Crocs Ugly Share Price Slump

Crocs Shares Plummet After Hours

Despite making some of the ugliest footwear known to man, Crocs revenue more than doubled to $256.3 million. This didn't prevent its shares plunging nearly 25% however, from $74.75 to $56.09 after-hours, as reported Q3 sales were below analyst forecasts.

Crocs (CROX) declared revenues for Q3 of $256.3 million, up 130%, from $111.3 million for Q3 2006.

The company raised its 2007 earnings range by almost 3% to $1.94 - $1.98 a share. Revenue outlook range rose over 1% to $820 - $830 million. Analysts were expecting earnings of $1.97 a share on revenue of $837 million.

Net income was $56.5 million, or 66 cents per diluted share, compared with $21.5 million, or 27 cents per diluted share in Q3 2006.

Crocs predicts revenues for 2007 of between $820 million and $830 million.

Who buys this stuff and why? Have people taken leave of what little senses they had?

Affordable Plastic Surgery Abroad in Argentina

Plastic Surgery Abroad

With the high cost of plastic surgery, or any kind of surgery in most Western countries, many people are travelling abroad to get their surgery carried out at half or even a quarter of the price they would pay in the US or the UK, and they get a holiday thrown in for good measure.

One country that is seeing a boom in plastic surgery tourism is Argentina.

Plenitas is a medical organization in Argentina that provides medical services to people from other countries. They make it possible to get medical treatment and, at the same time, you have the opportunity to travel and visit Buenos Aires, a wonderful city that you will surely want to go back to. (That's their words not mine).

The services offered include : Breast Implants - Tummy Tuck - Abdominoplasty - Liposuction - Gluteoplasty - Buttock Implants - Breast Lift - Penis Enhancement Surgery - Arm Lift Surgery - Breast reduction - Hymen Restoration Surgery - Labiaplasty - Vaginoplasty - Face Surgery Procedures - Rhinoplasty - Nose job -
Face Lift -Blepharoplasty - Brow Lift Surgery - Canthopexy - Cheek Implant -
Chin Implant - Otoplasty - Ear Surgery - and a lot more !

According to newspaper reports, Argentina is increasingly popular for surgical procedures, due to a combination of top-class cosmetic surgeons and very low prices caused in part by the exchange the very favourable exchange rates.

Martin Diaz Andrade, marketing coordinator of Plenitas says that tailor-made services are provided.

"We meet our patients at the airport, book their accommodation, arrange for them to meet the surgeon beforehand and then follow up with them once they return home.".

"We try to put people at ease by taking good care of them and giving them all the information they need."

The clinic currently attracts around 500 foreign patients every year who are treated to inclusive hotel accommodation, airport transfers and an English-speaking personal assistant.


As far asI can see Plenitas is not quoted on the stock market but if there is a similar company or companies that is quoted on a stock market somewhere then it would certaonly be qorth investigating the possibilities of investing in them. IMHO of course.

Newspaper Share Rumours and Tips

Newspaper Share Tips and Rumours

THE TIMES
Tempus:
Take profits - Schroders (SDR).
Avoid - Morse (MOR).
Buy Eros International (EROS).

A Tiddler to Watch:
Braemore Resources (BRR).

FINANCIAL TIMES
Mitchells & Butlers (MAB) up on stakebuilding by McManus.
Max Petroleum (MXP) up 6.2% as directors buy over 400,000 shares.

INDEPENDENT
Investment :
Take profits - Schroders (SDR).
Buy - Wolfson Microelectronics (WLF).
Hold - Humberts (HUM).


DAILY TELEGRAPH
Questor :
Hold - Imperial Tobacco (IMT).
Buy - Wolfson Microelectronics (WLF).

AIM Focus:
Humberts (HUM).

DAILY EXPRESS
Share Whisper:
Keep eye on Prestigious Retirement Villages.

Other news:
S&N (SCTN) up on fresh bid talk.
Vague rumours of a placing at Intercontinental Hotels (IHG).

DAILY MAIL

Analysis :
Wolfson Micro (WLF) – Worth a punt.

Other news:
Hopes that figures will be good lift RDF Group (RFG).


OTHER NEWS
Pearl confirms it will vote against Standard Life (SL.)/Resolution (RSL) bid on current terms and calls for immediate clarification from Standard Life on Resolution bid.
Sports Direct (SPD) increases stake in Umbro (UMB) to 29.9%.
John Magnier and JP McManus have a 3.4% stake in Mitchells & Butlers (MAB).
HBOS (HBOS) to acquire a 19.9% stake in PI Capital, a networking and investment club.
BAE (BA.) dropped from a tender to supply military training jets for the United Arab Emirates.
Shareholder D Dixon raises stake in Cobra Biomanufacturing (CBF) to 20.2%.

Dow closed down 77 at 13792, Nasdaq fell 0.73 to 2816.71, S&P fell 9 at 1531.02.
Pound jumps to highest since 1981 against dollar as UK rate cut looks less likely.
Oil price falls back below $90 a barrel as Goldman Sachs recommends profit-taking
Bearish data fuels fears of US economic slowdown as consumer confidence falls to 2 yr low and house prices in big cities have their sharpest drop in 16 years.
Greenspan warns of further pain for US property prices.
US home prices fell in August for 8th successive month, according to S&P/Case-Schiller index.
Merrill Lynch confirms chief executive/chairman Stan O'Neal is retiring; he won't receive severance pay but will retain previously granted options and restricted stock.

Stan O'Neal Gets $160M in Stocks and Options

Stan O'Neal Takes the $160M and Walks

Merrill Lynch chairman and CEO Stan O'Neal has resigned from with immediate effect after the bank's $7.9bn Q3 write-down. Apaprently he had no employment contract with Merrill and gets no cash severance but he will get $160M in stocks and options.


Mr O'Neal, who became CEO in December 2002 and chairman in April 2003, was believed to be last night locked in talks with Merrill Lynch's board members over his potential $159m leaving payment.



Mr O'Neal was last week forced to confirm that previous estimates of a $4.5bn write-down was not enough. The markets were not pleased.


But the last straw was Mr O'Neal's apparent decision to approach smaller banking rival Wachovia about a possible merger without the knowledge of the board. Oops.


Merrill said: "Mr O'Neal and the board of directors both agreed that a change in leadership would best enable Merrill Lynch to move forward and focus on maintaining the strong operating performance of its businesses."


Mr O'Neal said: "I have been very fortunate to spend the past 21 years at Merrill Lynch. The company has provided me with opportunities that I never could have imagined growing up, culminating with my leadership of the company over the past five years."


Nice work if you can get it, even if you can’t do it properly once you’ve got it.


Here’s a list of four possible replacements :


Laurence Fink: King of Wall Street’s CEO shortlist. Mr Fink runs the BlackRock investment firm,
Robert Fleming: Co-president of Merrill Lynch.
Bob McCann: Head of Merrill’s brokerage arm. John Thain: CEO of Euronext NYSE - the top external candidate.

Newspaper Share Tips and Bid Rumors

Newspaper Bid and Tip Rumors

THE TIMES
Tempus Column:
Xstrata (XTA) - Worth holding.
Lok’n’Store (LOK) - Avoid.
A Tiddler to Watch:
Vyke Communications (VYKE).
Further news:
Regulator plans crackdown on market abuses in hedge funds.
Traders get teeth into Compass (CPG) merger talk.
Talk that Safeland (SAF) is about to buy Capital Trading Park industrial estate near Liverpool.

FINANCIAL TIMES

Fears of sizeable writedown in Taylor Wimpey's (TW.) US assets.
Sulzer bid rumours lift Bodycote (BOY).
SMG (SMG) rises on Murray’s stake.
Kesa Electricals (KESA) up on talk of French disposal.


INDEPENDENT
Investment Column:
Take profits - Kier Group (KIE).
Buy - Lok'n’Store (LOK).
Risky buy - Aricom (ORE).
Further news:

Halfords (HFD) pedals higher on talk of Japanese bid.

DAILY TELEGRAPH
Questor Column:
Buy - Kier Group (KIE).
Buy - Chloride (CHLD).
Further news:
Bullish Morgan note buoys up miners as metals spiral.


DAILY EXPRESS
Share Whisper:
Renewed bid speculation lifts Imprint (IMP).
Further news:
Buyout talk sees Halfords (HFD) gain ground.
Sulzer bid hopes boost Bodycote (BOY).
Vague talk of predatory interest in PZ Cussons (PZC).

DAILY MAIL

The City Focus Column:
Internet sales may brighten up Sky (BSY).
At a Glance:
Metalrax (MRX) cracks.
Further news:
Talk of £1-billion bid revs up Halfords (HFD).

Newspaper Bid and Tips Rumours

BID NEWS
Regal Petroleum (RPT) makes gas discovery in Romania on Barland concession.
Scottish & Newcastle (SCTN) is said to be considering teaming up with another brewer to buy Carlsberg's stake in Baltic Beverages Holdings.
Barclays Capital and Robert Tchenguiz have built a stake in Australian gold-mining company Resolute Mining.
Unity Investments, a Baugur-led consortium, raises stake in French Connection (FCCN) to 2.5%.
Ion Trading Ireland raises stake in Patsystems (PTS) to 20.34%.
Scott Wilson Group (SWG) wins new deal worth up to £10.6-billion with Network Rail.
Vyke Communications (VYKE) raises £12-million in placing at 170p.

Schroders and BGC Market Thoughts on CNCB

Schroders and BGC Thoughts on CNBC

David Buick and Andy Brough were just on CNBC with their general thoughts and advice on where the market's going - here is a summarized version of their collective wisdom.

David Buick – BGC Partners

General Thoughts

Machinations of past month hard to fathom – earnings have been OK – still dogged by housing data saga which could run for another 6 – 24 months – economy seems to be in good shape – investors still need rate cut tomorrow - Republicans need to keep economy on road for elections – if repossessions explode then terrible times ahead so FED need to try and improve things - treatment of Bernanke by Greenspan has been disgraceful - Bernanke is in very difficult situation –

Q.1 : Will two big announcements - Rates and jobs - dictate trading for rest of year ? – DB cynical about non-farm payroll numbers – ‘cause they are always being revised - between 80 and 120 k would be OK – amazed to see anything more than 25 pt rate cut by FED as this would indicate panic – will cut more later on – will get decent non-farm payrolls on Friday - if not it means economy weaker than we think it is – if non-farm numbers are disappointing then retailers will have a tough time -

Q2 – PRTY ? (Partygaming) What price a takeover ? – Has too many US problems probably are a takeover target – recommends IG

Q3 – Biotechs ? BTG ? ASM ? – Trouble with biotechs is knowing when they will make a profit due – live by sword die by sword – unless you actually know when the drugs will be delivered – believes in Phytopharm but has got it hopelessly wrong in past - if things comes right with Unilever it will be OK – but avoid biotechs as they are too risky

Q4 – Oil $100 gold $1000 pound $2.15 ? What would effects be ? Gold $1000 certainty within 15 months – Asia all buying gold
Expects oil to drop back to 79$ though it may get to $100 first

Q5 – CRH ? - Obvious takeover target

NRK ? – will be amazed if shareholders get a £1

Top tip - BP. for medium – long term Q3 2008



Andy Brough – Schroders –

General Comments
Agrees it has been an odd month – US dollar means life will get harder for Europeans if it keeps sliding – may be more pressure from Germans, in addition to French, to reduce interest rates in Europe – got to be cautious about companies who produce in Eurozone and export outside – e.g. automakers – competition from Japanese producers due to weak yen –

Q 1 – Agrees 25pt rate cut from Fed - but always risk that things may be worse and a 50 pt cut would indicate panic –if they sit tight then it would be just as bad a – 25 pt needed - anything else would be bad sign

Q 2 - PRTY – buy out ? – Paddypower is doing well ‘cause it has cut itself off from USA – operates in UK and Ireland –need to be cautious about stocks sailing closer to legal wind - e.g. arrest this week of CEO of Unibet

Q3 – Suez ? Still overweight Suez could go to 55 – sales and earnings all in Europe

Q4 – Oil $100 gold $1000 pound $2.15 ? What would effects be ? $100 oil very easily but will not stay their long as demand will drop
Gold unlikely to hit 1000
Sterling – not impossible but bad for UK companies.

Q5 – CRH ? – Owns it – far too cheap – hold – if you can tie up cash for 2 years it’s a good buy

Top tip – Regulated gas and electricity grids in Spain

Magazine and Newspaper Share Tips and Rumours

INVESTORS CHRONICLE

Go West for Profit (Bumper returns from American shares).

Tips:
Buy – Aviva (AV.), Michael Page (MPI), ILX Group (ILX), Medusa Mining (MML), Pennant International (PEN).
Sell - British Energy (BGY).

Updates:
Buy - Trading Emissions (TRE), Xstrata (XTA).
Sell - Colt Telecom (COLT).

Results:
Good value – Sportingbet (SBT), QXL Ricardo (QXL), Egdon Resources (EDR), Braemar Shipping (BMS), Accuma (ACG).

Buy – EBTM (EBTM), Smiths News (NWS), Premier Direct (PDR), Marwyn Value Investors (MNV), Libertas Capital (LBR), Premier Direct (PDR), Ridge Mining (RDG), Avation, Medical House (MLH).

Fairly priced - Debenhams (DEB).

THE TIMES
Tempus
Take profits in Shell (RDSA) buy BP (BP.).
Buy - Hirco (HRCO).
Hold - Blacks Leisure (BSLA).

Tiddler to Watch:
Vanco (VAN).

Other news:
ID Support Services bid rumours revive Worthington Nicholls (WNG).
Hopes of big syndication deal for Eros International (EROS).


FINANCIAL TIMES

Fed rate cut expectations still on track.
Old Mutual (OML) rises on talk of selling stake in Nedbank.
Further broker downgrades feared for Wolseley (WOS).
Trials hope pushes ReNeuron (RENE) up on trials hopes
Mouchel Parkman (MCHL) drives forward.


INDEPENDENT

Investment :
Buy - PartyGaming (PRTY).
Hold - Blacks Leisure (BSLA).
Buy - Davenham (DAV).

Other news:
Rio (RIO) in good spirits as BHP (BLT) ‘merger’ is dug up.

DAILY TELEGRAPH
Questor :
Sell - Lonmin (LMI).
Buy - Blacks Leisure (BSLA).
Buy - easyJet (EZJ).

Other news:
JC Flowers reveals Rock (NRK) bid team.
Vodafone (VOD) hits 6-year high.


DAILY EXPRESS
Acquisition talk lifts Expomedia (EXP).


DAILY MAIL
Halma’s (HLMA) a hit.

Other news:
Dealers connect with Vodafone (VOD).
Lucrative overseas order rumoured for Block Shield (BLS).
Global supply agreement talk for Hardide (HDD).



OTHER NEWS
MoD reconsidering award of 2nd training contract to Qinetiq-led (QQ.) consortium.
Scottish & Newcastle (SCTN) rejects 720p bid proposal from Carlsberg/Heineken.
Standard Life (SL.) in advanced talks over possible agreed £4.9 bn bid for Resolution (RSL); Takeover Panel gives Standard Life until October 26 to make firm Resolution offer.
XTL Biopharm (XTL) agrees placement to raise $9.6 m.
3i Group (III) takes minority stake in Adani Power of India.
Early stage bid talks collapse at Feedback (FDBK).
Solana Resources (SORL) to raise 43.56 m Canadian dollars selling 19.80 m shares at 2.2 Canadian dollars each.

Newspaper and Magazine Share Tips and Rumours

Newspaper and Magazine Share Tips

SHARES MAGAZINE

Buy ITV (ITV), Smiths Industries (SMIN), Unilever (ULVR) and BP (BP.).

Week:
Buy - Pearson (PSON).
Buy - Caledon Resources (CDN)

Trading
Buy – Aviva (AV.), Home Retail (HOME), Bodycote (BOY), Whitbread (WTB).

Green Tips:
Pursuit Dynamics (PDX) – Shares ready to rise. Hold.
Renewable Power & Light (RPL) – Power struggle. Hold.
talk (Evolution) lifts Oxford Bio (OXB).

THE TIMES
Tempus
Long-term buy - Cairn Energy (CNE).
Hold - Home Retail (HOME).

Tiddler to Watch:
Twenty (TWE).

Other news:
Italian rumours (Generali (GER)) takeover of Aviva (AV.).
Inland (INL) (property developer) rumoured to be about to win permission for housing on two North London sites.


FINANCIAL TIMES
Other news:
Indian attraction helps Cairn Energy (CNE) explore higher territory.
Broker

INDEPENDENT
Investment:
Take profits – Kazakhmys (KAZ).
Buy - Davis Service Group (DVSG).
Sell - Equator Exploration (EEL).

Other news:
Morgan Crucible (MGCR) in takeover spotlight again.


DAILY TELEGRAPH
Questor:
Hold - Home Retail (HOME).
Buy - GlaxoSmithKline (GSK).

DAILY EXPRESS
Share Whisper:
Telecity boost for Iomart (IOM).

Other news:
Patent challenges sap AstraZeneca (AZN).
Positive presentation expectations support Avocet (AVM).


DAILY MAIL
Other news:
Good news rumoured from Kiwara (KIW).+


OTHER NEWS
RV Capital, latest casualty of credit market turmoil puts itself into administration.
Merrill Lynch bigger-than-expected $7.9-billion writedown sparks fears Wall Street may face more heavy losses from credit market crunch.
Resolution (RSL) board to discuss latest Standard Life (SL.) offer which could value group at over £4.9 bn.

BP (BP.) faces scrutiny from Washington over $303-million price-fixing fine.
JP Morgan to take a stake in a Chinese brokerage.
Carphone Warehouse (CPW) in deal with Vodafone (VOD).

Newspaper Share Rumours and Tips

Newspaper Share Tips and Rumours

THE TIMES
Tempus
Buy - Persimmon (PSN).
Take profits - Ultra Electronics (ULE).
Buy – Ultrasis (ULT).

Tiddler to Watch:
Emblaze (BLZ).

Other news:
Hays (HAS) shares - persistent bid talk.
Entertainment One (ETO), may have acquisitions in the pipeline.

FINANCIAL TIMES
Lex Column:
BP's (BP.) strategy - Investors conditioned to fear the worst snatch at small consolations. BP's Q3 earnings were merely miserable not dreadful.

Apple's juicy results - the computer, iPod and iPhone maker continues to soar and the non-invested are left kicking themselves.

Other news:
S&N (SCTN) fights back.
Rank (RNK) frenzy on stake-building rumours.
ASOS (ASC) on the up.
LogicaCMG (LOG) slips.

INDEPENDENT
Investment :
Buy - Debenhams (DEB).
Hold - Autonomy (AU.).

Risky buy - Solana Resources (SORL).


DAILY TELEGRAPHQuestor :
Buy - Debenhams (DEB).
Buy – Autonomy (AU.).


Other news:
Smith & Nephew (SN.) up on US takeover talk.

DAILY MAIL
Analysis :
BHP (BLT) – Buy.
Autonomy (AU.) – Take profits.

At a Glance:
Blinkx (BLNX) (Yet to make a profit).

Other news:
Rank (RNK) investors dream of predators.

DAILY EXPRESS
Whisper:
NiceTech reverse takeover talk for Zyzygy (ZYZ).

Other news:
Cairn Energy (CNE) up bid rumours (BP at £28 allegedly).
Seven Arts (SVA) may move from Plus Markets to AIM.
Rumours of strong trading at Senior (SNR).
Vague bid talk at Morgan Crucible (MGCR).

OTHER NEWS
Scottish & Newcastle (SCTN) warns Carlsberg of breach of BBH agreement and assesses outright ownership of BBH. Carlsberg may be forced to offer it its BBH shares.
Standard Life (SL.) monitoring situation regarding possible rival bid for Resolution (RSL) and confirms there is no certainty whatsoever of anything!
ITV (ITV) considering bid for James Grant Media Group.
Smith & Nephew (SN.) higher amid renewed takeover talk at 850p-a-share.
Oilexco (OIL) increases senior credit facility to $500-million from $275 million.
BEA board again reject Oracle's (ORL) $17-a-share cash offer.
Amazon (AZZ) triples profits.
DuPont earnings exceed expectations.
Porsche clear to bid for Volkswagen (VWK).

Dow closed up 109 at 3676, Nasdaq up 45 at 2799, S&P up to close at 1519.59.
BoE MPC member Kate Barker, says there is risk of downturn in housing market, but downplays rate cut hopes.
Steel industry prepares for 50% increase in iron ore prices.
Russia has decided to introduce Soviet-style price controls on some basic foods to prevent ever rising prices from denting Putin's popularity ahead of polls in December.
Nigeria threatens to renegotiate 'generous' contracts of major oil companies, including Shell (RDSA).
Countrywide Financial offers help to US borrowers struggling to pay $16-million in mortgages.
Post Office to enter broadband market and poach customers from Carphone Warehouse (CPW) and Tiscali.

Cairn Energy Takeover Rumours

BP Takeover Rumours for Cairn Energy

Shares in Cairn Energy (CNE) rose sharply this afternoon as rumours circulated of a possible takeover bid from BP (BP.). The price put forward for the rumoured takeover is £28 per share which is approximately 20% higher than today's closing price.

At one point Cairn was up almost 10% today.

BP declined to comment and Cairn was unavailable.

Some in the industry expressed their scepticism about the possibility of a bid from BP as they said it did not offer a good strategic fit and BP has enough on its plate restructuring its own business.

One analyst from Brewin Dolphin speaking on CNBC didn't deny it, and seemed to be implying that it was a possibility. So another one for the watch list.

3 Year Cairn Chart



Intraday Chart

DOW Slumps 367 Points on Caterpillar Results

DOW slumps 367 points - Nasdaq down 74 - S&P down 39 -FTSE fell 70 points

Bob Pisani’s analysis

"Dow down 367 points on anniversary of Black Monday - lowered expectations for Q4 – big mover was Caterpillar which said that many industries are now in recession : residential construction, commercial construction, trucking is at its worst levels since World War II – Honeywell and 3M both say there is a slowdown in the US but internationally things are good – energy had a terrible day –worst day for stocks since August – banks say there are credit problems and now industrials are saying there is a slowing economy – bulls expected Caterpillar to be more bullish"

This week has been the longest losing streak in 2 months – S&P worst day since August

Nasdaq fell below 2750 which was seen as a key support level.

Biggest DOW loser was 3M down over 8.5% -

Lots more reports to come next week – Wednesday and Thursday will be busiest days

Could be some further downside on Monday morning

Google strangely closed at record high

Some mortgage providers down between 30% and 40% this week


People are now 100% expecting the FED to cut interest rates again

So next week could see more falls with possible buying opportunities depending how brave/lucky you feel

Witney Tilson says drop is good news as things are now cheaper - buy cheap stocks with strong balance sheets

Clark ?? says take advange of weakness

Late-Day Surge by Brewin Dolphin

Brewin Dolphin Rises 5%

Brokerage firm Brewin Dolphin (BRW) rose 5% late on in the day to finish at 230p on a day when the FTSE fell by 68 points. Something may be afoot. BRW has been rising steadily since falling back to almost 180p a couple of weeks ago.

Is there something going on here ? Or am I just imagining things ? There were certainly a lot of buys late on in the day. No news as far as I can see but I can't see all that far!




brewin dolphin
late day rise

Burma Makes Steps Towards Democratic Reforms

Burma Makes Steps in Right Direction

The sight of a government in a Buddhist country torturing and murdering its own population, including Buddhist monks is a great tragedy. It would appear however that international disgust and pressure has finally had some small effect, as Burma's ruling junta has announced that a committee is to be formed to draft a new constitution.

It is said that this is part of a road map to democracy, designed to lead to free elections some time in the future. The committee will be chaired by Chief Justice Aung Toe.

The government is insistent that any democratic reforms will only be made based on its own 7-step plan.

Let's hope somebody in Burma has finally seen sense.

Ebay To Cut Fees At Last!

Ebay Finally Sees the Light and Reduces Fees

Falling sales and sellers deserting Ebay have finally forced it to reduce the fees they apply to sellers by around 33% from the start of November. No doubt Ebay executives will be trumpeting (should that be strumpeting?) this as a great promotional move caused by their desire to help their customers, but the fact of the matter is that sellers have been complaining vociferously about Ebay's exorbitant fee structure for years.

This has been reflected in falls in the number of items listed, as sellers find alternative ways of selling their stuff on the Internet. Books has been an area which has been particularly badly hit. There used to be a time when you would find dozens of copies of the same signed first edition on Ebay, but in recent times you struggle to find even one or two.

It must be remembered that Ebay also owns Paypal and the combined Ebay and Paypal fees add up to around 15% of the cost of every item you sell. You also pay a fee even if the item doesn't sell ! This hardly encourages people to list things for sale.

So finally Ebay has seen the light and they have taken a step in the right direction. Perhaps their falling share price had something to do with it too. Some people may think it is too little too late and much more needs to be done to improve Ebay's image with its sellers, who tend to see it as a monopolistic company comprised of an unpleasant breed of money-grabbers who have too long exploited their sellers due to the fact that they could ! Well perhaps they have finally realized they no longer can. If they continue in this 'new' enlightened' strategy I would expect sellers to return and sales to improve.

Ebay 3 year chart

free stock charts from www.advfn.com


ebay fees
ebay reduces fees
auction fees

Magazine and Newspaper Share Tips

SHARES MAGAZINE
Plays of the Week:
Buy - Nautical Petroleum (NPE) and Aberdeen Asset Management (ADN).

Trading Plays:
Buy - Roc Oil (ROC), Bellway (BWY) and McBride (MCB).
Sell - Kesa Electricals (KESA).

Prospector :
Stock to Watch - Nikanor (NKR).
Stock to Watch - Ascent Resources (AST).


THE TIMES
Tempus :
Hold - Britvic (BVIC).
Hold - Evolution (EVG).
Hold - Restaurant Group (RTN).

Tiddler to Watch:
Tandem Group (TND).
Bid speculation buoys Stagecoach (SGC).
Bid rumours in oil sector.

FINANCIAL TIMES
Move by Eni for Burren Energy (BUR) has revived merger talk in the mid-cap exploration and production sector.

Other news:
IMF alert on risk to housing market.
Aviva (AV.) to cut more UK jobs .
A boom is underway in emerging markets.
Takeover rumours around VT Group (VTG).

INDEPENDENT

Investment :
Take profits - Rio Tinto (RIO).
Hold GW Pharmaceuticals (GWP).
Risky buy – Sportingbet (SBT).

Other news:
VT Group (VTG) higher on renewed bid talk.

DAILY TELEGRAPH
Comment :
U-turn too much, but Darling could swerve on CGT changes.

Questor :
Sell - Rio Tinto (RIO).
Buy - Xstrata (XTA).



DAILY MAIL
Other news:
Baugur stocks up on Sports Direct (SPD).
Rumours of cautious trading statement for Segro (SGRO).

BID NEWS
ITV (ITV) agrees online deal with Microsoft (MSF).
Templar Minerals (TMP) increases stake in River Diamonds (RVD) to 25.72%.

OTHER NEWS
Dow closed down 20 at 13892, Nasdaq up 28 at 2792.67, S&P up 2.71 to close at 1541.
Bank of England's MPC voted 8-1 to keep interest rates at 5.7%, giving rise to hopes of a cut next month.

Newspaper Share Tips and Rumours

THE TIMES
Tempus :
SSL International (SSL) – Hold.
Mouchel Parkman (MCHL) - Buy.
St Ives (SIV) - Sell.

Tiddler to Watch:
Geong International (GNG).

Other news:
Miners drag the market down.
BG Group (BG.) rumours of takeover around for some time.

FINANCIAL TIMES
Virgin will make Northern Rock (NRK) ‘more like a building society’.
Rumours of Chinese interest boost BG Group (BG.).
Rumours of Qatar stakebuilding help Berkeley Group (BKG).
Star Energy (STAR) up on talks of takeover .
Support for Ashtead (AHT).

INDEPENDENT
Investment :
Hold - Bellway (BWY).
Take profits - SSL International (SSL).
Buy - St Ives (SIV).

Other news:
BG Group (BG.) buoyed up by Shell (RDSA)/Petrobas takeover rumours.
Contract hopes help Plexus Holdings (POS).


DAILY TELEGRAPH
Questor :
Hold - SSL International (SSL).
Buy - Mouchel Parkman (MCHL).
Buy - Matchtech (MTEC).

Other news:
Miners fall after warning of ‘near-term correction’.


DAILY EXPRESS
Share Whisper:
GW Pharmaceuticals (GWP) too low say analysts.


DAILY MAIL
Analysis :
Kewill (KWL) – Buy.

At a Glance:
Cape (CIU) hopes.

Oher news:
Something is stirring at Bodycote (BOS).

BID NEWS
Evolution (EVG) said to have rejected offer from private investor in March.
Sports Direct (SPD) increases stake in Umbro (UMB) to 15.04%.
McAlpine (MCA) says rejected two approaches from Carillion (CLLN) at 560p and 570p .
UBS (UBS) in deal to buy French asset management arm CCR from Commerzbank
Tommy Hilfiger considering $2 bn European float.
China's Citic Bank to take stake in Bear Stearns.

Intel (ICO) reports profits up 43% rise .
Wells Fargo drops on bad home loans.
Yahoo (YAH) says revenue rising .
Cambridge Soft Corp plans float on AIM this year.


OTHER NEWS
Dow closed down 71 points at 13912, Nasdaq fell 16 to 2763.91, S&P down 10 at 1538.
OPEC sayss speculators to blame for rise in oil price; no output rise expected.
Inflation lower than expected in September, but Bank of England will still wait before it cuts interest rates.
UK retailers damaged by England rugby matches.
US October homebuilders sentiment index hits all-time low of 18 vs. 19 expected.
Hank Paulson sees continued growth with no recession; says housing slump not over yet and represents the biggest risk to the economy.
US Sept. industrial production up 0.1%, capacity utilisation at 82.1%.
Private equity and venture capital groups taking a keen interest in the broadcasting spectrum raising hopes of a multi-billion pound auction.

Wallstreet.com Up for Auction

Wallstreet.com is up for sale. So if you have $10 million lying around in the bottom of your bank account then you may be in with a chance.

It is being put up for auction by Moniker with a reserve price of around $5million. At the moment it is a parked domain which gets around 2000 visitors a day, but the real value will be for a financial institution who could buy the name and develop the site.

The domain last came on the market, in 1999, during the dotcom boom, at the time it sold for the then record price of $1 million. This has since been eclipsed by many domain names such as vodka.com which sold for $3 million and the current record holder Porn.com which sold for $9.5m earlier this year.

Other sites in the auction include computer.com and tax.com.

According to a domain name industry expert prices for premium domain names are rising around 20% a year.

It will be interesting to see how much wallstreet.com in fact sells for.

A Swiss Twist to the Resolution Takeover Saga

Swiss Re. the reinsurance firm is rumoured to be carrying out due diligence on Resolution (RSL) in the UK according to a report in the Daily Telegraph.

Resolution plc describes itself as the "largest specialist manager of in-force UK life funds" Resolution Asset Management is involved in pension fund management on a "pooled and segregated basis" and offers offshore products and onshore unit trusts through intermediary channels. It has developed a unique joint venture investment "boutique strategy", which bolsters its product range with differentiated offerings. So that's clear then.

Standard Life (UK:SL) is also looking for a partner for a possible bid for Resolution, according to the Financial Times. Standard Life has already said it may bid for Resolution. But Resolution has agreed to merge with Friends Provident (FP.) Pearl Group, has already made an approach to Resolution offering $9 billion (660p), but that was considered too low.

Swiss Re is a possible partner because it invests in life insurance funds that have stopped writing new policies. Resolution specializes in buying up these closed life funds, but is now considered to be target itself due to the fact that closed funds are becoming harder to acquire.

According to Bear Stearns, Resolution's share of any Friends Provident merger would be worth around 760 pence a share. Any bid would therefore need to be a lot higher than 700 p to be successful.

William Allen of Bear Stern has apparenly said in a note that in his opinion the chances of the agreed merger going ahead have increased. He also rates Friends Provident an outperform, upgrading it from peer perform.

One to watch perhaps for an extra 10 - 15% upside potential? Or to hold on to if you already own them.

RSL 10 year chart



3 month candlestick chart



Friends Provident 3 month candlestick chart



resolution insurance takeover
friends+provident+merger
swiss re insurance

Magazine and Newspaper Share Tips

THE TIMES
Tempus
Sage (SGE) - Hold
Cookson (CKSN) – Buy.
Northgate Information (NIS) – Hold.

A Tiddler to Watch:
Retec Digital (RET).

INVESTORS CHRONICLE
Tips:
Buy – Brixton (BXTN), Rok (ROK), Axeon (AXE) and Vindon Healthcare (VDN).
Sell - Sports Direct (SPD) at 133p.

Updates:
Buy - Shire (SHP) and British Land (BLND).
Fairly priced - Burren Energy (BUR).

Results:
Buy - Ted Baker (TBK), N Brown (BWNG), Aurora Russia (AURR), First Derivatives (FDP), Sareum (SAR), Futura Medical (FUM), Akers Biosciences (AKR), Deltex Medical (DEMG), Petra Diamonds (PDL), Walker Greenbank (WGB) and Waterman Group (WTM).
Sell - Regent Inns (REG), C&C Group (CCR), Pubs 'n' Bars (PNB), HC Slingsby (SLNG).



INDEPENDENT
Investment
Buy - Cookson (CKSN).
A risky buy - Air Partner (AIP).
Buy - Innovation Group (TIG).

Other news:
Takeover rumours around Hunting (HTG) .

DAILY TELEGRAPH
Questor:
Buy – Cookson (CKSN).
Sell – Sage (SGE).
Avoid - Stanley Gibbons (SGI).

DAILY EXPRESS
Share Whisper:
Hunting (HTG) - merger rumours .

DAILY MAIL
Anglesey (Mining (AYM)) bright spot.


OTHER NEWS
Companies could get powers to force hedge funds to reveal secret stakes in derivatives .
Virgin in the field to take over Northern Rock (NRK).
Northern Rock's (NRK) Treasurer on stress-rekated sick leave .
At least one more insurance company (poss. Swiss Re (SWI)) is arrying out due diligence on Resolution.
Harris Associates increase stake in Enodis (ENO) to 17.05%.
Centrica (CNA) to pull out of £200 million gas project.
Accuma Group (ACG) gets several bid approaches.
Transense Technologies’ (TRT) reverse takeover talks may be ended.

Magazine and Newspaper Share Tips

SHARES MAGAZINE
Buy Scapa (SCPA) Thus (THUS) HBOS (HBOS), Misys (MSY),
Sell - Velti (VEL).

Foremost:
Buy- Charlemagne Capital (CCAP)
Hold - Burren Energy (BUR)

Plays of the Week:
Buy - Zenith Hygiene (ZHG).
Hold - Mama Group (MAMA).

Update:
Buy - Claimar Care (CCGP).

Trading :
Buy - Hagemeyer. Carpetright (CPR), Next (NXT),
Sell - Countrywide Financial (CWD).


THE TIMES
Tempus :
Experian (EXPN) - hold.
Carphone Warehouse (CPW) - hold.
CVS (CVSG) - Buy on weakness.

Tiddler :
ILX Group (ILX).

Other news:
Talk of tie-up between Provexis (PXS) and Coca-Cola (CCA).
Rumours that Royal Dutch Shell (RDSA) wants analysts to lower forecasts Q3 report.
Kazakhmys (KAZ) strong on rise in copper prices .

DAILY TELEGRAPH
Questor :
Buy - SABMiller (SAB) and Telford Homes (TEF).


FINANCIAL TIMES

Resolution (RSL) rejects Osmond bid.
Alphameric (ALM) rises onapproaches.

Warner (WNER) jumps 10%, on Trefick 18% stake
Schroders (SDR) up on Harris Associates stakebuilding rumours.

DAILY EXPRESS
Woolworths (WLW) up on William Morrison (MRW) takeover rumorus.


INDEPENDENT

Investment :
Hold - Experian (EXPN) and UK Coal (UKC).
Buy - EBTM (EBTM).

Other news:
Woolworths (WLW) takeover talk.
Oxford Biomedica (OXB) up on Sanofi Aventis (SNF) takeover hopes.

BID NEWS
SRM Global Master Fund has 4% stake in Northern Rock (NRK) as Citigroup (CGP) inches closer.
Resolution (RSL) refuses 660p-a-share offer from Pearl Assurance.
JP Morgan one of the main contenders to buy Norweb, being sold by United Utilities (UU.) for $3 bn.
Baugur takes 1% stake in Sports Direct (SPD) 'as a punt'.
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) signs $1.1bn development deal with Synta Pharmaceuticals.
DA Group (DAG) terminates talks on full takeover and enters into non-binding deal to sell operating activities for $1 mn.
Rolls-Royce (RR.) signs 8 year $100 mn maintenance contract with KLM.
Low & Bonar (LWB) Investors incensed at proposed bonus of 7.5 times CEO's salary

OTHER NEWS
Dow fell 86 points to 14078, Nasdaq closed up 7 at 2811.61, S&P down 2 points to 1562.
CGT changes could lead to sell of of AIM shares.
Housing market slowed again last month - outlook for prices at lowest level since May 2005, according to RICS.
US August wholesale inventories up 0.1%; sales up 0.4%.
US Treasury secretary announces plans to reduce foreclosures.
US Fed President says events in financial markets not the wholesale repricing of risk .
Morgan Stanley's quantitative strategies traders lost $383 mn in one day in August due to widespread selling by investors.

Newspaper Share Rumours and Tips

THE TIMES
Tempus :
Clinton Cards (CC.) further to go.
Buy LogicaCMG (LOG).
Hold Regent Inns (REG) .

Tiddler to Watch:
Infonic (IFNC).

Other news:
Saudi interest rumours boosts British Land (BLND).
Bid rumours around Britvic (BVIC).

FINANCIAL TIMES
Rumours that Saudis are buying shares in British Land (BLND).
Carillion (CLLN) rumured to be planning a 575p-a-share bid for McAlpine (MCA).
Shaftesbury (SHB) rises on rumours of bid.
Woolworths (WLW) also takeover target.

INDEPENDENT
Investment :
Buy Hochschild Mining (HOC) and Regents Inns (REG).
Hold Debts.co.uk (DETS).

DAILY TELEGRAPH
Questor :
Buy Greggs (GRG).
Hold Regent Inns (REG).

DAILY MAIL
Arabs eyeing up British Land (BLND).

NEWS AND RUMOURS
Confusion causes hedge fund GLG Partners to disclose extent of shorting of Northern Rock (NRK).
Citigroup (CGP) and other banks are contemplating financial lines of up to £25-bn to Northern Rock (NRK).
Jon Wood, a very shrewd City trader has been building a significant stake in Northern Rock (NRK) via hedge fund SRM Global.
Burren Energy (BUR) rejects takeover approaches, including one from ENI, which valued the company at £11 a share.

Resolution (RSL) and Pearl met yesterday to discuss the possibility of a takeover of Resolution (RSL).

Barclays Capital Management due to announce alliance with China Development Bank.

Dow closed up 120 points at record high 14164, Nasdaq added 16 to 2803, S&P rose 12 to record 1565.
BoE Governor Mervyn King dampens hope of UK rate cut any time soon.
U.S. economy could come close to recession as the housing slump has negative effect on growth.
Fed Open Market Committee was unanimous on need for half-point cut in interest rates last month.
Predictions that US mortgage crisis will get worse as defaults soar.

Newspaper Share Tips and Rumours

Newspaper Share Rumours and Tips

Chartist Bill Adlard says FTSE is heading back into a bear market - albeit there may be one last surge to the upside but he expects down to new lows from here - we shall see

THE TIMES
Tempus
Hold Friends Provident (FP.) & Resolution (RSL).
Hold Vodafone (VOD).
Buy International Greetings (IGR).

Tiddler :
Alkane Energy (ALK).

INDEPENDENT
Investment :
Buy Vodafone (VOD).
YouGov (YOU) a risky buy.
Hold International Greetings (IGR).

Other news:
Molson Coors bid rumours around SABMiller (SAB) .
Eddie Stobart appears to be extremely oversold.


DAILY TELEGRAPH
Questor :
Sell Barclays (BARC).
Buy YouGov (YOU).

Other news:
Brewers rise on merger predictions.


THE SUN
Cineworld (CINE) about to announce a with Real D, the 3D tech market leader.

Foxtons US Files for Bankruptcy

Foxtons Estate Agents in the US Files for Bankruptcy

I have just seen this on Bloomberg TV - there were also earlier articles in the FT and elsewhere

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/a8ba666a-6e1b-11dc-b8ab-0000779fd2ac.html

http://www.newsday.com/business/ny-bzfoxt0928,0,3121370.story?coll=ny-hsports-allstars-features

Apparently they are nothing to do with Foxtons in the UK but if anybody has any further information I would be much obliged. PLease leave your comments below.

Financial Analysts' Stockmarket Views on CNBC

Analysts' Thoughts on Stockmarkets on CNBC

The analysts in question were Nick Hodson from Lloyds TSb and Andy Hartwill from Objective Capital, giving their thoughts on the stockmarkets a we approach the US jobs report at 08:30 NY time. They were generally bullish.

Nick Hodson - Lloyds TSB
Long equities – sees a resumption of business as usual after recent turmoil -
FED is generally more focussed on support of capital markets in the USA than the Europeans are – but US ECB UK and Japan will all support the markets

Q : Buying banks ? – Not buying the whole banking sector but there are esome good buys (HSBC No. 1 banking pick ) - shorts in the banking sector are those with high levels of mortage exposure

Doesn’t believe Barclays are a takeover target

Although he saysthere are more m&a deals to come

Top tip : HSBC


Andy Hartwill – Objective Capital
We are now coming out the other side of the credit crunch
Long on equities
More support to come from FED – other central banks will follow suit

Q : Buy Banks ? – there will be m&a in the sector – ABN not the end of the story (doesn’t think Barclays are a takoever target) – resumption of m&a activity in 2008 due to gap between equities and bonds –

Q : Sterling ? Will strengthen until BoE starts cuting interest rates – 2008 will start to fall

Q : Tech stocks ? – economic growth resumes at end of 2008 – stockmarkets are anticipating it now – early cyclicals (inc. some financials) will move first, followed by tech stocks in early 2008 due to Far East

Top tip : Far East markets

Newspaper Share Tips and Rumours

INVESTORS CHRONICLE
Tips:
Buy Ultra Electronics (ULE) at £11.35
Mouchel Parkman (MCHL) at 387p
Intelligent Environments (IEN) at 9p
Mercator Gold (MCR) at 86p
Rurelec (RUR) at 56.5p.

Sell SPI Lasers (SPIL) at 137.5p.

Updates:
Buy Eleco (ELCO), Findel (FDL), KCom (KCOM), Zambezi Resources (ZRL) and Carecapital (CARE).
MediaSurface (MSR) high enough.


THE TIMES
Tempus:
Buy Halfords (HFD).
Hold Victrex (VCT).
Hold Marston's (MARS).

Tiddler :
Afren (AFR).

Other news:
Another blow to Alliance Boots (AB.) - NHS cuts payments to pharmacies.
Rumours of stakebuilding in Clapham House (CPH).
Contract hopes support Petards (PEG).
Voller Energy (VLR) rumoured to be close to closing deals with yacht dealerships for 100 fuel cells.

FINANCIAL TIMES
Lex :
For emerging markets, rhe credit crunch was only a blip in a 5-year bull run.
Sears a target - Bill Ackman has bought 5 mn shares in Sears over the past month, - patience with the store operator's turnround could be finite.

Other news:
Enodis (ENO) rumoured to be about to bid for AGA's food service business.

INDEPENDENT
Investment Column:
Hold Halfords (HFD).
Buy Aveva (AVV).
Sell Ted Baker (TBK).

Other news:
Barclays (BARC) up on Bank of America bid talk.

DAILY TELEGRAPH
Questor
Sell Business Post (BPG).
Buy Aveva (AVV).
Hold Marston's (MARS).

Comment :
Gordon Brown's election trump card has melted away.

DAILY EXPRESS
South African JV could provide lucrative returns for DiamondTech (DTEC).

DAILY MAIL
Carillion (CLLN) bid talk rumours around Alfred McAlpine (MCA).

Share Rumours and Tips -S&P Chart

Share Rumours and Tips

Bill McLaren says upward trend still in place in S&P500 chart - "Trend still strong – should be a sideways pattern might get as high as 1580 but more likely sideways – possible 20 – 23 point up over next couple of days but volume very low – – he sees October 10th to 17th as 5 year exhaustion since October 2002 and expects markets to turn down then - although he does admit it might continue on until March next year -


FINANCIAL TIMES

Shops afraid of poor sales in 'golden quarter' (don't we hear that every year?).
Faith in emerging markets is fuelling market rally.

Qatar Investment Authority rumourd to be building a stake in Lloyds TSB (LLOY).
Credit Suisse holding buoys Bellway (BWY).
Unisoft bid rumours around Sci Entertainment (SEG).

THE TIMES
Tempus:
Buy Prostrakan (PSK).
Hold Entertainment Rights (ERT).
Hold Findel (FDL).

Tiddler to Watch:
Nautical Petroleum (NPE).

Other news:
Signet (SIG) up on bid hopes.

Rumours of a US investment bank buying Collins Stewart (CLST).

DAILY TELEGRAPH

Questor:
Hold Severn Trent (SVT).
Buy Finsbury Foods (FIF).

INDEPENDENT

Hold Severn Trent (SVT).
Buy Debt Free Direct (DFD).
Buy Blinkx (BLNX).

DAILY MAIL
Peel Holdings may have its eyes on Pinewood Shepperton (PWS).

Analysts' Bullish Views on Markets on CNBC

Stockmarkets to Rise over Next 6 Months

Roger Nightingale and Bob Parker have just been giving their views on the stockmarkets for the next 6 months on CNBC - this is how they see things progessing.

Roger Nightingale from Pointon York

General view of the markets :-

"it all depends on what the central banks do. They raised interest rates unnecessarily because they wanted to create a credit crunch, which they have succeeded in doing, except that now they are pretending that it wasn’t them and are blaming the sub-prime mortgage market even though they themselves created the conditions that led to the sub-prime problems – they now need to cut interest rates and take them right down – if they don’t do that we will get either a recession or a depression –markets will rise or fall depending on the behaviour of central banks –both bubbles and depressions are bad but a depression is far worse than a credit bubble so it is a question of prioritizing, they must avoid a depression, - in 1929 they didn’t do that and therefore created a depression – central bankers chose depression over a bubble, but they must cut rates now and keep cutting – need to cut 300 or 400 basis points

Greenspan did what was necessary – Japan and Europeans didn’t and they had a bad recession – if Europeans stick to monetarist policies they will get another recesssion

Q : Gold ? - It has further to go – easy money will drive it up – bullion chould rise as much as 40% so is a holder

Prefers gold over silver – worried why gold stock prices so low (see Bob Parker below)

Q : British Airways ? – he is not a buyer – economy is slowing – airline travel is a function of GDP growth – there is also competition from low cost carriers – who are taking business from BA

Q : Northern Rock : ? Real value may be money they get when they sue BoE which dumped them in this mess (tongue in cheek comment)

Q : Cable ? – Dollar could reverse short- term but long term expects 2.20 per pound

Q : Subprime ? – Sub-prime problems are not over if interest rates stay where they are – interest rates need to be cut hard and long

Tips : Bullish – high beta – split caps investment trust – very small companies if things go well they will fly "


Bob Parker from Credit Suisse