Member Info for chilting

Its not just Ceres that have a lot to gain from the JV.

Tan Xuguang CEO and Chairman of Weichai and Chairman of the much larger Shandong Heavy Industry Group that Weichai is a part of, has repeatedly emphasised the importance of the new technology they are developing throughout the group.

Tan Xuguang is credited with saving the loss making state run Weichai and turning it into a profitable world leader, he is also a Peoples Deputy in the Communist Party.

https://www.kiongroup.com/KION-Website-Main/Investor-Relations/Shareholders-Meeting/2022/CV/EN/CV-Tan-Xuguang-EN.pdf

Now this is interesting -
On the 19th April Stefan Hartung, the new chairman of Bosch Group, and Tan Xuguang, chairman and CEO of Weichai Power, held a working breakfast meeting in Shanghai.

This double underlines just how close the business relationship is between Bosch and Weichai and bodes very well for the JV.

I don't think it tells us anything about when the JV will be signed. The agreement could be at any time, with a big stage managed signing ceremony at a latter date.

The report is here
https://en.weichai.com/mtzx_422/jtdt/202304/t20230427_93021.htm

There isn't much to cheer about at the moment, its mainly lackluster or worst.
One that will explode with a big spike is CWR - just waiting on delayed news.

It may take a while Stumpy and a lot will depend on Kroger - if they continue to expand their home shopping by announcing more CF'S.

It looks like some investors decided to take profit.
A yippee moment for early buyers - well done PhilWortha.

Indeed - all investors could ask for and much more!

It seems that Ocado probably do own the Hatfield site.
Tim Steiner said this in the RNS -
"With this capacity coming online [Luton], now is the right time for us to halt operations at our oldest facility at Hatfield and consider our future options for the site"

Excellent results from Whitbread this morning - they have slowly been improving since Covid and have now dramatically improved.

Although they are in a totally different sector to M&S they have faced similar pressures to M&S through Covid and more importantly have also seen their competition fall by the wayside in much the same way as M&S.

So, I think we could see something similar from M&S later in May as their dominance in the High Street grows.

My guess is that this was pre planned - Hatfield has the oldest tech and lowest productivity.
The other messy option would have been to refurbish Hatfield but that would have reduced capacity while it was in progress and cause staffing issues.
Much better to coordinate the closure Hatfield with the opening of Luton.

Big corporates will work at their own speed, generally that's slow or very slow.
There will also be lawyers involved, going through the details of the JV for Bosch and Weichai.

I guess this was always a planned move.
Hatfield was the test bed for Ocado Solutions over the years and Luton will be the result of their endeavours.

The only other option would have been to refurbish Hatfield but that would have been a messy solution and involved a dip in volume and laying off the staff for an extended period.
Much better to do it this way.

Also now there is a valuable warehouse to repurpose or sell.

Another reason for appointing joint brokers is that they can both act as Market Makers for share trading.
This means that the market for the shares improves with a smaller spread between buy and sell.
Then volume improves - that should help drive the SP.

Very bullish
Increased dividend
Share buyback program.
Sales up 55% on 2022.
Fantastic long term hold!!!

The main problem with clothing isn't where it was fabricated but what its made with.
Both synthetic fabrics and cotton have major environmental drawbacks,
Synthetic fabrics are mainly oil based and cotton needs obscene amounts of water to be grown in drought prone regions.

As a major clothing retailer, I feel that M&S should be doing far more to develop other fabrics that will potentially be far more environmentally friendly. Until this happens I don't think they can even contemplate producing a credible environmental plan for the business.

It could then cut the amount of U-235 needed to power a nuclear plant when combined with the hydrogen production and be more efficient.
Also the reactor could be smaller, cheaper to build and decommission.
Sounds like a win win.

Would there not be safety issues with the mix of nuclear and hydrogen production?

Say it quietly, but its actually quite encouraging how quickly China is switching to renewables now, especially solar and wind.
They still have a long way to go to get rid of their dependence on coal but the signs are positive and they are developing new technology rapidly.

Regarding heavy transportation its very likely that hydrogen powered vehicles will become increasingly available over the next five years in China with a choice of fuel cell hydrogen powered vehicles and maybe hydrogen combustion light vehicles to follow. This could be the game changer for Buses and Coaches.
The tech for refueling stations is fully available and can easily be added to existing forecourts as demand builds.

Also plans are well advanced in South Korea to convert large ships to hydrogen using fuel cell technology.

Regarding Oil and Gas, the UK Government has effectively made investment in the North Sea virtually unviable with its taxation policy. The Energy Profits Levy takes a big chunk of profit as is obvious, but it also has no price floor, in other words it will still be applied if Oil and Gas prices fall to a low level.
Its unclear if this is a deliberate policy decision to combat climate change or just a political hole that Labour have pushed the Government into.

joojoo
Totally agree that its a good idea only to invest what you are happy to loose on these small cap AIM shares.
I think though, that the strategy should be allow leeway to buy when the SP dips after a fundraise, or take part in the fundraise.
To follow this strategy its imperative that the initial investment is only a comparatively small one and that you spread the investment over a number of small caps.
Also the investment has to be open ended, with no time limit, but with a potential aim to take out the profit and leave the initial investment when the stock does take off.

Now is exactly the time to buy for new and existing investors.
With the company on the brink of success and the SP at rock bottom after the fund raise.

Sure, most existing investors are down, personally I am now down 75% after buying more, but that can easily be made up when the sentiment changes as Eqtec's fortunes change.

I think the global economy will stabilise as the year goes on with inflation falling along with interest rates.

Where we are now is I think still very much dictated by the fall out from Covid and the chaos that caused globally, especially to public finances as a result of Governments bailing out the private sector and citizens.

The real question now is how much long term damage is done and that varies from nation to nation.
Most will return to normal quickly now but I do worry about the UK economy, mainly because we had a double whammy, Covid and Brexit.
The net result for I will, I think, be a general fall in living standards compared to other G7 economies for the long term.