Member Info for jange

Mondi (MNDI) Director name: Mr Peter Oswald Amount sold: 40,000 @ 844.50p Value: 337,800

Mondi (MNDI) Director name: Mr Peter Oswald Amount sold: 42,756 @ 846.00p Value: 361,716

Mondi (MNDI) Director name: Mr David A Hathorn Amount sold: 89,752 @ 842.49p Value: 756,143

Top Director Sells Mondi (MNDI) Director name: Mr Peter Oswald Amount sold: 92,683 @ 842.49p Value: 780,836

Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) Director name: Mr Andrew Halford Amount purchased: 3,000 @ 377.30p Value: 11,319

Digital Barriers (DGB) Director name: Mr Zak Doffman Amount purchased: 63,800 @ 186.64p Value: 119,076

What could this means for the other banks? We believe the biggest signal of change from Barclays' update could potentially be the group's increased disclosure and transparency. This is a change politicians will welcome and one they hope will also be announced by other UK banks. Less popular with politicians is if the other banks carry out similar costs cutting plans, such as announcing additional job losses. As with Barclays, it appears likely the other UK banks will have to make further provisions for both PPI and the LIBOR scandal, whilst also reporting lower bad debts, although declining at a slowing pace. We believe the most important news could surround intended dividend payments. Analysts continue to hope for the introduction of a token dividend payment at Lloyds Banking Group in 2013. Any introduction of a dividend from Lloyds could help the government sell or reduce its share stake. Whilst further dividend increases are expected at both HSBC and Standard Chartered. How can you stay informed?

The question now is what CSR does with its strong cash-flow. The last big deal, the $233m purchase of Zoran, was in mid-2011, and though there is probably the odd technology concern the company would not mind picking up, there is no sign of another such on the horizon. Since it started buying back shares in 2010, the company has returned $416.4m before the latest exercise. Yet it had $333m in the bank at the year end. CSR says it will review the situation once the latest buyback is completed. The reckoning must be that more will be returned. The shares have had a good run; on about 15 times earnings they look like good long-term value, but no reason to chase for now. Buy on the (inevitable) weakness, says The Times's Tempus.

CSR yesterday released higher than expected numbers, and the decision to return $50m to investors by means of a share buyback sent the shares racing ahead by 47¼p to 432¾p. The chip maker also put out a forecast for first-quarter revenues of $215m to $235m, again ahead of expectations. All of the above is in large part the result of the recent restructuring of the firm the effects of which are not yet all in the figures. Analysts expect to see another large rise in operating profits this year to just under $100m.

That said, there are headwinds blowing the way of UK bookmakers. The Government earlier this month introduced a 20 per cent tax on profits from gaming machines and Ladbrokes has also reported signs the machines market "is becoming more competitive." While Mr Glynn is optimistic on the digital business, he also includes the caveat that there is "much still to do" in order to transform that division. Ladbrokes's shares, which trade on a current price-to-earnings multiple of 13, are at a discount to its rival William Hill. However, Questor doesn't yet feel confident enough to shorten the odds and upgrade to buy. Hold, Questor says.

Pre-tax profit grew 49.1 per cent to 200.7m pounds in the 12 months to December 31st at Ladbrokes, as the chain's betting shops - of which there are almost 2,200 in the UK - continued to draw in punters. The bookie yesterday declared a final dividend of 4.6p a share, taking the full-year pay-out to shareholders to 8.9p, up 14.1 per cent. With the long-awaited launch of the new website just around the corner and a lot of football results still going the bookies' way in January, there is plenty of cause for optimism. Ivor Jones, an analyst at Numis, points out that with net debt - which stood at 386.9m pounds at the end of the year, down 67m pounds - now at 1.5 times earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation, Ladbrokes is in a position to "at least" carry on raising the dividend.

Meanwhile, TR Property is a reliable income payer, and its shares trade at a 14 per cent discount to the latest book value of 212p. That's wide by the standards of the high-quality real-estate investment trusts that it owns.........BUT AS ALWAYS DYOR AND GOODLUCK.......

Perhaps the biggest risk faced by Mr Phayre-Mudge is that market sentiment improves, so investors turn to cheaper, messier companies. There have been hints of a rotation this year. This could remove the premium rating from safe-haven players such as Derwent (DLN) and Great Portland (GPOR) - both of which are overweight in TR portfolio. Yet, so far there has been more talk of risk-taking than action. And even if rotation does happen, property values in general should benefit. Besides, investors may not begrudge Mr Phayre-Mudge underperformance of TR's benchmark if he is still making good returns. Share tip sum

Mr Turner retired in March 2011, to be replaced by his long-term deputy, Marcus Phayre-Mudge. It remains to be seen whether Mr Phayre-Mudge will prove as adept a thinker as his predecessor. In the volatile 22 months since he took over, the fund has underperformed the European benchmark for property shares. But that's not long enough to judge a manager and the trust's long-term record, for which Mr Phayre-Mudge is partly responsible, shows substantial outperformance. Over the past five years, which have not been kind to property investors, that outperformance can be attributed to a focus on quality - particularly balance sheet quality. The managers have been right, it turns out, to avoid companies and countries with high levels of debt. TR Property itself is modestly geared, with net debt of just £36m on a £483m portfolio, and Mr Phayre-Mudge closely monitors 'see through' net debt - the gearing to which the fund is exposed through its holdings. They have also been right to focus on those markets with structural growth, even if the relevant companies trade on punchy ratings. These include London, Stockholm, German housing and pan-regional shopping malls.

Second, liquid portfolios are invaluable in a crisis. When the property market showed signs of turning in late 2007, TR Property's then manager, Chris Turner, could adapt his portfolio quickly. He sold off stocks with higher gearing and used the proceeds to pay off the company's own debt. Land Securities could do little but hope for the best as its portfolio deflated. Nobody expects a re-run of the 2007-09 property crash any time soon. But in today's polarised property markets - some are booming while most remain distressed - the flexibility of a diversified, liquid portfolio remains attractive. If you want hassle-free, low-risk exposure to European property, TR Property is a useful stock.

If you bought £100-worth of shares in Land Securities (LAND) a decade ago and spent the dividends, your capital would be worth just £112. If, instead, you had stashed your cash in TR Property (TRY), an investment trust that owns a basket of property shares, you would now have £205. There are two lessons. First, it really can pay to diversify. TR Property's largest holding in 2007 was Land Securities. Yet, because it owned shares in plenty of other companies, it weathered the property crash.

As a major value-for-money player, Wetherspoon is particularly sensitive to cost pressures. Profit forecasts are also sensitive to a slowdown in sales growth. Broker Liberum says a 1 per cent change in sales leads to a 10 per cent change in EPS. While Wetherspoon may benefit from consumers trading down, the big worry is that there will simply be less trade to win in 2013. So, lower-than-expected sales growth plus rising costs is a combination that could really hit Wetherspoon's share price. And another worry - Wetherspoon's shares are already rated higher than any of its listed rivals...........but as always dyor gl

And it is not just flagging demand and increased competition between pub chains that is a concern. Cost increases, partially driven by higher tax on drinks, are a constant problem for pubs operators. With cheap meals becoming an increasingly important part of the sales mix, food price inflation is another issue. That said, only 31 per cent of sales of Wetherspoon's revenue comes from food sales, making it one of the least exposed pub operators to this growing segment of trade, according to broker Liberum Capital.

Yet 2013 is shaping up to be another tough year for leisure companies and the pub sector's 'value' players may need to sacrifice more profit, even while they find sales growth harder to come by. Recent data for January from the Coffer Peach tracker makes for worrying reading. The monthly survey, which is compiled from sales data from 25 leading pub and restaurant chains (although not Wetherspoon), suggests times are tough. Part of the 2.4 per cent like-for-like fall in January can be explained by horrid weather, but Peter Martin of Peach Factory, a consultancy, says: "The underlying trend is of a tightening eating- and drinking-out market. These figures represent a downward trend [since August]. It is increasingly becoming a fight for market share.

Part of the strong performance reflects investors' enthusiasm for what should be recovery stocks, but it may also reflect Wetherspoon's sales growth. In the first 11 weeks of the second quarter, like-for-like sales rose 8 per cent and total sales were up 11 per cent; and for the 24 weeks to 13 January like-for-likes were up almost 8 per cent. Yet, now there are signs that the market is getting nervous about Wetherspoon's prospects; that's based on a 2.6 per cent fall in its share price over the past three months compared with an 18 per cent rise for the sector.