........especially for those putting their faith in unknown companies of unknown value and unknown management in far-off unknown lands;


Times Online . April 18, 2007

Betex shares suspended after two senior staff arrested

Chinese lottery firm suspends sales of its software nationwide following police action
Robert Lindsay

Shares in Betex, the Aim-listed Chinese lottery scratchcard and gaming software operator founded by former banker Peter Greenhill, were suspended this afternoon after two of its senior staff were arrested by Chinese police and a third appeared to be on the run.

In a statement, Mr Greenhill said the company had suspended sales of the software product across China: "The Company has received information that two of the senior staff at its Beijing operation have been detained and that a further senior staff member is being sought by the Chinese police authorities in the province of Jilin."

He said the company was working with its legal advisers to try to obtain more information and was assisting the authorities wherever possible.

Betex said it believed the alleged illegal activity "relates to conduct by these individuals and does not call into question the legality of the Company's software product, or the conduct of the Company."

It added: "Owing to the uncertainty surrounding the situation, and the significance of these operations to the financial performance of the Company, the Company has requested a temporary suspension of trading in its shares on AIM pending clarification of the situation."

Betex's business is almost entirely dependent on the Chinese market. Its shares have collapsed from a high of 80p shortly after flotation a year ago, hit by fears over a clampdown on online gambling. They were suspended at 32.5p.

At the end of last year it unveiled a plan to begin selling lottery scratchcards in partnership with lottery authorities in Hebei province.

Scratchcards in China were a huge hit before being withdrawn during the 1990s after concerns over fraud.

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Be warned - for this will not be the last such company to disappear down the pan with your hard-earned loot!

Treasury Bulls Routed as Dealers See Rising Yields, No Rate Cut

Read full article

Independent - 15 July 2007

Profit warnings at highest level since dot-com crash -By Andrew Murray-Watson

Profit warnings among the UK's listed companies are running at the highest level since the dot-com crash, adding to growing fears that the economy is weakening. Research to be issued tomorrow by Ernst & Young reveals that in the first half of 2007, 191 profit warnings were issued by UK-quoted companies, 13 per cent up on the first half of 2006, which saw 169 profit warnings.

A "shortfall in sales" was blamed for the warnings by 43 per cent of the companies, while 22 per cent cited "difficult trading conditions" and 17 per cent gave "delayed or discontinued contracts" as their primary reason for failing to meet market expectations. Keith McGregor, corporate restructuring partner at E&Y, said: "We are a long way from the economic climate at the start of 2001 that saw more than 230 profit warnings.

Nevertheless, the 191 profit warnings are a reminder that segments of UK plc are struggling. Expectations that interest rates will remain elevated for some time have added weight to a plethora of warnings against casual lending tendencies and complex debt instruments."

The highest warning sectors were software and computer services with 17, support services with 12, and general retail 10. The high-street sector had double the number this quarter, compared to the second quarter of 2006.

HI e t-I WONDER IF YOU ARE SHORT ON F.T/////////////////////////////

I guess you don't need me to ask "who told you so??" - so I won't.

This is a long term business. The MMs don't make their living from long-term wise guys - but from those light-headed panicky types who try to cut and run at the first sign of volitility, often leaving a percentage behind.

Next week will be the time to start mopping up.

zscrooge (post 50) .....any comments??

please re-read my post (43).

I've been telling you since May (see post 3) how clear and obvious it is that big trouble is on the way. I will now add to this saying the FTSE 100
has a long way down to go yet before it will gain recovery mode. It will test the 5000 mark before it is in a position to start climbing again.



MELTDOWN - Stock markets went into meltdown as shares plunged across the world

Read full article here



The markets are in a critical halfway house where the chance of it falling to the low 5000s is looking increasingly likely.

Read full article here



History says bear market may have begun.

Read full article here

How to sell a newspaper with an attention seeking headline!
What he actually says is " The FTSE 100 will either hold at 6000 or go into a fully fledged crash." Which covers just about every angle but doesn't tell us anything.
As for "Meltdown"............If he had written "Market correction" would you have read the article?

nothing to do with the ftse , its the dow which you have to watch and unless it breaks 12k there is no bear market!

'head' and 'sand' come to mind, as do 'horse' and 'water'.

You have to do as you see fit - but if you still cannot see the signs (that are all too clearly writ large for all to see) then - well, 'hope' and 'no' spring all too quickly to mind.

A region close to 5000 beckons for the FTSE 100 so I'd be very VERY careful if I were you.

6000 on FTSE is key, but quite right to advise great caution

I agree with E T on this one and reckon the footsie is fast heading downwards towards the 5000 range. I can see the footsie dropping by another 400 points this week - probably on monday-tuesday. The sub-prime situation has a long way to run yet and there's a whole lot of heartache ahead for those investors holding on for better times. It just makes sense to sell now and wait for the market to finish dropping before buying back in again.

Read the articles in the next posting as they give a good insight into the present situation.

I've been telling you since May (see post 3) that huge market problems are clearly on the way.
I'll add to this saying the FTSE 100 still has a long way down to go yet - and that it will test
the 5000 mark before finding itself in a position to start climbing again.




US loan crisis set to claim fresh victims
Read full article here


Hedge fund panic was behind global stock markets collapse
Read full article here


Don't plunge back in until Warren says it's safe
Read full article here


We have seen a lot of small fish brought to the surface, but we are waiting for the whale.
That will mark the low point. I would like to see one final shake-out.
Read full article here

certainly only the very brave or foolish (time will tell which) will jump back in tomorrow or even next week ...... for sure there are bargains to be had, but cheap can be expensive and you won't know which until well after the event.

Word is that once the market does eventually hit bottom it will take several years to fully recover.
On that basis it may well be prudent to search out those "bargains" only after great deliberation.

real word is that no one has any idea what will happen at all ...... if we knew that, we could all make the correct decisions and retire tomorow!

Heard the one about the two bulls at the top of a hill.
Little bull says to big bull  "Why don't we charge down to that field and take a couple of those cows"
.......to which big bull answers  "Nah, we'll just slowly stroll down - and then we can take the lot!"

Am only interested in resouce stocks junior mining & oil. CEY, GFM , ZOX, AFR, AFE, KYS, KMR ........ Gold must be a good buy in these markets

As someone wrote a short while ago: If you are going to panic... panic early !