Another intra-day update from St James House (SJH) sees the shares leaping higher, but this just as farcical as previously?…

A source who is 100% reliable tells me that the first member of the Quindell crime gang to face legal consequences will discover the good news this week. I shall keep you posted but I am in the right place to secure barrels of ouzo with which to celebrate. Elsewhere, I discuss Eqtec (ETQ) and why an eminent poster on our comments section is wrong to give it a clean bill of heath regarding its fraud. I debate valuing stocks in relation to NAV with respect to mining stocks and investment companies and I explain why it is different. I look at Cineworld (CINE) and bid rumours, Supply@ME Capital (SYME) and lunacy, and at the atrocious results from Versarien (VRS) and its startling admission re its illegal taxpayer loan. I also discuss why I am not panicking on gold and the gold shares I own.

I sit and marvel at the share price of fully listed Hammerson (HMSO) which has announced a share consolidation and a rights issue. Have I got this right – if so, surely it is a slam-dunk sell! Answers on a postcard……

Interior furnishings company Walker Greenbank (WGB) has updated including noting “recovery in the business at the half year end with the improving trend continuing month on month”. The shares have though currently responded to 45p, a few percent lower…

It appears that a second charge has been registered at Companes House by taxpayer-backed Innovate UK for its £5 million loan to Versarien (VRS). This means that if Versarien defaults, taxpayers may well not get all their cash back. That on its own seems a clear breach of Innovate UK rules and a reason why this loan should not be made. But there is worse. In its quite atrocious results today, Versarien itself gives a reason for why the loan application is illegal. Lucian Miers has written to Business Secretary Alok Sharma to flag this up.

And so the correction in gold and gold equities is in full swing. Jordan Roy-Byrne of TheDailyGold.com was right (yet again) all along. Should I sell anything or just sit it out on my veranda overlooking the woods where my secret stash of the yellow metal is buried, with my feet up?…

Good news this morning for AIM-listed jam- (or, rather, gold) tomorrow explorer Conroy Gold and Natural Resources (CGNR) as it has raised a fairly decent amount of cash – £800,000 – at 25p. Heck, if this goes on for much longer the company will no longer be technically insolvent! It might not be already, although I wouldn’t be too sure. So are the shares now a buy?…

‘Nothing exists in a vacuum’. This was drilled into me as a neophyte analyst and it is why I continue to spend a significant amount of my time thinking about macroeconomic issues and how they impact the risk environment for individual stocks…

Returning after a previous profitable recommendation of shares in Anglo Asian Mining (AAZ), in July with the shares at 140p we noted current mines potential but also a geological exploration programme continuing with success. Now an “H1 2020 Geological Exploration Activities” update…

Hello, Share Tasters. One way to fill lockdown hours is to paint model fantasy figures, then play war games with them. Ok, that may not be your cup of tea but millions of folks around the world do this sort of thing. Taking advantage of this indoor hobby is Games Workshop (GAW)…

In today’s podcast I look at Pensana Rare Earths (PRE), Verditek (VDTK), Zenith Energy (ZEN), Inspirit (INSP) where there is a rebellion about to break out and, natch, I back the rebels, Supply@ME Capital (SYME) and Superdry (SDRY).

Fashion company Superdry (SDRY) “is pleased to announce that it has entered into a new financing facility… strong cash position” and “current trading in Q1 has been better than our initial expectations” – with the shares currently above 147p in response, more than 25% higher…

It is 92 days since I last wrote about Wellesley Finance Plc.   So, I have looked at recent developments at the mini bond disaster waiting to happen where the FCA is, as ever, asleep at the wheel.

I have never owned or – to the best of my knowledge – written about AA plc (AA.). Briefly last decade I was a member before an alternative breakdown service was bundled into my bank account but I remember thinking it was a bit of a rip-off back then. Obviously some people (Neil Woodford) did not think it was a rip-off and built up a large double-digit percentage stake before having to admit it was yet another mistake…

A “settles employment tribunal claim” announcement from “clinical AI technology company”, Sensyne Health (SENS) including “as previously announced, Lorimer Headley, left the Board and the business on 2 March 2020. He made allegations against the CEO, Lord Drayson. The Board arranged for these allegations to be investigated by an independent law firm and they found that the allegations were not supported by the evidence”. So a favourable settlement for Lord Drayson and Sensyne then, surely?…

Zenith Energy (ZEN) is quoted on the Standard List, so the regulator in charge is the FCA. The FCA is also responsible for policing all cases of fraud among listed companies. So, after today’s shocking fess up as a result of my bombshell of last Thursday, I have dropped the chocolate teapots a note about events since June 4 demanding an urgent enquiry and the suspension of the shares.

AIM-listed Turkish gold-miner Ariana Resources (AAU) has announced a series of director share transactions involving its Chairman, Mr Michael de Villiers. In theory, cashing in on 3 million options and then selling enough to pay the bills, as it appears, may not be much to write home about, but there is that corporate action deal which will involve a special dividend……

AIM-listed Yu Group (YU.) has this morning updated on the investigation by AIM Regulation into the shambolic mis-reporting of profits/receivables etc which saw the company write off c. £10 million from its 2018 accounts. The result? A £300,000 fine – surely far too light – which has been waived for co-operating with the enquiry! The lesson from AIM Regulation for less than scrupulous AIM Directors is that fraud is no problem – just get on with it and we’ll do nothing at all. There is no moral hazard.

Anyone who checked out the track record of the once self-styled  “King of Socks” Count Andrea Cattaneo della Volta, would never have invested in Zenith Energy (ZEN). This is a man who trousered vast sums from Pex, a Leicester sock maker, before shutting up shop in the UK leaving workers owed huge unpaid wages.  Last week I published a letter appearing to show that Zenith had lost its main asset, the Tilapia field in the Republic of Congo. Today, a bombshell…..

Hello Share Mates. One of my recent choices for your further inspection is going from strength to strength. The full-year numbers from Gear4Music (G4M) were as good as I thought they might be. The share price rose further on the news, but I think progress will continue…