Minding the London Stock Exchange’s Business
Independent and Fearless Financial Journalism Funded by Readers
Even a few of our detractors have now come around
I start with football and a question from last night’s West Ham game, concerning how society now views crime and criminals. Then onto the lessons from the collapse of Sensyne (SENS), the bastard child of Neil Woodford and sleazy Lord Drayson. Finally, I look at: Canadian Overseas Petroleum (COPL); Bidstack (BIDS); Angus Energy (ANGS); Sound Oil (SOU); the odd case of NFT Investments (NFT); and the Bixby/Edwards/ Frangos/Storey/Peter Wall gang.
Ahead of West Ham vs Kidderminster and Wales vs Ireland I am obviously rushing to get things done. But this is a full length Bearcast covering Kefi (KEFI), Love Hemp (LIFE) and Powerhouse Energy (PHE)
I discuss the arrests made on 29 December in the USA and why the FCA should look at some of the activities of folks in the UK small cap world. Case studies include Eurasia Mining (EUA) and Chill Brands (CHLL). I then move on to Supply@ME Capital (SYME) and its news today, Wildcat Petroleum (WCAT) and also Verditek (VDTK), which I reckon is a zero for 2022 but since it can’t be shorted is not one of my tips of the year. To JP, sorry I have no idea why Peel Hunt quit as broker to Bushveld (BMN) but I suspect it gave three months notice. Leaving SP Angel as sole broker can’t be seen as good news. It is like firing our beloved West Ham as joint broker to retain the sole services of Chesterfield Town.
‘twas the night before Christmas and Julie Meyer was hanging up some particularly expensive stockings, naturally bought on expenses from her Ariadne days, in the mock fireplace of her rented Zurich apartment. “I know that I have been a good girl this year and if there is nothing in there in the morning that just shows that Santa is just a horrid old misogynist like the rest of them” muttered Julie to herself.
As African Potash (AFPO) this company was booted off the AIM Casino after its Nomad quid when discovering – thanks to me – that the company had told grotesque lies to get placings away, it had committed fraud. Chris Cleverley, cousin of leading Tory James who is no longer claiming he wants to buy West Ham, then took Potash to the Aquis lobster pot, changed its name to Block Commodities (BLCC) and carried on telling lies to investors for which the company was censured and fined, after I pointed this out to regulators. Could it get any worse? You bet.
The top non-Tom article this week is EXPOSE: Powerhouse Energy – What is its tech all about? This really is all hot air, smoke & mirrors by Peter Brailey at number 5 or number 10 if you include the Bearcast.
I start with the Chris Cleverly West Ham round-up and what says about our attitude to white collar crime in the UK. What it says disgusts me. I move onto Optibiotix (OPTI). I am still a bull but i explian to the company why it is so unloved. Then finally to Cineworld (CINE) a slam dunk short at 63p. This could be a penny stock after an inevitable debt for equity swap but, taking a 30 year view, I would not buy even then.
It has been widely reported that lawyer Chris Cleverly is the key London player in PAI, the company that wishes to buy West Ham and that Cleverly, cousin of Tory high flier James, is colourful. As a diehard hammer I put this article outside paywalls so that supporters of the club, the Ferdinand Brothers who back PAI and the current owners are fully aware that Chris Cleverly is more than colourful, he is a serial fraudster and habitual liar. Everything he touches may see him prosper but everyone else gets screwed. I have exposed his frauds over many years, seen off his intimidation of me as an investigative journalist and ensured that his company was booted off London’s AIM Market.
The pattern has always been the same. We issued explicit warnings about London & Capital Finance,, Blackmore Bond, Bassett and Gold, Buy 2 Let Cars, The High Street Group and Wellesley Finance. Companies such as my beloved West Ham United screwed over their fans and continued to support these rogues. The FCA was too busy publishing papers on the gender pay gap, Brexit, climate change or LGBT awareness to do anything until tens of millions of pounds had been lost. But heck it is was only the great unwashed who suffered.
In yesterday’s bearcast, I relayed how I had been contacted by a Charlotte Daniels who I was convinced was trying to entrap me and whose phraseology strongly indicated the use of google translate. Two emails later, I wonder if Charlotte, a shareholder in the fraud Supply@ME Capital (SYME), is in fact a British male soccer yob. Here is the complete correspondence, judge for yourself:
I start with yesterday’s Albanian lecture in honour of my late father. Then it is onto Colin Bird and Jubilee Metals (JLP), Rio Ferdinand and the Gym Group (GYM) and Toxic Dave Sefton and Iconic (ICON) in the wake of Nigel’s bombshell from earlier. One of the three is a bit of a hero and, to give you a clue neither Bird or toxic Dave ever played for West Ham. But would you want any of the three on the board of a company in which you are invested. I discuss all three situations in detail.
Some of us were always of the view that our leaders were somewhat overreacting to a disease where the average casualty lived longer than UK life expectancy and where the survival rate is 99.97%. But yesterday, Pfizer announced it has a vaccine which will protect 90% of those injected which would mean that your chances of perishing from Covid will pretty soon be less than that of being mown down by a bus carrying a West Ham team that has just won the FA Cup. So where does that leave Covid testing play Novacyt (NCYT)?
I have documented over many years what a rotten investment Scancell (SCLP) has been but its spoofing on its quest for a Covid vaccine is one of the biggest red flags fluttering. Today it plunged new depths of spoofery as it announced a collaboration with Cobra Biologics “for Cobra to manufacture Scancell’s COVID-19 vaccine.” Great, except that…
I start with a few words on MineProphets. I hope you all had a good time today. I end with a few words on West Ham which has brought myself and my daughter some rare joy in these past 24 hours. In between, I discuss Versarien (VRS) and also the strange case of broker Jub Cap and Chris Oil and what it says about the strange times we live in. I also discuss whether being long gold really is a crowded trade.
I start wth a look at Carnival (CCL). then it is onto old pals, Cineworld (CINE), West Ham, Pinsent Masons and others and how this bailout is in fact allowing and will make the rich to get richer, reward them for past greed and will see the wealth gap widen in a wholly unacceptable way. What is happening at morally bankrupt law form Pinsent Masons is a particular disgrace.
In my dynamte expose of 2 April 2019, I published my first note on mini bond charlatans Basset and Gold Plc based on the accounts for the year ended 30 September 2017 warning of the risks associated with this mini bond lender. Yesterday it went bust with West Ham supporters the main victims, the club ignoring my warnings as it greedily took Basset's cash. So how much have my fellow supporters lost? This will shock you.
I warned you on April, 2 2019 that this mini bond firm looked very dodgy and would end in tears. The FCA ignored me or did it?. My beloved West Ham certainly ignored me and many of its poor fans, having endured merde on the pitch all season, now have to face up to the risk of massive financial losses as well. West Ham did not give a FF about its fans it just wanted sponsorship cash. Its despicable board would allow Satan as a sponsor as long as he had enough dosh. Anyhow, you read it all here first.
Or maybe I am just misreading the data?
It is quite clear that regulators in this white collar crime infested land are useless. Yesterday I flagged up a £12 million and increasing boiler room operation in the City of London that the authorities will do nothing about. So just for fun which of the following will happen first:
Okay I too mention how my beloved West Ham disgraced themselves last night. I was there. It was awful. A long drive home. This morning I tried doing business with St James Place (SJP). What a nightm are! is there an honest IFA who can help me with a simple problem? I then look at Woodford Patient Capital Trust (WPCT), Big Sofa (BST), Eve Group (EVE), Xaar (XAR) and what the shock news from Shore Capital (SGR) says about the state of the AIM Casino.
Over the weekend, I explained in bearcast why any half sentient being would not wish to tie the UK’s growing economy to the neo-corpse that is the EU economy. My friend, our in-house Euro loon Jonathan Price likes backing losing causes, being a fellow West Ham supporter. And thus, he has taken the trouble to respond which is very good of him as I know that he knows that he is, like all London based liberal elitists, an expert and I am one of the 17.4 million who are too thick to understand the real issues of Brexit. Anyhow, Jonathan explains:
I am delight to see that a mere 26 days after we exposed the looming scandal involving my beloved West Ham United and its mini bond short sponsor Basset & Gold, that the deadwood press ( The Sunday Telegraph) has picked up on the matter. As ever the MSM well on the ball, what a suprise that newspaper sales are tanking. But the story gets worse as I can now reveal....
The scandal about the £240 million London & Capital Finance ponzi, which we have done so much to expose here, grows by the day. The real scandal is that it is just the tip of the mini-bond iceberg and those politicians such as Nicky Morgan on the LCF case should now, as a matter of urgency, be looking at other schemes that are still taking in money such as the West Ham promoted one we exposed HERE. But back to LCF and Amber Rudd.
London & Capital Finance, which we have done so much to expose here, is just the tip of what will prove to be an enormous mis-selling scandal where, naturally, the overpaid poltroons at the FCA have been 100% asleep at the wheel. Yesterday I raised massive questions about the West Ham promoted Basset & Gold scheme, today let’s look at Future Renewables Eco PLC…
I was re-watching the movie last night and ask the question. I discuss signs that the FCA really is getting stuck in, albeit too late. I look at too good to be true investments starting with London & Capital Finance. I look at house prices and why I think that bad data gives far too rosy a view. I look at US jobs data yesterday and what that means for base rates. And I look at the big short positions in AIM stocks. Don't bet against the bears! Now off to West Ham.
In today's bearcast I have a hot rumour about Neil Woodford and I look at a moron called Craig who owns shares in Independent Oil & Gas (IOG) and is a classic moron. I look at that company at Circassia (CIR) - a Woodford dog - and at Gear4Music (G4M). Tomorrow I take my family and my son Joshua's godfather Lucian Miers to the London Stadium to see mighty West Ham in the cup so I'm not sure when Saturday copy will arrive.
‘Twas the night before Christmas. The man who liked to be known not only for his humility but also for being Britain’s greatest ever fund manager lay back on his disruptive Eve mattress next to his rather flatulent but ever faithful old poodle Dampers. Whilst his companion snored loudly, Neil Woodford was deeply troubled by not just one but a second ghostly apparition that night.
‘Twas the night before Christmas. Neil Woodford had pushed the apparition claiming to be the ghost of Christmas Past out of the window’s provided by “our locks are as safe as our dividends” Kier and had now bolted them firmly shut.
‘Twas the night before Christmas and the man who liked to be known as Britain’s Buffett paced up and down his bedroom, deep in thought. Attending the local carol service at the Church nearest his Country Estate, Neil Woodford felt that he had so much in common with the wise men but like the Shepherds he was this evening of a troubled mind.
"So who is this David Moyes?" Asked the Mrs after I said that he had been sacked. Surely not knowing who is the (now ex) manager of West Ham is grounds for divorce or at least a trip to Relate? I ponder what as a Republican I should do tomorrow before hoping that both sides lose the FA Cup Final. Then I turn to the looming cash crisis at Sound Energy (SOU) how my most excellent broker, Mr Antony Laiker, stopped me being a real tit and losing a packet on Interquest (ITQ), at Scotgold (SGZ) and at Carpetright (CPR).
No I have not changed my mind. I am still a bear and stand by my target price of 0.4p but after chatting to a number of folks I try to see if there is a bull case. And I record this before setting off to the Greek Hovel which is my main focus of attention pro tem to prove to my friend and fellow Hammer, Thirsty David Bick that I am still alive, I hope that he takes up my invitation to come and watch the foul mouthed ladies of West Ham in action.
Naturally your dream St Valentine's date is a foul mouth Essex girl from the West Ham Ladies team isn't it? A brief reflection on how they got on against Mark Slater's girls at the weekend. Then it is onto Amur (AMC) and why I just don't like it. I comment on Nighthawk (HAWK), Galliford Try (GFRD), Servision (SEV) and then someone else who won;t be getting 12 red roses from me today. Just more grief.
For reasons mainly to do with girls (well two of them) I have always been a Philadelphia Eagles fan. The last time they won a championship, Hurst, Peters and Moore were playing for West Ham - the two teams have a lot in common. Anyhow I stayed up late and for once fortune is not always hiding. Why did I get up? The market is a sea of red and I discuss that. I look at IQE (IQE) after chatting to Matt Earl, at Woodford Patient Capital Trust (WPCT), Inspirit (INSP) and at Shield Therapeutics (STX). Nomates Neil Woodford has not replied to my polite invitation of yesterday.
So yesterday saw Joshua go to his first proper football match - Brislington Ladies vs West Ham Ladies. A full photo report will follow later but the language from the Essex Girls in claret and blue was not very lady like. Listeners, I was shocked. On the markets I look in detail at Versarien (VRS), Greatland Gold (GGP), Velocys (VEL), RM2 (RM2) and as well as Nomates Neil Woodford I also have some Julie Meyer news, I fear that "Praise Be the Lord" may be about to send me a letter.
Some bear raiders are on the pitch...they think it is all over: it is now! Nope not West Ham winning the World Cup but the stockmarket career of AIM fraud Cloudtag (CTAG). Nomad Cairn has brought forward its resignation from April 10 to last night, the £975,000 placing announced last week has been pulled and it is ouzo time for me while on the council estates the LSE Asylum rampers gnash their teeth. Come on guys, say it slowly "Yet again Tom Winnifrith was right and we are morons, we apologise for all the abuse we gave him, the Sheriff of AIM rocks!"
No-one quite got the exact answer I was looking for which explained why the Hindenberg was the odd one out in the four images below. The wrong answers are here.
An easy odd one out contest. Which of the four below is the odd one out and why? Answers in the comments section below - deadline midnight Saturday 17 December.
How on earth did hapless Nomad Peel Hunt sign off on what Jim Mellon's FastForward Innovations (FFWD) terms a "strategic update" but is in fact nothing more than a shameless pre placing ramp.? My comments are in bold. FastForward's are not.
West Ham supporters will appreciate the reference to one great Cockney Hero, James Tomkins but now another legend of the East End whose veins also flow claret & blue has shown why you don't mess with the Cockney boyz. I refer to an incident after UK Investor Show last night which saw the rozzers called.
It is International Women's Day and I ponder how to celebrate now that the Mrs has cooked my breakfast and been made aware that my West Ham shirt needs cleaning. Then to the markets. Solgold (SOLG ) announced its placing last night - as I flagged it would at the weekend HERE - next up is Rose Petroleum (ROSE) where I flagged up the timing of the placing it must surely announce soon 90 days ago HERE. It is just about doing the bloody maths. I have a detailed look at Audioboom (BOOM) and then have a new message for the disgraced failed CEO pig that is Richard.Chase@NyotaMinerals.com. My other podcast to which I refer on why the sordid deal with Turkey MUST make you vote for Brexit is HERE
Shares in Solgold (SOLG) raced ahead by 43% on Friday. But has anyone looked at the balance sheet and cashflow statements? It is just totally out of cash. All the money's gone. The RNS trail, is ramptastic and SP Angel (BTW what has happened to Mkango you scumbags) is bound to roger PIs with a post pump dump of a placing within days. This, and the idea that West Ham are the new Brazil and that all rugby players are homosexuals, is discussed in today's podcast.
A bizarre late night text comes from David "my veins flow claret and blue" Bick, the PR man to Big Dave Lenigas. It seems like I have offendended The Guv'nor and that I should not be heading down to his Manor in E13 any time soon. The text reads:
As we celebrate the Celtic New Year, ShareProphets asks the old gods to bestow a special blessing upon Globo, who allowed ShareProphets to have a record-breaking week. Manannán mac Lir is probably none too happy about being asked to give a thumbs up to a big fraud like Globo, but I imagine that work is hard to come by as a Celtic deity these days.
Two bad things today. West Ham kick off what is bound to be another season of Premiership disaster and more importantly my cat Tara seems to be very sick. Seeking distraction I read the Sunday financial press and feel disgusted, a sense of being made nauseous by the stench of corruption everywhere. Afren, Quindell, the financial press, it is tempting just to give up on shares. Is not the whole game rigged by the crony capitalists? It is not. But a lot of it is as I explain in this podcast. I end by explaining why my emails will go unanswered for days and twitter ignored almost completely for the next seven weeks. I have an urgent deadline.
Is charting cobblers? Of course it is. Zak Mir tried to pretend otherwise at Zakstraderscafe last night but ended up defending fraudsters and liars including Rob Terry and arguing that fraudbusters were the real criminals. The debate was one sided. It made the Brazilian national team against the West Ham ladies look like a level contest. To see the Sith Lord crushed watch below.
Steve Moore and I have done well with our share tip on GLI Finance (GLIF) and we still see upside. Here is its CEO Geoff Miller - a diehard West Ham Supporter - presenting at the UK Investor Show to explain what might seem a hard story, in words clear enough for all to understand.
Okay none of you guessed, my first lawyer’s letter of the year came from Lse.co.uk. Apparently I have damaged its good name and caused it distress. Yes, that is the website which each day carries at least 50 posts smearing me with all sorts of abuse and lies. Next up, Prince Andrew is going to give me a lecture for inappropriate behaviour because my wife is six years younger than I am.
City forex dealer Alpari has today gone bust, fessing up to taking a £30 million hit as the Swiss depegged its franc from the Euro . the ripples of this mess will spread out to the Academy that is Upton Park in East London.
I find myself feeling more like a bear or worse Victor Meldrew by the minute, Today I read the RNS feed only to find what can only be described as an odd release. Rare Earth Minerals (REM) announced:
I am really trying to be helpful here to Quindell (QPP) because I am just such a nice guy and its Christmas and West Ham are almost safe from relegation and that sort of thing. And in that vein I have drafted a letter for Rob Terry to send to Ray Zimmerman, the boss of ZAI Corporate Finance. It reads:
In his weekly financial video postcard Tom looks at how PLC fraud is so much more detectable in the internet era. He also looks at how companies which have engaged in fraud behave in their final months. The video cuts off a bit suddenly but the message was almost finished anyway.
The Board of AstraZeneca (AZN) has today rejected an improved £55 a share bid from Pfizer. The yanks say they will not go hostile but urge Astra shareholders to tell the board to get a grip and accept. They should do exactly that.
