After languishing unloved for a while in the low sixties, shares in Optibiotix (OPTI) are really steaming ahead and are now 78p to buy. We hope you bought in the low sixties as we repeatedly urged. If not it is not too late. The shares are a buy at up to 80p and I expect to be advising you to sell at WELL OVER 100p by Easter. So what has happened?

Shares in women's value retailer Bonmarche (BON) are currently recovering more than 7.5%, to 85p, on the back of a trading update which notifies of 3.3% sales growth in the 13 weeks ended 24th December and that “the company's financial position remains sound and the board's expectation for the full year is unchanged”. However,…

Pre Christmas the ramptastic stream of RNS statements, corporate presentations and interviews with homeless clowns told you all you needed to know: worthless Andalas Energy (ADL) was in full ramp mode as it prepared for a rescue bailout. Now, though most oil shares have risen sharply in recent weeks, Andalas stock is still just 0.12p to sell and is falling again today. So how is the £1 million placing it needs faring? 

For shareholders in Strat Aero (AERO) who thought it could not get any worse as the company hurtles towards bankruptcy in less than four week's time, we have bad news: it is about to get even worse.

Last year Strat was sued by American Hulsey Smith who demonstrated clearly that the company had lied to investors. Strat said it would fight all the way but then issued 38 million shares and handed over a wodge of cash to settle with Hulsey. Yesterday it emerged that Smith was dumping as fast as he can - so expect his last 18 million shares to be lobbed out within days. But it gets worse.

If it wasn’t for the fact that ordinary PIs will have lost a lot of money, the announcements and share price movements in Fitbug Holdings (FITB) over the last couple of days would almost be comical!

Hello Share Snafflers. Well, it seems the old Footsie has called a halt to its record-breaking run into ground-breaking highs. Does this surprise anyone? Of course not. What keeps on going up has to come down. So it’s possibly time to pause in our headlong rush to find shares which put on capital value. Let’s instead turn once again to an ever-important part of the armchair tycoon’s income - the dividend.

According to the Daily Telegraph, it is a fact that folks who use bad language are more honest than those who speak like Angels. You know where I am fucking well coming from. In this podcast I look at Fitbug (FITB), Servision (SEV), Corero (CNS), Greatland Gold (GGP), me breaking a New Year financial resolution already and also Magnolia Petroleum (MAGP) 

Portmeirion, Spode, Royal Worcester and Wax Lyrical homewares group Portmeirion (PMP) “is pleased to confirm that it expects profit before taxation for the year to 31 December 2016 to be slightly ahead of market expectations”. BUT…

There are two massive uncertainties regarding Watchstone (WTG), Quindell as was. I look at today's trading statement and offer up analysis which suggests that on a best case scenario this stock is more than fully valued but on a worst case scenario it is grossly overvalued.

Whatever you say about Strat Aero (AERO) as it hurtles towards insolvency in a few weeks time it is al least the source of true comedy with RNS statements which are such complete and utter bullshit that they should win awards. welcome to the latest chapter in the tale of Hulsey Smith, the yank who litigated against Strat, showed that it had committed fraud, and ended up owning 11% of its equity as part of a settlement. Owning 11% of a company you have proved committed fraud is not an ideal place to be.

Shares in marketing services group St Ives (SIV) are currently circa 37% lower, at around 80p, on the back of a “Trading Statement” announcement. Profit warning ahoy then!…

Hat tip to reader P who has already dobbed Frontera Resources (FRR) into the Oxymorons at AIM Regulation for what appears to be a blatant reach of the rules but on the casino do the rules matter any more? Does anyone give a flying wotsit about sticking to the rules when Marcus Stuttard and his Keystone Cops are just so utterly useless? AIM Rules dictate that companies must inform investors via RNs of material changes in trading. So over to Frontera...

Having inherited a train wreck from Peter Earl and his former colleagues in the AIM-listed Rurelec (RUR) boardroom, the current directors of the company have been living something of a hand-to-mouth existence surviving on scraps of short term finance while they try to rescue what has long appeared to be a basket case. But not satisfied with his fine work at the company (before departing in 2015), it seems Mr Earl has one last hurrah for his former shareholders. This morning the company announced receipt of Statutory Demands from AIM-executed IPSA (IPSA) and from Independent Power Corporation plc. Uh-oh.

When wandering around the book town of Hay on Wye a few years ago my father told my late step mother that "all the books here are by people no-one has ever heard of and are read by no-one". She took great pleasure in finding six copies of one of his books in the first shop they visited. Naturally dad was keen yesterday to see if I could see any books by him or any other relatives.

In a rash move yesterday, while wandering around "the book town" of Hay on Wye I splashed out £100 on an investment which my father is not so sure about but I reckon is a winner. Having checked a few websites overnight I reckon I am 30% ahead on my trade already but I am holding this as over 20 years it will be a multibagger.

Distil (DIS) is a company which I have been following closely for a couple of years – as well as holding shares in it myself.

Hello Share Skaters. When pushed by the respected blogger Bearfacts on this ground-breaking website this week, my finger was hovering over ‘sell’ buttons more than ‘buy’ switches in this rather scary month.

I looked at remote meetings technology group LoopUp (LOOP) just after the company’s August IPO – concluding, with the shares at 112.5p, that the valuation in conjunction with usual IPO and growth risks saw me avoid, but that I’d monitor with interest. The shares closed yesterday at exactly the same price as then – but are currently approaching 13% higher today, at 127p, on the back of a trading update announcement…

Steve Moore commented on the collapse at 365 Agile (365) last August HERE but I wanted to write a fuller piece on it highlighting the role of MXC Capital, particularly after the Redcentric (RCN) debacle as there is a lesson for investors here.

Previously writing on GAME Digital (GMD) with the shares at 67p, I concluded bearishly HERE. The following updates with the shares currently down further, at sub 60p, on the back of an “AGM Statement and Trading Update” announcement…