Manganese Bronze Share Discussion Threads

[verulamium] 06/11/2008 19:46

October registration figures (from the SMMT site):

London Taxis Internat 68 (down from 217 last October)
Mercedes 36

Didn't take long to capture 1/3 of the market did it?

[davidosh] 06/11/2008 19:35

Car sales are down 23%



Has anyone found the cab sales figures ?

[shanksaj] 06/11/2008 16:41

Queeny2

Must admit I felt forced to close part of short yesterday, and reduce exposure on other shares as well to get into position to ride out any volatility on this one. Even if it rises to 300 I think I could hold on tight now.

[queeny2] 06/11/2008 08:38

My view - to be short here now, which seems reasonable on all known fundamentals, you have to think significant possibility of a bust, in its widest sense, ie emergency rights issue for example. Price can now go anywhere in such a thin and shorted stock, and 50% rally quite possible. It's a shut your eyes short, and keep some powder dry in case. the news cannot now get worse until the company says something concrete, it is so bad already. Bit like RMV in a way.

[rthak] 05/11/2008 16:51

For the purposes of transparency I am long (by a small amount) on this and am looking to get out around the 200-210 mark.

This is not because I think the company has prospects - rather because I think market forces will push the price up to at least that level.

[davidosh] 05/11/2008 14:11

I guess quite a few are taking profits for now especiially in the face of the general market recovery. There will always be a chance to sell again and some will need profits to cover losses elsewhere.

[shanksaj] 05/11/2008 13:34

Nothing has changed except the share price. Short positions getting a shaking in a squawl.

[rthak] 05/11/2008 13:24

A short squeeze coming in now? I wouldn't want to go long but perhaps that could be a good strategy with so many shares out on loan!!!

[cliffyburger] 04/11/2008 18:31

I closed my short at 131.6p on 28 October, but I see the market price has risen since then. However, 'a rising tide lifts all boats' and I see no specific nor positive reasons for a rise in MNGS shares. I intend to short these again, as a rescue rights issue is inevitable, in my view...

Cliff (no position in MNGS)

[queeny2] 02/11/2008 15:35

certainly there were borrow issues on MNGS shorts

look on SMMT website and see when Aug and Sep came out.

[davidosh] 02/11/2008 14:07

Cabbies seeing business down by 30% in Mail on Sunday story





When are the October SMMT sales figures available ?

[davidosh] 02/11/2008 13:41

As far as we know Tosca still have an interest of some kind in MNGS. It sounds like things are going from bad to worse in that respect according to the Times...


Toscafund, one of the funds that helped to break up Barclay's bid for its rival ABN Amro, but took ill-fated punts on British housebuilders, has lost 62 per cent of its value this year.

Jon Moulton, founder of the private equity house Alchemy and a notable economic doom-monger, says that things can only get worse for the hedge funds.

"Give it another few days and you'll see all manner of problems surfacing. We expect lots of funds to go bankrupt," he said.




I am almost certain they or their holding were the reason for the short squeeze we saw in August. These hedge funds certainly cause volatility in the markets especially when they need to liquidate illiquid positions.

[davidosh] 01/11/2008 12:47

I thought it would only be a matter of time before a solicitor got in on the situation. There are at least 1300 cabbies directly affected but of course any owner of a TX4 will claim he has lost thousands in one way or another during the fiasco. One driver told me that some members of the public are now asking whether they are TX4s before getting in one !!

[queeny2] 31/10/2008 10:54

They're a stroppy lot, understandably. From which you can maybe derive two things - firstly, as we saw from Metrocab, they WILL buy an alternative. Secondly, their grievances againstg LTI and M&O are longstanding, and may lead to them pursuing LTI pretty hard over the liability issue, as a group.

[little beaker] 31/10/2008 09:29

They're cabbies, not experts in ACU engineering ^^

However, yes I agree they're a useful (if unreliable) gauge of UK sentiment.

[davidosh] 31/10/2008 09:22

LB...The cabbies are MNGS customers or at least they were until recently as most are defecting or unhappy with their product. My research means I like to get a feel for the customer relationships and opinions to establish the ongoing sales.

It has worked well for me thanks.

[davidosh] 31/10/2008 09:18

RB....JakNife was joking mate.

The chances of a bid for MNGS are less than remote. If you had any cash would you want to buy a UK manufacturer losing millions on its high cost manufacture and with litigation pending from thousands of its customers ?? Not to mention the fact that the economy, competition and revised regulations are likely to mean sales are going to shrink to almost a trickle in the UK. International sales are the only hope but not yet proven and probably will not happen at all until late 2010 if the world economies can pick up.

Just my honest thoughts...

[little beaker] 31/10/2008 08:55

Lol, fancy cutting and pasting some cabbie comments off an internet BB.

How desperate can you get?

[rbonnier] 31/10/2008 08:54

If that bid comes in the shorters will be crying in their beer this weekend as the bulls torment them celebrating with champagne and dancing to the sound track. "Burn Baby Burn Disco Inferno..Burn Baby Burn" !!

[davidosh] 31/10/2008 08:46

There are question marks from cabbies over the air con in the TX4 being able to cope in the extreme heat in Bahrain...

some comments..

'I have to wonder if the Bahrainis might cancel the rest of their order when they realise how hot these things get and how hopeless the air-con is?

Maybe someone should warn them before they blow all their dough.'
_________________
'All of them, it was a standard feature on the top models, currently in the TX4 gold, sadly it isn't a seperate system but is run off the same system as the front air-con which in the TX4 is awful, in fact it's better in my TX1.'

'Importing 200 tx4's is like importing 200 ovens. The temperature in Bahrain reaches heights of 38c in summer and rarely dips below 20 in the winter. I pity the poor cab driver because I hate to think what the temperature will be inside the cab? If I was the buyer of these vehicles I would only buy them on condition they are fit for purpose for use in bahrain.'

'Someone has done a good sales job on these Arabs but a pound to a penny drivers will soon be complaining about being boiled alive in a TX4.'

'I wonder if anyone has told the Bahrainis about the fire problem...'


I expect that as the first part of the order is for 50 of them and due to be shipped in December it may be a while before any additional requirements are known to complete the rest of the order if the air con really is not good enough for the conditions out in the middle east.

[davidosh] 30/10/2008 14:09

Yes...my current assessment is that they have a huge potential liability and the £4m is simply not anywhere near going to cover it. However another fire and it is disaster scenario. I do not wish to see any more fires and certainly no injuries as a result but there is a definite risk here as the fires seem to be age related ie. as the cabs get past a certain amount of useage or mileage. I do not think even the company know the exact problem or whether it could strike on a newer cab before they get to do the modifications but the PCO will be very watchful and aware.

[shanksaj] 30/10/2008 14:01

Thanks David & Queeny2,

It looks very, very grim, for Manganese.

David, its a good point that if there is a fire on a newer vehicle then all would probably have to be taken off the road, and it will take months before they can get back on the road... lost time compensation will be a killer.