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Must be the music you hear when you ring up VOD customer services!

Well it's good news for investors that all operators are hiking their prices. If their roaming charges and data offerings are much cheaper than they used to be, then that is the only way they can protect their income. If prices go too high, then introductory good deal offers will return with a vengeance though.

Hi Oracle.
At this price, VOD is interesting, but I would not say exciting. You mention the infrastructure that VOD controls. It is the services that the users of this infrastructure develop that will make the better returns, VOD remains what is a utility with hopefully steady but unspectacular prospects. Hopefully these prospects are safe ones as I am overweight in VOD at the mo.

Because it is such a slow burn, I have started day trading in this share to boost my returns, to some success so far. As you say, the dividend is good and unless the management screws up and decides to borrow too much perhaps to make an unwise purchase, it should be safe in these days of low interest and massive QE.

Well just invest in a ftse tracker fund, presumably.

Hi Skid. Just a thought. There has to be a reason to hold this share, because if you think that it may float up with the ftse then you might as well track the ftse perhaps. Of course if you hold one company's shares only, the volatility will be higher, and there is no reason why VOD shouldn't hit 120 reasonably soon, even though it is, some would say, a heavily-indebted utility without any exciting new offerings.

Richard, BT actually fell today. I actually made a few quid from BT many years ago, not just the Sid shares. I think it is too stuck to be of any interest now ...

Hi Mikey. Well it might catch up tomorrow.

Hi Daniel, your premise is false. I am averaging down not by making additional purchases, but by trading tranches each one at a loss or usually at a profit. All I need to make a profit is for the shares to move by more that 0.7%, and that happen very often. I do not deal every day because that is not my life, but if my premise is correct, then it should become perhaps a useful addition to my assets or income in years to come. Maybe recover some of the large losses I suffered many years ago, although I am not chasing them they are too old now.

I have sold a 7% tranche twice this morning at a small profit, buying it back once in between, and I am now waiting for it to fall below 108.50 to reinvest the proceeds. If it does not fall to that level, I will simply enjoy the rise of my remaining 93% so either way it is a win-win. All I will regret is that I sold too soon, but then no-one is perfect.
Of course the odds are stacked against the amateur day trader, but the one advantage we have is that we can choose to trade or not. Also, by dealing in tranches, you are averaging the cost of your purchases, and when selling, limiting the lost opportunity of the shares going up further, because you have a few more to sell in that case.

Hi Daniel, I bought in tranches, one at 109 and one at 104 (including costs), having sold at 110.5 and 108.5 on the 23rd October . So one of these two tranches is now in the money, around 7% of the total of my VOD shares held. As I am really overweight in VOD at the moment I may try to sell it tomorrow if still above 106. I was out panic-buying bags of plaster this afternoon, so missed the peak around 106.6. I have other tranches of VOD shares at higher prices bought, gradually lowering my average cost to 109.75 from my original purchase in late 2018 at around 165p.

I did not do too well after the ex-div date earlier this year, but I refined my tranche-dealing ways and have now recovered about 40% of the losses incurred due to the then drop in share price. Those losses more than wiped out all the paper profits I had built up over these nearly 2 years. Doing it this way feels more empowering than just moaning about the VOD price bobbing about.

For example, I might have two tranches, and if the SP goes up 1p I sell one, and if it goes down 1p I buy back a tranche I sold a few days or hours or sometimes minutes before. Each deal may well add a few extra "free" shares to my portfolio. It means that I don't have to be emotionally or irrationally attached to VOD. VOD simply provides the volatility required to make small profits, as long as a huge wave doesn't come across and swamp the little boat I am sailing in.

Bingo! 105p, only 2 days late!

Just think about what is going on, not least the US election let us hope the result next week is clear-cut, whichever way it goes. That will undoubtedly help.

I predicted 105p yesterday. I hope I am more right than you.

The main concern shareholders should have about debt is when interest rates rise and the company is not able to service that debt. There is no doubt that interest rates will be low for the next two years, but that will not last for ever. In order to reduce debt a rights issue might be needed. Worst case scenario is when a rights issue is not enough. Then, banks and bondholders call in debts and shareholders get wiped out. No company is immune from that.

I'm looking for a bounce back to 105p tomorrow some time.

Have you never noticed that the US Sp usually sneaks back up again AFTER the LSE has closed?

A yoyo would be proud of VOD's movements so far this morning

AT&T up nearly 6% today just need VOD to do likewise when it announces its results.

Hi Daniel, I should also have said that this 3.51% increase has been an accretion of tiny gains, rather than large gains and losses balancing largely out. That of course makes a difference in the degree of confidence ...

Hi Daniel. In the past 136 days, since 8 June (around 140p) when I was very comfortably in profit, I have increased my holding by 3.51% at no cost, so an annualised 9.4%. Shame that the shares are worth less now, but at least I have a few more for when (if) they go back up (my break-even is currently 110.49p) ... Not sure if that was lucky, I see it as going out on a choppy sea and doing the best you can with the limited skills at your disposal. My system to give it perhaps more than it deserves, doesn't work if a huge wave comes along, just that if megawaves are not very frequent then the progress in between may not be completely wiped out, or so I hope. I presume that pros such as hedge funds have to take that eventuality on board, and have their own methods.
I am now looking to sell a tranche above 109.71, or to buy one back below 107.88. It did go below 107.88 an hour ago but I missed a repurchase as I don't set plans, and I was out shopping at the time :(

Hi Daniel. The daily movements this year have been sufficient for me to increase my holdings at no cost (ie increase no. of shares, my choice not to cash out) by day trading, and my method seems reasonably ok. All it really involves is checking large movements, £/$, Nasdaq, and dealing in tranches. Maybe I have been lucky so far, but sadly if I had a working crystal ball, there were loads of times I would not have missed out.
What has let me down recently and before, years before and on a number of occasions, is my failure to establish a stop-loss. If I had sold VOD at 117 when the price fell after it reached 130 recently my perofomance would have been stellar rather than dismal.