This company sells at a ridiculously low price earnings ration of less than 12, it has tripled in price in the last 12 months and is extremely good value at 200p. It has been backed by the both Investors Chronicle and Shares magazine as a strong buy. The technical fundamentals from a charting viewpoint are second to none. The company is is the fast growth sector of childrens toys.

http://tallglic.blogspot.com/

Explanation falling sp.Dow closing down -360 won't help matters.Mattel hit by danderous toys made in China,CCT now directly involved though not responsible for manufacturing this particular toy.Banked profits some time ago & no longer a holder.


http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/11/07/nxmas107.xml

Danger drug found in Christmas toy
By Harry Wallop, Consumer Affairs Correspondent, and Nick Squires in Sydney
Last Updated: 1:39pm GMT 07/11/2007



A popular toy has been withdrawn from shops because of fears it may contain a potentially lethal hallucinogenic drug.

Bindeez, which allows young children to make animals and other shapes from beads, were predicted to be a popular present this Christmas.

Retailers, including Woolworths and Argos, withdrew the sets after Moose Entertainment, an Australian company that designed the product, admitted that a "small number" of children in Australia needed treatment after swallowing the beads.

The beads, which are made in China, are supposed to be coated with a harmless glue to allow them to stick together.

Health authorities in New South Wales found they were covered in a chemical which, if swallowed, changes into a compound similar to GHB, a "date rape" drug. The reaction can cause seizures and unconsciousness.
A boy aged two and a 10-year-old girl were admitted to a hospital in Sydney last week after swallowing the beads.

advertisementA boy aged 19 months was treated in hospital in Queensland yesterday after eating some of the beads.

Richard King, the chairman of Character, which distributes Bindeez in Britain, said: "We've asked all our customers to take them off the shelf while we retest everything to make sure the toys comply with all regulations."

Moose said it had discovered that some Bindeez in Australia contained ingredients "that did not match laboratory-approved" products.
The Toy Retailers Association named Bindeez as one of their top toys for Christmas. Gary Grant, its chairman, said: "They have been selling very well in recent weeks."

It is understood that about 10 million worth of sets were due to be sold this year.

Character said it would take about four days to retest the products and no retailer could sell them until it received the results from the laboratory.

The retailers said it was "far too early" to talk about a product recall, which could see hundreds of thousands of the toys being returned.

http://abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/11/08/2084825.htm?section=justin

Fears of black market demand for poisoned Bindeez
Posted 3 hours 32 minutes ago


Poison fears: Bindeez beads (File photo) (Bindeez website)
There are concerns a black market might be developing for a dangerous toy that is known to metabolise into the liquid ecstasy chemical GHB when swallowed.

Nasty fall, hope holders are ok.

Toys are very dangerous these days.

OZ & now USA

radarlove - 8 Nov'07 - 07:51 - 7736 of 7766


The story continues to unfold.

On the TV programme 'ABC News', late last night, it stated a couple of children from North America were admitted to hospital after sucking on the contaminated Bindeez paint. The toy there is called 'Aquadots'.

It seems it may not be just a rogue batch confined to Australia, after all. The news programme went on to say that a batch of toys produced between May and November may hold the hallucinogenic paint.

I will attempt to contact 'Character' this morning and see if I can find out more

For adults over 21 years methinks not young kids able to put things in their young mouths.

don't forget Character's main assets - Dr Who which took them to new heights in the price charts

As I've said, toys can be a disaster...


Character Group PLC
17 December 2007

Issued by Citigate Dewe Rogerson Ltd, Birmingham
Date: Monday, 17 December 2007 IMMEDIATE RELEASE


The Character Group plc
Current Trading Update


The Board of The Character Group plc ('Group' or 'Company') provides the
following update to shareholders in relation to trading in the final run up to
Christmas.

The Directors have noted that retail sales for Christmas 2007 started late and
that the market has not recovered from this belated seasonal start. The current
difficult trading environment has resulted in toy retail consumer sales being
slower than anticipated and consequently, lower than budgeted levels of stock
replenishment orders have been received by the Company from its customers.

Against the backdrop of these unusually difficult trading conditions, coupled
with the lost sales of Bindeez products and the Group's recent product recall
already reported (viewed by the Board as a one off impact), the Company is
taking a more cautious view on revenue outcome for the first half of the current
financial year. The Directors therefore expect that revenues for the four months
to 31 December 2007 will be down by approximately 18% on the same period last
year.

As a major UK supplier, the Group is not immune to the effects of faltering
consumer confidence and this view seems to be supported by the heavy discounting
occurring on the high street. Whilst the trading situation is disappointing to
report, overall the Board continues to be encouraged by the growth in its
brands.

Currently, the Group's 2008 product range is being previewed by the major
retailers. To date, there has been a very positive reaction to the new product
portfolio and therefore the Directors expect revenue growth in the second half
of the current financial year ending 31 August 2008 to be ahead of the same
period in 2007.

I bought a few..

er, sorry - I thought Retailers had their Xmas stocks....so why would Character Group need to the second week before Christmas Day to release this bad news?

It must have been obvious their mix of toys was a no-no weeks ago; say by the beginning of Autumn, when their phones didn't ring all day?

I got-out ages ago, but feel for those who have suffered a 48% drop in one day. That smacks of carelessness, so I hope the Execs do the "decent thing" before closing the Office until 2008.

Took my profits back in April/May however this sell-off seems well over-done. Broker has revised profit estimates down from 11m to 8m which still has PE <8.0 with a good dividend and backed with 15m cash balance would suggest some bargain hunting buying available on this share at these levels. PANIC SELLING TODAY IMO.

Strange 1.4m shares bought 700k shares sold sp down 50%. MMs marking down aggressively suggests perhaps more bad news to come after Christmas.

That looks like someone's forgotten to put the stairgate across at rung 140 and the poor kid's tumbled!

Toy Fairs in UK, Germany and the US towards end Jan and Feb - where the big deals are done (or not, as the case may be).

what a disaster ..... made some money on this stock a year or two back ..... trouble is, there's no shelter when sp gets slugged like this, unless you happened to have a guaranteed stop

AVOID - at least for a good while yet

Agree, CCT is likely to be well shaken by mid-Jan08, when those close will be "in the know" and either: Buying like fury, or selling anything that smells of Character.

I used to hold, but disliked their Digital Camera forray - now gone, I understand.

Apart from their recent "bead" problem, I guess the Market "generally" has been speaking Volumes. But the "bead" issue shows a total disregard for their Duty of Care, for ultimately it is the Company's reputation that entices you to buy a toy.

Also made money on this sold at 155p on the way up, back on my watch list as with RNK and JRVS that have also crashed.

why not buy an ambulance maker?
perhaps TAN make an electric one

Made by Character

Looks like CCT is a strong buy at 93p now.