Admits to disappointing sales and higher than expected one-off charges.↓ N Brown 120p (down 5p, 4.0 per cent). Investors worry that the retailer has suffered tough trading conditions over Christmas.↓ MyTravel 6p (down 1.5p, 20.0 per cent). Bear raiders attack the stock, convinced it is overvalued despite the company’s restructuring.↓ Claims People 3.5p (down 0.37p, 9.5 per cent). Profit taking after the stock’s surge this week on news that Goldman Sachs bought a stake in the group.↓ Petrel Resources 48p (down 3.5p, 6.8 per cent).

Investors become impatient with the company, which is yet to update the market about the future of its operations in Iraq.. If the traditional year-end forecasts are a guide to the mood in stockbrokers’ and fund managers’ offices, we are in for another difficult year on the stock market, in which the expected general election is probably the most predictable event. Sadly, that all too often means that the forecasters don’t have a clue about what is going to happen, so the best bet is to tell people to pick shares, unit trusts, commodities or whatever else that are going to go up in value. And which might they be? Aha, that is up to you.Fidelity, Britain’s biggest fund manager, daringly confesses to a liking for companies that pay dividends.

Anne-Sophie Girault, Fidelity’s senior strategist, said: “Investors with convictions built on an in-depth knowledge of individual companies are likely to stand out, as the profitable themes emerge at the corporate level.” Thanks, Anne-Sophie. House prices have stopped rising, which will discourage borrowings. The five increases in interest rates are likely to have a dampening effect on consumer demand. Higher council tax, transport costs and utility bills are also going to weigh on consumers in the early months of next year.