ICAP Buy - 305p

Hi All,

I have been a bit quiet this year on the trading update side, but I could not fail to miss out on an opportunity to get in on ICAP. I love this firm and if you read my blog i have tipped and failed to get in on them several times before.

They have gone from strength to strength and always benefit from market panic as there is subsequently a trading volume spike. As well as acting primarily as a broker, they are massively ramping up in the Post Trade Services space which inevitably means a short term hit to profits but in my mind this is great news as I get the stock cheap and get to buy into a massively growing area... one which I know a fair bit about and am confident will benefit ICAP hugely in the long term.

I'm in at 305p on the spreads and targetting 430p - this could be sometime coming but I am very much confident of a recovery next week given the (over-reacted) 20% fall today on downgraded forecasts for the company in 2010.

ICAP is here to stay and I will eat my hat if we they don't touch 400p again in the coming few weeks. With a safe 20% upside here don't miss the boat...!

Booker - Buy (44.5p)

Been watching Booker for some time and in my dealings with them they have proven to be very professional and offer an excellent service to smaller companies such as local pubs, restaurants and bars. The are wholesalers of food and drink and are looking now to expand into India under the leadership of Charles Wilson (the mastermind working under Stuart Rose previously at M&S). What i like is Wilson's dedicated to the company and the fact that Booker year on year since Wilson joined have seen 20pc + growth - all of this throughout a major recession. This company is definetely worth a look in and I think will perform well into 2010.

Alliance Pharma Sell

Might be a little short sighted but I am happy to take 27% profit on this one, selling at 19.55p. I still think there is a great deal of upside for this company and will look to jump back in on any decent dips (Let's hope for some!)

Aer Lingus BUY

I like the airlines and the telcos so I was very interested when a friend mentioned Aer Lingus to me yesterday. I waited till the results came out and I can see that operating losses have rocketed (almost quadrupled), revenues and ticket prices down. Even with various cost cutting measures this company is in real trouble and on my quick and dirty report scanning tool comes up as a RED (i.e. heavily avoid this)

However, there are two very important factors not taken into consideration here.

1. A certain Mr O'Leary
The aggressive Ryanair CEO has been itching to get his grubby little mitts on these guys for quite some time now. With their debts out in the open there could be some aggressive bidding taking place which is sure to drive the share price up and if a takeover goes ahead could be very promising indeed as an investment at this point. AERL's ancilliary revenue has rapidly increased demonstrating the success of their move to the budget airline model of charging customers for seat selection, extra bags and online alcohol etc;

2. Total company restructuring is taking place. Aircraft leases and financing being renegotiaited with Airbus. Focus on stripping back on all the non-essentials to increase ancilliary revenue. A new CEO joins the company shortly and several routes have been cut.

Whatever happens a newer stronger company will emerge - the question is whether this is one headed by O'Leary or not?

In any case i am in for the ride to see where this one lands up. Definetely a risky play but i think a potentially profitable one.

Thanks for the tip Em!

Workspace BUY

I like Workspace and they have made me money in the past. The only reason I have taken a look at them again is I have seen a lot of chat on the bulletin boards etc and some positive news stories coming out with good results announced, increasing occupancies and a good management team in place.

Workspace rent out office space so have been clearly battered by the economy on two fronts:- one commercial real estate (they own all of their's) has plummeted, 2 - with folding companies etc there has been less demand.

However the picture is now changing. Arguably the property decline has bottomed out and is starting to sidewind. Also the recession has brought about a new breed of entrepreneurs looking to exploit the market and also on the hunt for cheap office space to give their businesses a presence. We look like we are due to officially exit the recession as well and property prices will inevitably start to increase as a result.

This is one stock for the ISA and one I intend to hold for some time to see a return. It's not a quick play!

Synchronica keeps signing deals

Synchronica is probably the most over talked stock on my blog but again today another big deal has been signed with a N. African operator. The momentum of these deals is shocking and I'm hoping that if the 3p barrier can be broken we are looking at this becoming good support. I'm looking for more details regarding the launch of their latest handset to see this stock even higher... just keep buying this! Please... . you won't regret it!

Standard Chartered

I know this company very well indeed and is the one that i have followed more than any other. I very much like the solid exec team that they have in place and their overly prudent nature. This is what has made STAN an out and out winner of the credit crunch.

They have never taken excessive risks, always focusing on long term relationships and gains to ensure that they deliver sustainable shareholder value. (I promise i did not extract that from annual report blurb). The fact that they also pre-dominantly focus on emerging markets is also a large bonus and allowed them to escape unscathed from the current crisis

So this is why the new share issue of £1 billion today has got me so excited. They have just reported fantastic results (H1, 5% increase in profits) and are now looking to expand during the ongoing crisis. This is a very bold and slightly more risky move in my view for such a conservative bank. However they have a proven track record and Peter Sands (CEO) is a young and very intelligent character with the ability and drive to take STAN to the next level... After the announcement, the share price has fallen over 8% to reflect the share dilution - a great entry point with my near term target testing the recent highs of £18.00.

One to watch!