In my article of 5 June 2021, I made the assumption (like many others) that it was Shard Capital (which is the only listed secured creditor at Companies House) who had appointed administrators at Iconic (ICON). I apologise to Shard because it was, as newly filed documents at Companies House reveal, Arch Capital Partners LLP who appointed the administrators.  If you look at the filings for Arch Capital at Companies House you find that its two members are David Sefton and Sefton Management Limited.

Well, you still don’t get a prize. Find your own beer, sit in the most comfortable seat, and, under no circumstances, can you Google the answer. Only I can do that. There are no prizes but post your scores in the comments for bouquets and brickbats. 

The current fashion for retail investors to back any old company that claims to be active in the UK intermittent generation market continues. Dukemount Energy (DKE) has been brought to my attention as one of the latest to attempt to tap into the retail enthusiasm for anything power and green related. Unfortunately this one does not pass my test as a worthwhile investment on so many levels.

Here are five long reads that have nothing to do with shares. Put the kettle on, find a comfy chair. You have the time, don’t you? 

Early Equity plc (EEQP) is an investment company listed on the Aquis lobster-pot and has been kicking around since 2007. Its last results – for the year to August 2020 – showed that accumulated losses had topped £2 million, a fine achievement for a £7 million market cap company! Last week it announced the result of its reconvened AGM – which doubled as a sack-the-board EGM: time to reach for the beer and popcorn!

The most read non-Tom  article is NMCN – refinancing discussions to address “working capital”. Really?… by Steve Moore at number four, or number seven including Bearcasts and Tom’s new shareshow. Which one is the best of the week? Tell me in the comments.

I start with a defence of my share tipping on Optibiotix (OPTI). Am I really responsible for a chap who has bought and sold four times each time making a loss. He blames me. Then I consider if I should buy, sell or just hold MyHealthChecked (MHC). Then a few words on Father’s Day and also a few words on how I shall be annoying Abi the mutant curtain twitcher tomorrow.

Very few investing today can remember what inflation was like to experience as a wage earning adult, the markets just do not understand how it works

Crash! Having had a fair old go at clearing $1900 Gold went into reverse this week to close at $1764 – down a whopping $114 from last week. Apparently Jerome Powell, head of the US Federal Reserve, has suddenly become a hawk……having told us he would ignore inflation data for the rest of this year, that unemployment is his biggest concern and that he wasn’t even thinking about thinking about tapering QE (which, we are told, would come before raising rates), now we are told to expect maybe two rate hikes in 2023. And that was enough to send precious metals into a tail-spin.

The Bulletin Board Morons have worked themselves into a complete frenzy over Tern (TERN).  At Friday’s closing mid-price of 24.75 pence per share, Tern is valued at £82 million versus Tern’s net assets as at 31 December 2020 of £24 million.  In simple terms Tern is valued at 3.4 times net assets.  Tern’s net assets at that date basically comprised investments which are already recorded at fair value of £21.9 million and cash of £2.1 million. 

Recommending shares in J Sainsbury (SBRY) as an Income portfolio buy in November at a 199.7p offer price, we noted grocery and general merchandise sales had remained strong to date in its second half of the year and suggested a 260p+ share price achievable. Little more than 7 months later the shares are already nearly there.

It always surprises me how impatient investors can be and how much a missed deadline can sometimes be punished, even when that event has the potential to unlock significant amounts of value, if and when it finally happens. I’ve been invested in Horizonte Minerals (HZM) for several years now and during that time have seen lots of ups and downs, including disappointment when ‘deadlines’ have been missed.

More recent positive news from the recruitment sector with group spanning 31 countries Robert Walters (RWA) having announced continued positive momentum materially ahead of market expectations. Its shares have though now more than doubled since October and are not too far off highs reached three years ago. Shares in smaller peer, though still operating in 20 countries across the world, Empresaria (EMR) remained above 40p in October, have previously reached well above 100p, and are currently still below 80p despite the company being set for a summer of positive macro-economic tailwinds and the operational gearing they bring.

Hello Share Turners. The seesaw impositions of Covid restrictions and the easing of them has predictable effects on the economy. So we should be able to see immediately which Footsie share prices will rise this week and which won’t? But no. We need to research educated guesses about much later developments in the Covid saga.

I start with a reflection on two smears from Bulletin Board Morons and about how media platforms from BBs to twitter need to respond to deal with such malice. Then a few thoughts on why the Tories are pissing off Tory voters in Chesham and elsewhere. Then I look at Versarien (VRS), Westminster Group (WSG) and at Bidstack (BIDS), breaking AIM Rules as it teeters on the edge. Oh, is that a Fat Lady I see gargling over there?

Sportsbook, casino and gaming online marketing company B90 Holdings (B90) has announced 2020 calendar year results including “the company now has a much more stable financial platform to grow from”. So why are the shares, at 11p, currently more than 8% lower?…

The loathsome boss of Versarien (VRS) Neill Ricketts has made what, the king of the fraudsters, my pal Sam Antar would call out as a cardinal error for a stock promoter. He has not only threatened Bulletin board critic Ian Westbrook (Club Sandwich) with a libel case he has now lodged formal proceedings. So why is Claim Number QB-2021-002159 such a blundering mistake by the AIM boss.

The staff at Bidstack (BIDS) should get paid next week, assuming that their employer can delay paying other bills. But it is unlikely to be able to meet next month’s payroll so calamitous has been the shortfall in tracing vs expectations. Unless Nomad and Broker Stifel can get an away a rescue placing within weeks, Bidstack staff should be brushing off their CVs as a matter of urgency. I have written to AIM Regulation as a statement is needed asap.

Chris Vermeulen, founder of Technical Traders, is a chartist and so that’s a caveat to what follows. back to the show.  He reckons that in terms of big moves all markets  may be in a summer doldrum period. However…

OptiBiotix Health (OPTI) has announced its 2020 calendar year results, emphasising improving financials and that it is well placed to exploit a now established low overhead, sustainable business model. It is what we learned in a chat with Steve O’Hara that makes us flag this up as such a STRONG BUY.