Member Info for madrugada

This company is always promising an improvement in trading conditions. The management needs to be replaced immediately. They are incompetent. Bad weather is always a factor but that should be calculated into accounts. However, the emergence of low cost airlines as another excuse is a new one. How long have low cost airlines existed? Surely, the time has come for management to consolidate operations into those that are viable and to exit ones that are not. It seems the huge sell off today is the result of investors losing patience with the management.

Sentiment is justifiably negative in the outsourcing sector. Serco was one of the first to fall and it will be the first to recover. Better management in place with a focus on securing profitable contracts. Didn�t Soames warn about another outsourcer having problems in his interview?

Does any know what the situation is regarding patient referals from the NHS? This was one of the issues regarding the share price fall.

The fifty million shares have been bought by institutions at 157. Permira own 17.7% now. The implications are that other financial institutions have bought 5% of the company at 157. I expect the share price will climb back up over the coming weeks.

Good news for a change. I think the company’s shares were oversold. The mess at Carillion didn’t help sentiment and Soames wasn’t exactly slapping his chest with optimism. The trading update is positive. Don’t forget this share was trading at 145p a year ago. I think the share price will recover and surpass that level next year.

i don't think the results justify such a negative reaction. After all, profits are up. Perhaps, it's the decline in the order book that is a concern. But that's always the case. Sentiment is negative at the moment, especially after ULE reported poor results. Even companies that deliver good results are sold off. I think there will be consolidation in the defence industry.

You do realise that the reason why the share price has dived to this level is because of the number of loss making contracts signed without proper due diligence? Hopefully, they won�t repeat the same mistakes.

I don�t think it�s such a negative that the company decided to withdraw from bidding in the Middle East. Look at Carillion. Their ME contracts cost them millions; the parameters being constantly changed. It�s one thing to get a contract and another to make money on it in the ME.

I think the time has come to replace Jes Staley. His strategy of focusing on investment banking isn�t working and it�s clear that Barclays can�t compete with the large US banks. The shambles and incompetence displayed over the SmartInvestor move shows just how out of touch Staley is. I don�t recall him apologising or admitting blame for the shambles. He was just anonymous. Very poor leadership. He has failed.

Can someone tell me how to set up the memorable word access on the Smartinvestor site. I gave up trying to contact Barclays. What a mess. People should be fired for this. Why change something that worked well? It's not just the idiots who designed this who are incompetent but the directors who approved this. Heads should roll!

It was the Korean crisis last week that was the catalyst for the FTSE pull back. People are on holiday and August is a slow month. Then there is the uncertainty and concern about the government's policy regarding betting terminals and the impact it will have on profits if the staking amount is reduced. The government desperately needs the revenue and i can't see them being draconian. After all, isn't smoking and alcohol just as bad? Why don't they increase the tax on a packet of fags to 20 quid? One has to be patient. The share price will recover.

The share price has been held back by the fear that the government will impose drastic restrictions on in shop machines which will hurt profits. Those calling for drastic restrictions will be disappointed. The government needs money. Bookies are golden eggs. They might impose a stricter code of conduct in the form of warnings to be more visible to punters or a small reduction from the £100 maximum bet. They certainly won't want to cause shop closures and industry contraction. I think the business update on Thursday will be quite positive. Sporting results have been in bookmakers favour recently.

The results are good and normally warrant a share price increase of a few percent but the market has been in a negative mood since Tuesday. HSBC's results seem to have soured sentiment. Companies that reported ok results have seen there share prices fall. Is market sentiment turning?

I thought the results were decent. A profit of £7 million, compared to a loss last year, increase in new business and yet the shares suffer a 10% decline? In 2018 the dividend will be reduced to bolster investment. What's wrong with that? I've been a holder for five years. It pays a decent dividend. It's not a share to trade.

Where did you get the idea that the Chinese economy is run by Fawlty Tower characters? The media and governments manipulate news flow and instigate conflict We have this arrogance, particularly in the UK, that we are superior in intellect and abilities. It's just not the case.

So it's down today because of a threatened downgrade. BHP is down because it has been. Logical! What use are these agencies when the commodity slump has been going on for over a year. Has the bottom of the commodity cycle has been reached? I think this is a very good buying price.

What's the position with the dividend? Will that be paid? If one calculates the dividend from the IPO how much are we down?

I would imagine that they would calculate the increase in labour costs into future contracts. As any business would. Serco does pay it's staff above the living wage.

Isn't this still worth buying if a bid comes in around 530-550?

Could Swiss Re be considering a takeover? Suddenly this is 20% cheaper due to the increase i the value of the franc.