Member Info for jimjam

not my ****.

****stan, another try. jj

****stan/ iran; palestine/israel; russia/ukraine; biden/trump; to name but a few. at any time one of these could lead to ww3. markets hate uncertainty. there is so much talk of increasing expenditure on the 'war machine'. the western leaders seem to think right is on their side when they will know from history that believing you have right/ god on your side is the sure fire way of having more wars. love and not war, jj

Good afternoon. Yesterday I went into M&S in Reading with no particular aim in my mind, but between us we spent about £200, could easily have spent more, and she signed up for a credit card, which amazingly was immediately operational. Anyone holding shares here is recommended to pay your nearby M&S a visit. It was well set out, plenty of other customers, and attentive staff without being pushy. My girlfriend had until now been convinced that it was the place for food and underwear but finished up saying lets come back next week. Its cold right now but M&S felt most warming for Gill and me. JJ

Eccles, there are investors who choose to ignore any dividends in the belief that they are looking for capital growth in a short time period. Until recently I have myself always reinvested any dividend income. I hold a small investment in TSCO because I view it as having 'recovery potential' and could very well outperform in the next twelve months. I also hold MNG which pays a high dividend but would on no account consider it appropriate to compare TSCO with MNG. I also hold some AIM stocks that don't pay a dividend and are viewed by me as an outright gamble with money that I can afford to lose. Its not appropriate for me, or you to tell anyone how to invest, and certainly not on this bb. Good luck with your investments. JJ

Toffee it struck me as very clear in terms of message and amounts to free advertising. She mentioned the age group which will have been listening to the prog. I have been trying get people I know to give M&S another look . The over 50's, I'm one, can be conservative in changing direction. BBC spot will do more than any advertising, which they tend to ignore. However they may give a fresh look at M&S now. Atb JJ

Brilliant promotion, must listen. JJ

Agreed Carrington. I'm noticing that some women are not yet convinced; even going in to buy their underwear but not looking around. M&S got such a bad reputation for being 'frumpy' that it will take time to change the view. JJ

Good article in the Times today which certainly helped me to understand just how well M&S are doing. We could well see this on the rise next week. That assumes 'someone' does not see fit to start WWIII. JJ

Smiler using 'fantastic' was me being sarcastic; every little helps though. It causes investors to see MKS in a fresh light. JJ

Fforest, brilliant. I lived for a few years in Macc. JJ

Sorry Toffee fear of War could impact the whole market. As Neil might say I "hope" not.

I love peace and pray for that. JJ

Toffee I strongly believe we will recover this Friday and you can cheer yourself with the fantastic dividend. JJ

Look after the pennies and the pounds take care of themselves. Better buy JDW. JJ

Hi Chilting I can offer a survey of one, me. Henley Waitrose is a 'tired store' but is well used because the car park is inexpensive, and allows you to park free for one hour. The store is next to the well respected Regal Cinema, with a public library at the other end of the car park. The nearest M&S is 10 miles away in Reading, High Wycombe, or food in Marlow. The Tesco is one mile away with free parking, and a car wash on site. I have noticed some of my neighbours who have been shopping in the Waitrose now also use the Tesco. The freshness of the veg in Tesco is much better than Waitrose with a much better choice.

Henley is one of 4 Waitrose stores that I use from time to time. Henley is the least satisfactory which suggests to me that it is being run down to be sold off. The same happened in Marlow, which is now a very smart Lidl. Sorry if all the detail proves boring but I care about retail and believe the customer is all important deserving of the best possible service and product. JJ

Oh dear Neil, you are basing your strategy on 'hope'. Yesterday I indicated the share could drop 3/5% and is currently exceeding that. I am still thinking M&S has done ok but they are going to need to work harder and smarter in the coming year to produce outstanding performance.

Waitrose have published the fact that they are planning to sell some of their stores. I believe MKS should cherry pick the ones that will fit with their strategy and go for it. The link between Waitrose and JL is not that strong and the latter needs funds to follow their stated strategy. JJ

Joey in April '21 AP bought 25m shares which I could now buy for £30,000; this suggests he was wrong and on paper at least has lost £2m. Without some concrete positive news this share currently represents a 'gamble' unless you have the skill needed to day trade, and even then its quite risky. JJ

A sea of uncertainty is how I view VAST just now. Can they manage or reduce their debts through increases in production? If the elusive diamonds get sold will it improve the profile of VAST and reassure investors? Litigation costs, will they cripple VAST or can they be recouped if the outcome is favourable to VAST. Right now it is a good moment to sit on your hands pending the next 'wise words' from AP.

Will 2024 be the year that VAST proves the sceptics wrong? JJ

Could we have a debate here? The figures today are not so impressive when inflation is taken into account? Our clothing performance can be compared with NXT hence scope for improvement? TSCO managed to steer their customers toward more profitable products, possibly at the expense of M&S? International is a distraction/liability. MKS should offer to buy some of the Waitrose stores; not wait until they are put on the market but be proactive. I have in mind the store in Henley on Thames. My view is that we should be more demanding of MKS. In the last week my email inbox has been inundated with M&S promotions which suggests to me that the bod realise that their performance has not been 'excellent'. JJ

Well done TSCO, very impressed. JJ

More progress but C&H could have done better, online growing nicely, is how I see it. Now to see how the markets view it. I will not be surprised if M&S are down on the day. JJ