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Sticking with the them of directors buying shares in their own companies, Midas also noted that Tony Rice, chief executive of Cable & Wireless Communications (CWC), has acquired 4.5m shares in the telecoms firm for £1.5m since late February. CWC is an international phone group, with operations in Panama, Macau, Monaco, the Caribbean, the Falklands, Jersey and the Isle of Man. Rice admitted in February that Panama had had a disappointing 2011 and growth in the Caribbean had been sluggish. However, other regions have made good progress. CWC shares were trading at 45p before the February announcement and are now 32.25p. Rice is enthusiastic and there might be some mileage in the stock at current levels, but this is not a share for the cautious or for investors who lack patience, Midas reckons.

Whittaker is also deputy chairman of Capital Shopping Centres (CSC) after Peel sold the Trafford Centre in Manchester to it in return for a 20% stake. CSC achieved 97% occupancy levels last year and core rental income rose 31% to £364m. It also has plans to extend malls and buy land. CSC has fallen from 390p to 322p since the Trafford Centre deal was completed in January 2011, but Whittaker clearly expects the price to rise from here as he recently spent £3.2m topping up his CSC stake. Midas in the Mail On Sunday reckons it could be worth following Whittaker's lead and buying a few shares.

Sorry and the rest .... There could be a small complication, however. The French state owns just over a third of GDF stock. Albert Frère, the billionaire, is the next biggest investor with 5%. They both agreed to support GDF’s offer at 390p. If Gérard Mestrallet, GDF’s chief executive, wants to go higher, he will need their blessing first.

Directors at the UK energy company International Power last week rejected a bid of 390p a share from GDF Suez, its majority investor. Danny Fortson in the Sunday Times reckons few put much credence in GDF Suez's threat to abandon the idea of taking full control. The smart money is betting a modest bump to the price of, say 10p or 15p, will be enough to win the day. Indeed, last week Invesco Perpetual and Capital Group, its two largest shareholders (aside from GDF, of course) began selling shares at about 400p.

On Wednesday, Dunelm is scheduled to issue a third quarter interim management statement according to Panmure Gordon, which is forecasting a 2.5% increase in like-for-like sales, as the bedding, curtains and cushions seller starts running up against soft comparative figures from a year earlier. "We have written before about competitor weakness in the space from which Dunelm can benefit. The other side of this coin is that Next, despite double digit like for like sales declines in its standalone Home Stores in FY2012 [fiscal 2012], is investing the lion’s share of its FY2013E and FY2014E capex [capital expenditure] in these stores, sharing our view that growth is imminent in the sub-sector following a down period of at least 18 months," Panmure Gordon said. "As a reminder, like for like sales grew by 3.8% in Q2 [second quarter of] 2012, vs. a 4.2% snow affected decline in the prior year. When most other retailers were reporting pressure at gross margin level over the Christmas trading period, Dunelm grew its gross margin by 10bp [basis points; 100 bp = one percentage point] in Q2 2012. Dunelm’s year end is June," the broker added.

Johnson Service Group Sell 05-Apr-12 £13,487.83 Paul Ogle 44,880 @ 30.05p Johnson Service Group Sell 05-Apr-12 £13,487.83 Chris Sander 44,880 @ 30.05p Johnson Service Group Sell 05-Apr-12 £13,367.62 Yvonne Monaghan 44,480 @ 30.05p

Lord Wolfson of Aspley Guise, Chief Executive of High Street retailer Next, has made his first sale since March 2007 in a move which triggered a widespread sale of the company's shares. Wolfson, who has stood at the helm of the chain store since 2001, sold off 125,000 shares at 3,057p each for a total of £3.8m shares, taking his stake in the firm down to 0.9%. The share price is now back where it began the week, around the 2,976p mark, having risen above 3,060p before diving to 2,990p on Wednesday morning.

UBS upgrades Micro Focus International from neutral to buy, target price 525p.

Canaccord Genuity upgrades EMIS Group to buy, target price 619p.

Nomura has initiated buy on Shire, target price 2,300p.

Panmure Gordon downgrades Booker Group from buy to hold, target price unchanged at 81p.

Numis downgrades Halfords Group from hold to reduce, target price cut from 290p to 275p.

Mr. Phelps commented, "The drilling and channel sampling results received from the Omagh property continue to exceed expectations. We've an aggressive drilling program, with six rigs at work. An Independent Interim Resource Statement is in preparation and expected to be ready by the end of May. Results from the continuing drilling program will carry forward to an updated assessment expected at the end of 2012. The planning for an underground mine is progressing well, with consultants reports regarding the Environmental Impact Assessment anticipated within a month."

nvestec cuts target from 150p to 145p, buy rating kept.

Jefferies maintains buy recommendation and 133p target

Merchant Securities maintains sell rating and 85p target.

Jefferies raises target from 60p to 80p, underperform rating kept

hmmmmmmmmm very enticing price now unless the market knows something we dont. 70% of Chinese Companies have apparently missed their profit targets - is HAIK one of them? I think I will dabble here soon.

Charles Wilson, Booker Chief Executive, said: "Booker continues to make good progress. Customer satisfaction for choice, price and service has improved and we are serving 22,000 more customers than last year. This has helped the Group increase sales by over £260m in the past 52 weeks. Our plans to Focus, Drive and Broaden the business remain on track."

Quarter Four Trading Update Booker, the UK's leading food wholesaler, is pleased to announce that total sales in the 12 weeks to 23 March 2012 rose by 4.8% on the same period last year, with total like-for-likes up by 4.8%. Non-tobacco like-for-likes rose by 4.1%, while like-for-like tobacco sales increased by 5.9%. Total sales in the 52 weeks to 23 March 2012 were £3.9bn, up by 7.3%, and total like-for-likes were up by 6.1%. Like-for-like non-tobacco sales rose by 5.1%, while like-for-like tobacco sales increased by 7.8%. Like-for-like sales to caterers rose by 6.1% and retailers by 6.1%. Customer numbers increased by 5% to 481,000 and customer satisfaction improved further. Internet sales increased by 21% to £635m. Our delivered wholesale businesses are doing well and our expansion in India continues following the opening of our second branch in Mumbai. This year has the impact of a 53rd week. Week 53 increased sales by £76m and will benefit operating profits by circa £1m for the full year. The Group had around £63m net cash at the end of the year, compared to £27m a year ago. Profits for the 53 weeks to 30 March 2012 remain in line with expectations.