Member Info for mark-expat

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Bxnc78psZA http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guarantee The marked spot to shoot at did not inspire , the police a another, politicians on the 'Z' list at best , you are best also aware that LSE are out of the FTSE 100 on the next shuffle and 'had' to pull out against ICAP....

Bandit.tt has pointed out the fact that shorters are turning their attention to insurers and for the following main reasons Corporate Bond Exposures Concerns over Capital Buffers Questionable Dividend Policies going forward Whilst OML has , hopefully , put to rest the need for a RI to sure up its balance sheet by not declaring a dividend , this , whilst one or the other was expected , underlines how the market has priced in such with OML's recent sharp declines in SP being demonstrated. OML retains significant Corporate Bond Exposure in the US and such investments will remain a concern going forward. Increasing its stake in Nedbank can be viewed , like the change of dividend policy, as good or bad depending on which side of the fence you view such. Putting such issues aside , it does look like they have generally got some housecleaning done that should bode well for 2009 and should 2009 provide another c.£1b pre tax profit with their Nedbank stake also worth c.£1b , I would say that OML have little downside , however , currency swings and the risk of continued corporate bond investment deterioration and further contraction within their marketplace , will , imo , prevent these from racing away. The decline in the indices will also naturally weigh on OML , but I see no real reason for these to continue fall further than inline with such overall retreat given their recent results , gl

with respect , disagree

just looking to short now

..... caution , buy a few if you must , but wait a week before digging in. I have no financial interest , I have no position. I am tempted but see this as a total play off , a 25% swing either way , so , do what your instinct tells you , but I see 8 as a buy , imo.

.. this just adds to my retained previous holdings, all at lows and retained only from profit.

... I have sold out keeping powder dry leaving in profit for divi.

a clear example of loading up heavy on minimal risk.

.. HFTH , I am taking more than an active interest in Mexico , thats my heads up.

... my gut feeling is that recent global lows in equities has , in general, triggered a general bear rally , how long this may continue and whether the bulls eventually take over is guesswork at best. The fact that financials have welcomed HMG and other counterparts in clearly further supporting banks rather than nationalising is welcomed news , for now , however , how this filters through to actually stimulating economies globally , ie. everybody rushing out and grabbing cheap monies and then spending it , is a another. My personal heads up is shorting Mexican stocks as I consider that a full blown cival war is on the verge of breaking out and that CKSN is a worthy investment if you are happy to see c.8 as a possible downside should the bears get their way. .

Andy Haste, Group CEO of RSA, commented: "In a year of challenging trading conditions and volatile investment markets, we have once again delivered strong results and have strengthened the Group's net asset and regulatory capital position. These results continue to demonstrate the positive impact of our tight operational and financial management and the benefit of the Group's strong and diversified portfolio." Strong Group performance * Net written premiums of £6.5bn, up 11% * Combined operating ratio of 94.5% * Operating result of £867m, up 7% * Profit before tax of £759m, up 13% * Shareholders' funds of £3.8bn, up 25% * IGD surplus up 13% to £1.7bn, representing coverage of 2.5x Delivery against strategic objectives * Strong results in challenging trading and economic conditions * Continuing to take the right action on rate and expenses * New UK expense savings target of £70m to be delivered by mid 2010, at a cost of £80m * Maintaining tight financial management * Strong balance sheet and capital position Outlook * Final dividend increased 10% to 4.98p, giving a full year dividend increase of 10% * Combined operating ratio for 2009 expected to be around 95%

Baillie Gifford selling , Simba and Susqehanna now on the list of shorters in at c. 0.45% of shares in issue each. At least 8 known hedge funds on the back of shorting this... settled at 11.25 on close , at least it is getting closer to the bottom , that's for sure and if they all start buying back at the same time , could be an interesting bounce. I can't see CKSN being worthless and am moving up to monitoring trades via Direct Market Access from tomorrow and will post if I see any patterns emerging as this is now becoming close to a petty cash acquisition for a suitor!

Whilst no doubt the continued downward pressure of the FTSE has not helped , a possible bidding war for LCH.Clearnet may also be weighing LSE down , likewise with ICAP , being the 2 parties involved with different consortiums reviewing possible bids. LSE is clearly under pressure to continue to review and reduce its pricing structures to compete with an array of different products being made available to traders within its marketplace and whilst I would see LSE rise on any bear rally , these factors , imo , will prevent them from running away too high.Like many stocks , lower highs on any rallies is to be expected and viewed upon as an opportunity to sell in todays economic climate , gl

... looks like the demand for diamonds is continuing to fall deeply. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7906425.stm Whilst not directly related to GEMD , this pretty much answers your question. No doubt further falls in GEMD may well continue , but as fatrat and others have stated , a good stock to keep a close eye on as this should recover strongly 'when' our great expected recovery arrives, gl

...as you say , seems to be a fair amount of published short positioned opened. Investec , UBS ,Jefferies Guevoura ,Trafalgar , Cazenova , BlackRock , to name a few! Panmure have of course a sell note and 11.75 price target recently issued. The dumping of the stock on the RI news was expected but it was the subsequent rally that I found most difficult to understand , anyway it looks like the funds have read this one well , seeing sub 12 now , maybe 10 is the target.

almost a year ago .. it would appear that RSA's c.7% investment exposure to equities have held them up well , the downside is that it is invested more so in government bonds (c.£12.5b) and with the likely yield on these bonds continuing to diminish , these will have an effect on earnings somewhere along the line. However , with the majority of its revenues now based abroad , the depreciation of the pound should counter any such effects. I really can't see anything to otherwise sway expected results one way or the other and consider that results later this week should be in line. Results for RSA and other financials later this week. If you are looking for a long term play with a safe as you can predict in todays market dividend yield of c.6% at current SP, then keep your eyes open on these - has seen c.115 in last 6 months , gl

... looks like CKSN is falling in sympathy with MGCR .

Other life assurers were also unsteady, with Prudential falling 18½ to 261p on continued speculation that it may hold a rights issue to finance an acquisition of AIG's Asian assets. Sources said first-round bids for the business are due in at the end of the month.

... indeed , an interesting ride. I am currently without position but am poised to buy in again , just want to see whether these start to settle or just sway , currently 18 , so will wait out , gl.

Standard and Poor's credit downgrade , etc. http://www.rte.ie/business/2009/0213/banks.html