Member Info for schlemiel

My broker is the Sharecentre. This morning it's received an offer from Interactive Investor (II) which has been accepted. Does anyone on here use II and are they reliable and efficient?
thanks

My broker is the Sharecentre. This morning it's received an offer from Interactive Investor (II) which has been accepted. Does anyone on here use II and are they reliable and efficient?
thanks

SK's a known de-ramper. If you engage with this idiot he'll play you like a fiddle

A reserves is not a static figure. As ounces are physically extracted on a daily basis the reserve will deplete. As with Venezuela, who are sat on one of the world's largest reserves base of crude, it is waxy, uneconomic and expensive. There's reserves and then there's reserves. That's why high grade gold is so important to an economically viable reserves figure. Low grade crap is the reason Telfer is on its arse

'Shareholders may not be aware I researched my thesis on intrusive-related gold deposits in these relatively obscure regions of WA and the Northern Territory and studied the nearby Telfer Mine geology and geochemistry. I am of the belief that Haiveron may prove to be one of the most significant gold discoveries globally in recent times'

cheers fellas

From end Jan 2020 (3 mths end dec 2019)

'This is the fifth release of Exploration Results for this project made by Newcrest. The initial Newcrest release is dated the 25 July 2019. The second release is dated the 10 September 2019. The third release is dated the 24 October 2019. The fourth release is dated 2 December, 2019. Earlier reporting of exploration programs conducted by Newcrest and Greatland Gold have previously been reported. Exploration drilling programs are ongoing and further material results will be reported in subsequent Newcrest releases.'

so with 6 rigs going at it news should be flowing with increasing regularity

or not 'are'

Not sure if anyone can answer this but is having 6 rigs operational on one discovery normal for Newcrest are is out of the ordinary? If 6 (from 4 in Sept) is out of the ordinary it would suggest an extraordinary find or maybe it reflects Newcrest's desire to get this asset proved, recorded and mined at warp speed to save Telfer

Moreover is Newcrest currently drilling other discoveries at present with such a degree of increased activity ?

The objective is deciding what you are. Are you an investor or are you a trader? Or do you find the temptation of taking large profits simply overwhelming that that alone almost forces you into confusion and in the space of a few seconds you find yourself reaching for the sell button thinking you'll be able to buy back at a lower price with more shares.

I suppose it depends on your personal financial circumstances. If you can afford to be an investor with an extended holding timeline then that's great. If you're desperate to be an investor but you've got monthly bills to pay then you do find yourself snatching your profits, you've become a trader by default

It's both a terrible and a perversely pleasing conundrum to be exposed to when sat on decent profits

Knowing when to sell is an art form in itself. I think with GGP that decision may be taken away from holders

Yes, we definitely need an explanation for the recent meteoric rise in volumes...that would aid transparency

I believe the MM's will squeeze this below 4p tomorrow morning so if you're gonna buy then don't dive...if there's news then that's different but I don't believe we've found the bottom yet,,,that's just my imho

my average is 3.2 but I had 750k before xmas which I sold for other reasons...doh!

Open an ISA and do a B & B plus there's no requirement to include ISA holdings in a tax return if you're self-assessed which I am..

If it helps to educate then it's worth it though it's important to emphasise that company fundamentals are far more important than the daily activities of MMs...

On the board of Prim and now appointed to the board of Artemis. What's his strategy? Artemis now led by a Saudi royal and they're not short of a few quid.

For anyone interested, I have posted a great article on the ADVFN SEE thread relating to how MMs operate their activities. It may provide some interest. I'd post it on this site but it's useless for large article

Market maker etiquette

I am quite sure that most readers who have dealt in the market actively will find it amusing when I say that we are supposed to treat market makers with respect. It is considered ‘bad etiquette’ to continuously request a quote and not deal (test liquidity), or accept a quote when the price has moved in our favour. It’s also considered bad form to deal twice in quick succession to take advantage of a price rather than buying it all and paying a premium to get one’s fill in one go. I have even heard of one trader being warned by his broker against arbitraging the market makers. Every now and again, one market maker will be bidding higher than another one is selling. I see this as being a helpful fellow providing liquidity for the market makers and more importantly turning a quick profit, but just be careful as those prices can change at any point.

This trick of arbitraging is still possible as sometimes either a broker or a trader will leave a sell order under the bid or a buy order way above the ask. If we are the highest bidder in the auction, we can quickly spin off the stock we bought for a bargain to the market makers for a quick profit, or take the short side of the trade by selling to the buyer and covering via the RSP. This game has become very popular though, and it’s very difficult to find a trade that nobody jumps on.

Unless your broker warns you that they may terminate your dealing, or you are doing something illegal (which I do not advise), then all is fair in love and war.



You can download Michael’s free book on the UK stockmarket from his website at www.shiftingshares.com

Market maker codes

Despite there being a distinct lack of evidence of this, there are people who will swear blind by market maker codes. This is where a market maker will put a certain amount of stock through Level 2 in order to send a message to his market maker friends. This rumour originated from the US whereby a market maker did claim that market makers worked together if one of them found themselves in an uncomfortable position. While it is possible to put fake trades through the exchange – such as ‘wash trading’ as revealed in the Beaufort Securities scandal, which brought the broker to a collapse – there are far easier ways of market makers communicating with each other, if they really wanted to. But even now people will think a ‘1’ share trade means an RNS is coming, and people trying to ramp the price will literally buy a single share knowing that people trade on this. This is probably due to selective memory – the private investors who believe in codes remember the few times a code ‘worked’, and forget all of the previous times that it did not.

Opening risk for market makers

Another way market makers can get hurt is when they misjudge the open. Some market makers will cover numerous stocks and there is no way they can follow the story and sentiment for each one. This is why they check Twitter and bulletin boards (as do a lot of traders – sentiment ultimately shifts prices). Here is an example of when I thought the market makers had been unjustly harsh on an RNS from Anglo African Oil & Gas (AAOG).

We can see that from the close, the market makers gapped the price down on an RNS, which I felt did not warrant a 20 per cent gap down. Therefore, I bet against the market makers and opened up a spread bet long on the bell, which paid off in the first 10 minutes. I knew that sentiment was strong, and that the drill was still going ahead – the catalyst was still intact. I started closing the trade down at 7p and was fully out not long after.

*Tree shake

Once the buyer appetite begins to lessen, the market maker can now use this to their advantage. When the traders stop bidding for stock at high levels and the market maker lowers their bid price, it becomes a Mexican stand-off. A ‘tree shake’ is when the market makers drop the bid in order to lower the share price, in the hope of spooking some private investors into selling their shares. This tactic is employed when buying appetite has weakened, and so the market makers capitalise and widen their spreads to deter further buying.

There are no buyers in the market, but nobody wants to sell at a low price when the market maker was bidding much higher before. Eventually, someone bites, and the market maker then bids lower again. By using tricks like this and making the stock unattractive to buy by widening the spread, the market maker is able to cover their short position on the stock. The speculators who unfortunately bought the top of the spike will now have to sell at the price the market maker is bidding at unless they telephone the order in. There may be more mini spikes in the whole spike cycle and the market maker will play the market accordingly. Handsome profits can be made by speculators and traders who are in and out quickly, or who are able to time the spike, and even take a short position at the top.

If the price comes back down only to meet more demand, then the market makers will run the stock up to the resistance point and widen the spread again. It becomes a case of rinse and repeat.

Tree shakes are not only used in spikes, but whenever the market makers feel they can make a quick turn. In a previous article of mine, ‘The art of stop-losses’ (IC, 23 August 2019 ), we considered the possibility of market makers being able to see stops. Even if they can’t, they know where these are going to be based on looking at a chart. So they yank the price down, shake out some stops, and raise the price again in order to sell the stock on for a quick turn. Market makers are obliged to make a market – but they’ll also make a market for themselves. If you must use physical stops, use them wisely and not in obvious stop-loss liquidity.*

These moves are further exacerbated by those exploiting their knowledge of the way market makers operate. We understand already that the market maker’s job is to provide liquidity for the entire market. However, they do not want to hold plenty of stock in an illiquid share. There are often orchestrated pump-and-dump crews operating in small-cap stocks who take advantage of this for their own gain – a market maker who owns a small amount of stock in a share that sometimes trades only a handful of times a week might suddenly be forced to deal 10 times in the space of a few minutes.

In this instance, the market maker would now be net short of stock. That is, they have sold stock that they do not actually have, and so they will need to buy back that stock to close their position. To do this, the market maker has to bid higher for the stock, in order to entice sellers in order to cover their position. But the rise in the share price and sudden spike in volume has now attracted more speculators who then hammer the market maker with buy orders. Market makers are obliged to make a market so they have to deal, and with every order the market maker is increasing their short position on the stock and the price is rising with every buy. This is how spikes are created, as they get chased by speculators and traders, and bid up to high levels.*