Member Info for JohnLewis79

It could turn out to be bad news for other UK defence firms if Trump insists US firms only deal with each other. If he and Putin somehow cobble a deal together that gets Ukraine off the hook militarily, MSi might be up s*** creek without a paddle. OK we might have long'term contracts, but......?

Trump is so unpredictable one has to consider a worst case scenario and to be honest I wouldn't want to depend on our MOD to come to the rescue if Trump decides America can do without UK armaments.

I might be overreacting but ya never know?.......

M.J. Bell sold 6090 shares of Msi at 950p for a value of £57,855 on Mon 20, Jan.

Rachel from accounts who is successfully crashing the economy was along with heir apparent as the UK Ambassador to Washington, one Peter Mandelson absent from yesterday inauguration of Donald Trump.

That's not surprising given the depth of loathing by Starmer and half wit Lammy for our American cousins. I doubt Trump gives a second thought to the UK and our imbesilic Govt hell bent on wedding us to the decaying European Union.

Regrettably optimism is lacking in the UK. No sunny uplands here more downbeat chatter from Islington literati arguing over gender issues instead of how to deliver an economic recovery for the UK.

On Wall St markets were closed for Martin Luther King Day and the inauguration of the 47th President Donald J Trump. While little of Trump's decisions were forthcoming traders were relieved he would not impose China specific tariffs on his first day in office.

However US federal agencies will assess trade relations with China and neighbouring countries as a matter of urgency particularly on his idea of 'universal' tariffs and what's good for General Motors is good for American business.

He later signed orders for the development of oil and gas projects in Alaska 'Drill Baby Drill' and declared a National Emergency withdrawing the US from the 2015 Paris climate deal one of Biden's pet projects.

However there were hints from Trump about 25% tariffs on Canada & Mexico as early as Feb 1, retaking the Panama canal now run by China and the mass deporting of illegal aliens and criminal connections of the cartels. Mandelsons appointment as Ambassador to the US is now in doubt as Starmer and Lammy are considered no hopers among Trump's hard core advisors.

Meanwhile mrkts are bracing for major policy amendments and sweeping changes in US trade policy that could thrust businesses Into considerable uncertainty as Ministers gather at the worlds economic Forum in Davos.

The earnings season will kick into 2nd gear next week with reports from some major US businesses like Netflix, P&G, J&J, Amex, American Airlines and Verizon.

Latest :- Vix 16. Brent $80.

Gold $2725. Copper $4•300.

Palm $999. Silver $31•420.

$1•230. €1•184.

FF -3. DF -135.

Morning all.

US markets will be closed today for Trump's inauguration in Washington.

Asia is tracking Wall St higher this morning. The 225 closed up 435 at (38,878). Gains are across the board led by index blue chips, financials and techs.

Motors are faring well along with Banks & exporters.

Big mover Daiichi (4430 JPY) surges over 6% after the US FDA approved a breast cancer drug it developed in collaboration with Astra Zeneca. Elsewhere HK & Shanghai are trading higher while S.Korea is flat. Taiwan and Pacificas are all better in afternoon business.

In Sydney the ASX200 closed up 37 at (8348) as oils and mining were favoured though Gold's were sold off on flat prices. In other news Star Entertainment slumped over 7% after the embattled casino operator warned holders that unless it finds new sources of funding its ability to stay afloat is in question.

Some 8000 jobs are at risk as cash on hand falls to $79m. Star shares crashed to a record low of 14•5 cents as the rising cost of living crisis is keeping punters away from the tables and slot machines.

Finally JPM see oil prices moving from balance in 2024 to a surplus of 1•2m bopd in 2025 due in part to weak economic activity in China. Brent is forecast to average $74/b this year and $66/b in 2026.

Latest :- Vix 16. Brent $80.

Gold $2709. Copper $4•342.

Palm $987. Silver $31•325.

$1•221. €1•187. 10ytb 4•63%

FF -17. DF +22.

Morning all.

Wow small world though Malaya was a big country Rubber Planters were few an far between especially if you were on a northern plantation in Kota Baharu. I doubt our paths would have crossed as the majority of planters led insular lives unless you were near KL, Penang or a large town.

One of the benefits of living in London is we rarely get snow but can't escape this bloody freezing cold. Hoping we see a bit more interest in MSi heading to the year end. I looked at Concurrent but I'm not a fan of tech as I have no idea how they make their money.

and have no feel for the business.

Last time I was in a tech stock I dam nearly lost everything and suffered years of stock suspension. Eventually a reverse take over with Littlewoods /Sportech got me out of a big hole.

Morning Roger. When I left HSBC in my youth I went and worked for a British Rubber / Palm Oil company in Malaya until the Govt implemented their 'Malayanisation' scheme whereby all expats on work permits were compelled to leave the country and the running of estates were given over to Malay local managers.

I could have stayed had I married a local girl and taken up Malayan citizenship. I wasn't prepared to do this as I didn't want to lose my British Passport or citizenship.

I have remained in the UK since until my retirement.

Nyse data

Issues 2834

Advances 1707

Declines 1032

U/c 95

NH 96

NL 12

T/vol(tn) 1•1

------------

DJ +335 (43,488)

SP +59 (5997)

NS +349 (21,441)

R2 +8 (1442)

WTI $78

10ytb 4•630%

----------

MSCI(W) +31 (3778)

Gold Bugs +2 (297)

---------------

Close :- Vix 16. Brent $81.

Gold $2702. Copper $4•351.

Palm $986. Silver $31•045.

Yen 156. Yuan 7•32.

$1•217. €1•184.

Morning all.

Another quiet week which prior to today looked like being one of the lowest for vols and deals in a longtime. Once again nothing to move the shares either way outside of 2 board members gifting themselves 2 LTIP awards which had no impact.

While the ftse closed at a record high breaking the record set last May, thanks in part to a weak pound which has boosted many of the companies in the top flight index, Aim stocks languished in the u/c ytd column.

Wk 3

----

Sp 950-980

1/24 910

H 1136

L 770

7/88 113

---------

Trds 67

T/vol 47,100

Buys 25,400

Sells 21,700

Buy % 54

Av/trd 703

----------

Ytd

Msi +4%

100 +4%

250 u/c

All +2%

Aim u/c

---

Gold +4%

Oil +8%

Palm -11%

----

Wonder whether we will see any dividend income being ploughed back into the stock today?

On the subject of LTIP for directors Warren Buffet said he knew of one large US company that had 8 directors who never bought its shares with their own money. "I feel better when directors of our portfolio companies purchase shares with their savings rather than having been recipients of grants."

MSi directors have "skin in the game" from earlier purchases of company stock so have put their money where their mouths are......

Yet despite the recent very generous awards of 50,000 £nil paid to M. Bell and 25,000 £nil paid to M.O'Connell it rankles with many ordinary investors who do not have the luxury of falling back on 'freebies' to lower their avc's when things go wrong.

I also feel the timing of this is problematic being so close to reorganising news.

Are we being fed the bad news before the good as a sop? Logically I'd expect the board to have kept an Ace or two up their sleeves to counter any discontent among shareholders, not that they will get any.

On a slow day for news 2 major company stocks made the front pages. Shares in Apple ($228) fell $10 its worst day since early August following several reports of sluggish iPhone sales in China. Apple has fallen behind local manufacturers Vivo & Huawei and is the worst performer of the 'Mag 7' tech titans.

United Health's falling stock price also impacted the mrkt indexes taking the Dow down 147. United Health weighed heavily on the Dow to the tune of c.200 points after the Health insurer reported Q4 revenue below estimates. UH stock fell $33 to $511 now just 1% positive for the year so far.

Vols on US exchanges of 14•3bn fell below the 20 trading days average of 15•75bn. The 52wk top on the Dow is 45,074.

Nyse data

Issues 2840

Advances 1737

Declines 1028

U/c 75

NH 73

NL 26

T/vol(m) 902

------------

DJ -68 (43,153)

SP -13 (5937)

NS -147 (21,091)

R2 +4 (1434)

WTI $79

10ytb 4•616%

----------

MSCI(W) +2 (3747)

Gold Bugs -1 (295)

---------------

Latest :- Vix 16. Brent $82.

Gold $2711. Copper $4•461.

Palm $993. Silver $31•565.

FF +39. DF +64.

Morning all.

I agree Roger, were so starved of news we have to make our 'own fun' so to speak. I have a small interest in RR and on that board they speak a language I'm completely unfamiliar as it rarely relates to the share price. We may be small in nos but long on relevant MSi comment and knowledge.

OK, understood.

Hi pharmhall the board own nearly 65% of the outstanding (inc Fleming Investment) which leaves them in control. So there's not a lot of free shares about because of the high volume of churning going on.

I like you am sitting on a very decent return and have no intention of selling at this distressed price. There's too much good news to come for any silly short-term profit taking.

Below forecast US inflation report provided a much needed shot of relief to investors and revived hopes for rate cuts this year. The ceasefire deal between Hamas and Israel sparked the optimistic mood among investors.

Data on Wednesday showing core consumer prices rose less than expected helped strike a surge in stocks led by tech titans Nvidia, Amazon & Google boosting the Nsdq nearly 500 points. Healthy reports from GS, JPM & Chase who all posted increased profits in Q4 also lifted sentiment with traders pricing in a cut in rates in July.

0n the DJI top 30 stocks only 7 declined led by Salesforce, Boeing & Coca Cola. Going up GS, Amex, Nvidia & Home Depot. Ytd the Dow is up nearly 2% with 1% points gains on the 500 and Nsdq. The domestically focused small cap index climbed 2%.

Nyse data

Issues 2837

Advances 2370

Declines 434

U/c 33

NH 78

NL 23

T/vol(tn) 1•1

------------

DJ +703 (43,222)

SP +107 (5950)

NS +480 (21,238)

R2 +23 (1431)

WTI $80

10ytb 4•661%

----------

MSCI(W) +62 (3744)

Gold Bugs +1 (296)

--------------

Latest :- Vix 16. Brent $82.

Gold $2694. Copper $4•397.

Palm $1039. Silver $31•585.

$1•221. €1•187.

FF +26. DF +46.

Morning all.

Wk 3 not 4

Nyse data

Issues 2845

Advances 2118

Declines 662

U/c 65

NH 42

NL 50

T/vol(tn) 1•0

------------

DJ +221 (42,518)

SP +7 (5843)

NS -27 (20,757)

R2 +19 (1408)

WTI $78

10ytb 4•782%

----------

MSCI(W) +4 (3682)

Gold Bugs +8 (294)

---------------

Latest :- Vix 19. Brent $80.

Gold $2679. Copper $4•333.

Palm $1024. Silver $30•385.

$1•220. €1•185.

FF +20. DF +27.

Morning all.

I've lived in South London for many a year the last time I crossed the river to N.London was 15 years ago. Contact me when your next in the area. As for the board schlepping up free shares which is an absolute no no as far as I'm concerned they better make sure the f/y nos warrant their largess!! Warren Buffet never pocketed freebies!!

Yea I live not far from Crystal Palace shame we could have met for a beer.....