Hello Share Trundlers. Ever since the big crash of 2007-8, it takes a brave bunny to suggest you look at British bank shares. But as a big holder of Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY), I’ve been heartened in the last few days at the jumps this difficult share is making. It’s all to do with the roll-out of the vaccines, of course. But is that optimism justified?

I start with how Boris is wrecking the UK economy. I truly despair. Then I discuss the daft comparison with the years that followed Spanish flu. I then move onto the growing banking crisis. Finally, I discuss the idea that industries will change 100% to avoid human contact. I explain why this is not the case with reference to an industry I know well, investor shows. The maths does not stack up and most humans, though not me natch, are social creatures. There is a lot of hot money betting on the world changing completely. It will not.

A quick glance at the FTSE-100 flirting again with the 6,000 index point level might have calmed the casual investor to think that everything was seamlessly slipping into a 'V-shaped' recovery. More experienced investors understand that there are multiple psychological, flow and - yes - fundamental factors at work. That it is complex out there is shown by the tone and content of today's trading update by Next (NXT), a company whose capability to work out a plan I have lauded before...

Audio-visual systems for organisations-focused MediaZest (MDZ) has updated including that “two large projects set for completion in November/December… should generate significant profitability in the quarter ended 31 December 2019” and “new business enquiries in recent weeks have markedly increased and several potentially significant opportunities are being pitched in coming months”. The shares have responded currently more than 14% higher to 0.08p…

A bit of a 'same old, same old' feeling to today's crop of regulatory news statements and Whitbread (WTB) is indicative of this. I said back in February that the owner of Premier Inn had a plan – and I think that remains the case. Or as it put it…

I called Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) shares 'boring' and 'worthy' a year ago... but even adding back the dividend I am still down about 10% over the last year from that comment. So far from the greatest call, even if most of the rest of the financial sector has fared worse. As an old boss once said to me 'you can't eat relative performance'…

Previously writing on Character Group (CCT), I concluded presently still a small, speculative buy. Today an AGM trading update from this toys, games and giftware company…

Back in mid-September I told you to take your trading profits on Next (NXT) at around fifty quid a share. Today's update highlights again that currently the only way to play even UK retail names with good market shares, decent balance sheets and a propensity to chuck out dividends and undertake share buybacks is with a trader's hat on.

I have not written about Dixons Carphone (DC.) before but, whilst Darren counts the profits from his short sell tip on the share of early January, I have to say today's share price dump has rather piqued my interest.