Place your snippet of news on this thread if you feel it will help others gain from the news.

cheers GF.

Goldfinger,

What do you think is going on with Pipex, days and days of buys with sod all movement in the share price, promising results and future and with some sales the price falls rapidly!!!

Do you still predict a good share for the future?

Yes I do Andy. Im beleive Pipex will come good although I have taken my eye off the buys and sells over the last few months.

Short term fluctuations in price dont bother me as I still beleive in the original growth story.

At some time all the dilution that as happened will settle down and we will start to see price rises.

Its just patience that is required, remember this is a business you are investing in and although some look upon it as gambling that is very untrue.

Please just stay cool, you will be rewarded I feel.

cheers GF.

From Growth Company Investor.................


Galliford Try - ADD
Galliford Try, the construction and housebuilding play, is going from strength to strength. Turnover rose 8% to 687m and pre-tax profits were up 32% to 22.7m. Construction provided an operating profit of 4.2m compared to last year's post exceptional lo.......

09/09/2004
A & J Mucklow - REDUCE
West Midlands-based property developer and investor A & J Mucklow produced excellent results for the year to June. Rental income fell from 20.4m to 17.9m but pre-tax profits lifted 34.4% to 13.9m thanks largely to the eight industrial estates and two o.......
09/09/2004

cheers GF.

Morning notes from Killik Brokers..............

News in Brief



Luminar, the bars business had a better August and provides confidence of year end forecasts in a statement out today. Aga Foodservice results are in line with expectations. Ebookers shares trade up 11p to 241p on further thoughts about yesterdays takeover news. BSKYB, highlighted recently as a buy are climbing off the lows of 480p and are back through 500p in early trade. Keep buying.

cheers Gf.

Latest tips from Growth company Investor..................


Oakdene Homes - BUY
Housebuilder Oakdene, offered up a healthy set of maiden interim results. Turnover rose 45% to 7.3m and pre-tax profits clambered 33.5% higher to 2m. Margins also improved from 25.9% to 29.8%. Operating firmly in the south-east of England, the company .......

10/09/2004
Dechra Pharmaceuticals - HOLD
Following a couple of sickly years, veterinary drug venture Dechra looks to have a spring in its step once again. Figures for the year to June revealed record pre-tax profits of 8.1m, lifted 19% from the previous year, on a decent 4% turnover gain to 18.......

10/09/2004
Inter Link Foods - ADD
It's been a busy week for cake manufacturer Inter Link, as it celebrated its 10th anniversary and reshuffled the board. The company's non-executive chairman Jeremy Hamer will become deputy chairman, enabling chief executive Alwin Thompson to step up to th.......


cheers Gf.

Posted about this one before here and it certainly looks worthy of buying or placing on the watch list. Looks a genuine recovery stock after the results today.

Shrewd Tip: top investors back dynamic Aero
Published: 10:07 Fri 27 Aug 2004

By Algernon Craig Hall, Secret Buying Correspondent
Email to a friend


Shrewd investors are beginning to warm to former AIM wonder stock Aero Inventory, which ran into problems last year.

Aero (AI.) provides online procurement of aerospace parts to repair and maintenance firms. Its growth has been rapid and it has signed up a number of the industry's big players as clients since it came to market in 2000. However, the final six months of last year presented its shareholders with a raft of disappointments.


Aero's interim results for the six months to the end of 2003 were hit by rising overheads, contract delays, US dollar weakness and the impact of SARs (severe acute respiratory syndrome) on demand from an important Asian customer.


The catalogue of woes has taken the shares from a 2003 470p high to a today's year low of 290p down 2.5p on the day.


The share price performance paints the picture of a thoroughly unloved stock but a number shrewd investors have actually shown renewed interest in Aero recently.


AAA-rated contrarian investor Patrick Evershed picked up 70,000 shares in July for the New Star Select Opportunities fund New Star Select Opportunities, which took its holding to 250,000 or 1.6% of the 46 million company.


Gartmore's star smaller companies stock picker Gervais Williams has also been buying recently. He has bought 10,000 shares so far this month to take the Gartmore UK & Irish unit trust's Gartmore UK & Irish Small Companies holding to 470,000.


Framlington star Brian Watson has a 450,000 share holding in the Framlington Innovative Growth investment trust (FIT).


The underlying state of the business does not seem as bad as recent trading suggests
External factors have been at the root of a number of the company's problems especially the SARs epidemic, US dollar's weakness and delays to a big contract caused by an external union dispute.


Unfortunately there is the chance tough conditions could persist.


SARs may no longer be in the headlines but a lagged effect on aircraft maintenance could continue to subdue Aero's business with HAECO - linked to Cathay Pacific - in Asia. Another negative is the high oil price, which could cause delays to repair and maintenance spending and could possibly mean fewer flights.


Although there are reasons to be wary, much of Aero's recent plight was down to its reliance on the contract with HAECO.


Aero now has three very significant contracts - with HAECO, SR Technics and FLS Aerospace - which should strengthen the group's resilience once they get up and running. The company also continues to win new business.


When Aero's large contracts kick in next year they should have a marked effect on revenue and profit.


Brokers' consensus forecasts suggest turnover has fallen by 6.6 million to 22.5 million in the year to the end of June 2004 but should jump to 47 million in the current year. Profit before tax in the year just gone is predicted to fall by about 600,000 to 2.25 million before leaping in the current year to 8.25 million as delayed big contracts kick in.


The shares are valued at 28 times forecasts for the year just gone and 7.8 times next year's earnings if the group, despite the difficulties, Aero can meet expectations.

Aero has to build up large levels of stock to support new contracts, which makes growth very cash intensive and to date it has relied on share issues to support its expansion. However, the group has recently extended its borrowing facilities from 10 million to 25 million, which should ensure it can take on new business without issuing shares at the current depressed price.


Full year results are expected on 13 September and should meet expectations despite continued weak trading over the final three months of the year. The weakness has been mitigated by profits from the active trading of inventory held by the group.


Aero appears to still have some difficulties but the longer-term picture is encouraging.


The forthcoming results should give shareholders a better view of how the company is faring but there are unlikely to be many positive surprises. Still shrewd investors appear happy to pay the current price for a company that has made such impressive inroads into its market and should benefit once current troubles are over.


It looks like a good time to tuck some shares away for investors not afraid to take a long term view and possibly suffer a knock following the results. For others Aero looks like a good candidate for the watch list.ENDS

And we have from Killik Brokers this morning this....................

Aero Inventory Final Results



Aero Inventory, the provider of e-based procurement and inventory management solutions to the aerospace industry, has announced its preliminary results for the year ended 30 June 2004. Turnover was 21.1m up 32.8% while pre-tax profit came in at 2.1m, down 26.1% as anticipated in earlier announcements.



After a placing at 400p back in 2003 the shares rose to 460p before have a tough start to 2004. Back in March the group indicated that due to timing issues profit for the year would be below prevailing expectations. The shares got down to around 300p from where they have bounced strongly. These results are encouraging as it appears the disappointment from earlier in the year has not been repeated as can often be the case. The company also said that it has a positive outlook for current financial year underpinned by new contracts, in particular those with FLS Aerospace.



Clearly 2004 will be a black mark on the earnings record of Aero Inventory but looking through this, it still looks an interesting business. If the group can keep to its current forecasts for 2005 and beyond the shares should appreciate from here.



cheers Gf. Made my mind up having some of this action.

AB Foods - Monday 13th September 2004




The UK's fourth largest food producer said today in a trading update that profits in the second half will be slightly better than expected, which lifted the shares 8p to 658p. But high raw material prices and the weakness of the euro against sterling are still weighing heavily on the group. Some good recent acquisitions should help with growth, and the huge cash pile gives options for the future, says Ian Forrest.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Conglomerates are supposed to be out of fashion these days but one of the main benefits of being a conglomerate, a diversity of unrelated businesses, has been on show recently at AB Foods. Strong trading at the discount clothes chain Primark has helped offset problems in the British Sugar subsidiary and grocery divisions this year.

The good news today was that Primark has seen like-for-like sales growth in the second half that has exceeded the 5% achieved in the first half. Four new stores have been opened this year, bringing the total to 120.

However, a good crop for British Sugar could not prevent a decline in profits in the second half due to the weakness of the euro against the pound. Some benefit has been gained from higher sugar prices in Poland and China, but it is unclear how long that will last.


The European Union is likely to reform the sugar beet production industry in 2006 and many believe the result will be a significant reduction in sugar prices, perhaps as much as 30%.

With about 33% of its income derived from this, it is not surprising that AB Foods is trying to build up its non-sugar businesses to try to mitigate for any further problems at British Sugar.

In July the company announced the acquisition of the international yeast, bakery ingredients and US herbs and spices businesses from Australian group Burns, Philp & Company for 730m, subject to regulatory approvals.

This acquisition includes the market leader in baker's yeast in North America, Fleischmann, and the combined businesses had a profit of 70m on sales of 383m in the year ended June 2003.

This deal follows the acquisition of Ovaltine in 2002 and the cooking oils group Mazola in March this year. These purchases have reduced the cash pile, over 1.3 billion in April, but there is still plenty left in the piggy bank should any more companies prove tempting.

The full year profit figure will be affected by new international pension accounting rules, but brokers are expecting an 8% increase in profits this year to 510m with earnings forecast to be 45.9p.

For 2005 the numbers are due to rise to 575m and 51.6p, which gives a forward PER of 13 and a prospective dividend yield of 2.6%. This hardly makes the shares cheap or attractive. Indeed, the problems faced by the sugar operation and the high cost of raw materials make this stock a hard one for investors to swallow at the moment. Avoid.


cheers Gf

Palm oil group Anglo Eastern Plantations, whose shares have risen eightfold in the past three years but which have looked toppy in recent months, added 5p to 182 1/2p after a leap in half-year profits and bullish comments about the rest of the year.
NB, This one was highlighted about 2 weeks ago on rising palm oil prices.

cheers GF.

A recent Killik stock tip......................

Venture Production Plc

Risk Rating: 8



Venture Production is an Aberdeen-based oil and gas production company. The group acquires and exploits stranded assets, i.e. untapped oil and gas fields with proven potential. The group typically takes a large interest in its fields and applies its own technology, which is proving successful in exploiting assets which other oil companies have deemed uneconomic.



KILLIK & Co view:



With an expected rise in production from 19,000 to 50,000 boe/d between now and 2006, we believe that the groups interests in a relatively diversified group of proven assets, generally represent a lower risk profile than investing in similar businesses which solely buy unproven assets. In our view, it is reasonable to consider Ventures valuation relative to its operating cashflow, and on this basis the shares are good value.

cheers GF.

Thanks GF.

Sorry I can't contribute anywhere near as much info as you do.

No problem there Apple its quality not quantity that counts.

cheers Gf.

Buy Aero Inventory at 346.5p
Argues The AIM & OFEX Newsletter

The past year has not been good to holders of Aero Inventory, the parts manager for aircraft builders and repairers. While the shares were trading for as much 490p in October 2003, even after results in line with expectations this week they were selling for as little as 346p.

The SARS outbreak had a lot to answer for in reducing passenger numbers, albeit temporarily, with the knock-on effect of reducing revenues within the aerospace maintenance industry.

Aero Inventory's pipeline of business has been a bit thin and has just shifted into the current year and beyond. Although the HAECO contract has taking its time in getting back to producing pre-SARS revenues for the company, the deals with SR Technics, GAMCO and, in particular, FLS are likely to lead to a bumper year.

Consequently, broker Evolution Beeson Gregory is forecasting revenues to more than double in 2004/2005 to 49.2 million pounds, and pre-tax profits are set to jump five-fold to 10 million pounds.

All being well, this means that EPS should come in at more than 40p per share, making Aero Inventory look cheap indeed at the current price.

Turnover in the year to end June 2004 was up 32% at 21 million pounds, but the pre-tax profit of 2.1 million pounds was down 26% due to the lumpy contract flow. Fully diluted earnings per share of 9.22p were half the level of the previous year.



If investors can see past this bumpiness of earnings, in the current year and beyond the company should continue to operate in a growing market. Aircraft makers and maintenance outfits do not like to carry parts themselves as it is not what they see as their core competency. This means that the trend for outsourcing of inventory functions to companies like Aero Inventory, do nothing but manage parts, should prevail.

Aero Inventory's strategy is to grow its business rapidly and profitably by securing further long-term, sole-supplier contracts. So far, this strategy, barring one or two hiccups, has been working well, and the company provided a positive outlook with its annual results.

We should remember that the long term trend for the airline industry is for passenger numbers to increase. Airlines carried 1.5 billion passengers in 2003, and this is set to grow to three billion by 2015, according to IATA.

However, as always with anything related to the airline industry, there are risks. Another SARS outbreak or terrorist attack could be around the corner. Given the apparent inability of governments to remove these threats, the risk should remain serious considerations for investors. For this reason we rate Aero Inventory as a SPECULATIVE BUY.

Share price: 345p - 348p

Stockmarket: AIM

Symbol: AI.

cheers Gf.

QUALIPORT
Three Obscure Franchises

By Maynard Paton (TMFMayn)
September 14, 2004


Operating margins are a filter for possible 'franchises'. By making more profit from every 1 of sales, a high margin firm could well have some sort of pricing power over its customers. Such power could stem from limited competition or a strong operational advantage, both of which are attractive features of any long-term share. Read more.

The following three companies have recorded consistently high operating margins in the past. They are however far from being prominent stock market names.

1. Victrex (LSE: VCT)

Victrex describes itself as an 'innovative, world-leading, high performance materials group'. The firm is the sole manufacturer of polyetheretherketone (PEEK), a high performance thermoplastic claimed to possess a 'unique combination' of properties. The properties no doubt give the product (which is used in a variety of markets including aerospace, electronics and food processing) its competitive advantage.

Victrex joined the market in 1995 at 170p per share and at 335p is currently valued around 270m. Progress since the listing has been steady. Sales have risen from 38m to 72m, pre-tax profits have improved from 13m to 23m while the dividend has increased every year, from 4.5p to 7.5p per share.

Note however that Victrex's performance can be volatile. In 2002, the company cited the global economic slowdown for an 18% reduction in turnover and 16% contraction to earnings. But operating margins have been consistently high throughout the quoted period, with anywhere between 27% and 34% being recorded.

2. Pinewood Shepperton (LSE: PWS)

Pinewood Shepperton is Europe's leading provider of studio and film-related services. It owns extensive facilities used for major film productions, studio television recordings, the filming of commercials and post-production sound services. Pinewood's competitive advantages are said to include the number, range and sizes of its studios, a variety of specialised on-site film services and its proximity to Heathrow and central London.

After acquiring a listing earlier this year, Pinewood shares have gained 51p to 231p, which values the group at nearly 110m. Pre-2001 accounts are hard to come by, but between 2001 (when Pinewood Studios bought Shepperton Studios) and 2003, sales advanced 7m to 37m and operating profits put on 5m to 11m. Underlying operating margins over the past three years have been 20%, 29% and 30%.

3. Parkdean Holidays (LSE: PDH)

Parkdean is the country's third largest holiday park owner. Parkdean aims to build its estate -- currently consisting of 15 sites -- by acquiring parks from small independent operators. Parkdean alleges 'few, if any' new parks are currently being constructed in the UK due to 'onerous' planning restrictions. It also claims 'no significant new park developments are anticipated'. The industry is highly fragmented with the biggest player owning only 40 of the UK's 3,500 or so sites.

The shares have done well since their 2002 listing. From an initial 100p price, they now stand at 213p, giving Parkdean a market value of roughly 85m. Since 2000, revenues have surged from 15m to 54m while profits soared from 2m to 9m. Last year, the dividend was doubled. Operating margins have been between 20% and 27% during the past four years.

Pros and cons

The trio have their pros and cons.

Victrex has the most attractive and proven track record. However, it suffers from low investor visibility. It isn't obvious how PEEK can sustain its competitive advantage or who or what its competitors are. The danger for shareholders is relying too much on what management say if things turn sour. Nevertheless, Victrex undoubtedly has reputation for quality and innovation, which should be hard to displace.

Pinewood's an interesting share. Its facilities and location limit competition while also creating decent barriers to entry. Trying to replicate Pinewood's 200-plus acre estate somewhere near the M25 will be very difficult and expensive. Existing industry rivalry however could be Pinewood's problem -- American producers can always make their films in Hollywood. Canada has a number of studios too, which benefit from being on the American continent and having certain taxation incentives. In the UK, there are also studios at Elstree, Ealing and Leavesden, though each possesses fewer facilities than Pinewood.

Like Pinewood, Parkdean also enjoys planning and location barriers to entry. Holiday parks just can't be constructed as and when and it's fair to say the best sites have already been taken. But Parkdean's major shortcoming is substitution. There are a myriad of alternative holidaying options available, including seaside B&Bs, Butlin's, Center Parcs (LSE: CPK), luxury hotels and overseas trips. That said, running a caravan park would seem simple and boring enough to warm the hearts of most buy and hold investors.


cheers GF.

An interesting read from Frequent trader Robbie Burns......................




ROBBIE BURNS THE NAKED TRADER
Every week, Robbie Burns of www.nakedtrader.co.uk gives his unique insight on the markets.

Robbie has been a full-time trader since 2001 and has amassed profits of more than 130,000. He writes about his daily share buys and sells every weekday on the naked trader website. He also writes a column for the Sunday Times about his SIPP pension fund so far he has built up profits of more than 30,000. His book The Naked Trader is due to be published in November.





I've always had trouble spelling "psychology".
But that doesn't matter as ADVFN has a very good editor who will make sure psy.. psc..will be spelt correctly! (You were correct Robbie - Ed)

Market psychology is an important topic.

Because however cool you think you are, your buy and sell decisions will end up being based on simple human nature.

And, being humans, we are very emotional animals. We let emotions rule various aspects of our lives and it's just the same with investment.

Emotions quite simply get in the way of making good investment decisions.

For example I lost 7,000 by buying shares in Coffee Republic for 27p in the year 2000.. and selling them for 4p in 2001!

That's because I made the classic novice investor mistake of hanging onto a loser.

On top of that I got far too emotionally involved with the company because I liked the coffee - I even started buying more coffee there than I needed, in the idiotic hope it might push up the share price.

Of course all it did was keep me awake at night!

We all want to feel good about ourselves, and selling for a quick profit makes us feel VERY good. Trouble is, our feel good emotions harm long-term investment gains because it stops us sticking with the winners.

Many investors even take profits if a share has only gone up two or three per cent.

That's because they can proudly boast to themselves and others; "I banked a profit."

And of course emotion is the main reason for hanging on to losers for far too long.

We hate feelings of regret and selling a losing share makes us regret and maybe feel a bit mad at ourselves.

So we'd rather watch the shares continue to decline than take the loss and feel bad about it. It's stupid really, because eventually when we sell even lower we feel even worse!

There's another psychological problem when it comes to selling at a loss. That's feelings of revenge!

We want to get that money back and that causes us to be emotional and start taking too many risks.

If we've lost half our money we might be tempted to go for a small stock we think might double in order to get the money back. Or other dodgy behaviour.

This is where an unemotional stop loss comes into its own - that way a stock is sold without bringing in the emotions of regret and getting even. And that way means you are less likely to make a too-risky next trade.

Humans are very much a 'pack' animal. We like to do things together and this very much applies in the shares marketplace.

That's why we sell when everyone else is selling and buy when everyone else is buying.

It's why we sell winning shares far too early and sell losers far too late.

One of the main reasons investors lose money in the markets is their inability to sell something at a loss - like me with Coffee Republic.

This is mainly simply due to ego.

We just don't like to admit to ourselves that we got something wrong.

So we sit there and hold on and on to a share that just keeps on falling.

And absolutely every investor has done this and you will do it too!

It is quite difficult to phone a dealer and admit you've made a loss and are now taking it. It's much easier to take a loss online!

Basically you have to go against human nature when you take a loss, but you must steel yourself to do it otherwise you will not become a successful trader.

Let's take an example.

You want to buy a new share but you have to sell a current one to raise the cash.

The choice is between two shares.

One share is showing a loss of 20% - and the other is showing a profit of 20%.

Which share should be sold?

I would bet nine times out of ten, the investor would sell the stock that has gone up 20%, rather than sell the loser.

That's because selling the winner shows what a good decision it was to buy it and validates that decision. There's also an element of pride involved and it feels good to lock in the profit.

You can also tell your best friend/partner: "I just made 20% profit". (You keep the loser to yourself!)

I feel pretty good when I lock in a profit and extremely irritated when I have to take a loss!

You really have to learn not to postpone the feelings of regret. Avoidance of regret is one of the main reasons investors lose money.

cheers Gf

Killik Brokers morning news..................

NEWS IN BRIEF



The Taylor Nelson share price is moving favorably, up to 220p in early dealings. This is one of our research stocks and last weeks interim numbers have been well received with strong guidance in growth for the provision of market information. We are still running the position in ARM where we see a return of the price back above the 100p level. Currently, they trade at 88p.



Omega, the recently listed kitchens group announces strong better than expected first half results. The company, which was founded by former Spring Ram boss and Sunderland Chairman Bob Murray, provides bespoke kitchens into the independent trade made a 1.6 million profit and with the busiest half still to come (October is busy as kitchens are ordered in time for Christmas), full year forecasts of 3.6 million look fully achievable. At 123p, the stock trades on 13x earnings which, given the 20% growth, looks cheap. Admittedly, the MFI problems have weighed on the sector, but this small, nimble independent is doing well.

cheers Gf

Any views on HOT. Good report today profit and turnover up as well as price 5%.
Held for a while and though what a dog but it's looking good at long last.
I could really do with some good news real bad last few days.

MS

From Killiks morning note. I thinkwe have some TrafficMaster fans on here..............

TRAFFICMASTER meeting with management

This was the first opportunity for new boss Stuart Berman to present following the move by founder David Martell to step aside. Current trading is strong with sales of SmartNav on track at 11000 by June and on target for 28000 by the year end. The number of outlets selling SmartNav is now up from 2000 at the period end to closer to 3000 now although sales per outlet remains low. The key challenge for the group remains in outlet support and they are augmenting this with a pilot advertising investment on radio with the voice of Stephen Fry. Should this work, and Stuart will be looking to substantially increase marketing spend.

Teletrac is growing substantially boosted by its stronger finances since repaying the bonds (this allows fewer competitor attacks through their weakened balance sheet). The business, which provides fleet monitoring systems, now accounts for around half group profitability.

Management now has a very key year ahead to ensure no slip ups in performance. The 2005 SmartNav target is aggressive but fully achievable. Analysts are upgrading 2005 expectations for tax/interest receipt reasons. We see a range for the shares of between 80-110p until further evidence emerges that SmartNav growth remains on track. This should come around March April next year.

cheers GF.

Killik morning notes..............

NEWS IN BRIEF



Hardman Resources, in its regular Tuesday update, confirms that the Dorade-1 exploration well in PSC Block 2 (Mauritania) was spudded on 12 September. Capitaine-1 was spudded on 16th September but the casing became stuck at a depth of 2585 metres and will be redrilled at a date in the future. Tevet was spudded yesterday and Chinguetti-8 on the 14th. So far, there is little to interpret from this news but we shall monitor developments closely for reaction to other parties in this agreement, namely Premier Oil and Sterling Energy.



Umbro, the football shirt manufacturer has lost a licensing deal with Celtic, which has transferred to Nike. Umbro shares have been a firmer market of late rising from a low of 90p (stock was initially placed at 100p) to the current 110p, down 5p.



Gyrus, the medical devices group for reducing trauma in ear nose and throat operations, announces a profit increase of 3.7 million (+23%) on 14% increase in revenue. The model broadly works on the concept of installing a generator in the operating theatre and charging for disposable products used per operation (similar to the Gillette model). They have increased the number of generators by 33% during the year to 4256. They remains confident of high teens revenue growth. Current expectatio0ns for the year are 10 million of profits (which they confirm they are on track to achieve) followed by 12.5 million for 2005 for a prospective multiple of around 17.5. Not cheap, but this group is building friends.



Superscape shares have reclaimed the 40p level in morning trade on impressive trading volumes. We noted some sizeable buying yesterday with volume at 1.5 million. Typically the 40p level represents a ceiling for the price but the rise from the low has been steady and consistent. Of interest, a mobile content show begins at the Excel centre in the Docklands today. Results are due next month.



cheers Gf.

WHAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!, this is a joke right?. I wouldnt say women were better investors but better spenders, certainly the ones I know LOL.

MONEY
Saving and Investing
Women better investors in 2003/04

Published: 17:22 Mon 27 Sept 2004
By Lorna Bourke, Money Columnist
Email to a friend


We all know that women are better drivers than men, writes Lorna Bourke; now the real blow to male egos - it appears women are more successful at managing their share portfolios than men.

According to a survey from Halifax Share Dealing, 72% of womens portfolios stayed at the same value or rose over the past year, compared with 66% of men's portfolios. Overall, grey haired investors were more successful than younger groups with 43% of the 65-74 age group reporting their portfolio had risen in value compared with just 29% of 25-34 year olds.


And confidence in shares remains strong, in spite of the lacklustre performance of the FTSE 100 over the past six months. Customers were asked what value they thought the FTSE 100 would reach in the future compared with its value at the time of the survey 4,306 in July of this year.


Some 85% of investors predicted the value would stay the same or increase in 6 months time. More than one third of respondents predicted a FTSE 100 value of 4,401-4,551 would be reached in 6 months' time.


When asked to make predictions over the next 12 months, the majority of investors (29%) thought the value would reach 4,400-4,550 points. Only 13% of investors thought the value would fall in one years time and 12% predicted a value of 5,000-5,150 points would be reached.


Given the very modest increases expected by the majority of those interviewed, it is curious that they stick with shares as an investment, when they could get a guaranteed 5% gross, or more, from fixed interest investments.


This may not be surprising, however, in the light of the interviewees understanding of economic fundamentals. The research also asked investors what effect they thought the recent hike in oil prices would have on the value of the FTSE 100.


Overall, 48% of investors predicted the increases would have no effect on the value of the FTSE 100 while 22% predicted the value would increase and 30% predicted the FTSE 100 would fall in value. The 65-74 age group was the most optimistic believing the FTSE 100 would go up compared with 18% of 25-34 year olds.


'This research is a fascinating view into investors predictions and attitudes of FTSE 100 performance, commented Sue Concannon, managing director of Halifax Share Dealing.

It is interesting that we are seeing women managing their portfolios better than men. The results suggest that women and older investors are generally more cautious which, in the current climate, seems to be a winning formula. It is encouraging that investors are optimistic in their predictions of the FTSE 100 value and it will be interesting to see if their confidence will be proved right, she said.ENDS.

Its not the beginning of April is it????????????????.


cheers GF.

An interesting snippet

Quote