in value. One of the growling grizzlies' most pressing arguments is that American shares are over-valued. Well, so what? Don't buy them. And sell any that you have.
Hello Share Swingers: I live next door to a block of holiday flats. I'm amazed by the number of empty bottles they put out for recycling. Only two or three families knock back enough wine to fill the cellars of a big restaurant, as far as I can see.
Hello Share Smackers: You don't often get merger and take-over talk at this time of year. The big cheeses of companies are too busy taking their annual hols. It takes a lot to work to sort these things out. And before you make the big announcements, you have to have some complicated the press relations campaigns sorted out.
Hello Share Shunters: Let me see if I can interest you in a firm called Impellam Group (IPEL). They are in the job recruitment game. This was not a booming business in the long, dark period after the Credit Crunch. With no jobs going how could you make a crust when nobody was taking on anybody? But things are better now, with many more spare jobs, even if many of them are not paying quite as well as they used to.
Hello Share Sharpers: Uncle Tom is showing his tremendous moral courage on this outstanding website yet again. Let’s all marvel at some of his forthright and detailed posts over the last few days. May I also exhibit a small show of bravery by drawing your attention once again to Lloyds Bank (LLOY). This is perhaps more foolhardy than courageous, though, as the beggars have let me down so often since the big crunch days of 2008.
Hello Share Crunchers: It's not often I'm right. No shame in admitting that. We only have to be on the button 55% of the time to become very rich in the golden game. However, I have been lucky enough to be correct about the present mini recovery. If you had sold all your shares by following the sentiment of a bevy of bears on this outstanding website, you would sadly have lost a bag of money.
Hello Share Crashers: It is worth looking at house builders again. I think some of these companies will see a hefty rise in their share prices soon.Yes, I know that house prices have stabilised lately. In fact, the cost of London homes has just dipped. But surely we all expected that in the capital: property prices there were getting out of hand.
Hello Share Chums: At the end of last week, the Footsie ended a brilliant day by rising by more than 50 points. Then the day's hike evaporated like dew in a forest fire. Why? Because there were some last minute jitters about that Russian convoy of lorries to the east of Ukraine.
Hello Share Trundlers: Government figures this week show once again that unemployment is down. Ok, the number of young people who have never worked still gives cause for concern, but the rest of us are finding new jobs.
Hello Share Munchers: Insurance outfits have taken a pounding over recent months. Mostly, it's because the government said people could take cash sums out of their pensions when the time comes to retire. They expect people who've been saving all their working lives to take the opportunity to blow the lot on a new car, boat and so on. That's the way I read it, anyway.
Hello Share Teamsters: That big independent telly firm ITV (ITV) has had a remarkable recovery. Over the last two years it has become more than a four bagger. That is because the Credit Crunch decimated the advertising industry. Who wants to advertise when nobody has the cash to buy anything? But now that growth is back, so is advertising.
Hello Share Fans: As so many excellent writers on here disagree with me that shares will soon rise, I feel duty bound to re-state the case for optimism. Don't believe half of what you read in the Press about shares. If you do you'll make enough wrong decisions to stop you making any real money at the golden game.
Hello Share Wafters: When shares fall there is a perception that we should sell before things get worse. Whenever I have tried this, my recently-sold stocks have staged a miraculous recovery.
Hello Share Curdlers: If you have been avoiding shares in other European countries you have made a big mistake. A lot of Continental companies are doing rather well. How do I know? Well, take a look at how some of the big funds which invest in only European shares have been doing for their clients.
Hello Share Pickers: Aggreko (AGK) has been a great share for me. But that was a few years ago. When the share price started to decay after a long healthy bull run, I dumped 'em. There is no loyalty in this black heart. Your best share in the whole wide world should be dropped when things start to go wrong. And they nearly always do, eventually.
Hello Share Shakers: The banks have had a hard time of it. Yes, I know that's a kind way of putting it. No sooner do they overcome one set-back than the next one raises an ugly head. At the moment, the big worry is that some overbearing authority will bang in another ludicrously big fine.
Though he put it more politely, Uncle Tom Winnifrith has written again to say that my view that shares will keep on rising is a lot of bull. Well, a bear should be able to recognise a bull in the big wide City.
Hello Share Pickers: As I continue to say, against growing opposition, the present decline in share values is a purely cyclical thing. It is based on a slackening off period as the big traders take their annual hols. There is also a lack of share boosting mergers and take-overs, as the Europe and the USA slumber in the summer sun. It takes a lot of hard work to embark on company couplings and such ventures are usually left till the hard-working Autumn.
Hello Share Snafflers: The latest trading update by Royal Dutch Shell (RDSA) has well exceeded what City analysts had predicted. Such reports often do these days, as the 'experts' continue to under-estimate the effect of increasing growth on world economies.
Hello Share Smiths. There are a lot of dark predictions going around. Everybody seems to expect share prices to tumble. Our Uncle Tom Winnifrith is among the gloomy brigade. He thinks shares are overvalued. But I think all these dire expectations are being overdone.
Hello Share Chuckers: Let's have a look at a little oiler based in Aberdeen. It’s called Hardy Oil (HDY). I've not been that well rewarded since I bought this interesting share a few years back. But it's three month graph starts to show a different story. It reads like a stairway to heaven. A more or less steady progression north.
Hello Stock Pickers: There are some websites, which are truly beneficial for sharesmiths like us. This one is a case in point – especially for warning us what shares to avoid or sell. Its 'buy' tips are extremely tasty, too. Except mine, mayhap. Ok, I'm highly biased.
Hello Share Tweakers: According to the latest figures, growth in Britain is up by another 0.8%. It doesn't sound much, does it? But growth is so tiny usually, that the latest improvement is not minor at all. The happy fact is that Blighty's GDP is rising faster than anyone expected. It is now higher than before that infamous Credit Crunch in 2007-8. That is going some.
Hello Share Mates: Sadly, cancer is on the march in Britain and around the world. I'm sure we all know quite a few people who are affected. It's because we're getting older and the condition has a longer period to strike. But I also don't have to tell you that children and teenagers are at risk, too.
Hello Share Mashers: Inmarsat (ISAT) is a great British space-age techno company – but not as we know it, Jim. You may recall lots in the news about Inmarsat earlier this year. They were the ones who were looking for bits of wrecked plane in that big missing aircraft tragedy.
Hello Share Riders: I have a few shares at the moment which are not doing that well. I should have sold them after a 10% drop on the purchase price. That's my usual rule.
Hello Share Sifters: Everyone I know – well, about 20 of them, have shares in Lloyds Group (LLOY). They are hopeful that the Government will put its slice of the company up for sale at a quid a share. Also that a dividend will start to come their way.
Hello Share Twiddlers: Let's have another look at the City of London Investment Group (CLIG). I've brought them to your attention before, but they've rocketed ahead quite nicely since then. Despite their name, they are not concerned with buying up London properties to make capital gains or rent out homes, offices and shops. This is a pity, as they would, given the present price boom in the capital, be doing even better than they are now.
Hello Share Bunnies: Like the world's richest man, Warren Buffett, I believe that the success of my longer-term investments relies on a share's good value. This kind of approach is known, funnily enough, as value investing. It's the only kind of speculation that the great man ever does. Or at least that's what I glean from reading a few of his speeches.
Hello Share Fanciers: I've sung the praises before of the catering giant Compass Group (CPG). I've held their shares since they split with Granada Television. Remember them?
It's the good old summertime And shares, according to Uncle Tom Winnifrith, are about to end in tears with a sudden end to the bull run. So I thought I would stage a little diversion from my usual favourite subject of shares which are going to rocket, by looking at a different kind of speculation.
Hello Share Twisters: I've been a holder of IndigoVision Group (IND) for so long I was watching a Viking raid when I first bought the shares. And over those many years, they have done rather nicely, thank you. Before the Credit Crunch they rocketed ahead in a thrilling fashion. Since then, the stocks have done ok. But the share price is due for steady progress I fancy for the rest of the year.
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Hello Share Pickers: I've just got back to Wild West Wales from a business trip to the Smoke. The family went on a little trip around Greenwich at the same time. They were knocked out by the armies of fast-spending tourists.
Hello Share Folk: OK, let's get down to the basics. Let's remind ourselves of the really important, solid gold ground rules that should govern all our share decisions. Let’s take the fundamentals of each company into consideration when we read all those tips on shares, especially those highlighted on this sizzling website.
Hello Share Seekers: I'm off to a birthday party in the Smoke to meet people I've not seen for 20 years. Wonder what they look like now? Lots of bald patches and less-than-trim figures I should imagine. A bit like shares you've held a long time, lots of unattractive changes can take over the year. I will be a lot gladder to see my old colleagues than be reminded of shares which have let me down over the years – and most of these bad memories are penny shares I kept too long.
Hello Share Fans: In this rather inactive share period, I always put my portfolio under the microscope. I need to decide which stocks should go and to choose which companies I will use the proceeds to top up with more shares?
Hello Share Pushers: Members of my family used to annoy me every February by constantly reciting ' this is a funny time of year'. They meant that after the scurry of Christmas and before the awakenings of spring and summer holidays, there was never much happening. I'm tempted to say, for share pickers like us, that this sunny month is a 'funny time of year'. Once again nothing much is happening. In lazy July and August you can always expect shares to suffer. And they are so doing.
Hello Share Tweakers: My shares seem to be softening fast. So what? Who cares? I certainly don't lose any sleep over a toppling Footsie. We have to recognise that all shares drop from time to time. There's a reason. It's that the big short- term traders cannot turn proper profits unless shares shed value on quite a regular basis.
Hello Share Twiddlers. Anyone for a P/E lesson? Don't worry. I don't mean that hideous physical education at school. I am a great fan of price-to-earnings ratios. A low P/E shows me that a share is cheap in relation to the real money a company is making. What better recommendation could you have than that? A low P/E says to me that we are looking at a bargain.
Hello Share Twisters: The most important advice in all Sharesville is ride your winners and dump your losers. I agree with that – though there are still a few difficulties with this rule.
Hello Share Chompers: I'm awash in oil. Not literally, you understand, but still investing big time in oil companies. I hold far too many shares for my own good.
Hello Share Bunnies; When I was 16, I saw Adam Faith singing 'What Do Ya Want' at the Doncaster Gaumont and mugged him for an autograph. Many, many years later, when he was writing a share column for the Daily Mail, he told me to sell any shares that shed 7% of their purchase price. He called it his 7 per cent solution after the Sherlock Holmes story.
Hello Share Shiners: The world seems to be exploding with violence. We have Israel and Palestine, Syria, Iraq and the Ukraine to worry about. Saudi Arabia is deeply worried, so are other Middle East countries. Two hundred and fifty poor Egyptians face the death penalty. Libya is a powder keg waiting to go off. Some African countries, including Kenya and Nigeria are overrun by terrorists.
Hello Share Bunnies: Have you ever wondered why a big Footsie share falls so fast and so far on a piece of bad news, like a profit warning? They certainly drop faster than we private armchair tycoons can sell out and avoid heavy damage.
Hello Share Shakers: My biggest holding by far is BG (BG.) It is counted as an oiler, but its biggest seller is natural gas. I hold far too many of these blighters for comfort. They are risky.
Hello Share Nudgers: Many, many years ago I was persuaded by a good friend to invest in Creightons (CRL). You probably haven't heard of them – they're so small and usually moribund.They have a market cap of just £2m. They make soaps, fragrances and toiletries, such as things you put in cars to make them smell a bit better.
Hello Share Fans: I'm a great fan of government-led initial public offerings. This is when a Whitehall set-up like the Royal Mail (RMG) decides to sell shares to the public for the first time. Obviously, the Royal Mail offering was a success. They pitched the price of the shares too low. But wouldn't you, if you wanted to grab some money from the man and woman in the street to shore up the Treasury?
Hello Share Gang: The official UK growth figures are currently good. They took the government and most people in the Big City by surprise. They didn't surprise me. Growth is a snowball. Once it gets going it grows bigger faster than expected every time.
These British banks are a bummer, aren’t they? Why can’t they do something positive for shareholders like us? The price just won’t rise. Even though they seemed to be out of the mire now. The trouble is nobody trusts them. So, though their price to earnings ratios are very low now, the big buyers are staying away.
Hello Share Folks. A week or so ago, we were all considering whether to invest in the TSB (TSB) float. In fact, the sale was a massive 10 times over-subscribed
Hello Shares Peekers: I'm beginning to wonder if that old cliché about 'Going away in May and coming back on Leger day' is true, after all. For the last few months, we've been given a few false dawns in the long awaited bid to blast the old record of 6,900 or thereabouts. Now it seems shares are really retreating.
Hello Share Tweakers: Not too long ago - which could be years, given my failing memory – I commended to you a little share called Communisis (CMS). At the risk of turning down the corners of your mouth by telling you that they include junk mail in their services, I think they are an even better bet these days.
Hello Share Twizzlers: The articles on this website are truly independent. Many write-ups elsewhere on the net are not. Analysts can have vested interests. Press relations people are entitled, nay, duty- bound, to submit stuff to push share prices.
Hello Share Mates: It's gratifying to find that my view expressed on this magnificent website that it was worth stagging TSB shares turns out to be on the button.
Hello Share Paddlers: There’s a plucky oil company called Amerisur Resources (AMER). I found the tip on this punchy website and put some money into it. It’s since put on another 33% But I don’t think the fun is over yet.
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Hello Share Shakers: I am heavily invested in oil companies. This is partly due to laziness. They are fairly easy to research. I check how much they hold in reserve first.
Hello Share Pals: The old shares seem a bit soggy at present, to say the least. There is no appetite for risk, as they say.
Hello Share Pushers: The TSB offer closes this afternoon. I have put my application in and so has my wife.
Hello Share Polishers: There are some people who only ever invest in Footsie shares. This is not a sensible approach. Here are a few reasons why shares in the big 100 can be poor value.
Hello Share Shunters; Getting old is not very nice. I remember my youth with affection – I had such a good time in the fab fifties and swinging sixties. Now, I'm only a share trader with a battered lap top, miles from anywhere in the Wild West (Wales).
Hello Share Fans: We don't often discuss unemployment on this fine website. That's because the subject isn't directly linked to stocks and shares.
Hello Share Turners: The rector at my church married the curate at the weekend. A whacking 600 guests attended a garden party in the grounds.
Hello Share Shiners: There are some companies that shout success at you. The share price continues to rise in a slow steady progression and the divis tick up, too.
Hello Share Mates: Let's have a look again at price-to-earnings ratios. There are all sorts of formulae, sums and equations you can use to help you decide if a share price is good value or not.
Hello Share Tweakers: Royal Insurance, or RSA Insurance (RSA) as they're known these days, has been a loser in my bag. I've held them ever since I dated Boudicea. But they've done nothing big for me.
Hello Share Fans: How many different companies do have in your share bag? Have you nabbed so many that your chances of really striking it big are diluted?
Hello Share Shufflers: There's been some interesting news about the government's house buying scheme. Apparently 28,000 families have been able to buy their own homes under the Right to Buy plan.
Hello Share Fiends: The markets are in a stuck-in-the mud phase, as nobody really knows which direction shares should take. Consequently, the Footsie has been trading in narrow bands on most days. Daily gains have been coming quite steadily, but mostly under 30 points and often a lot lower.
Hello Share Movers: We all had a wet winter. Round here, May has not been much better. But I have seen a few long-range weather predictions, which say that nature will make up for the damp spells by giving us a long hot summer.
Hello Share Fans: Is the Beta thingy important to you as a share shifter?
Hello Share People: Should we all switch to defensive shares? You know, the usual essential goods and services. The things we can't do without – and live. Like food, electricity, gas, water, yes and alcohol.
Hello Share Shifters: Some people call it profit-taking. Others ask why not call it by its real name 'selling shares'. But profit-taking has more to it than that. There is a more opportunist element to it.
Hello Share Fans: We've just had a beautiful weekend round here. Enough to set up high expectations of a bumper week for the old Footsie.
Hello Share Turners: It's always prudent to inspect some of your biggest holdings every few weeks or so to see if the story has changed.
Hello Share Crumblers: It's not often I'm right, so it's worth mentioning it when I am. I have been pretty isolated around this gaff by saying that the Footsie will keep on rising
