Good morning,

There are two reports today, this one from me, and an additional report from Graham - here - he's running a bit late today, due to a late flight last night. So his report won't be finished until later this afternoon.

Today I shall be reporting on;

  • Joules - Xmas trading update
  • ShoeZone - preliminary results

Graham will be reporting on;

  • McBride
  • Sigma Capital
  • Foxtons


Yesterday's report - I had a late surge, and added loads more companies to it, in the evening. So I reported on a total of 11 companies. Here is the link to review that report.

Thanks for all the reader comments - these are an increasingly valuable part of the whole thing. I very much welcome intelligent, interesting reader comments. Feel free to disagree with me too - well-argued bear points are particularly welcome.



"Market expectations" clarity in RNSs

Before I get started on the companies, a quick hat tip (see Tweets below) to Reg Hoare of MHP Communications. Reg is one of my favourite PR people, as he's very responsive to private investors, and recognises our importance in creating liquidity & setting share prices.

Why do I talk to PR people at all, you may ask? Well, despite being much maligned, they're actually very helpful, I find. They give me access to companies that I wish to speak to & meet. They often email me broker notes on results day, and presentation slides which the Instis are given. Also they are sometimes receptive to grumbles I have about the wording of RNSs, etc. So my aim is to improve things for everyone, where possible, by giving useful feedback to the PR companies. Lots of them read my reports too!

For these reasons I'm happy to have a co-operative relationship with quite a few PR firms. I resist their charms when they try to change my views on companies, unless they present reliable facts & figures to support their argument. In those cases, I try to keep an open-mind & am willing to change my mind if the facts suggest that is the correct thing to do.

Also they all now know that it's a waste of time to try to get me interested in blue sky, or jam tomorrow shares!

Going back to Reg, he responded positively to my suggestion yesterday that all companies should clearly state in their trading updates the specific figure for market expectations.

Unlock the rest of this article with a 14 day trial

Already have an account?
Login here