II Editor
16 May 2018
NEW ARTICLE: 10 contrarian blue-chip stocks for daring investors "Back in 1939 an investor called John Templeton made an unusual series of investments. As America was emerging from 10 years of the Great Depression, the young Templeton (who was only in his late-twenties at the time) sensed an opportunity.He ..."[link]
Blanketstacker
16 May 2018
Re: TRADING STATEMENT Fall today is possibly caused in part by broker downgrade by Morgan Stanley. Equal weight to under weight, no targets given. Probably headed for the low 130s.
Uncle Doug
16 May 2018
Re: TRADING STATEMENT OK the market's wised up. The SP isn't holding up any more. I'm getting ready to hit the dump button on these. Another fall like today and it's bye bye CNA from me.
terribletim
14 May 2018
Re: TRADING STATEMENT We need more Beasts from the East
Uncle Doug
14 May 2018
Re: TRADING STATEMENT In past they've blamed warmer weather for profit drops. This time they blame the cold snap! What kind of weather do they want?Anyway, so far SP is holding up so that's good news for us holders.
frog in a tree
14 May 2018
Re: TRADING STATEMENT I think you are right Uncle Doug. This company still has the feel of a deflating tyre.The earnings are flattered by extra consumption during the Beast from the East but we don't get one of those every year. There is still no sign of a persuasive turn round strategy. It looks like the board are looking for something just to turn up.Meanwhile I got a requote for my dual fuel contract and British Gas nowhere in the running.F
Uncle Doug
14 May 2018
Re: TRADING STATEMENT Poor show. Despite extremely cold Feb and March and the obvious increased energy demand they have less profit than last year. The excuse - more boiler breakdowns and higher call out costs. Surely their business model must be all wrong if they can't capitalise on cold weather and boiler breakdowns. Unbelievable incompetence.
Blanketstacker
14 May 2018
TRADING STATEMENT Ship seems to be steadying, with customer losses declining relative to last year."Overall financial performance has been good in the year to date...There has been good progress on the delivery of the next phase of cost efficiency. The Company is maintaining a strong focus on financial discipline and remains on track to achieve the 2018 Group targets set out in its 2017 Preliminary Results announcement... Full year dividend expected to be 12.0p per share...The Company is due to release its 2018 Interim Results on 31 July 2018."
II Editor
11 May 2018
NEW ARTICLE: The week ahead: Vodafone, Centrica, Royal Mail "There are some big hitters announcing results and trading updates over the next week, among them three of the most generous dividend payers around.   Centrica explains promise of another big dividendStockwatch: A blue chip to buy for huge ..."[link]
Andy Reilly
10 May 2018
Re: Sold 153.24 Re: 202.81, 197.18, 193.... Ooops! that should be : I know my limits!!!
Andy Reilly
10 May 2018
Re: Sold 153.24 Re: 202.81, 197.18, 193.... JD - thats very frank of you, and thats what I admire about soi - he is very disciplined and almost modest in his approach - I think Spead Betting has a particular appeal to 'male' psychology - it is a defacto challenge to the male ego, and when I did some 'Market Research' about Spread Betting, the participants were almost exclusively male, and had losses (which is why they were a bit reluctant to answer questions initially - I dont think I came across anyone who was happy with their perfomance (let alone female Spread Betters), as most had lost significant amounts. Men dont like to admit thay have been beaten, and 'winning is everything'! Hubris and over confidence is the enemy of sensibe decision making - 'Pride goes before a fall' is a very true saying, which is why there arent that many invetment managers that have a consistendly good record over the longer term..... Anyway, I wish you well, BUT SBs are not for me - I now my limits, and I have got to the age where a life without too many 'excessive thrills' will do me just fine! ATB
jackdawsson
10 May 2018
Re: Sold 153.24 Re: 202.81, 197.18, 193.... "JackD - I wish you luck with 'the shares' - I am certainly no fan of leveraged products - I much prefer an easy life without fretting too much, and its probably a case of 'sticking with what you know best' (I think Co's in the financial sector like to promote leaveraged products as they 'probably' make most money from them!)- ATB and be lucky with shares! AR"========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==Hi Andy,Thanks mate. I much agree. It's why I NEVER encourage anyone to enter into spread-betting whenever I'm asked. Even the few who excel with leverage, like Soi, readily concede it can be a tough game, fraught with added risks & inevitable errors can be very costly. Hence neutral sources state that 90% of participants in leverage lose over time. Sobering perspective! So far, I'm in that majority. Though I'm in fairly deep; not as deep as some. Lost big mostly on ANTO, now CNA & cumulatively, indices. Real shares are far less stressful for a few obvious reasons. FWIW - & I know currently it's worth little - I know from my SB account that most of my errors down to over-staking & risking margin. Especially on indices. Also going short on volatile mining stock. The kind of risks that real share platforms eliminate by default, simply as those options aren't there. For a while now I've staked long only, far more prudently & I don't touch indices. Of course only I can see to what degree my margin is kept safely at 200%. It's steady but sure progress, however slow. Despite my profits from real shares, my losses from SBs since 02/2011 well exceed a few thousand. If I'm to get them back (that's why I continue), I have to stick to a similar approach as with real shares. But even with continued progress, I'm unlikely to get it all back for at least 3 or 4 years. The thing with leverage is that identifying errors is not that hard. Putting what's learnt into practice consistently takes huge discipline. That's harder. I think I'm getting there, but I still can't be 100% sure. Doubts never leave me. I never allow the slightest complacency to creep back in.I only know that trying to get back my SB losses is something I have to persevere with for longer. All the best!
Andy Reilly
10 May 2018
Re: Sold 153.24 Re: 202.81, 197.18, 193.30, ... JackD - I wish you luck with 'the shares' - I am certainly no fan of leveraged products - I much prefer an easy life without fretting too much, and its probably a case of 'sticking with what you know best' (I think Co's in the financial sector like to promote leaveraged products as they 'probably' make most money from them!)- ATB and be lucky with shares!
rhino666
10 May 2018
iii dividend information and portfolio figures iii need to get their act together regarding basic information and figurework.Soi has mentioned this several times before as well as some difficulty with trading.It has been quite a few months since the upgrade and no dividend information on fundamentals. I get caught out regularly by inaccurate figures on my portfolio.Subdued with trades so cannot comment on that.Sort this mess out iii, starting with the very basics!!
jackdawsson
09 May 2018
Sold 153.24 Re: 202.81, 197.18, 193.30, 189.29 Sold last of my leveraged longs, trapped here since pre-November’s disastrous results at considerable loss. Even if mostly only handing back gains from elsewhere. Held these since early October hoping for a bounce to gap above 160 before XD. Not a chance!Reasons: similar to share sale. Falling SP before XD despite top yield, is never bullish. Especially with FTSE high. I anticipate more customer losses, not impressed by CEO, sector facing more uncertainties & we've a very shaky May govt.After tomorrow’s XD drop, SP may well recover by update on 14th. Or it could tank even further. As I can’t be confident either way, it's too risky to continue holding leveraged longs. If they were real shares, I might have hung on L/T. With leverage, daily holding costs, margin, et al, there's no question about priorities over longer-term. Other point of note: before I sold my shares last week, I watched CNA’s largest trades for a few days. I saw large blocks of shares sold into the rise, mostly of a few hundred thousand at a time. So not quite high enough to tank SP. That indicates large holders reducing & distributing, a process they tend to do most efficiently at best prices. I could be very mistaken & it rises soon to fill a gap above 160. But I’m now wholly out of CNA. I wish all holders GL & success with your investments!PS: I'm very profitable with real shares, but I've not yet made penny profit from spread-betting. This mess helps explain that ongoing anomaly.
