:VODAFONE: Traders Thread, Long or Short!

Vodafone helped the FTSE 100 finish the last full day of trading before the Christmas break at its highest level since July 2001. Its shares gained 1p to 123.5p amid talk of impending management changes and a switch of strategy at the world's largest mobile phone operator.
There has been a lot of speculation about the future of chief executive Arun Sarin since the disastrous reaction to November's half-year figures. Vodafone shares dropped 10% as the company warned of slower sales and profit growth next year and drew the City's attention to £9bn of potential tax liabilities on its books.
Following those results, Vodafone has been meeting major institutional investors. This has generated rumours about Mr Sarin's imminent departure. The company refused to comment but investors are understood to be generally supportive of Mr Sarin while demanding a clearer strategic direction from management. As if to underline his commitment to the business, Mr Sarin yesterday purchased 100,000 shares at 123.5p each.
But investors' calls for a firm strategy seem to have generated the second set of rumours doing the rounds yesterday: that Vodafone is going to bail out of either Japan or America. Again the company refused to comment but exiting Japan, where competition has hit Vodafone hard, would be a spectacular U-turn, especially as the turnaround is slowly becoming evident.
Quitting the US seems just as unlikely, insiders said. Vodafone has a minority stake in market leader Verizon Wireless but is desperate to get more control. Pulling out of the world's largest economy would send the wrong signals about its ambitions to remain a truly global player.