Hello Share Takers. The case for buying into the big British oilers continues to grow and yet their share prices are still well below what many analysts think they should be. The oil price retreated in recent days, but is now on the march north again.

Fox Marble (FOX) has announced it has raised approximately £400,000 by way of a convertible at 6p per share, 5 year, loan note at a 2% per year interest rate deferred for 2 years… though not for its current marble quarrying and processing business in Kosovo and the Balkans. Instead it is to provide a 2% per annum interest loan facility to a recently incorporated English private company focused on buildings made from glass fibre reinforced gypsum modular sections. However, there is far more to this move.

I start with Deliveroo (ROO), whose IPO was at 390p - a year later, the shares are at 106p. What went wrong, I ask, and what now for the shares? Then to two placings: Vast Resources (VAST) announced its placing on Monday; I discussed the one Canadian (COPL) has been working on since last Thursday, last night. It seems to be struggling, but I expect it will be announced by the company tomorrow. Both placings stink, and decent regulators would be all over them. I explain why.

itim Group (ITIM), an omni-channel technology platform company for store-based retailers, “is pleased to announce three new customer wins and extensions of existing contracts for an increase in Annual Recurring Revenue of £1.8 million”. How does this compare to a share price, more than 7.5% higher on the news, of 114p?...

The sequence that started on January 12, at 1.57, can again be extended: 1.24, 0.86, 0.77,0.59, and now, 0.48. Ouch! That is the price at which death spiral provider, Atlas, has converted loan notes onto Vast Resources (VAST) shares, the latest being $300,000 worth. The bad news? Atlas has another $5.2 million to go. Luckily, there was a spoof RNS on Monday, which must have helped with the forward selling

Alcoholic drinks company Distil (DIS) has announced a campaign for its RedLeg Spiced Rum which it emphasises it is “confident… will continue to build on the success of the brand”. What of a current 1.4p share price, £9.6 million market cap here?

It might be a couple of days before Good Friday but there is a lot going on in global markets. After all yesterday American consumer price index numbers were at a 41 year high, whilst today’s equivalent numbers in the UK were ‘only’ at a 30 year high. Of course, this is a big worry for many people but - as anyone who has been working for 20 plus years knows very well - you should never ignore the threat of inflation (unless you anticipate negligible economic growth for the rest of the 2020s). And all this chat brings me onto numbers from Tesco (TSCO) this morning which have helped push its shares down 5%…

A “Notice of Results and Trading Updates”-titled announcement from structural steel and construction safety company Billington (BILN) sounds routine but, on a currently reasonable day for the markets, why are the shares down approaching 3.5% to 225p?...

This is a farce.  Losing your CEO less than a year after IPO, seeing your shares plummet, and facing insolvency by Christmas, is bad enough. But now, Cellular Goods (CBX) has got its knickers in a twist as to whether or not the Food Standards Agency is banning its products. This is sheer comedy.

In the crazy world of Drive Software, where a company branded Tesla meets Fitbit by Julie “Lingerie on Expenses”, things seem to be getting ever crazier. Of course, it is bust, and Julie Meyer quit as a director on February 9, as I showed HERE. But this is Drive…

Hello Share Smashers. Kingfisher (KGF) is a wily old bird that knows how to make money. It owns B&Q, which has done rather well during the Covid crisis. People spending more time working from home want a nicer environment. So they’re spending the time saved on commuting doing up their pads.

Last week, I wrote several articles about how Canadian Overseas Petroleum (COPL) misled investors and was facing a cash crisis. Snake oil salesman, CEO Arthur Millholland of Oilexco infamy, responded with a denial, claiming I did not know what I was talking about and was motivated by nefarious aims of self-enrichment. Well guess fucking what?

Mr Westbrook is undeterred by his encounter with bully-boy charlatan, Neill Ricketts of Versarien (VRS). He has now waded into battle with SP Angel, London’s second-worst Nomad after Beaumont Cornish, on the matter of the Paragon Diamonds Scandal. Nigel and I covered this debacle at the time, making it clear that we believed Nomad Northland, now part of SP Angel, behaved disgracefully. Westbrook has fired off the letter below, which I shall now pass to AIM Regulation, asking the Oxymorons if they can explain why SP Angel still has a license to operate. Ian writes…

Equipment rental company Vp plc (VP.) has issued a trading update announcement which is headlined “Expected performance ahead of expectations driven by increased demand”. This sounds good.

I am just so tired and, needless to say, the carpenter has not done his work. But snake-repellent canisters have been put out. More on that later. Today, I chat about: EasyJet (EZJ); Fox Marble (FOX); Bluebird Merchant Ventures (BMV); and Vast Resources (VAST).

Previously writing on cosmetics company Warpaint London (W7L), in June with the shares at 163.5p I concluded cautiously as the valuation already looked to factor in some clear earnings upside. The shares last closed at 124.5p, though are currently back up above 140p on the back of a trading update.

Over the weekend reports emerged in the Angolan press that its national oil company, Sonangol, had finally completed the bidding process for the licences that it was selling its stakes in, and that a small AIM company, Afentra (AET), had been successful in being selected for two of these blocks. I’ve been invested in Afentra for some time – as well as having covered it positively several times here going back to the days when it was called Sterling Energy, and like many others have been patiently waiting for some news whilst the shares remained suspended. Due to the size of any transaction resulting from its bids, it will constitute a reverse takeover and the shares were suspended accordingly, and will remain so until either a prospectus is published or it terminates its bids for the Sonangol assets.

Previously writing on models and collectibles company Hornby (HRN), in September with the shares towards 40p I was cautious considering the valuation and potential supply disruption. The shares previously closed at 33p, though a trading statement has currently helped them up to 34.5p. So what’s the latest?...

I am a bit of an easyJet (EZJ) fan even if it is over two years since I last was on one of its planes. Tom may be more of an expert on actually getting on its planes more recently given his regular trips to the Hellenic Republic. As for today’s announcement of its reduced H1 losses to a “range of £535-565m for the 6 months ended 31 March 2022", believe me it could have been a lot worse and the key remains the number of trips over the next six to eighteen months. The shares are little changed today at just shy of 550p but I am still hopeful of a run at 800p, which keeps it a Buy for me. By contrast, I see Deliveroo (ROO) goes from one shocker to another…

Consumer goods distributor and brand owner Supreme plc (SUP) has issued a trading update emphasising “driving organic growth across its core categories, completing two strategic acquisitions financed by free cash and establishing product traction with leading UK grocery customers”. So why a current share price of 155p, down more than 18% in response?...