Member Info for AllAtSea

Doesn't surprise me. Share prices are undoubtedly manipulated by a system that I am firmly on the outside of. It's a club I can't afford to join!

That Tesco will launch its own discount chain. Smack of desperation rather than genius. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery as they say. Unsurprisingly, Tesco can't possibly comment. And you don't have to be a shorter to be a critic of the UK's biggest food retailer. It is an investment opportunity that's gone to the dogs. What motivates the army of its defenders is the desire to see their shares worth anything like what they paid for them.

..recent share price 'volatility' may well be an opportunity for us long term holders. I'd like to fill a few holes in my diversified portfolio but have been reluctant to buy for months since the GSK debacle. Now it looks as if the time might be ripe to put a few choice stocks in the shopping basket at last.

Tesco is a can of worms. I can't understand the idea that it has any upside these days.

"I may be being overly pessimistic but we never seem to win in our dealings with Europe" If you can't beat 'em, join 'em. Ooops, too late..

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2018/02/04/gsk-set-record-sales-emma-walmsley-fires-drugs-pipeline/ "Britain's biggest drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline is poised to post record sales of over �30bn for the first time, in chief executive Emma Walmsley�s first set of full-year results this week." Ms Walmsley made no secret of her appetite for big acquisitions in previous quarterly results. ..acquisitions could �strain the ability to sustain the current 80p dividend beyond 2018�.

That's handy. Where's she off to next?

..there's an Amazon. At the moment they are trashing the share prices of US healthcare but their toehold in UK retail is already assured and could well become a stranglehold that embraces food shopping too. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-amazon-healthcare/amazon-berkshire-jpmorgan-partner-to-cut-u-s-healthcare-costs-idUSKBN1FJ1NF

The change they made sounds a very large one. Not surprising there were 'issues' but doesn't seem to have caught the attention of the business pages. Storm in a teacup.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2018/02/01/morrisons-cut-1500-roles-supermarket-sheds-middle-managers/ cutting around 1,500 store management roles and creating 1,700 more junior jobs Sign of the times.. The glory days are gone.

They do seem tp have cocked things up: https://www.professionaladviser.com/professional-adviser/news/3025549/aviva-platform-boss-were-working-hard-to-resolve-problems-and-frustrations

Another knee-jerk IMO. Twitchy, over-leveraged hedge funds.

Potentially it's a spiral of decline. Many communities rely on Tesco and other retailers for jobs. No jobs, no money, no customers. I see that Sainsbury are joining the race to cut staff.

And they really thought they'd get away with it without anyone noticing! These are desperate times for retail. Cost-cutting and staff reductions are the way forward. There will be no great recovery for Tesco. It is where it is.

At the time of the Tesco SP collapse it was found the books were being cooked. The company has pretty much escaped with a CEO change and a slapped wrist. Its takeover of Booker was approved pretty much on the nod. Now the company has shafted loyal customers with a change to the loyalty system. Not gradually, allowing customers to use up the benefits they hold but just like that, causing holders of vouchers to lose money. No doubt Tesco will save money by effectively robbing those cusomers. These easiest way to reward customers is by keeping prices low and simple. Unfortunately that's too simple for Tesco management who would not then be able to carry out their crafty manipulative practices.

How wrong can you be? Well I was eyeing up Tesco a while back - that would have been more painful. Went for Terry Leahy's new venture instead. Must admit the post office looks like an option right now. Someone is going to open their big mouth any moment to blow down the house of cards.

Eckoh shortlisted for FS Tech award 2018 http://www.fstech.co.uk/awards/shortlist18.php Quite a lot of contenders but see under 'Payments Innovation of the Year' Another interesting contender is Atom Bank but they won't sell me a share, sad to say.

..that a small healthcare company (PRTC) I have shares in has now risen nearly 70% since I rather luckily bought in right on the dip not quite a year ago.

Damned if she does and damned if she doesn't. Anyway, as she is reportedly 'doing' and the fur is flying if not blood, we shall see whose right in less time than if she 'didn't'. Enjoy ride or get off the bus.

There are more important characteristics than mere gender. As for GSK, it's become a bit of a plaything for the markets as there is money to be made by a bit of volatility, mainly from those who cash in their losses in search the lost cause. Well it would be a lost cause if I did it!