Versarien (VRS) has announced results for its half year ended 30th September 2017 and despite emphasising that - with “revenues having increased, losses halved and high levels of interest in our graphene products” as well as a successful recent net £2.8 million placing - “we are viewing the future with much optimism”, the shares have responded approaching 12% lower below 40p. However, this still compares to sub 20p earlier in the month and little more than 11p at the commencement of 2017…

Our in house poet EJ Somerville-Thribb, aged 17 3/4, offers up a few words on the departure of the CEO of the London Stock Exchange (LSE):

At the moment no matter what level of debt America carries, other countries need dollars. Dollars to pay for oil, since global oil is traded in dollars and dollars for their financial system so their banks can settle contracts for goods and services traded in dollars. But over the last few years China has been systematically putting in place everything it needs to launch the Yuan not only as a rival to the dollar in trading and settling oil contracts but also as a rival to the dollar as the world’s reserve currency. At the moment the only rival to the dollar is the Euro and that is failing.

As he only visits those boys and girls who have been good this year I guess that Santa will once again feel no need to drop in on the Landau household, headed up by Pirate Pete of Range Resources (RRL) and many other companies, infamy. But for the rest of us there is an early present with news that the Pirate is in Court again. Happy days.

Digital retail technology and enterprise software group Sanderson (SND) has announced results for its year ended 30^th September 2017 and that “a healthy order book and good sales prospects provide the board with a good level of confidence that, at this relatively early stage of the new financial year, the group will make further progress and deliver trading results which are, at least, in line with market expectations for the year ending 30 September 2018”…

Hello, Share Plungers. It’s reasonable to keep you up to date on shares I’ve been writing about positively. This is especially enjoyable when the stock in question is probing new highs. Because then the question arises, is it now time to take profits?

I start with a few comments on the thoughts of top broker Andrew Monk who is normally bang on the money but on a couple of recent points wrong. Then it is onto Conroy Gold & Natural Resources (CGNR), Karelian Diamonds (KDR), Fishing Republic (DOG), Bushveld Minerals (RAMP) and ITM Power (ITM).

AIM-listed (and no longer on Ireland’s ESM market) Conroy Gold and Natural Resources (CGNR) and Karelian Diamonds (KRL) released full year results this morning. It is a double set of Red Flags for these two lifestyle companies of Prof Richard Conroy – and despite the latter having been floated off by the former, more Red Flags come into play with related party transactions. But the biggest sin of all is treating your own shareholders as utter muppets, which is where I start.

A trading update announcement from tool and equipment group HSS Hire (HSS) is headlined “Decisive actions return Group to profitability” - and the shares have currently responded higher. However, down from above 80p at the commencement of 2017, they are only up 1p presently on the day at 29p…

The chart of UK Oil & Gas (UKOG) looks truly sickly. It might well have been a Zak Mir charting buy it looks that bad. However much paid promoters like Malcolm Graham Wood and the (dwindling) armies of its BBM fans say buy, the trend is clear. So how about a Christmas contest?

I’m warming to the current board of BOS Global (BOS) and the transparent way that it is dealing with the chaos left behind by Michael Travia. The latest Corporate Update gives some hope for the future with hints at rescue funding, although I doubt it will be at anywhere near the current share price.

Cyber security services group ECSC (ECSC) has updated “following the successful completion of the previously announced cost reduction programme and having secured two significant managed services contracts” - and the shares are currently racing higher…

OptiBiotix (OPTI) has announced that it will be seeking shareholder approval to undertake a share capital re-organisation to allow the company to make future dividend payments. This is an accountancy matter - you can't pay dividends if you have retained losses. It is a clear statement of intent.

In a private email sent today after interim results from the rampers favourite B ushveld Minerals (BMN)  a top broker has called the shares out a s slam dunk sell at 7.625p arguing that they are worth only 2p and that the current death spiral funding will run out soon. He writes:

We are now a day from the end of November and STILL ShareProphets Aim-China Filthy Forty play Aquatic Foods (AFG) has not published its FY16 accounts, which are now a day short of five months late. Also outstanding are this year’s interims, which should have been out by the end of September.

Yesterday's interims from BCA Marketplace (BCA) dazzled investors and the shares bounced back to 217p - almost where they were before I published THE BIG SHORT. But if you do some number crunching...

Hello, Share Crushers. This old punter is a great fan of traditional garb. Long black overcoats, trilbies, silk ties, that sort of thing. Sadly, larger chunks of the male population clearly don’t agree. We now mostly have scruffy jeans, trainers and baseball caps to sully our streets.

It is hard to know what to say about the latest news from African Potash (AFPO) so I present its latest release to you in full below. Fan-bloody-blockchain-tastic. Elsewhere I comment on BCA Marketplace (BCA), Torotrak (TRK0, Optibiotix (OPTI) and Fishing Republic (FISH)

I have something to confess. I perused the online Guardian newspaper over the weekend...and I did particularly enjoy one article. Fortunately, it was not anything political (I have not completely lost my marbles) but it did involve a fascinating business case study over time of the humble sandwich. Or as one contributor to the article observed 'we are light years ahead of the rest of the world'. Clearly the Earl of Sandwich has a lot to be thanked for. At the front of the queue in terms of British sandwich production is Greencore (GNC), whose heritage is in sugar beet but is now the top supplier of choice to all but one of the major supermarkets.

AIM-listed Frontera (FRR) has managed to get around to updating the market on its Ud-2 well in Georgia. To be fair, it did promise news by the end of the month. On the other hand, there are no flow rates. Had they been good, you can bet the numbers would have been there this morning.