I've been struggling with flu this week which crept up on me Monday when I was still probably in after-shock following the Christmas Bash so I hope you'll forgive my brevity. A by-product has been to lose my voice so apologies to those who were expecting a call from me and didn't get it. However, all of the supplies are in for the holiday and if there is anything forgotten now - tough! I need now to recover enough energy to cope with the grand-children! The only social event of the week was the Grand Christmas Quiz and Prize Draw on Wednesday night at the local which went down very well and raised a lot of money for a local Children's Charity but I had to find a deputy to ask the questions, etc., Now looking forward to a few days of peace and quiet and some reflection on where the money all disappeared this year. This week I made more on internet tombola games than I did on the market. Oh dear! I do hope you all have a good Christmas. Best wishes to everyone.

The week leading up to the Christmas break is always difficult to read as trading is usually thin and any movements in sentiment are generally exaggerated. Monday's opening was bright enough, with the FTSE100 gaining over 70 points to recoup some of the the previous Friday's losses. There was more concentration on what was happening in the US than in London as Dubya began to plan his strategy and we waited to see if the enigmatic Mister Greenspan would see this as a prepitious time to reduce US interest rates. Still focused on the US, Tuesday again saw the FTSE100 climb, although with less conviction. I guess most investors were sitting tight with fingers crossed that some positive vibes would magically appear to put some glitter into the markets. All change on Wednesday as stark warnings of an economic slowdown emerged from New York. It was all too much for our fragile market and the screens quickly turned red, with all sectors feeling the pain. The main index in London dipped 118 points, undoing the week's recovery in one fell swoop. About the only seasonal sign was the appearance of the ADVFN Christmas logo. Thursday's opening was similarly painful as US interest rates were held and profits warnings became more and more common. With investors looking for a safe haven for their money during the holiday, or closing out altogether, the FTSE100 was pushed a further 61 points lower and getting dangerously close to the 6000 mark. Some light relief on Friday with all main indices staying in the blue until near the early close with only the FTSE100 dipping slightly into the red.

When you open up your pressies on Christmas morning and find a shiny new WAP phone in amongst them, don't forget that the ADVFN Mobile service in association with Orange is now available and fully functional. You can find the current offerings by selecting the Mobile button on the main index bar. All the information you need to set up your phone is there, including an FAQ page if you encounter any difficulties. Real-time quotes, news, Level 2 data, monitors and alerts are just some of the goodies which can now be delivered direct to your phone. If you aren't lucky enough to have a WAP phone on your Christmas list, Orange are offering some special deals for ADVFN subscribers.





The Weekly BB Review

I guess Romeo was asking for trouble with The decks are being cleared for the next leg of the Great Bull Market. Although the arguments he opened with seemed valid at the time, frenchman saw a more complicated scenario. All seemed to agree that the Greenspan factor would be significant and Hotei was pleased to see that Dubya is likely to keep him in place under the new US administration, and BRAVE hopes that his longevity will see out the current crises. leetrade took a slightly less optimistic view than Romeo with support from lodger, PUGUGLY and Limpsfield Chartist. All-in-all, the general sentiment was pessimistic with Martini fence-sitting and bones advocating a better portfolio balance with cash making up a sizeable proportion - in readiness for the bull run when it (eventually) arrives. Addo advocated patience and hoops probably rang a few bells by reminding us that this time last year we were all waiting for the downturn and miscalled it. Charles Bronson saw a direct comparison with last year but with roles reversed between new-tech and old-school stocks. Rayrac joined with the bears and Pinsticker saw no chance of a US interest rate cut this time around - and proved to be right. Stable, recognising that nothing was going to change the overall sentiment on the BB at the moment, nevertheless was looking ahead to a more bullish run in the New Year. I'm happy with Dil's surmise that this time next year we will all happy bunnies. Whatever the outcome (and I always try to be an optimist), this was a good read and interesting that the debate seems more about timing than substance.

When toadtrader began the excellent FTSE 100/ DEC FTSE FUTURE 'OUTLOOK' thread at the beginning of October, his crystal ball was already showing cloudy signs for December. By the end of October, the mood was becoming decidedly bearish with guinea pig says and Robbb were drawing similar conclusions although coming from different angles and with different results. (IG Index service problems weren't helping the case.) By the end of November, the target had shifted down and by this week, the picture was looking dim. hoops was hoping for a suckers rally but sounding as though he was not confident enough to test its likelihood with mg of similar mind but pulling in some profit for safety's sake. In this last week before the break, it was knife-edge trading with minor and short-lived rallies confusing the picture even more than it usually is. A fascinating read but I'm not sure my nerves could handle the pressure.

TechNet's * USA STOCKS - December 2000 * made similarly good reading. With a flurry of profits warnings hitting the news services this week, it was more a matter of how quickly the indices would fall rathter than anything. t10trader could see the NASDAQ 2000 point support level looming large whilst Hamsterhunter was even more pessimistic (or realistic ?) suggesting 1500 mightsoon be in sight. His quote "At the moment the only thing between here and 1000 seems to be time!" had a scary ring to it and mg's "Sell the rumour, buy the news" showed the best in contrarian spirit. As though searching for any morsel of good news, Bullshare was quick to point out that PALM had announced good figures - but not enough to stop their share price sliding.

Baltimore Technologies watchers were wondering when the slide would end with The shorting shorters are shorting their shorts in contention for thread heading of the year! Davedroz was hoping that the UK market could discount any of the crazy antics in the US but Martini expected the pain to continue for a while and dodddy, Dil and BRAVE, as dedicated traders, were happy to watch the fun and trade either way. A hint of a bounce in London on Thursday and Friday gave hope that those long on the stock might be in line for an unexpected bonus. £4 by New Year?

Whether it was the dreaded "Christmas Bash" syndrome or something more sinister still, Infobank International recommenced its slide this week. Only Biomax saw any hope of a bounce back towards 300p. (Don't fall off your chair but....) and I think even he might change his mind soon. Graham Sadd's presentation at the "do" was less than inspiring with at least one of our number (Tinker)even finding a glimpse of the Millennium Dome as we sailed by of more significance than what was being said. Now that is sad! All that said, Biomax had the last laugh Friday as the IBI share price gained 20p in a quiet market.

Clem was trying to scare himself to death with comparisons with the twenties crash by trying to make some comparisons between the DJIA in 1928 ans the NASDAQ now in '28 all over again? but the general opinion (early on, at least) was that we had learned enough lessons since then to avoid such calamity striking again. bird was a little more cynical with "The lessons we learn from history are that we don't learn anything from History." which has a ring of truth about it. He later reminds us that there has been a "Santa Claus" rally every year for the past 22, although PUGUGLY quotes a very bearish Schwarz who is predicting further falls imminently. keithupton, forever optimistic, feared he may be paddling against the current expecting any US recovery now.

The final pre-Christmas traders thread was a quiet affair. (Traders thread Friday 22/12) The fact that it wasn't opened until just before eight by SpectoAcc suggested that maybe parting was beginning to catch up with dodddy. There were a few more long positions than we have seen of late so maybe a hint of blue was anticipated to accompany the holiday.

Thanks very much to Dead Cat Bounce, the East Anglian Investment Club is going from strength to strength, now with some education to go along with the beer and sandwiches! TRADING SEMINAR and Eamric Dinner. It sounds like it will be an interesting evening. Although it appears as though this session is fully booked, if you are interested there may be places available if people drop out.

Thanks to legilly for reminding us of the LSE opening hours next week - Wednesday 27th, normal hours, Thursday 28th, normal hours, Friday 29th, Close at 12.30pm.

Nice to see Dil thinking ahead with What to buy the kids for Christmas ....... Gotta go down as the most subtle ramp of the week!

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

Warning !! DO NOT BUY ANY OFEX STOCKS... was a bit of a scary headline but adamh had suffered a bad experience trying to get rid of stock and finding the spread formidable and restricted to selling only a small number. It can be a problem for OFEX at times that J.P.Jenkins have complete control and can thus set their own rules. However, pommy, hightone and M25 (amongst others) have all enjoyed considerable success on OFEX and advocate more stringent research than might be the case for an AIM or full-listed company. This index provides a jump-off point for many new ventures which might otherwise never see the light of day - a point make by s4w3. adamh is right that the shares are more difficult to trade than AIM. But then, if you trade AIM stocks you can encounter the same situation when coming to sell. I guess the advice is only to invest in OFEX companies when you are as confident as you can be that you have a winner and/or that the stock will untimately move to the AIM or main market.

Paul Augustus may be been stating the obvious when starting The Market is still looking volatile !!! but it is worth considering and superpete gave his own rundown on the likely course of events, which coincide with my own to a great degree. I thin it will be well into the Spring before we see what strategy and timsescale Dubya and Alan Greenspan will be working to. If the Western economies are slowing down at the rate the pundits suggest, it may even be Summer before we get any real indication of where things are going. I'm happy to be mostly in cash for quite a while yet. Although there are always going to be short-term bargains out there.

I think hilary had the right idea - buzzing off to the sun in advance of the end-of-year sell-off (The kids presents are wrapped, I've packed my bikinis ....). With nightshift stuck in gloomy Gloucestershire, ADIPaul in grim, cold Lancashire and yours truly in soggy Somerset, sun and bikinis seem a million miles away. Wherever you are eating your turkey this year, I sincerely hope you have a thoroughly good break to steel you for the bumpy ride ahead. Merry Christmas!

I hope to have some new features in place as part of The Weekend! early in the New Year together with a new layout. I hope you will continue to support us. If you have any bright ideas of items which could be incorporated into The Weekend!, please drop me a line. and I'll see what can be done.





Good Hunting!