Hello Share Wranglers. Like most infrastructure jumbos, Balfour Beatty (BBY) is making a strong recovery after the setbacks of Covid. So confident is the company that in the first quarter of 2022, it has re-bought nearly £20 million's worth of its own shares. And that's not all. It expects to have repurchased £150 million's of its stock by the year's end. The outfit happily boasts that it will continue to make higher profits for the rest of 2022.

Packaging group Macfarlane (MACF) has announced “a solid start to 2022, with first quarter sales and profits from continuing operations ahead of the same period in 2021… expectations for the full year are unchanged”. So what of a current 120.5p share price?

In today's podcast, I discuss the FTSE 100 sliding; bitcoin's crash; Coinbase; Online Blockchain (OBC); Argo Blockchain (ARB) and 3 questions Peter Wall MUST answer; Cellular Goods (CBX), where Wall today stepped down as chair (odd timing); Verditek (VDTK); the shame of Innovate UK and ex-footballer and NFT spiv, Michael Owen; Petropavlovsk (POG); and Versarien (VRS), where a cash crisis looms. Now, to brace myself: the mother-in-law will arrive at her new home in just a few hours.

Kefi Gold and Copper (KEFI) has announced further drill results and news from Saudi Arabia.

Previously writing on Concurrent Technologies (CNC), in January with the shares at 88p I concluded cautiously. The shares last closed at 87p but are currently below 80p on the back of full-year 2021 results.

Back in February I concluded about Hargreaves Lansdown (HL.) that it was an “absolutely fine company to use if you are an investor, but in my opinion you do not need to buy its shares…carry on avoiding…”. The share back then was about 1100p and today it is below 850p, i.e. levels last seen back in 2013. Spot the rationale for this with revenue falling in an investment market that is unsurprisingly more and more competitive. I will have another look after its full year results in early August, but would still avoid the shares at least until then. Meanwhile, how am I feeling about BT Group (BT.A) shares after the publishing of its full year numbers earlier today?…

Previously writing on ventilation systems and window and door hardware company Titon Holdings (TON), in February with the shares at 80p I noted it’s further margin pressure ahoy and continue to avoid. The shares last closed at 90p but, on the back of results for its half-year ended 31^st March 2022, are currently down to 75p.

As its old auditor walked, and the new one needed more time, today’s results for the 12 months to March are unaudited interims – the prelims will be for the 18 months to 30 September. But one cannot dodge the numbers: even Neill Ricketts is forced to ‘fess that Versarien (VRS) may soon run out of other folks’ cash. Anyone holding the shares is, thus, certifiably insane.

Apparently the charmer below was discovered yesterday in a hut in the village where a senior AIM geologist is on site right now. I invite you, to consider what you see and supply a suitable caption for the photo in the comments section below. I shall kick off with:

Lift Global Ventures (LFT) - a cash shell that buys assets in the financial media world - was listed at 3p on 29 April, after a fund raise which brought in £1.73 million. That, we are told, was “oversubscribed”, which is obviously a testimony to the brilliance of its CEO, the Sith Lord Zak Mir. Every bandit in town is on the shareholder list, as well as upstanding blue-chip investors like David Lenigas and ex ADVFN boss, Clem “a legend in his own expenses lunchtime” Chambers.

Hello Share Pickers. When uncertainty stalks the world’s economies, it often pays to seek out promising insurance companies. They can thrive on nervousness as more people turn to their protective policies. One lesser known, but still substantial, company to consider is Beazley (BEZ). It recently issued a trading statement for the three months to the end of March. And it’s rather a jolly one.

Hostel market-focused online travel group Hostelworld (HSW) has announced an AGM update including “performance to date has been stronger than we had initially expected… we are seeing the recovery continue across all destinations and demand segments. In particular, booking demand into Europe, our largest destination in 2019, has almost fully recovered to 2019 levels with some markets exceeding 100%… trips from the US and Canada into European destinations at 2019 levels”. So what of a share price rising above 86p?...

First thing this morning AIM-listed Trafalgar Property (TRAF) announced a board appointment, and the shares shot out of the traps like rocket on speed, trebling in the first two hours of trading. The excitement was to do with the arrival of Dr Paul Francis Challinor as an executive director. Dr Challinor specialises in indoor hydroponic vertical farming – so the tomatoes-in-test-tubes have returned!

Online competitions company Best of the Best (BOTB) states it “is pleased… revenue performance for the period has been consistent with the market guidance issued at the time of its interim results on 19 January 2022, with pre-tax profits slightly ahead”. What does that mean re. a share price currently up to 440p?...

I start with some great news: my mother-in-law is moving to the next village tomorrow. Watch out Farndon! Then, I look at Trafalgar New Homes (TRAF); Fevertree (FEVR); Mirriad (MIRI); Supply@ME Capital (SYME); Dignity (DTY); and Zephyr Energy (ZPHR).

A week ago solid-state battery technology company Ilika (IKA) made a “Goliath Scale-up Update” announcement, emphasising “Scale-up plans validated - highlighting cost-saving benefits at higher volume production levels”. That helped the shares remain above 100p and they last closed at 95p before today a trading update...

It is now over a year since I wrote about ITV plc (ITV). I am trying to think if I have watched the channel since then but certainly, judging by the over 40% share price fall since, it was wise to observe last May that “if you don’t own it…you can chill…overall like the majority of TV in my opinion a bit of a yawn”. Have I changed my mind at any level today?

In just two weeks, the new death spiral provider, Venus, has dumped 3.32 billion shares on Bulletin Board Morons. If it is allowed to, it will likely dump another 15-20 billion. But the fraud, Supply@ME Capital (SYME), is insolvent even with the Venus cash, as I noted earlier.  I have asked the FCA to step in and save private investors from being mugged.

I warned comrade Malcolm Stacey and you all that his March 7 enthusiasm for advertising group Mirriad (MIRI) was misplaced and dire results with a piss poor set of excuses vindicate this perma bear once again. Crack out the ouzo.  At 21p, down 14% so far today, the market cap is £59 million making this still a stonking short.

On 27 April, the fraud Supply@ME Capital (SYME) announced that it had issued 2,770,000,000 shares to death spiral provider Venus and on 10 May it announced that it had issued a further 550,000,000 shares to Venus following which its issued share capital is now 40,789,339,950.  If Venus was, as some, of the Bulletin Board Morons are suggesting building a stake then it would now have a stake of 8.1 %.