This morning BlueJay Mining (JAY) announced that three directors had bought shares.  That is a spoof. The amounts are not material and the aim is to try and arrest the share price slide. If anything such spoofing is itself another reason to sell. It gets worse…

Africa forestry and agriculture company Obtala (OBT) has updated on the third quarter of its year, including that it has remained focused “on increasing output from our profitable assets in West Africa and improving margins by leveraging our fixed cost base… year to date revenues have now comfortably surpassed that of the full year in 2017 and revenues for the current financial year are expected to exceed US$10m for the first time”…

Well, maybe I am. Or maybe just misinformed, or I just don’t understand. I see that there has been a bit of bulletin board excitement over reports that the Share Centre is backing Woodford – in particular his Patient Capital Trust – “despite Brexit” but the logic seems to my simple mind a bit wayward.

Ariana Resources (AAU) has announced results for the first half of 2018, including emphasising “production for the year is expected to exceed initial expectations in the second half” and “we are now in the process of committing to a 4,000m RC and diamond drilling programme across certain projects during the remaining 2018 through to 2019 period”…

Hello Share Switchers. Amerisur Resources (AMER) is one of those companies in my bag that have done so badly over years, that the shares are not always worth keeping an eye on. However, there was hope this week for some sort of recovery.

I cannot really speak properly. Forgive me, there is good reason. However I offer comment, breaking rumour and analysis on Tern (TERN),  Purplebricks (PURP) and the plight of the shorter, Berkeley Energia (BKY) and planned yellow journalism by the tossers at the FT and Audioboom (BOOM) and management spoofery.

A “Change of Adviser” announcement from the self-styled “UK's leading value butcher” Crawshaw (CRAW) includes “Peel Hunt LLP has served notice, which has been mutually agreed by Crawshaw, to terminate its engagement with the group as its current nominated adviser and broker”. Who’s the ‘change’ to then?...

We long suffering believers in the only proper currency man does not devalue with the printing press might have hoped for more but we will settle for this if it is on offer.

Little of dramatic interest in the larger cap world for me in today's RNS disclosures, so a couple of comments on two names I have commented on recently: ITV (ITV) and Kingfisher (KGF), both of which were wrapped up in the world of press/broker speculation yesterday...

Oh dear, oh dear. At what point will those who have backed this crock of shit decide that it is not worth chucking any more cash down this black hole. I know that free speech denying boss Rob Proctor and his relatives on the payroll need jobs but but this company is just a disaster zone. As he wakes up for a meeting with Karma today, Proctor tries to polish the turd but today’s lack of profits/almost out of cash warning is his worst yet. And that takes some doing given his track record of abject operational failure and of consistent value destruction 

Yesterday saw yet another decline in the share price of Blue Jay Mining (JAY) and that has continued this morning. This is perhaps the biggest small cap mining promote seen in recent years but reality is starting to dawn on the mug punters as they consider the options the company now has going into 2019 absent an offtake agreement, EIA & SIA approval and the all important Exploitation licence.

In Africa things always tend to take far longer than people expect, and even more so when it comes to anything in the natural resources sector. Interest in, and the share price of, Tlou Energy (TLOU) seems to have waned and I think that has largely been as a result of some having far too optimistic timescales with regards to the company’s coal bed methane project at Lesedi, in Botswana.

Provider of geological products and services Getech (GTC) has announced results for the first half of 2018, noting “a robust sales pipeline” and “we expect 2019 budgets to set a clearer and more positive path”...

It never ceases to amaze me how much of a gamble some PIs will take with their money, even when the company itself has warned that it is in real trouble and it is almost impossible to see a way out of a bad situation which would result in a higher share price.

Hello Share Solvers. You have to respect a company with a lot of famous names among its customers. Today’s choice for your further exploration includes among its clients; the British government, Airbus, the European Space Agency, the BBC, Radio France, Siemens, Vodafone, Metropolitan Police, the Royal Navy and the National Trust. Impressive, eh?

Previously writing on cyber-security software company Defenx (DFX) in May it was CEO didn’t seem to like it… after just 6 months! - and I noted its statement that “there can be no certainty that the net proceeds of the fundraising will be sufficient to meet the working capital requirements of the Defenx Group in returning it to profitable trading”… Now AIM “Restoration” and “Convertible Loan from BV Tech” announcements…

This is an interesting business model. Write to your client, for whom you have published bullish paid for research notes, open letters slagging them off. I wonder what the renewal rate is at Align Research? Anyhow the latest target of Align boss Richard Jennings is Charlie Wood of Mayan Energy (MYN) who received the stinging missive below today. Ouch.

The September letter from Matt Earl to investors in his Shadowfall fund has found its way, via Winnileaks, into my possession. I gather Matt does not want it published but Winnileaks works both way Mr DD! I had a pop at First Derivatives (FDP) myself back in June despite it hailing from God's chosen lands of Ulster, as you can see HERE.  Matt goes into far more detail in the 47 page document you can see below. 

HaloSource (HALO) has emphasised “a significant milestone for the company, as it has officially received notification of certification from the Water Quality Association for its patent-pending technology and innovative astrea ONE filtering water bottle” - and the shares are currently more than 11% higher at 1p. Hmmm…

Aside from a couple of brief comments on its new discount offering Jack's, the last time I wrote substantially on Tesco (TSCO) was six months ago - when I concluded that there was another leg in the share price to come, which duly resulted. But the wheels have come off the shares in the last couple of months. I still remain unconvinced by Jack's but in the wider scheme of things in the Tesco empire it is a rounding error. I think the real issue however is that Tesco is now no longer a recovery stock and - as we all know - it is easier to travel than arrive…