Early this year we showed the ten top shorted London-listed shares at the start of 2018. Following the recent 'crash', how's performance?...

I don’t take much glee in jumping on graves but having been consistently critical of the nonsense and spoofery at BOS Global (BOS) for the last eighteen months, I thought I should comment on this week’s RNS which seems to be throwing in the towel with no Nomad willing to take on the basket-case.

Escher Group (ESCH) has announced a 185p per share recommended offer, with Chairman Nick Winks emphasising “this cash offer with its substantial premium is a good outcome for our shareholders - given the uncertainty inherent in our customers' spending patterns and traditional one-off licence based business model, as well as the need to invest further in the business”.. Wait a minute though Nick, the shares were over 300p in 2014 and over 200p as recently as October! And...

CityAM announced earlier this week that Woodford’s Equity Income Fund had lost a billion quid in funds since the start of the year down to £7.2 billion. This has huge consequences for all his funds and I’m not sure he has enough arms to suppress all the troublesome blind burrowing mammals raising their heads above ground. For the avoidance of doubt, I am referring to metaphorical moles at this point rather than Woodford’s investment diligence team. Let me explain.

Frontera Resources (FRR) is a dog with fleas but it is aggressively ramped and promoted. And it has just announced a £2.5 million fully underwritten open offer at 0.466p via Primary Bid.  This represents a discount of approximately 17.5% to the closing mid price today.

From the FCA's spreadsheet of short positions required to be disclosed to it, the following shows the shorted AIM shares with positions from 2017 and thus far in 2018 (by net short position %) - and if this position has increased (red), reduced (green) or remained unchanged (black) since last week...

Hello, Share Changers. I know a lot of you worry about this Wall Street mini-crash. But your fears are probably unfounded. We’ve had a bull market lasting eight years. A correction was necessary. But it’s not been as bad as some writers on this magnificent website have been predicting. Neither will the big sell-off last.

Friday is one of my two and a half days a week when my 17 month old son Joshua is not at nursery and I am the primary carer. I am such a fucking feminist it is unbelievable. In fact I am almost expecting Harriet Harman to call for the Mrs to start giving me vast sums of money for being such a role model. Anyhow, I record with Joshua snoring so if I speak quietly it is so as not to wake him. In this podcast I cover Angus Energy (ANGS), UK Oil & Gas (UKOG), IQE (IQE), Versarien (VRS) and Sosandar (SOS), shares in which I am VERY happy to own.  My son and heir is pictured snoring away below.

A Year End Trading Update from 7digital Group (7DIG) includes “revenue for 2017 is expected to be up 52% at £17.3m” and “losses at adjusted LBITDA level are expected to be significantly reduced from the previous period and be better than market expectations”. The shares have nudged ahead to 5p – though I note this still well down from start of 2017 levels…

A Thursday in the middle of both a general corporate earnings disclosure frenzy and a market rout always throws up a few questionable share price reactions. I am wondering if one of these was the reaction by Tate & Lyle (TATE) shares which have fallen from 650p to around 600p at the time of writing.

Recently folks have been panicked into selling shares in Falanx (FLX) as market abusers spread some clear and silly lies about the company. Falanx has answered in the best way possible with a massive contract win which, we reckon, means that it is now operating at very close to breakeven or better. And it will soon get much better than that for we shareholders.

In the UK Julie Meyer's flagship vehicle Ariadne Capital Limited went into administration before Christmas owing millions and demonstrating that its 2016 accounts were pure fiction. I can today reveal that yet, another of Praise The lord's dwindling band of UK companies, Ariadne Capital Partners Holdings Ltd has now suffered a First Gazette notice for strike off but it is in Malta where the shit is really hitting the fan for La Meyer's five companies.

AIM-listed Karelian Diamonds (KDR) rather bucked the trend yesterday when it put on 10.6% on a day the markets were again sinking. We all know Karelian needs a placing urgently, to keep the lights on. So what caused the rise? Oh, hang on, there are three RNSs which were released just after 3.40pm – and they are all good 'news', except for one small detail…

There are two things that I have never associated with my friend Mark Slater. One is being in any way, shape or form politically correct. The other is having any interest in football, it is surely a game for the oiks. Imagine my shock then to see the latest image tweeted by Brislington Ladies FC, my local club who I follow keenly - on twitter at least.

Creightons (CRL) has made a 4:05pm Trading update - expected 2018 outturn announcement. I guess it ain’t going to be good then…

This is comedy central. AIM-listed Proxama (PROX) put out an RNS after-hours last night (at 5.29pm) entitled Statement re Speculation and then ‘fessed up to a few problems at Companies House. I haven’t tracked down the speculation – perhaps some kind reader can point us all in the right direction. But well-run companies don’t suffer from this type of problem. The RNS read:

Shares in Dillistone Group (DSG) are currently more than 20% ahead, heading towards 80p, on the back of a Trading Update & Notice of Results announcement… but then they were also approaching 100p around a year ago, so what’s the story here?...

Hello, Share Seekers. I have a bigger holding than is safe with BP (BP.), but I don't think I’m going to sell any for some time. Which is a bit of a silly statement to make as, just like any other company, the story could change at any time. But BP has ridden out the storm of compensation. And though the fight isn’t over yet, I think share shifters like us need not worry too much. This is a huge company which can absorb most shocks.

In today's podcast I start with a follow up on Steve's excellent piece on Gattaca (GATC) where the COO is surely an insider dealer like Yosi Fait but as with Yosi nothing will happen as London regulation is a joke.  Then I look at IQE after today's bombshell from Muddy Waters (see HERE). Those who lost cash deserved to for ignoring so many prior warnings. I only celebrate the losses suffered by some of them. 

Legendary US bear raiding outfit Muddy Waters has announced that it is short of IQE (IQE). It dismisses Matt Earl's Shadowfall dossier of last week as only partially getting there and has published its own devastating report slating IQE as an "egregious accounting manipulator". Don't mess with Muddy Waters, anyone out there still owning this stock should sell NOW!. Muddy notes: