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Alpesh Patel
Alpesh Patel's columns :
02/07/2005Return Free Risk
01/24/2005What You Need To Know
01/12/2005What You Need To Know
12/21/2004Year End
12/14/2004Of Mountains and Markets
12/08/2004Strong Dollar Policy and Other US Macho Nonesense
11/30/2004Irish Eyes Are Smiling
11/22/2004Oil. Oh it's so last month
11/15/2004Eat my shorts
11/08/2004Big Rally Big Fall
10/31/2004Big Week
10/25/2004Vacuum
10/15/2004Dip and dive or dip and rise: 4600, 4700�4500.
10/11/2004Oil making us boil.
09/27/2004The Trends Re-Appear
09/27/2004Oil
09/21/2004No Retail Therapy Here >>
09/14/2004Do you feel lucky punk?
08/23/2004The Market Wants To Move Higher
08/17/2004August a good swing trader's month
08/06/2004Where are the jobs?
08/02/2004August a good swing trader's month
07/26/2004Takeovers abound
07/19/2004What does Branson tell us?
07/12/2004Well valued FTSE?
07/02/2004Well hello July
06/28/2004Summer aint bad
06/21/2004The Real Hot Stuff
06/04/2004Not bad at all
06/01/2004May was better than April, hows about June then?
05/21/2004Broader Market View
05/14/2004Interest Rates or GDP?
04/30/2004The Run Up To May

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Alpesh Patel – A weekly look at market opportunities and pitfalls
Alpesh B. Patel is one of the UK's best-known traders and financial journalists. He writes a regular column for the Financial Times, has written seven bestselling books on trading, and makes regular television appearances for Bloomberg, Sky Television, Channel 4, The Money Channel, and the BBC.

No Retail Therapy Here

09/21/2004

I'm not much of a fashion icon, a fashionista or a fashion guru. But, I know when it ain't looking good for key fashion stocks. First House of Fraser takes a hit as some potential bidder shareholders, including Tom Hunter, depart off the shareholder register.

The strength of the fall suggests no quick rally up as the stock falls like a knife to 100p. Any support at 110p would mean a miraculous change of heart by the market.

AstraZeneca falls below 2300 herald sellers pouncing like vultures I reckon. All because the US Food and Drugs Administration was not given approval by another body over Exanta. This is a problem as the company loses patent exclusivity on other drugs (cancer, cholesterol and ulcer one) Gallaher is on crashing and burning - you might say it is on fire and boy, where there is smoke there is certainly fire in this case! Definite downward trend now.

EMAP not only shows an upward trend but good momentum. It continues acquisitions with last weeks purchase of Cannes Lions Festival purchase. Go-Ahead Group continues showing strength in August. It's those 1300p levels of April which would be a 20% rise from current levels which must be the target. It has doubled in 18 months.

Cairn Energy : Sucking up all the oil in Western India. But as it enters the FTSE 100 it is common for such stocks to fall, not rise as you might expect on fund purchases. Rumours continue of India's Oil and Natural Gas company mounting a takeover for the FTSE 100 company. Remember many brokers have set a target of 1500p and so the stock is likely to bubble around there at most unless there is a bid, or more bubbling crude in them there deserts of India.

Drop me an email on alpesh.patel@tradermind.com if you would like a free multi-media CDROM and 50 page e-document on 'Investing Better' or order the full 14 CDROM set from the ADVFN online bookstore.

Crazy Small Stock

(Back next week)

M&A Target HitList

Here I want to highlight some stocks in my view with a more than 50% chance of getting some boost from bid related activity. It's speculative and not for the faint hearted. My rational is based on a combination of performance, assets, possible synergies with possible bidders, latent value. Looking at last weeks mentions - ebookers is up 50% since I mentioned it - come one - not bad for a week's work for you is it.


Alpesh B Patel, author of “Alpesh Patel on Stock Futures” available from the ADVFN bookstore.