The trading week got off to a reasonable start on Monday with investors largely ignoring the por US performance on Friday and concentrating instead on dipping into oil stocks once more as it became evident that the EU would not be joining the US in releasing oil from strategic reservces. Profit-taking later in the date saw the FTSE100 maginally down. Tuesday was a different picture with some of the previous day's buoyancy rubbing off onto the tech sector. The day was also a milestone for M&S as, at one point in the day, it hit a 10-year low. The main index finished a healthy 60 points higher. There was a small fall on Wednesday as investors awaited the following day's BoE decision on interest rates and most significant trading was defensive, which in turn hit some tech stocks quite severely. With UK interest rates remaining at the same level on Thursday, the market returned to some sort of normality and the day ended on a relatively positive note. With the US again producing poor overnight figures, Friday began cautiously and trading was thin. The markets seemed to pick up for a while but, yet again, New York sneezed and London caught the cold! Most sectors ended the final session red but the FTSE100 just managed to struggle into positive territory. The DJIA and NASDAQ began to show signs of recovery late in the day but too late to have any influence on the final outcome in London.

The Weekly BB Review

Since Prinnytoo began Rolls Royce, buying opportunity? in August, quoting a price of 175p, on the face of it nothing much has changed. Rolls Royce disappointed the City with a statement which was taken in its worst possible context and, despite good forward orders and buoyant financial figures, the shares fell sharply. There were plenty of BBers who saw that price level as tempting at the time. After a brief recovery, the share price again began to fall, triggering a few stop-losses along the, I guess. SLL and the wah have kept the faith and seen something of a mini revival in the last week or so. Although this one is unlikely to set the world alight, as SLL say "...maybe a stock with all of the bad news 'in the price'...." The slip into the Mid-250 Index did nothing to help the cause. Certainly one for my Monitor. The final price on Friday was 171p bid.

One of Rayrac's better attributes is his refusal to let a subject drop when he feels the situation warrants it. Although he has spend most of Aortech should be on yortechwatch? talking to himself (with CYCLONE and Clueless dropping in occasionally to check on his general health), he has stuck to his guns on Aortech International and been proved well and truly right. The trend is still positive and the 1000p share price well within sight again. If, as Jack suggests, the only thing holding back the shares from further rises is a lack of shares on the market, then we might find the company releasing more to satisfy demand. As the week went on, the shares just got more and more blue. A lot of good research in this thread. Nice call. Friday close was 970p bid.

Unusual share action at Vernalis (VER) began as a plea for help from Bonzo which was soon answered by 2BOB who had done his homework immediately before interim results were to be announced. A quick edit put the "cash in bank" figure right (instigated by blueflame). probably0 was still a bit dubious about the prospects but a good positive run this week should have given the doubters some heart. As 2BOB said, the majority broker opinion is to buy and it would appear that there is not too much stock for for sale. Investor demand + stock shortage = higher prices. This week saw a positive drive above the 200p mark but the price ended the week slightly back on 197p bid. Enough to keep the holders happy? I doubt it. But it is a big step in the right direction.

After an earlier rise on the back of a mention on SMTM, Cedar Group went into reverse in a big way. On Thursday, Skinny was hoping to see a bounce to their 600p support level, but that was breeched on Friday, with Timeliner warning that the next support level could be as low as 470p. The full story appears on Ceder - Good company - thoughts please.

NXT was back in the limelight this week in large movement but no news as preliminary results were announced. Although still sustaining heavy losses, the company Chairman views these within expectations as their technology platforms are developed and sophisticated. Daimler-Chrysler was the latest addition to the licensees, bring the total to 200. 45 world-wide patents have also been granted. Sardine was there (of course!), sounding a little concerned about the previous AGM decision to list on NASDAQ, but otherwise happy to hold on. Follow-ups by Enia and DocProc completed the story. The share price fell away a bit as short-term profit-takers moved in, but supporters will view that as nothing out of the ordinary. The final session saw them at a respectable 1150p bid.

City Centre Restaurants has quite a fan club on the BB who have eagerly awaited news which would send the share price into recovery mode, it having slipped from grace throughout September. (See City Center Restaurants ????? - started in May) When crocodile reported the CEO's resignation and rumours of a US takeover emanating from the Free BB, it brought wanabee and Nickb immediately to standby mode. ARICHARD provided the company statement. All eyes were on Level 2, watching the machinations of the MMs as they moved their prices. mobile dealer cryptically hinted that a possible MBO might have been behind the recent efforts to depress the share price (or I think that was what he was trying to get across :=)) Rumour, rumour, rumour! There was soon talk of at least two possible bidders as well as the MBO option. By Thursday, wanabee was celebrating with pizza and crocodile with champagne (what else!). On Friday there were signs of profit-taking and the price fell away a tad, although nothing to suggest a rout. The equivalent thread on the FBB (MBO next week.? time to get in. is most noted for contribution number 51 from onehanded. Great fun. Wish I'd been in on this one.

Learjet was about back to his inquisitive best with TBI - The bid is almost out which got a few ears twitching for news. The airport facilities management group is reputedly on the verge of a takeover bid and has confirmed that they are in talks. Early rumours were enough to get Sands interested. The fall in share price of TBI on Friday was largely written off to tree-shaking by the MMs although robber thought it could be some premature profit-taking from those who hadn't yet heard the news. March put in a scare when suggesting that the shares had been suspended on Thursday but it was more a case of MMs reluctant to trade. starseeker posted up some news with a relevant warning whilst Aquila and insideryou played down the date for an announcement - common to delay when the company information is about on the net. NickB sees a big upside whenever the deed is eventually done. It does no harm to be prepared!

jhurbanek has had to put up with a lot of jibes on the BB since he joined and has handled them very well. In Shall I wear the shirt ?, he links his sense of humour with a worthwhile charity fund-raising effort revolving around his choice of attire for a forthcoming TV appearance. Good to see the BB responding so positively. It was disappointing to hear that the interview had been postponed. I know the feeling. My recent appearance on Bloomberg TV was an and off half a dozen times before it eventually happed. I hope that, when the programme eventually emerges, the charity fund-raising will effort will re-emerge. We all wish you luck John!

Dodddy and Smellybogbrush have been working on their latest night-out for a while now and have had a good take-up of BBers. This week they delivered the coup-de-gras with Brian Winterflood to be guest speaker at Dodddy + Smellies London nightout. So, if you are free on 26th October, I'm sure the guys can handle a few more visitors to add to the count of over 50 so far. And you also get an opportunity to meet the head of one of the biggest MMs in the City - you get to see where your money goes. I'm sure it will be a great night out and a perfect chance to put a few faces to BB names.

Meanwhile, in the Land of the Free.......

mungoa introduced Bioquell here a long time ago and nobody seemed to take any notice until Jellytots picked up on Anybody following this gem? over a week later when the share price had improved over 50%. Since then, Chokin has taken a good profit out of it and still the share price has continued to rise, I suspect more than any of them imagined it could. mungoa was a tad upset to have stopped out too tightly when a temporary dip triggered him to sell. I hope he had time and faith enough to get back in. By Friday close this week, they stood at 131p bid. Quite a call!

I don't suppose anyone could have guessed just how far Scotia Holdings would fall after the disappointment over Foscan. I suspect a few fingers are feeling a trifle hot at the moment. SCOTIA GOING - DOWN, DOWN.......DOWN & DOWN" includes a good write-up by Hut49 who hits some painful nerves for holders (and recent buyers). With the price now down to 15p bid (down around 18% on Friday alone!), it is difficult to assess whether there is worse to come. The company has other products in development and in production too and there is still hope that Foscan will gain approval for further testing. Whether the company can survive long enough to take advantage is the big worry. Fingers crossed!

Northgate Information System (NIS) had a lot of good things said about them on SMTM this week and the price continued to rise but oneliner was mystified until put straight by zaldi. The Chairman's statement at the AGM in September was particularly upbeat, announcing yet another new contract which could lead to good ongoing business. As tech stocks go, this is one of the current stars. Firmly established on my Monitor.

Luthor made Cuthy a quick profit with Misys - another wave upward? (MSY but the price continued to show positive throughout the day and poor Cuthy found he could have doubled his profit and more if he'd hung on a little longer. That used to be one of my favourite tricks! I've lost more by selling too early than I have by buying too late. Maybe this one is better than a short-term punt. 800p? Why not! Friday's close was 701p bid.

There were a lot of good postings on both BBs this week, although some were easier to find than others. So, it was difficult to find the winning Poster of the Week. However, I have decided to award the prize to Rayrac who I'm sure most of you will have noted is a prolific poster and a BBer who puts a lot of effort into researching his chosen few. His sense of humour is also well honed and frequently used to brighten the board. Rayrac's input to Aortech should be on yortechwatch? is a good example of what I mean. Congratulations Jack! If you will e-mail me a delivery address, I will see that your prize finds it way to you very soon.

Good Hunting!

Another The Weekend! Trivia Quiz for you this weekend with the top prize a classy bottle of Champagne and 10 runners-up prizes of tickets to the Investor's Chronicle Expo Show on 20/10/00 (face value £30 each). The quiz will be in two parts. A total of 20 questions on various subjects, 10 on Saturday and 10 on Sunday. If the quiz results in a tie, the winning name(s) will be drawn from the hat. Last week's winner Kayak managed 19 out of 20 - a terrific performance. The runners-up varied down to 15 correct. With the internet at your fingertips to help you, I'm sure you'll enjoy the challenge. Please take a look at the Quiz threads running on the Bulletin Boards for the questions and details of how to enter. The first set of questions will be posted up at 10am on Saturday and the final set at 10am on Sunday. I'll extend the deadline this weekend as a few people just missed it last week, so the competition will close at 7.30am on Monday morning and the winners announced later that day. Have a go! You have nothing to lose.

More entries are always needed for the ADVFN Who's Who! Let your fellow BBers know a little about who you are. If you aren't yet on the list, drop me a few lines about yourself - (a full editing service is provided!) For those concerned about security, any e-mails sent to me are held securely on my own system and only an edited version of the entry appears on the public pages of ADVFN's system. No e-mail addresses are published unless specifically requested by you.