Member Info for jds15

Fender you called it right. Some have been badly bruised and I think now you need to stop patting yourself on the back, old chap! I used to work in financial pr and IR. Retail analysts like Nick Bubb and others were extremely smart and hardworking. Their research was original and they understood retail. Your image of this current generation is wildly misleading. I have seen how good analysts really get under the bonnets of companies they follow. If they were no good at what they do they would not be paid £1m plus a year nor would their clients listen to them!

Everybody has been caught out by a chancellor who blatantly lied to business leaders by telling them she was pro growth etc and then not just hitting their bottom lines but by screwing up the jobs market. As I said I am here because MKS is a bloody good company. It's exceptionally well managed and is the leader of the pack in its segment. Its demographic is the least likely to be impacted by a downturn and with the projected interest rate drops over the months ahead we shall see a more positive SP . If that doesn't happen the wolves will be gathering around MKS. At around £7b it would be easy to to lure buyers of this outstanding and exceptional retailer. Fender no offence but try to think of those who bought in hope and that dashed. Me? I am in for the next few years and expect to see 900p in 3 years or a bid coming along

Whatever people spout about keeping a great British brand quoted and British the fact is that this company is now an agreed bid target. Blackrock had added substantially to its holding is sitting on a massive paper loss and they are not alone. As for the 30% of retail investors they seem to spend their time trading the stock. It's hardly the stuff of loyalty. Yes, we can all blame the macro climate but this company is now seriously undervalued. A contested bid is a non-runner but an agreed bid with the management team in place and massively incentivised makes sense. Sadly, all the heavy lifting has been done and the market still doesn't believe the story. It would be a brand that would sit culturally and neatly with the owners of Fortnum and Mason who having sold Selfridges and sitting on a pile of cash

I bought at 250 in May with a 4 year window. Fender I bow to your intuition on this. You got it spot on. I think you might be a bit harsh on the analysts. The ones following are all working for big houses and know retail pretty well. They are not the typical kid but quite hard nosed. They stand and fall on their estimates and they are going to look really bad if Stuart comes out with £880 and the price falls back. Jan, Feb and March are awful months and probably there will be some QE. If the share price is minus 300 at the time of the results then the big institutional holders will get cold feet and be amenable to approaches. It would never be a contested bid but the perfect buy would be Wittington Investments. A marriage made in heaven!

Superb idea and one we will all welcome

I agree

I fall into that segment and so does my wife. The idea of being able to plonk the basket down and rapidly seeing the results will be a near life changer. It will simplify things for older people not wanting to scan each item. Amazing idea. M&S customers of all ages are smart and educated and used to cashless transactions

Fender or other pundits.....how much further can our revered retailer SP fall too. Seems like the SP needs a turnaround strategy or a bit of help from Mrs Reeves!

When the left quote Voltaire you know its hogwash. The Left want to control and govern every aspect of our lives. The Left loves big, bossy government

I agree. We need a Trump here

Most politicians borrow other people's money!

He has created thousands of jobs which is more than I, and I am sure you, have ever created. Most Americans give to charity for tax reasons and how do you know he hasn't? Perhaps your visceral dislike is because you are democrat?

Well said!

PJT12 Spot on.

When I was a 23 year old I worked at Conservative Central Office in the West Midlands in a lowly job. A few years before she became PM she visited the W.Midlands. I was told by bosses to drive her to various locations. At the time I had a beat up old Mazda but she didn't mind. When we arrived in Coventry we were greeted by the Socialist Workers Group who yelled every sort of obscenity. I was quite shocked and when we got back in the car I said how awful it was. I will NEVER forget this sort of luminosity in her face. She said, " My dear, I love it. When they shout and scream at me it means they are frightened

of me". She knew being loved by useless people was a weakness. Also, though I was a mere cipher she treated me kindly. They don't make English women like that any more!

EXACTLY...he has commonsense and an understanding of getting things done

I don't think Trump believes tariffs will help public finances. What he wants to do is bring back manufacturing rather than allowing the Chinese to state subsidise manufacturing at the expense of the US. It is not a level playing.

As far as the UK is concerned there will never be a political will to deal with public finances. Do you seriously expect this gov to take the knife to public spend? There would be blood on the streets if i tried. It thinks it can tax the wealth creators-large and small to fund the gap but they are all hightailing it off to warmer climes. Labour think they can tax its way to growth. That won't work. Tony Blair got that. This human rights lawyer and his chancellor have not a clue

PJT 12....could not agree more. The last more or less 90% honest politician was Thatcher.

Courdelion don't you feel all politicians use the cover of honesty to blame their predecessor/s: the Tories did it and now Lab does it! As the great Doctor Johnson is quoted, 'the more he talks of honesty the faster I count my spoons'.

This government is as rampantly dishonest as the previous and we should give no quarter. It conned British business into believing it was pro-growth and promptly shafted it. As an amusing aside I am trying to persuade The Times to run a story on Labour supporting Michael Eavis and his Glastonbury Festival. He transferred the farm to his daughter knowing that his £5 million farm would be hit hard. Ah, but you will say they give £5m to charity( He used £3.8m of profit to buy more land). The reality is that he could give all the profits to charity but HMRC could claim that the farm is intrinsic to the Festival and a PE company or a Disney would pay over £200m for the brand value. So, why have the Eavis family never set the farm/festival as a charity this avoiding IHT? Sorry for the diversion but it relates back to honesty

Not sure how we correlate Brexit with MKS's SP price. As for Trump I can quite see why he would want to put the USA first in face of Chinese economic warfare.

We reap what we sow!

Thanks Fender reciprocated. I use to live in SW France and loved it but like you I would not buy again. Too much responsibility and always something to fix. My plan is to leave in 3-4 years and live off investment income. This country will never change and that is the fault of Lab and Con.

As for Trustpilot...it's a complete farce. A corrupt business practice