anything under 7 cheap cheap cheap. good div. just paid. chart looks sick

Call me old fashioned haystackbut wtf has that got to do with M&Scouldnt think of two more different storesM&S dont need another 20% daysold enough Christmas stock to not have to worryunless you went in Woolworths thinking it was M&Sthat figures!!!M&S are green.Woolworths are red.you will usually find Colin and his shammy with the loped off ladder doing Woolworths windows!!!

How would you know what colour they both are? Thanks for letting me know, though.

Cos I get out bouncyI dont sit in front of a screen 24/7 slagging off someones investmentits called a lifeas opposed to an existence!

LOL!

You forget I travel all over the place, dunderheid.

Reduced 221.50

added 231.5

This thread - 20-Soon - - -- read 2 more like it.
Retail had some good times selling all manner of "fashion" - but now it looks like we ( that's women), were duped - it's not fashion, it's just different.
In Woeful times that old sweater can be brought out many times, along with several designs of shoes, so no-one need ever know - we'll all be doing the same.

Expensive "food" might look nice on the telly, but it's all the same in the end - "expensive." - and there are far better places to put yr money, like save for a modest holiday in Margate.

The latest issue of "Sharess" (Letters page):-points to the [MKS]wasteful "Buyback" programme under SR - and I suspect that will continue until he's either "replaced" or "runs out of cash" - it's not good Management when a slowdown starts to become the "norm" - and maybe we won't see the "retail" likes of 2003-5 for another 10-years.

hangon

are you short too?

Gausieas picked out by other postersyour methods of calling M&S correct is giving investors great confidence in backing your opposite calls!I have a premium phone linekeep postingit is giving me ideas?

Tabby

Having discredited yourself and been shown up as a clueless and lying bullshitter on the MDX thread (see link below), are you trying to achieve the same thing here?

Look at yesterday's trades: bought some at 221.5, sold a slightly higher number at 231.5. Current price 226. That's called channel trading - and I'm rather pleased with it so far.

I've banked profit on every tranche that I've traded, and reported on here - bar the very first. The short position that I'm building has a volume weighted average slightly below 230 - so that's in profit too - and gets a couple of thousand shares bigger with every tranche traded.

Your claim that a trader trading MKS in the opposite direction to me over the past few weeks would have made money is wrong - by over 10,000.

I don't think you get it. Get back to your doughnut holes and beer consumption.

I can't help but feel that you're trying to change the subject and attempting to wriggle out of your exposure as a liar posted on the mdx thread in post 5052.

Gausie

Having discredited yourself and been shown up as a clueless and lying bullshitter on the MDX thread...(see link below), are you trying to achieve the same thing here?

no surprise - 11 Dec 2008 22:27 - 5160 of 5172
He's probably just miffed coz his marks and sparks short went wrong as usual ;o)

Vintage oudinot....2002......119.94

lol - learn the difference between opinion and fact. A requote of one of your alias's posting an opinion that flys in the face of the facts doesnt really achieve anything does it?

It's even funnier when you take account of the fact that the MKS trades listed on here have made an excellent return for me - yet the guy who's own posts on MDX (if true ...) demonstrate that he's lost almost 200k on MDX's decline feels the need to criticise such winning MKS trades.

Interesting post from the dark side

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/sharewatch/market-report-christmas-cheer-in-short-supply-at-ms-1061303.html

Dec 11th "Analysts at Morgan Stanley said a "big step-up in markdowns" was likely to affect M&S margins, making its assumption of flat gross margins in general merchandise "unachievable".

finally the press coming round. I've been banging this drum for a while now and is in essence (coupled with their low footfall) why I'm staying short over xmas (unless we spike to 2.80+).. MKS can sell everything 3 times over but if you don't make enough margin (profit) then you just have mo' problems next year.. I believe *allegedly the city want Rose out aswell.. nasty.

i agree .... though i closed my M&S short when i needed margin to allow me to buy back some of my IEC (another dull story!), i may re-open .... i am also short ASC, as though that is an excellent company, i think its forward pe is still about 20, which is far too high in this climate .... also short WPP because above-line advertising is in decline and WPP in particular is in for a very rough ride with so much of its revenue deriving from the (US) motor industry .... also short WOS as house building and associated trades have a long way to go until some sort of recovery is seen

covered a few 220.75

lest you guys have not seen already ......

MORE DISCOUNTS AT M&S AS FEARS GROW OVER PROFITS
On Thursday, Marks & Spencer is set to launch a new wave of pre-Christmas promotion offers as it battles what is understood to be calamitous recent trading, and concerns about its full-year profits. The retailer will slash prices by 30 per cent on men's and women's knitwear, its Autograph and Ceriso lingerie and its sleepwear range. According to trade magazine Retail Week, sales of core categories at M&S dropped by between 20 and 30 per cent last week.

If M&S don't clear their Christmas stock they are going to have trouble running the sales in Jan/Feb. That is assumung anyone wants to go the sales after having already experienced a month long sale in December.

i am now short both MKS and ASC, as retail numbers are going to be truly awful over the coming months

Under pressure (Sell: 175p target)

Industry sources indicate that M&S had an appalling week last week, with sales as much as 20-25% down on last year in some stores, with consumers clearly unimpressed by the modest promotions they had to offer last week and waiting for them to go on full Sale again.

However successful the two 20% Off Everything One-Day Sales were on Nov 20th and Dec 4th, it looks as if they simply pulled business forward and undermined consumer trust in the brand. With Debenhams upping the promotional ante again this week, with more Up to 50% off discounts, M&Ss hand may be forced and they may have to have another One-Day Sale again pre-Xmas, which would destroy whats left of their pricing power.

Either way, we need to further downgrade our LFL sales and gross margin assumptions for H2. We are sticking with our -7% LFL and -170 bp gross margin assumptions on Food in H2, but for Non-Food we are moving from -8% to -10% LFL sales in H2 (to end March) and building in more gross margin pressure (-65bps).

On this basis, ahead of the Q3 update on Jan 7th, we are cutting our full-year PBT forecast by 7% from 640m (which is much in line with consensus) to 599m (27.2p eps) and running that through to next year, cutting by 10% from 500m PBT to 450m (20.0p eps).
NH:
Is the dividend safe on this basis? Well, just about for this year, with cover of 1.2x, but the 22.5p divi wont be covered next year and is certain to be cut. We stick to our 14p div forecast (1.4x cover) and stick to our 175p TP (for an 8% yield for 09/10 and a similar PE).

M&S has many problems, with market share under pressure in both Food and Clothing, in a fast-declining retailing market and we still think the fast-depreciating freehold properties will be worth no more than the expected net debt of 3.1bn at year-end. M&S should survive the downturn, but investors have to appreciate that we have not yet got to the bottom of the alarming earnings and dividend decline it will suffer over the next 2 years to get there. We re-iterate our Sell.

from whom is the above? ..... apart from Farmer Pyjama who posted same!