From Good Friday to Easter Sunday - in September!

Last Monday was the 48th anniversary of my first working day at the then National Bank of Malta, today Bank of Valletta plc (BoV). I was 16. In those days, banks were banks, stockbrokers were stockbrokers, and insurance companies were insurance companies. Seven years later, in 1967, I resigned to become self-employed in financial services, but was tied exclusively to a company which had pioneered the concept of linking equity investments to life insurance. But the quintessential element was equity investment.

It was not until 1975 that I put up my shingle as a totally independent financial adviser.

A lifetime of financial intelligence, in every area of today's broad financial services, has not been entirely wasted on me. In particular, the lessons learned from 'end of the world' scenarios such as the UK's 1973-1975 recession: Property companies went bankrupt, unemployment soared and banks failed. The FTSE 100 Share Index had yet to see the light of day - which it did in 1984. The UK stock market was then measured by the Financial Times 30 Share Index, and between May 1973 and January 1975 it had lost a mind-numbing 78 per cent.

How was one to know that between January and April 1975, the FT 30 Share Index would double? The world did not end, after all. Neither did it end on November 22, 1963, when Americans thought that the Soviets had masterminded the takeover of the US with the assassination of JFK. An earlier generation thought likewise on December 7, 1941, when Japan attacked Pearl Harbour. And next Thursday is seven years after September 11. Good Friday is always followed by Easter Sunday. Even on the stock market.

The end of August saw the bear market completing its 29th month. The first week of September saw the MSE Index have its best week of the year gaining 3.77% to close at 3,938.573.

It was as if much-needed oxygen oozed into the lungs of the MSE Index constituents to give the battered stocks that breath of fresh air that has been lacking for so long. BoV raced ahead with an ebullient 9.3% jump, which saw it regain the number two spot in market capitalisation. HSBC Bank Malta plc (HSB) was equally impressive, rising almost 6% on the week. Even the ex-number three in the old market capitalisation tables, GO plc (GO), recovered a heartening 4.5% to €2.30 after the previous week's grim interim results, mainly caused by the ruling on Cable and Wireless pensions case. Lombard Bank plc (LOM) gained 3.4%, as its own healthy interim results were further digested.

A characteristic of this week's trading was the apparent drying up of supply, with sellers no longer interested in dumping their orders at any price. Buyers, on the other hand, were constantly having to increase their prices to fill their order books. Of course, it's too early to tell whether this was a flash in the pan or the turning over of a new leaf. Either way, investors could at least enjoy the relief of seeing, in BoV's case, a whole summer's losses recovered in one week.

BoV started the week on an upbeat note, up 5c on Monday to €4.35, and continued to be resoundingly positive for most the week. Tuesday saw it gain 1.6%, while Wednesday saw the highest daily jump, up 3.6% to €4.58. Thursday's 3% leap saw BoV close at a mid-week - and eight-week - high of €4.72. Understandably, Friday saw BoV pause for breath, as it closed 2.1c lower at €4.699, nonetheless up an emphatic 9.3% on the week. Total turnover for the week amounted to 55,772 shares for a value of €250,069. At the end of trading, the best bid was for 165 shares at €4.68 with supply of 675 shares at €4.699.

HSB also showed a sunny disposition. It started the week up 8c to €3.18 advancing to €3.20 by Wednesday's close. Thursday saw it add another 6c while it ended up for the fifth consecutive day on Friday at €3.28, to wrap up a hearty 5.8% gain for the week. Turnover totalled 57,157 shares for a value of €182,725. At Friday's close, the market was supported by a bid for 4,350 shares at €3.28 with offers for 3,725 shares starting at €3.30.

On Monday, HSB announced that David Charles Budd resigned as non-executive director with effect from July 26. He was replaced by Anthony Michael Mahoney with effect from September 1.

GO started out 2c lower at €2.18, but recovered during the session to close Monday unchanged at €2.20. It picked up 3c on a single 1,100 share deal on Wednesday and advanced another 7c on Thursday on comparatively good turnover of 17,300 shares. It maintained this price on Friday to close the week an encouraging 4.5% ahead. In total, 34,062 shares changed hands for a value of €77,299. At the close of trading demand for 3,500 shares was at €2.25 with supply of 1,350 shares at €2.30.

For the fourth week running, International Hotel Investments plc held on to its €1.05 price tag. Turnover for the three days in which the equity was active totalled 44,628 shares for a value of €46,858.

Fimbank plc was stable at $1.958 on strong turnover of 133,350 shares on Monday. On Wednesday it dropped 2.4% to $1.91 on a single deal for 122,000 shares, ending Thursday - the last day it traded - at $1.909 or 2.5% lower on the week.

Malta International Airport plc continued to lose ground on Monday, slipping further to €2.95. It maintained this price for the other two days it traded - Tuesday and Wednesday. In all, just 9,350 shares were swapped for a value of €27,690 as MIA lost 1.60% on the week. At the end of Friday's session, demand for 1,000 shares was only present at a distant €2.329 while supply of 6,060 shares was at €3.

LOM started out flat at €2.949, advancing to €2.97 on Tuesday. It was stable till Thursday, but jumped ahead on Friday, opening at €3 to pick up a further 5c by the close. At €3.05, LOM closed a more than respectable 3.4% up on a total turnover of 60,588 shares for a value of €180,402.

IT-related stock RS2 Software plc was static closing the week at €0.829 on a turnover of 14,900 shares, while Crimsonwing plc gave up 1.7% to end Friday at €0.51 on a total volume of 22,500 shares.

Medserv plc and Maltapost plc (MTP) both traded just once on Tuesday. The former lost a fraction to €3.997 on a 1,000-share deal, while MTP gained 2c or 2.7% on a single deal for 2,000 shares.

There was one deal in Datatrak Holdings plc for 15,000 shares at the unchanged price of €0.29.

Grand Harbour Marina plc (GHM) did not trade this week. On Monday, GHM published its half-yearly results for the period ending June 30. These showed that GHM registered a loss before tax of €162,510 as compared to the loss before tax of €485,771 for the corresponding period last year. The loss per share of €0.03 in June 2007 improved to a loss per share of €0.01 for June 2008. Revenue grew by 128% from €472,905 to €1.08 million. The directors are not recommending the payment of an interim dividend.

In the Government Bond market, turnover by value amounted to €13.8 million with 57 deals struck in 19 stocks. In the corporate bond market, there were 19 deals for a total turnover value of €173,722. Turnover value in the Treasury Bill market totalled €765,137.

This report was provided by J.G.P. Bonello, managing director of Financial Planning Services Limited, of Marina Court, G. Cali Street, Ta' Xbiex, which is licensed by the MFSA to provide investment services, including stockbroking (IS/3608). The company is involved in acting as sponsoring stockbroker and corporate stockbroker. The directors or related parties, including the company and their clients, are likely to have an interest in securities mentioned. E-mail: info@bonellofinancial.com or 2134 4243.