So we won a Test Match (or the Windies lost it!). We also had the sad news that Joey Dunlop, star of two wheels, had died (as he lived) motorcycle racing. France somehow found a way to steal the Euro2000 Trophy from under the Italian's noses and our remaining tennis hope bowed out of Wimbledon. Meanwhile the Williams girls did their sister act in the Ladies semi-finals and Germany won the battle to host the soccer World Cup in 2006. I guess I'll be long dead before England ever plays host again.

On the markets, Monday opened in high spirits, with the US markets trading thin in a short session ahead of their July 4th celebrations, The FTSE100 did well, as it followed the track of Vodafone. (I read somewhere recently that every 1p movement in VOD shares means a three point movement in the index.) On Tuesday the enthusiasm seemed to have evaporated as the US was partying and there was little news to go on. The main index lost a third of the previous day's gain, largely due to a poor performance from the oil sector following news that Saudia Arabia was to increase production which would likely have a dampening effect on prices. That trend continued the following day, exacerbated by the monthly uncertainty which surfaces every time the BoE meets to discuss interest rates. The flat news on Thursday that interest rates would again remain unchanged was no inspiration but Vodafone performed well enough to keep the FTSE100 on the rise while technology stocks were otherwise still out of favour. The week ended on a fairly healthy note with gains across the board, albeit modest. The US looked to be heading for a good session going into Friday evening so let's hope some of that rubs off here next week.

The Weekly BB Review

What happened to ADVFN Investigates echoed my own sentiments when Haystack asked the question. PitBull, MartinC, Kayak and NickB quickly added their own disappointment that the feature had died. Pooh took it a stage further by suggesting that audio interviews with company executives would go down well and maybe BBers could create a list of their own candidates for the treatment. Bullshare seemed to pour "luke-warm" water on the ideas but also hinted that impending changes to the site might soon compensate. Here's hoping!

When adamh posted the Tate & Lyle (TATE) chart in mid-June, it looked as though a recovery was well under way, although he didn't find any encouragement from BBers. As DocProc took up the theme Tate & Lyle Target £4 it immediately reduced Steviegeary to tears, as he had just sold out on a (temporary) dip. Last week dymaxion kindly pointed out that the price had regained the prevous sellout level. DocProc has stopped out while robber seems to think there is more mileage there yet. Certainly the chart still looks encouraging, although the share price is still hovering around just above the 300p mark. With volumes at a healthy level, it will be worth keeping a weather eye on these for a while.

TonyCCox started the Transense Technology thread way back in March when the company was being touted as the next BATM. smellybogbrush had also invested - largely because the chart made a pretty pattern - although he didn't seem to care too much what the company did or made. Pommy seems to have been instrumental in bringing these to a wider audience but, again, admitted to knowing little of the company. The shares have had a rocky ride over the past few weeks but the announcement this week of a big licensing deal with Amtel Grenoble (thanks for the posting lucasb) brought the charts and the facts into focus a bit more. Mr Cool Addo suddenly remembered he holds some and bonnie went to some lengths to explain the principle of the company's product with the able assistance of an empty Old Holborn tin and a few bits of wire. Yes, Transense Technologies do actually have products. They make sensors for the automobile industry; like a little gizmo which tells you when your tyres need pumping up. As for the shares, they have more or less recovered to the level they were when this thread began. The latest news won't do any harm at all.

A rose by any other name..... You might not immediately recognise Bright Station but it is the reinvented Dialog Corporation which Crocodile re-introduced to the BB at the beginning of June in Brightstat Moving up Fast!. During June the share price bobbled about in the 80p-90p range - as Moral Minority said, "a trader's share". On a more recent dip, Touche saw them as a buy, anticipating growth over the ensuing quarter. SkyLark was also feeling bullish about them. All agree that it will be the Q2 figures which will determine the direction for BSN for the resat of 2000 and beyond. I guess we'll all have to be patient a little longer. (The name may have changed but the frustration levels remain the same!)

The last time I spoke to TechNet, he threatened to castigate me (I think that's what he said!) if I didn't mention his * US STOCKS - July 2000 * thread. This has now become a regular feature and is welcomed and appreciated by all who have an interest in US markets. I know this is TechNet's special area of interest and what he doesn't know about the machinations of the NASDAQ just isn't worth knowing. I'm a regular visitor to the thread and find it invaluable to keep up to date with what is going on across the pond as the London markets increasingly use that as a barometer for how European bourses will move. Many thanks for the information. (TechNet is always happy to answer queries you may have regarding his charts and for that purpose includes his e-mail address in the posting.)

It could only be AnthonyJB who opens a thread at half-past midnight with the words, "Just relaxing for a couple of hours with ShareScope". That's how Mid-End July recovery in Teckkies? began on Firday morning. Mad Mac and March seemed a little surprised to find they had online company at that time of night. What followed was a chart-based assessment of major sectors written in AJB's home-spun style which he actually completed a little before quarter to five in the morning. Now that is dedication! If you read no other thread this week, please take time to have a look at this one.

Dirty linen time? I don't think so. Public debate is generally healthy. And when it is about a company in which you have any involvement, be it as a user, a shareholder, an employee, a consultant, I believe it is important to have the opportunity to exchange views. ADVFN is a broad church and draws its strength (and a goodly proportion of its value) from that. So when niggle began the However Loyal we all feel we're headed for 10p! thread, it was assured to get a lot of response and provoke a lot of discussion. I sincerely hope that the company's executives have taken note of the more serious points and criticisms raised within it.

The company was built originally on faith and passion. Faith that it would succeed in providing the sort of investor's toolset and discussion platform which others had patently failed to do. I believe that it has already achieved much of that ambition and rewarded those who had faith in the principle by swiftly and efficiently producing a range of investor services at a price which Joe Investor could afford and in a manner in which he could have confidence in the service provided. Passion that it was the self-belief of the creators of the site that it would be a success. The City were convinced that the project was sound and that the launch price was sensible. Since the launch, a variety of new features have been added to enhance user services and thus attract more users and thus attract more revenue, etc., etc.,

I believe that, in general, the service is unrivalled value but I also agree that the level of discussion on the Bulletin Board, upon which the company was built, is not always what it could be. For instance, I agree with Addo that there is a great imbalance between serious investor threads and non-investment topics. That is one of the reasons we are trying to create a different environment for The Weekend!. There is truth also in what PW says in that when we are in the midst of a rampant bull run, we all seem to get along much easier than when we have hiccups such as that which we are currently experiencing. There is also a lot more "chartist" comment on the BB than "fundamentalist". But that, perhaps, reflects the balance of the subscribers views. (Personally, like JonC, I favour funnymentals - charts is for wimps :=)) There are suggestions that the site is run as a clique by a few but I don't really go along with that. Those who post good stuff will generally get a good response. To maintain a high level of input we constantly need new players. Those of you who shyly sit on the sidelines, please come out and join in the discussions. If you get no response from your first posting (whatever the share or subject), try again. Someone out there is reading your stuff although you may not always think so. And should tits and bums be banned? No! We all need to keep a sense of reality and you don't get more real than that! Just let's keep it in proportion.

To get back to the original question, I think the current sentiment amongst market makers for holding a minmimum amount of non-FTSE350 stocks is largely to blame for the present depressed share price. Despite my own posting on this thread (made in good faith), I can find no evidence to suggest that there is any significant shorting activity to account for the recent fall in price. When confidence returns to the markets (as it surely will) and the ongoing plans for enhancement of the ADVFN offering are made public (as they surely will be), the share price will find a new higher level. The real job for the company is to keep on building on the platform they have created and making it more attractive, more functional and more competitive than its rivals. For me, that goes back to faith and passion. (Dismounts high horse and exits left!)
Meanwhile, in the land of the Free.......

Yet another company name change saw Gireovend metamorphose into Transacsys. Risker, shadboy and bohemian13 were attracted by the cash in the company back in May and June and all was quiet for some time. Then Transacsys Information sprange back into life as the share price suddenly moved last week after a positive note in the July edition of Techinvest, as pointed out by blueflame. Techinvest actually estimate the company has about 38p per share in cash (which, as I write, is the current mid-price) and rate them as a strong buy. Another one to add to the monitor, I think.

kinhell likes the look of Northgate Information Solutions (formerly MDIS) and rumours abound of new deals and contracts. NIS - Rumoured 40m Deal is only one of a series of threads doing the BB circuit at the moment. Preliminary results are not due out until 2nd August, so a little patience is required. I can see the rumour mill having a field day with this one.

The Nigerians seem to have cornered the market on money-making scams purporting to involve either highly placed government officials or business executives. To my knowledge, they have all turned out to be completely fraudulant. A timely warning from belsizepark this week in WARNING - ADVANCE FEE FRAUD highlights the latest. Ashley James implies the warning is unnecessary as the corruption in Nigeria has already been so widely publicised, but it does no harm at all to make sure that the less worldly amongst the BB fraternity are put in the picture.

Winner of the, Poster of the Week competition this week has to go to AnthonyJB for his early morning treatise on the state of market sectors. (See Mid-End July recovery in Teckkies?) How he can get his brain to work so well at four in the morning is beyond me. Congratulations AJB! A bottle of quality champagne will soon be winging its way to your doorstep!

Good Hunting!

(Please E-Mail me if you have any comments regarding the review - either content or format. Your opinions are valued)

The first phase of the ADVFN Who's Who is now complete and published. All entries received to date have been included. If you haven't sent me your bio yet, please drop me a few lines about yourself. Nothing too detailed but enough to give everybody a vague idea of who you are, approximately where you come from and where you think you're heading. For those concerned about publicity, any e-mails sent to me are held on my own system and only an edited version of the entry appears on the public page or ADVFN's system. No e-mail addresses are published unless specifically requested.

For those who have been contributing to the SETI project (The Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence at home), there is now a dedicated ADVFN BBers user. To begin sending your results in that direction, click on preferences and login to existing account advfnbbers@lycosmail.com