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

to be honest, i was searching for the date for their next figures ..... i'm very tempted to short before then

Citigroup Buy 444.00 444.00 575.00 510.00 Reiterates

did they now .... well i hope they're wrong as have just shorted (436.1), albeit at a lower level than i would have liked

trading report on Thursday.

i know

i see that shares mag rated MKS a buy at 466.5 just before christmas ...... so far, that doesn't look too smart a call, and it'll be interesting to see how tomorrow's offerings are greeted

personally, i haven't liked the shop in years; their fashion buyers/designers seem to have no clue at all, and good though their food section may be, it really is horribly o'priced

so will sp react tomorrow like MTC or fly away like some think ASC always will

cynic probably the former, or perhaps if numbers are not too bad remain flat.

i'll vote for the former, but knowing me, i'll have called it wrong ...... certainly there were signs of real desperation with prices being slashed just before christmas

NXT sure got it right (they refused to follow the herd), and from a design point of view, they have left MKS flat in the dust

Interim Management Statement

The head of British retailer Marks and Spencer , Marc Bolland, said the company's step-by-step approach to improve general merchandise sales was working despite figures showing the 10th consecutive quarter drop in clothing sales. Chief Executive Marc Bolland said Britain's biggest clothing retailer, which also sells homewares and food, had seen a 1.5 percent growth in general merchandise in its Christmas trading. "The step-by-step approach to improve our general merchandise is slowly improving but we have always said that it will be step-by-step," Bolland told BBC Radio. "Our market share has been stabilised over the quarter and it has even been for womenswear slightly improved." Bolland said the retailer's largest sharholders understood the company was undergoing a major transformation that would take time.

cut my losses as bear squeeze gets a good grip

however
Cantor Fitzgerald cuts target price to 410p from 425p

with that in mind, selling again in due course might still be a good call .... after all, the numbers really were pretty dire

M&S Q3 clothing lfl sales down 2.1 pct, food up 1.6 pct - Tesco, Marks & Spencer and Morrisons, three of the biggest names in British retailing, posted heavy falls in Christmas sales, showing few signs that their costly turnaround plans are working, and raising the pressure on their leaders.
"All three reports today were pretty nasty - Morrisons especially so," said a UK investor with shares in all the retailers.

M&S, Britain's biggest clothing retailer which started out as a penny bazaar 130 years ago, reported a 10th consecutive quarter of falling clothing sales and cut its margin guidance after fierce discounting by rivals forced it to slash prices in December. Its sales of general merchandise - which spans clothing, footwear and homewares - fell 2.1 percent in its third quarter to Dec. 28 at stores which have been open for more than a year. This drop was greater than analysts' forecasts and the firm avoided having to issue a formal profit warning only by delivering a strong performance in its food business.

=====================

so the obvious question is whether or not today's sharp sp recovery is mostly bear closing, forced or otherwise, and if so, will the sp collapse once more

read into the chart below what you like ..... sp has surged back through 25+200 dma but is now just nudging 50 dma above

Perversely it now looks bullish - remind me not to trade the retailers next January!

sticky/shortie - any thoughts?

Numis Hold 471.10 - 450.00 Retains

Investec Buy 471.10 500.00 500.00 Upgrades

smartarse or about-to-be-smarting-arse?
just shorted at 469.9

HSBC Overweight 465.75 460.90 500.00 500.00 Reiterates

Citigroup Buy 465.75 460.90 510.00 510.00 Reiterates

Deutsche Bank Hold 465.75 460.90 500.00 485.00 Retains

Jefferies International Hold 465.75 460.90 480.00 480.00 Reiterates

closed with minor graze .... should have done so last night with respectable profit :-)

Jefferies International Buy 496.30 496.30 480.00 600.00 Upgrades