Okay you did not need the brains of Lloyd George to work out that this was coming but the stench of panic in today’s package of emergency measures from Argo Blockchain (ARB) should un-nerve even Zak Mir as he is paid to ramp these worthless shares.

In these troubled economic times, how about a proven defensive investment offering a dividend yield of above 5%?

Writing on Bluebird Merchant Ventures (BMV) last week we noted, with the shares at a 1.4p offer price, that upcoming “advancing/monetising” news from the Batangas project in the Philippines should help the shares as well as progress in South Korea. Now there has been a Batangas licence extension announcement and the shares currently up to a 1.6p offer price – and there should still be much to come.

I am still nursing an ouzo-inflicted headache following Wednesday’s bailout placing at just 7.5p by AIM-listed Tern plc (TERN). Tom Winnifrith has covered this here and here already, but there are still more reasons to sell.

AIM-listed Haydale (HAYD), fresh from its bailout keep-the-lights-on placing and open offer at 2p in which it raised £5.5 million (gross) last month, has announced its full year results, to June 30, this morning. The numbers are truly grim.

I refer to this amazing exposé by Snopes HERE into Max Polyakov, Ukraine's Elon Musk. Why does it matter: I recall Cupid and the great establishment cover up.  Thjis is crime plain and simple and the board knew about it and covered it up. KPMG covered it up. The Nomad did nothing and so too did the Oxymorons at AIM Regulation. The SNP has been lobbying hard for Polyakov. They are all beneath contempt. Then I ask if share buying at Bluebird Merchant Ventures (BMV) is legit. It is. Then I discuss why a whistleblower may or may not have a story about another AIM company, look at Made.com (MADE), Sosandar (SOS), Tern (TERN) and Bidstack (BIDS): two placings , one a pea shooter, one possibly (but probably not) a bazooka.

Previously writing on x-ray imaging company Image Scan (IGE), in March with the shares up to 2.25p I questioned how “significant” is the loss to be? and concluded to avoid the shares. What of today a “trading update” and the shares currently a further more than 20% lower on the back of it, to just above 1p?

As you can see below yet another fake Gary Newman has appeared oin twitter. The photo is Gary. The name is Gary. And the @ is almost Gary, except there is one extra letter added.  So what is happening here?

Gold asset manager Jaime Carrasco of Canaccord Genuity reckons that for gold bulls like him the goood rimes really are abnout to start soon as the world goes to hell in a hand cart. Jaime says, “I’ve been preparing for this storm for a long time, and it’s here. I don’t think we can hide from the global volatility. In 2008, they bailed out the banks, but now the question is who will bail out the governments."

You can sometimes get some borrow in Versarien (VRS) and if you can you should even with the shares, which were once almost 200p, having slumped to below 15p. The next collapse will happen and happen fairly soon. It is a when not an if.

Lunatics such as the low grade Ulster share spiv Nigel Hassard insisted that Bidstack (BIDS) did not need a fund raise even as its own broker slashed forecasts and warned that the company would be down to just £34,000 cash at December 31 this year.  The loons said that I was just scaremongering.  Of course, Bidstack did not tell ordinary investors about that Stifel red alert, instead, the very same day issuing a ramptastic statement about a $100 million market opportunity. I’d like to talk about an opportunity – also not grounded in any hard actual events – that I have with Cheryl Cole.

Online bathroom retailer Victorian Plumbing (VIC) has issued a trading update for its year ended 30th September headlined “Trading ahead of market expectations” and the shares have currently responded more than 15% higher to above 40p. How creditable ‘ahead of expectations’ is, of course though depends on how challenging the expectations were. So what’s the story here?

If you do the maths, the Primary Bid flop for Tern (TERN) announced this morning is really bad news. The amount raised by Primary Bid and in a subscription is just not enough. It is a sticking plaster on a wound bleeding cash when a full tourniquet was needed. And it means that the countdown to the next placing is already underway.

Regular readers will know that I never have smoked or vaped  and never will in the future. It is not my bag but if people want to buy the range of products offered by Imperial Brands (IMB), British American Tobacco (BATS) and the few other global corporate peers that exist out there (all of which are highly taxed by governments around the world), that is absolutely fine by me based on my belief in a freedom of choice. As for health and safety and common-sense, if you want to ban tobacco and related stocks then I guess you should do the same for alcohol and gambling and a bunch of pharmaceuticals. Anyhow, my view has been that Imperial Brands has been a must-have for your pension fund for a couple of years now. And so it has been pleasing to see a 20% share price rise this year (despite all the overall global market angst) and a 4% share price rise today.

Nigel Somerville has warned you often enough that sub scale investment in cash guzzling crap company Tern (TERN) was running on vapours. It did not have enough cash to fund its bloated PLC costs let alone to feed the gaggle of perennially loss making companies in which it has invested. So today's after hours RNS will not shock you.

I reckon these stockbrokers must earn even more that those chancers my wife gets in to clean the windows and so I am a frustrated non buyer of a shares I have not owned before. Jaya and I did some due diligence at the coal face today and I explain why I may be buying if I can get hold of the great man tomorrow.  Then it is onto Wildcat Petroleum (WCAT) and the corruption of the deadwood press (the Sunday Times in this case) and finally a detailed look at Malcolm Stacey favourite Strix (KETL) where I have been a bear.  The shares are down 69% over the past 13 months and after today's news I see an easy 30-40% more downside from here. With an EV of c£400 millionand a £270 million market cap it should be shortable and should be shorted.

Essentra (ESNT) has issued “Sale of Filters and Packaging Completion of Sale” and “Appointment of New Chief Executive”-titled announcements and the shares have responded up by more than 15% to above 210p – Mr Market says it sounds like good news then.

Previously writing on automation and customer engagement software company Netcall (NET), a year ago with the shares around 80p I suggested the valuation looked to at least demand near perfect delivery of vast new growth opportunities. With now results for its year ended 30th June 2022, how’s it doing?

Earlier I posted damning claims about musicMagpie (MMAG) by someone claiming to be an ex employee, which suggest that the busineses's new ventures will flop and its existing business is in real decline. So who is this poster? It has been suggested that it is the company's CTO David Hilton. The company's PR firm Powerscourt cannot be arsed to return calls as promised which only fuels uncertainty whiile musicMagpie HQ was not even answering the phone mid afternoon. But Mr Hilton has better manners and has got back to me to say he is still employed at music and is not the whistleblower.

Shares in PCF Group (PCF) closed 2020 at 30p. Less than three months later they were suspended at 24p as a black hole created by its then recently departed numbers man David Bull emerged. It has been downhill ever since and today’s latest dire update has seen them collapse by 33% to 1.5p. But a spread of 1p-2p suggests market makers know that there could be far worse to come. This is Bull’s fault. Who on earth would employ him now?

musicMagpie (MMAG) the company one heartbeat from being in the hands of a fraud enabler has been a long term – and quite utterly brilliant – bear call by myself. I think I have made the ongoing bear case quite clearly after the most recent (lack of) profits warning. Now a chap claiming to be an ex employee has popped up on the LSE Asylum with a few posts. Now I know this is the No 1 asylum but the virgin poster seems to know what he is talking about. Maybe he/she/they is real?

Itaconix (ITX), describing itself as “a leading innovator in plant-based specialty polymers used to decarbonise everyday consumer products”, states it is pleased to announce a distribution program with the Brenntag North America business of “a global market leader in chemical and ingredients distribution”, Brenntag SE. So what of a current share price response to 4.75p, more than 2% lower?

Back in June I observed about shares in Tesco (TSCO) that “I think there are better buys in the market today, but if you already hold Tesco shares, chill out and enjoy the weekend”. The share price back then was around 250p and today it is kicking around 205p. So, are shares in Britain’s largest supermarket now cheap or not?

Shares in “the UK's leading tile specialist” Topps Tiles (TPT) are currently up approaching 5% today at 43p on the back of a Q4, to 1st October, trading update but are therefore still well down on the above 59p when I cautioned on the shares in March. So what’s the story now?

Hello Share Chewers. The current bear market has hit most shares, of course. But, as always, some companies suffer unfairly in the downward rush. One such venture that could see a recovery soon is Oxford Metrics (OMG).

On recently writing on ‘digital transformation’ business TPXimpact (TPX) the shares had fallen to 32.5p. They recovered to 34.9p but, on a good day for the markets, are currently back at 32.5p despite the company announcing that “certain directors and senior management of the company have purchased a total of 236,820 ordinary shares”. So what’s the story?

I do explain the reference in full and it is not what you think. In the podcast I look at the utterly unconvincing sophistry of Colin Bird as I dissect his Bezant Resources (BZT) statement about the Caerus scandal. His sums just do not add up. And his company is insolvent. I look in detail at Bluebird Merchant Ventures (BMV) following news today and lunch on Saturday. I forgot to mention that I paid for lunch. I don't do freebies. Then Mitchells and Butler (MAB) and why old Malcolm is bonkers and finally Wildcat Petroleum (WCAT) which is an almighty sell after a spoof yesterday. that is where the urinals incident comes in.

At just over a penny, shares in Powerhouse Energy (PHE) are down by more than 75% so far this year. At peak ramp on 31 December 2020 they were 9.8p. To all those folks nursing 90% losses thanks to the (undeclared) paid ramping of Zak Mir and the ludicrous claims made by the company including its disgraced ex chairman, the liar and former Tory Minister Tim Yeo, you know who to blame. And it is not me who did warn you, not that you wished to listen.

Some folks said that I did not give them enough notice about ShareStock 2022 so they were on holiday, could not find anywhere to stay or had accepted a prior engagement. So for 2023 I am giving you almost a year’s notice of an even more unusual event! We start with some amazing new speakers:

‘Drug treatment regimens and personalised medicine consultancy’ Physiomics (PYC) has followed recent half-year results with a “pleased to announce… third contract by existing client, Numab Therapeutics”. So what of a current 2.3p share price?

Previously writing on designer, developer and international distributor of toys, games and giftware Character Group (CCT) just over a year ago with the shares down to 572.5p I concluded I’d look for some stated stabilisation before reconsidering from avoid. So what of a latest trading update?

I say soar. The shares are up 27% at 4.3p. To those dumb fund managers who ponied up £200 million (half from the company and have from investors bailing) at 200p in last year’s IPO that will be scant consolation. They are still almost 98% offside! The news is mixed.

Back in early August I observed that a dump below a twenty quid share price would be quite interesting for anyone interested in buying shares in Greggs plc (GRG). And, with the fall in the company’s share price over the last two or three weeks, we now might be at an interesting moment.

There are still some morons out there who reckon that mysterious offshore death spiral provider Venus is an actual investor in the fraud Supply@ME Capital (SYME) shares. They are encouraged in this delusion by the company but the reality is that Venus uses ramptastic and fanciful RNS's from Supply to forward sell shares onto the morons and then converts loan notes into shares to cover. In other words it always has either a negative or zero position in the stock. You think it is just me saying that? Have a butchers at page 5 of the current prospectus which will allow Supply to issue even more billions of death spiral shares...

Following a ridiculous rise in the shares of sub-Standard-Listed AIQ (AIQ), I have been expecting the forces of gravity to reassert and pull them down from a peak of over 19p. Gravity duly obliged over the last week, dropping AIQ’s confetti to 15p at the weekend, but now they have dropped again to 13p after the company handed out a load of 1p warrants. Normally I would shout and scream about pigs in the trough if warrants were issued at 1p when the shares were trading at 15p, or 13p at which they closed. But this is different.

Previously writing on SRT Marine Systems (SRT), last month with the shares at 28p I questioned how “material” is the half-year improvement?. So what of today a “half year trading update”?

In today's podcast, pre Joshua book fair, so a tad rushed I look at Amur Minerals (AMC), the growing Bezant (BZT) scandal, Gavin Burnell & Hot Rocks (HRIP) and Tortilla Mexican (MEX)

Mid and small cap broker Peel Hunt (PEEL) has issued a ‘trading update’ including “significant progress against our strategic priorities… when market activity levels normalise, we are well positioned for growth”. So what of a share price currently more than 5% lower to 83.5p?

I warned and I warned that this Mexican style fast food rollout would go badly and today shares in Tortilla Mexican Grill (MEX) have duly puked by 30% to 101p. It was just 362 days ago that this company joined the AIM sewer at 181p having raised £5 million for the company and £12 million for founders cashing in some of their nachos. Good call.

Somehow Vince Cable thought it would be a cracking idea to make Julie "lingerie on expenses" Meyer an MBE for services to business. A decade on, despite the FCA criminal enquiry, the collapse of her flagship Ariadne Capital, the UK and Maltese arrest warrants and the problems with taxmen in the US and UK and numerous others to whom money is owed, this rotten Government still thinks she should keep that gong. Here is another reason why that is a mistake.

For me, any company with a market cap below £1 billion is a small cap and so a bit of small cap focus for me today, given updates from two corporate names I have mentioned before: Essentra (ESNT) and James Halstead (JHD).

Shares in ‘digital transformation’ business TPXimpact (TPX), formerly Panoply, were above 100p until late last week. They are currently down at 32.5p, so what’s going on?

On August 26^th nanosynth (NNN) LIED to investors claiming it had done a deal which would see it “raise £2.9425 million”. That was a great big fat lie. It will raise nothing like that. Last week it doubled down repeating that lie in its interims and now, facing bankruptcy by Christmas it still refuses to come clean and its shares are tumbling again. Perhaps it is time to start telling the truth as lying sure is not working!

As it prepares for its 28^th year of miserable existence, the Eden Research (EDEN) fraud is still no closer to making a profit. Interims out on Friday were piss poor but behind the scenes is there even worse news?

Hello Share Squashers. Having moved to a new town recently, this old punter has been finding it hard to find a decent pub. This issue probably persists in most places now, as a tide of hostelries have closed for good in recent years. This is encouraging for pubs that remain, especially the chains. One such venture is Mitchells and Butlers (MAB).

I start by rubbing more salt into the wounds of Chris Bailey as I look at just how screwed is Carnival (CCL). Then onto whether we are in a recession or not and how long it will last. In light of my conclusion I urge you to ignore Malcolm's share tip tomorrow. Finally a thanks to a reader who stopped me poisoning my family last night with my self sufficiency. Tonight's episode of that part of my life is marrow and ginger jam.

As I exposed here yesterday, Colin Bird’s Bezant Resources (BZT) is insolvent and has deceived investors with its interims on Friday. I have written to its Nomad, Roland “fatty” Cornish, treating him with the respect he deserves, suggesting that the shares be suspended and that a statement is needed ASAP. Since he is almost certainly missing in 7 course lunch action today or perhaps sleeping luncheon off as he prepares for supper, I have ccd in the Oxymorons at AIM Regulation.

Gold closed the week at $1661 per oz – up from last week’s $1645, but still below the apparently all-important $1675 mark. It is all a bit depressing, but with incoming cash from the latest AIM-listed Ariana (AAU) dividend of 0.175p per share due tomorrow, the Gold price in Sterling terms within £100 of its all-time high and equity markets in another bear-run, its not so bad.

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? 
 

Death spirals have been a hot topic of conversation here on ShareProphets, the issue being whether they decimate share prices and are thus a major Red Flag.  Tom pointed out here that there is no causal link but with Cloudbreak Discovery (CDL) of the sub-Standard List, there seems to be another issue.

Put the kettle on, write your score in the comments, there are no prizes, and most important of all – no Googling! 

It is now just three months to the end of the year and at the last count my slam-dunk sells were one up and four down. Not too bad, but will I get a clean sweep?

These are the most-read articles and most listened-to Bearcasts of the week. The most read non-Tom non Darren article is “The ongoing saga of woe at Saga” by Chris Bailey at number eight or number 14 if you include Bearcasts.

There is more to Avacta (AVCT) than meets the eye, it’s a retail favourite with a rather steep valuation and an army of twitter and BB rampers working to push up the share price. This sort of cocktail attracts the shorts like myself. Where to start with this one? Let’s put aside the £275 million valuation, lack of ongoing revenue and impending cash raise.

Fox Marble (FOX) has issued a proposed reverse takeover update including that it considers “Eco Buildings' range of modular housing products provides a solution for the construction of both affordable and high-end housing, with Eco Buildings' products being up to 50% cheaper, two-thirds lighter and five times faster to deploy than conventionally built homes”.

Ariana Resources (AAU) has announced results for the first half of 2022, noting increased profit of £2.5 million from its 23.5% interest in the Kiziltepe mine in Turkey and emphasising significant activity across its various projects and investments.

Yesterday saw interims from Bezant (BZT) and Caerus  (CMRS). Has Colin Bird deceived us all? Have King of the spivs Jon Bellis and London's worst nomad, Roland "fatty" Cornish signed off on a work of complete fiction? I think they have and that Bezant shares should be suspended ASAP and Bird's career of penny share hustling broughtto an immediate close. All is  explained in today's podcast. 

I really do hope that you are not feeling too pessimistic about global financial markets and your portfolio.  Sadly, stuff does happen and what matters is always how you respond to such challenges.  Meanwhile in personal positions and investment choices I see that I get another opportunity to talk about and appraise Carnival (CCL), where frankly I would have been much, much wiser to have a holiday or three on the “6,465-passenger Carnival Mardi Gras, one of the largest cruise ships in service across all lines”, rather than holding shares in the company (whose US listed shares were at a share price last seen in 1993 yesterday afternoon)...

AIM-listed Advanced Oncotherapy released its interim results to June 2022 this morning – deadline day (never a good sign). The numbers are horrific – and so it seems are the prospects!

Hello Share Finders. Companies that help other outfits to save on energy might seem worth a look, even in these difficult times for most shares. Sureserve (SUR) works out money-saving plans for some reliable clients, mostly in the public area. As the Ukraine war could go on for years, demand is likely to stay high.

Normally I am envious of Robert, today I am not. On that note and now with the blessing of Aunt L, I tear, once again, into Colin Bird and Tiger Resources (TIR) after interims from Bezant Resources (BZT), then onto a shocker from Chill Brands (CHLL) and finally a laugh at former Neil Woodford dog Xeros (XSG) which is still spunking half a Bernie a month seeking to revolutionise the world of washing machines. Versarien (VRS) also gets a mention as I increase my forecasts of cashburn.

Back in February 2020 when Eurasia Mining (EUA) was trying its hardest to ramp its shares to the moon to allow its dodgy Russian backers to dump stock and for it to refinance, it paid the scumbags at ACF Research to produce a note which forecast that revenues would rocket to £341 million by 2021 by when profit after tax would be £160 million. Hmmm, today we had half year 2022 numbers and guess what? Have you got a microscope handy?

AIM bad-boy, suspended for the past five months for failing to release accounts, Catenae Innovation (CTEA) has at last released full year accounts to September 2021 and Interim results to March 2022. Oh, and it has announced a death spiral package from Sanderson Capital, under which the lender seems to do very well indeed (at shareholders’ expense).

After yesterday’s bombshell expose HERE shares in Voyager Life (VOY) were suspended. Unfortunately, I was the sole carer for two young children last night so there was no opportunity to tuck into a celebratory bottle of ouzo provided, very generously, by Ervil Banksta for just such an occasion.  Today there is a statement on “press speculation” and an unsuspension. As you might expect from a charlatan such as Eric Boyle of Stanford ( c)Rook infamy who chairs Voyager, the statement is not entirely true.

Alpha Growth (ALGW) published its piss poor results for the six months ended 30 June 2022 today which showed a loss before tax of £454,635.  The shares were off 7% at the time of writing this article which values the group at £11 million a multiple of almost 4 times net assets.  This looks high compared to say Legal & General (LGEN) which runs asset management and insurance operations with longevity exposure which trades at a multiple of just over 1 times net assets, has massive scale and pays dividends. Alpha is less likely to join the dividend list than, well, Cheryl Cole and you know what

The purchase of loss making sub scale asset manager Tradeflow by the fraud Supply@ME Capital (SYME) for a bonkers price in a deal which saw millions of pounds worth of shares handed to secretive offshore bank accounts was always mysterious and another red flag to add to the forest already flying. Last month Supply said that it was considering unwinding the deal but yesterday’s dire interims beg the question at whose instigation?

It is the last day of the month and also the final day of the third quarter of the year. Interesting times at many levels but it is not impossible out there for any investor (so long as you don’t pick some crazy investments). To that end, I hope you have not been too light in your allocations to the commodities, tobacco, defence and pharmaceutical sectors, as well as a bit of general non-sterling exposure. But one area a bunch of investment thinkers are very excited about is the infrastructure space. And that brings me back to 3i Infrastructure (3IN).

The bullet points at the top of a RNS release, a financial promotion so something covered by regulation and thus meant to be fair and balanced, are meant to be a summary of what lies buried in the text. There is no mitigation at all about telling a slam dunk lie in a bullet point from explaining deep in the body of a release, where few will read it, why the bullet point is not actually true. And that brings me to half calendar year results from the liars at nanosynth (NNN) and why this lie does matter whatever its rather irritable advisers think.

Tertiary Minerals (TYM) has always been one of those companies that has promised a lot based on the potential of its resources in the ground, yet never seems to make much progress towards actually extracting any of them, whilst burning through cash and having to raise more at regular intervals.

An information systems and technical services provider to the transport sector, Journeo (JNEO) has this month followed half-year results emphasising “strong revenue growth, is profitable and has generated its largest order intake” with a further contract win – to provide real-time information systems and on-vehicle hardware for shuttle services at Dublin airport. Further delivery to expectations would suggest the shares are currently very cheap.

A few personal thoughts then Stanford Crook from 27 years ago and Voyager Life (VOY) from today. Then I also cover Chill Brands (CHLL), Cellular Goods (CBX), Joules (JOUL), Westminster Group (WSG), Versarien (VRS), Avacta (AVCT), and the fraud Supply@ME Capital (SYME).

Avacta (AVCT) shares are off only 0.5p at 109.5p today despite some fairly piss poor half calendar year numbers as bulls were given two straws to clutch at: a sharp increase in sales and the lack of a bailout placing. Fear not if you are short: the denouement is only delayed and here is why.

Writing on company which describes itself as “a leading producer and supplier of graphene-based products for use in consumer and industrial markets” Directa Plus (DCTA) at the start of this month with the shares just below 90p I concluded, ahead of the half-year financial detail, still avoid / sell. So what of the now-announced results and the shares more than 12% lower at 76.5p?

I noted earlier that in today’s interims from the fraud Supply@ME Capital (SYME) there was, according to note 11,  another impairment charge of £765,000 on TradeFlow goodwill to add to the previous £800,000 impairment charge at the year end making a total of £1,565,000.  The remaining intangibles of TradeFlow are carried at £6,724,000 in the balance sheet but is this still too optimistic a number?

Fake Sheikhs (two of them), legal rows, management largesse, ADM Energy (ADME) has had the lot. While it might have provided neutral observers with a barrel of laughs, for those poor mugs who ignored the numerous warnings on this site it has been less than rewarding. Under various names ADM has destroyed 99.8% of shareholder value since it darkened London’s doors back in 2014. Of course numerous directors and crony capitalist advisors have coined it in but shareholders – apart from the first Fake Sheikh as he pumped and dumped -  have all been screwed. Today we have more bad news.

Oh dear, oh dear, the much anticipated report from RPS Energy is a damp squib at best, a shocker at worst and one which begs numerous questions for the journalist smeatring troll of a CEO David Bramhill, not least one about a clear funding gap and others about fracking which is sure to enrage the locals up in the East Riding of Yorkshire. With help from the UK's greatest living chain smoker I ask a few questions and leave you to draw your own conclusions. My own conclusion is that Bramhill remains toxic and at 30.25p a £34 million market cap is wholly unjustified for Union Jack Oil (UJO). So the points that scream out from the report:

Manufacturer of carbon fibre reinforced ceramic automotive brake discs Surface Transforms (SCE) “is pleased to announce that… the company has conditionally raised gross proceeds of £16.0 million… at the issue price of 40 pence per ordinary share”. How pleasing is this?

There is terrible and there is really terrible. And half calendar year results from the fraud Supply@ME Capital (SYME) are even worse than really terrible. This company is technically insolvent. Bust. Bankrupt. A dead corporate parrot.

Writing on LoopUp Group (LOOP) early this month with the shares up to 9p I concluded the current financial profile still suggests at this juncture avoid / sell... And at 6:18pm last night a “Proposed Capital Raising” announcement.

One advantage of being old is that – as long as the long covid does not get to you – you can recall events in the distant past which young investors or advisors like Liam Murray at Cairn, might not be aware of. Yesterday as I dug into Voyager Life (VOY) I recalled how I first exposed this company’s chairman as a charlatan 27 years ago. Leopards do not change their spots. Eric Boyle is a prize scallywag who has no place in the PLC world.

Sorry for the last Bearcast. Lots of things distracted me today. In the podcast I look at Boohoo.com (BOO) and on a related note the honesty of Waseem Shakoor. Then at Sosander (SOS), Bidstack (BIDS), Non Standard Finance (NSF) and Guild eSports (GILD) asnd also at the sense of denial in some quarters about economic gloom/reality and base rates.

I start with a sort of Lucian Miers-style checklist for short candidates. How many boxes does Bidstack (BIDS) tick?

Earlier this month on company describing itself as “a leading UK experiential leisure business operating the Escape Hunt and Boom Battle Bar brands” XP Factory (XPF), with the shares at 12.75p I suggested if there was positive financial news it would have said so. Now what of a results announcement for the first half of 2022?

Iodine and specialty chemical products producer Iofina (IOF) has announced results for the first half of 2022 and that market demand for raw iodine and its speciality products remains strong.

Another ‘interesting’ day in the financial markets but, fortunately, not all my pension fund holdings are down today. I see Burberry (BRBY) has announced another senior corporate change as “Daniel Lee has been appointed Chief Creative Officer” from Monday 3 October 2022, as “Riccardo Tisci will be stepping down as Chief Creative Officer and leaving the Company at the end of this month”. As you all know I am a big fashion expert (not!), so clearly the newbie’s Bradford background, profile as an “award-winning designer and one of the most exciting British creative talents of his generation”, combined with his recent three years as the Creative Director at Bottega Veneta “where he helped reinvigorate the Italian luxury brand”, is all very exciting stuff. I am completely unsurprised the stock is up 3% today given all of that then! And moving on from one area of excitement, to another: the world of ESG and Imperial Brands (IMB).

‘Data for automation, visualisation and advanced analytics for Accounts Payable’ software company Glantus Holdings (GLAN) states that it “is pleased to announce its interim results for the six months to 30 June 2022” and that “the ongoing relocation of the AP audit function of the business to Costa Rica is expected to deliver more productive and technology-led automated audits”. So what of a current below 13p share price, down more than 60%?!

AIM-listed Scirocco Energy (SCIR) – the former Solo Oil (SOLO) - looks to have thrown the gauntlet down to rebels looking for change at the company in requisitioning an EGM to change the Board and take another look at its investment policy by defying the 2022 AGM which seemed to prevent the issuance of shares. 

Shares in airlines have been hammered recently with concerns over demand during a cost of living crisis, as well as rising costs of running these businesses, but I’m not convinced that things are quite as bad as the markets seem to be factoring in.

Following the publication of my red flag dossier earlier this year, anyone owning shares in MGC Pharmaceuticals (MXC) was fully warned of the need to lube up. I hope they did. The shares were 2.25p back on 11 January when I warned you that this was a £70 million dog from the scholars and gentleman at Turner Pope.  They are now just 0.825p but after another red flag admission today they are still a monstrous sell.

Hello Share Scoffers. Back in the day, I used coaches a lot whereas my journalistic colleagues always chose the train. I find buses more comfortable and cheaper, if somewhat slower than rail travel. And I think that big coach operator National Express (NEX) still has a lot going for it.

In 2019 Avacta (AVCT) delayed its interim results until October to get a bailout placing away. In 2020 and 2021 it had results in late September but gave several weeks’ notice of the results date in a warning RNS. This year is different.

‘Smart sensing’ software company serving life sciences, entertainment and engineering markets, Oxford Metrics (OMG) has announced “deferment of approximately £3.5m of shipments” due to global supply chain issues but that it has been able to mitigate the margin impact to some extent and “has continued to experience high levels of market demand and currently holds its largest ever level of orders-in-hand”. So what of a current share price response down to 83.5p?

I am not sure that I agree with this, certainly from a UK perspective I really do disagree as I note HERE. But Larry Williams has been trading for 60 years so experience is on his side not mine.  Larry discusses how bad news sells and everyone has a cognitive bearish bias. If you focus on the bad too much, then reality gets in your way. We saw capitulation in this market back in June. This is typically an excellent point to enter markets.

My Aunt Lucy ticked me off this morning for writing nasty things about folks. She wants me to be nicer to EVERYONE even folks like Colin Bird and Neill Ricketts. Hmmmmmmmmmm. In today's podcast I look at Versarien (VRS), musicMagpie (MMAG), Saga (SAGA) and in detail at Tiger Royalties & Investments (TIR), Birds's collapsing house of related party cards.

Earlier this month I concluded on company which describes itself as “a leading provider of IT solutions to the global life sciences market” Instem plc (INS) that, with the shares up to 660p, greater and more consistent delivery is required – in overall financial terms, not just contract announcements. Now half-year results...and the shares currently down to below 600p.

The David Beckham deal with Guild eSports (GILD) always stank to high heaven as I pointed out at the time of the IPO while the deadwood press sucked the cock of the Beckham PR machine. On its IPO it raised £18 million but agreed that – irrespective of what sales it achieved – it would hand £15 million of that to Mr David Beckham in return for his work as a brand ambassador. Today, less than two years after that IPO at 5p, the deal has had to be scrapped in order to persuade investors to back a bailout fundraise to stave off bankruptcy.

Describing itself as a “technology and services business aiming to revolutionise home moving and ownership”, Smoove (SMV) has announced “strong growth… demonstrates the depth of the group's relationships with its introducers and its ability to capture market growth in the remortgage segment” and that it “anticipates that the recently announced changes to stamp duty thresholds will help more people get on the property ladder which should in turn positively impact the group”. So what of a current share price response to below 44p, down 9%?

As undoubtedly many of you know, a saga is ‘a long story of heroic achievement, especially a medieval prose narrative in Old Norse or Old Icelandic’. Meanwhile in the UK financial world, in my opinion there is an ongoing saga at Saga plc (SAGA), a company which may describe itself as “a British company focused on serving the needs of those aged 50 and over” and hence sound very relevant, but which has had even a peer shocking 95% share price fall over the last five years. So why has its first half numbers today pulled the stock down over 15% this morning to what looks like a new share price low?

Previously writing on specialist engineering company Pressure Technologies (PRES) in 2020 with the shares down to below 53p, having previously written with they just below 130p, I concluded ‘I retain that, particularly with the balance sheet and despite the shares having more than halved since, I’d want to see convincing overall trading recovery evidence before reconsidering the stance to avoid’. The shares most recently closed at 63p... but today a “Full-Year Trading Update”.

Technology managed services business AdEPT Technology Group (ADT) has issued an AGM trading statement, including noting a return to interim dividend payments with a 2.5p per share payout announced.