On 25 January Amur Minerals (AMC) announced that it was in talks to sell its Russian Mining assets “at an indicative price of up to £100 million.”  Today came the actual deal and it raises big questions. Let’s start with the price!

Given the hysteria surrounding the situation in Ukraine over the weekend, the falls in Western-listed Russian names were relatively muted with most being down low single digit percentages on Monday. The exception to this appeared to be FTSE 100 constituent Evraz plc (EVR), the steel producer and coal miner with major operations in Russia and Ukraine. The stock which had closed on Friday at 444p opened at 285p, showing a decline of 159p or 35%. The press was quick to latch on to this “carnage”:

As a regular reader of the Russian publication Kommersant I bring you an article on Petropavlovsk (POG). Forgive the poor translation but the meaning is clear. If this article is correct, it is clear that those trying to oust the board are working in concert as part of a far wider plan or corporate activity. That is one reason we have voted FIML's shares in favour of the board and against the very dodgy rebels and urge you all to do the same. Surely this is something that the Takeover panel should be investigating as a matter of urgency?

AIM-listed AFC Energy (AFC) released its results last week with a fanfare, highlighting “successful testing”, “increased income”, MOUs, and “strategic partnerships. What they didn’t highlight though was (i) the company has been “testing” since 2006 and despite lots of “successful tests” has never achieved a single commercial sale, (ii) AFC’s principle sources of income were EU grants and income from selling its shares via a complicated equity swap, (iii) the company signs up to MOUs and strategic partnerships with the same appetite that a pubescent teenager devours (and dumps) new partners.

AFC Energy (AFC) is currently enjoying its day in the sun as the AIM Casino’s favourite fuel cell stock. Hydrogen fuel cell technology companies were all the rage in 2006/7 at about the time AFC Energy was floated, with Ceres Power and ITM Power reaching stratospheric valuations before crashing back down to earth and, in the case of Ceres Power, all but wiping out shareholders.

Clean Air Power (CAP) has just raised £1 million at 4p – a 27% discount to the share price the day before the RNS. The stock now trades at a new year low of 4.125p and this appears a lesson in red flags. I’d not wan t to hold this stock as it strikes me that it is full of CAP.