Recruitment and training group Staffline (STAF) is “delighted to be extending our working partnership with Tesco… in addition to our PeoplePlus’ services being represented so widely across the CAEHRS framework. We also welcome the Chancellor’s recent amendments to existing VAT deferral measures” – and the shares have responded above 27p, 15% higher…

Tom noted in yesterday’s bearcast the latest from Cineworld Group (CINE) and the shares set for a Monday crash – and they are more than 40% lower, below 25p, with a “Temporary suspension of US & UK cinema operations” announcement…

Three weeks ago the share price of Manolete (MANO) slipped below 300p. Given that it was 515p when I published a major dossier on July 10 warning that the shares would more than halve, it was panic stations…

I think that I am still c£25,000 underwater on my Wishbone Gold (WSBN) shares so far be it from me to discourage shameless Aussie stock promoter Big Dave Lenigas from ramping the stock as shamelessly as possible. However…

Having asked for readers tips for 2020 for the prize of 1/2 litre of Tom Winnifrith’s Greek Hovel olive oil (2020 harvest) HERE, the following is an update on performance at the end of September (to be eligible needed to have selected, on a per username basis, a buy & sell pick from the LSE or AIM casino and the stocks not to have been suspended at the commencement of 2020)…

AIM-listed energy provider Yu Group (YU.) has this morning announced a new ‘Long-Term Incentive Plan’ for directors and senior management. The terms, from a shareholder perspective, look OK but Yu’s balance sheet suggests to me that this is more about spoofing investors than rewarding management…

I do not think I have written about Weir Group (WEIR) on these pages before. After all, it is a FTSE 100 name that many investors find it easy to overlook. But the company is a not insignificant operator in the global mining, materials and energy services space – and it is the latter of these areas which grab my attention today as the company announced the ‘cash sale of the Weir Oil & Gas division to Caterpillar Inc. for an Enterprise Value of US$405m’. Admittedly, that is only a single digit percentage of the company’s enterprise value, but you can see the rationale when it notes that it will take ‘Weir pro forma Net Debt / EBITDA at 30 June 2020 of 1.9x’…

Hello, Share People. A long time ago I dumped my shares in Smiths Group (SMIN), the British engineering giant. Year after year, the shares remained largely static and I lost patience. But now the company seems set to continue a strong recovery from the virus crash. I see no obvious reason why Smiths can’t regain previous share levels and possibly go beyond them…

BP (BP.) is apparently going to become a tree hugging “green” Integrated Energy Company. It would appear to me that this is driven by the sole aim of being “politically” correct. I do not accept the premise upon which the new company strategy is based or far more importantly the detail of the implementation. So is Mr Looney true to his name or an enlightened visionary?

Coming to you from Shipston, I discuss Andy Hornby and why he is a posterboy for the unacceptable face of capitalism at the Restaurant Group (RTN) and also the news from Cineworld (CINE) – told y’all! As the shares are set for a Monday crash, I discuss the systemic failure of the media to understand the issue at hand and especially the guilt of the Sunday Times in losing folks’ money.

There is a small amount of borrow available to allow you to short Standard Listed Supply@ME Capital (SYME) and after this week you should, if you can, grab it with the shares at 0.44p. The market cap is still well over £100 million and this is a zero in waiting…

Share in AIM-listed jam-tomorrow investment company Tern plc (TERN) ended last week at 7.7p – a 10% premium to the last stated net asset value per share of 7p. It was a better week, having seen the share price hit a low point of just 6.25p at the beginning of September. Of Tern’s net assets of £20.1 million at the interim stage, its principal investee Device Authority (DA) accounts for £13.8 million – or 68.7% and last week DA’s accounts appeared at Companies House. Oh dear……

Last month I wrote about the insurance and travel name Saga (SAGA) and its announced money raising, with money being tapped from the new non-executive chair (at a premium!) as well as existing shareholders and the market. At the link, I called it ‘ten out of ten for commitment’ and on Friday we had the results of the money raising…

Welcome to the Sunday ShareProphets Pub Quiz. 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.

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?

The most read non-Tom article this week, Centamin – Movement in Stage 4 West wall leads to suspension of open pit operations there: Buying Opportunity by Nigel Somerville, is at a terrific number two or at number four, including Bearcasts and Tom’s new shareshow. Which one is the best of the week? Tell me in the comments.

It has been some time since there has been a really big exploration drill for an AIM listed company, but that is exactly what should be coming soon for Bahamas Petroleum (BPC).

Even sir Isaac got his trading badly wrong

On 30 September 2020, Iconic Labs (ICON) announced a Partnership with leading Ad-tech tech provider with the first paragraph stating “Iconic Labs Plc (LSE:ICON), a multidivisional new media and technology business, today announces that after a successful trial Iconic Labs has signed a commercial partnership agreement with Glimpse Protocol, a leading provider of advanced technologies to Ad-tech.”

I start with a personal message as to why there may or may not be a break in bearcasts over the next few days. Then it is onto how Watchstone (WTG) – Quenron (QPP) as was – is suing KPMG. This is bonkers. KPMG has made Watchstone shareholders far richer than they should be. I explain that and then discuss how if I was in charge and had a time machine, we would have stopped this fraud ever happening. Without the time machine, what would I do now?