The country’s, easily, largest and ,certainly, most exciting, one day event for those who want to make more money from shares, UK Investor, is still nearly six months away but already more than two thirds of the 135 exhibitor PLC stands have been reserved. And we have an almost complete all star speaker line-up headed by Luke Johnson, Vin Murria, Mark Slater & Nigel Wray...

Shares in Safestyle UK (SFE) are currently approaching 30% higher today, above 70p, on the back of a “Commercial Agreement” announcement…

Today's bearcast comes from the Corinth Canal and covers MX Oil (MX), Versarien (VRS), Pantheon Resources (PANR) and Andrew Monks poor old mum being bullied by her stockbroker son about her will and tax planning. Actually I make a serious point on this issue for poor old Mrs Monk

When a share price suffers a setback, often it is the evil cabal of short sellers who are blamed by retail investors. In the case of Versarien (VRS), even CEO Neill Ricketts is at it.

Shares in Anglo Asian Mining (AAZ) had recently risen materially, to approaching 75p. They then though slipped back – but recent news looked to have justified the earlier move and more and with gold now starting to motor thanks to stockmarket and bond market jitters...

Gold guru Brien Lundin feels that we are likely to be on the verge of an upswing in metals. Brien has been warning people that if we have a liquidity crisis gold will likely get hit if investors need to raise cash. This is what happened in 2008. However, during the recent drop in the market’s gold instead moved up, likely because investors didn’t own it. It’s evident that investors are now finding reasons to buy gold instead of looking for reasons to sell it.

Hello, Share Tweakers. As someone who regularly sets himself up as an Aunt Sally for Tom’s entertaining bearcasts, I hesitate to commend a home builder to you. But I really think Barratt Developments (BDEV) is worthy of your support. And I base that view on its latest trading report.

Tom mentioned clothing retailer Superdry (SDRY) in a bearcast just under a week ago  and highlighted the recent profits warning, which was based on warm weather hitting sales of fleeces and the like.  The shares are down at five plus year lows and this is starting to have an impact...on the rhetoric from one of the founders.  I was amused to read in an article in the deadwood press earlier today that: 

In my main bearcast I divide my time equally between Debenhams (DEB) which is, as I explain, a zero in waiting and Wishbone Gold (WSBN) which most certainly is not. But it has been a dire share tip, which I explain in full. As a shareholder myself I share the pain but explain why it really is time to average down, which I have.

Alba Mineral Resources (ALBA) has followed a “Clogau Field Work Results” announcement with a “Horse Hill Update”…

The Sunday Times has been leaked news that the FRC is fining PWC and 2 audit partners over the Redcentric (RCN) scandal which we covered and, indeed, helped to expose as you can see HERE. But the real villains are not the bean counters. I name who they are and ask if the UK is really serious about tackling white collar crime? I suggest that it is not and have a few suggestions to change that.

I gave Falanx (FLX) a hard time as did a number of other shareholders present last Tuesday. But after a confident presentation I thought Mike Read and John Blamire coped well. If the Solarwinds deal pans out as expected then these shares really could be incredibly cheap. 3.3p-3.5p is certainly very much the wrong price and the stance has to be STRONG BUY. Enjoy...

Is there anything better than sitting back and reading a well-written article on a lazy Sunday? Every week ShareProphets features some long form journalism that you'll find of interest. Grab your cuppa and enjoy these five articles.   

I would imagine that most Lionsgold (LION) holders were somewhat less than impressed when news came at the end of last week that its shares were being cancelled.

Clearly, the topic that brought loads of people into ShareProphets this week was  Patisserie Holdings (CAKE). It makes you wonder why this alleged fraud captures the interest of the mainstream media but the Globos and Folly Follies and Quindells do not. Is a high street presence what stops a scandal from being reported or not?

As you know, since Versarien (VRS) supplies the Israeli Defence Forces and thus helps protect the only democracy in the Middle East, it can do no wrong in my eyes. Thus I note, with some concern, the increasingly odd reaction of boss Neil Ricketts as the shares continue to slide.

I start with reflections on a rather plump young lady not wearing a bra parking her truck in front of my makeshift studio here in Greece. Moving swiftly on, I have a go at Malcolm Stacey over this piece and at James Bowden over this piece. I stand with Chris "three brains" Bailey on the recruitment stocks. Then it is onto BCA Marketplace (BCA). is it still "The Big Short?" I discuss in light of news both from Pendragon (PDG) and from the USA yesterday. 

Recent trading updates have led to disappointing returns in October for two of the UK’s leading recruitment consultancies – Hays (HAY) and PageGroup (PAGE) – yet broker and tipster sentiment towards both is now more positive than at any point during the current year.

The final part of Tuesday night's Nigel Wray UK Investor City forum was a debate on bitcoin, blockchain and goats between myself and Dominic Frisby. I think I had the best jokes though Dominic is the comedian. Anyhow it was fun and, I hope, informative. The next Wray City Forum is on December 3rd so put the date in your diary now.

From the FCA's spreadsheet of short positions required to be disclosed to it, the following shows the shorted AIM shares with positions from 2017 and thus far in 2018 (by net short position %) - and if this position has increased (red), reduced (green) or remained unchanged (black) since last week...