Confidence could be uplifted again...not a colossal amount 13000 shares but at a good level no doubt, could rise here again...

Bought myself as a result, as chart appears to give me confidence...

MKS at long last Rising from the ashes in late trading, now 3p up at 2.77/5

Keep going SPARKS...

They bought 1,000,000 shares for cancellation @ price 275.6435

Hit along with everyone else this AM lower at around 270p-
I too bought in at 273p,
it simply felt miles to cheap for M&S -
what made up my mind was a walk into the local store early in the week.
Good ranges on targeted Xmas items,
but also on clothes and the seasonal food side. Plus it was very very
busy in there and to me that often points the way with retail shares, a visit
to the local store can reveal an awful lot - sort of 'on foot' research
(lol)

Also just bought some at lowest point 2.69!

Down on Istanbul etc...Retail SALES Indicator reported today was up double the expectation today at 0.6% as opposed to expected 0.3%....

So good news for xmas shopping...

They purchased 1,000,000 @ 272.0477 today

Purchased 675,000 @ 271.2652

Investor Chronicle mag Tips MKS as a BUY...in this weeks issue..

Looking good again..

Looks like their 271.2652 was a shrewd buy -- unless they have gone lower today

VERY IMPORTANT INFORMATION :-

BRANDON = 184,749,168 MILLION SHARES
Registered Holder unaffiliated with 475 custodian banks

aj - I'm happy to accept that this is very important information but please explain a little more fully to this ignoramus. Regards, TOK

Just been reading a little more about this on the other side. Presumably Brandon = Brandes. But is the significance of "unaffiliated with 475 custodian banks"?

Directors share option @ 228p
--------------------
T O Kevin- I will have a look again and post here.aj

T O Kevin
MY interpretation / SHORT summary :-

Brandes - you are correct : I said Brandon
...............
My Point no 1 :-Brandes - on behalf of 475 banks - purchased :-

A : 103,648,740 shares.

B : 13,516,738 American Depositary Receipts.
------
A + B = Equivalent of 184,749,168 shares = 8.1 per cent of the Company.

..............
My Point no 2:-

The 475 banks are unaffiliated with Brandes i.e.Brandes or any part of Brandes
is not one or part of one of the 475 banks.
..............
rgds aj

aj - OK, understood. Thanks. There is some chat over the road that the Brandes buying was automatically triggered by computer although this is hotly disputed.

Computer mistake - Definitely Not : in my opinion.aj

Downgraded to 2.90 from 3.25. stockwatch warning.

475 Banks buy 184,749,168 shares.Downgrade logic ????

Downgrade: Possibly something to do with being in a 3-month downtrend and the Austin-Reed profit warning being an indicator of a slowdown in the clothing market?

The chart shows the next support at 262 which is the 12-month low. Below that there's nothing to support it above 230 or so.

Having read the news flash thing today two things occur to me..
1. Austin Reed is a different case to MKS, it's a different type of
store and I would suggest would attract different purchasers. The fact
both are in retail is, in my humble opinion, about as far as the like
for like comparision can go. MKS is not just Austin Reed....

2. Assuming MKS have a good Christmas and so far (as far as I know)
there is no solid evidence to show it wont, it wouldn't surprise me if
all these current doubts are swept aside extremely rapidly. Possibly at
that point the other more diverse sides to MKS - those selling 'bits'
that are not just about clothes - may well be highlighted as 'of course'
the reasons why MKS can do well - due to it's reputation on other
retail products like food, wines, flowers, gifts etc, store cards,
financial products etc etc. If that happens (of course) there will be no
prizes for pointing out that a few months/weeks before it seemed MKS
were being viewed purely from their clothing angle...

I'm not saying the news out today is wrong, nor am I saying MKS
may not fall temporarily back to a lower price level,
but I do feel sometimes that companies 'get talked down'in the press
etc and some news items are really short-term in the grand scheme of
things, sometimes perspective I feel can be a real issue....

Well put, stockbunny.

I'm not really bullish on MKS, but if I was I wouldn't
be put off by any broker's view, especially one I hadn't
paid for.

Brokers are there to serve their own interests, not ours.

They will issue statements to suit their own positions.
Their analysts, even if good at their jobs, have to spin
matters the way their paymasters want it, not what they
believe.

If you don't know who you can trust, there is only one
answer.
Trust nobody and ignore all of them.

Melnibone

Precisely! MKS has now ventured into the Credit Card era (at last) and has a large, loyal and well-heeled customer base who are an excellent dredit risk. I believe this side of the business can only enhance MKS which are probably undervalued by the market due to the continuing love of the short term trend over the tried and tested. MKS probably up to 310-320p Jan/Feb (in my humble opn). Trust your instincts.