Groundhog Day

Sunday, 6th June 2010 21:11 - by Boredmum

Feeling a little like Groundhog Day... ...every morning waking up and waiting for 7am to come to see if there is any RNS news to digest, and then patiently waiting for 8am for the markets to open to see if there was going to be anything of interest happening. Yes, the same thing every morning and I was starting to get a little bored with it all. I felt it was time for a new interest; something that would occupy me in those early morning hours when I was wakened at 6.30am and everyone else was still asleep. Well, I decided that rather than sitting waiting for the markets to open, I would go cycling. So that is what I did, starting with a purchase of a mountain bike from Halfords. Coincidently, Halfords have some excellent deals on at the moment and they do this thing where if you reserve online to collect in store you get a further discount. They then build your bike for free - normally charging £30 for this service. Halfords share price (TIDM code: HFD) has been rising nicely the past year, from around 300p to 507p today. There have been some Director purchases along the way. They stated in June 2009 that they were ‘group positioned for earnings growth’. This was followed that same month by Director purchases of 40,000 shares, 20,000 and 15,000; in the range from 305p to 343p. This buying continued through the year with another couple of buys, the highest being at 413p. Director buying is a good sign of confidence in a company and it should be noted. Look out for substantial buys, not just token gestures. It would give me added confidence if I saw Directors purchase substantially with their hard-earned cash. The cycling has been fun; hard work, but enjoyable. Unfortunately, I now have to try and find another hobby to keep me away from day-trading. Despite what I said last week, I couldn’t resist some trades in Rockhopper (TIDM code: RKH) from 165p to 197p, Encore Oil (TIDM code: EO.) from 22p to 26p, and Chariot Oil (TIDM code: CHAR) at 104p to 110p. Unfortunately, I am still holding trades of CHAR and EO. at higher-than-current prices. I am kicking myself for buying EO. again. It was rising fast and I was only after 1.5 points. In 10 days, we shall see how those pan out...if I manage to hold for that long.