AIM-listed Barkby Group (BARK) has released a trading update for its year ended 2 July 2022, along with an update on strategy. The former sees an unaudited bottom-line loss of £0.8 million whilst the latter implies there has been a strategic review – uh-oh!

Standard-listed Panther Metals (PALM) shares have been struggling of late – nobody wants Gold shares. As a natural contrarian, this is music to my ears even if the value of my handful of shares has been on the slide for some time. Last week brought some news – and the market, largely, ignored it.

Hello Share People. The Footsie jumbo Johnson Matthey (JMAT) has had a hard time of it of late. Both myself and my much brainier colleague Chris Bailey have commended the company to you in the past. But it’s yet to sparkle. Never mind, I think the shares have been oversold, given the better times that seem to be ahead. 

A most recently published, 30^th September 2021, balance sheet from 600 Group plc (SIXH) showed current assets of $36 million outweighed by total liabilities of $39.3 million, with that including net debt of $14 million. However, in April the group completed the Machine Tool Solutions division sale which has transformed its financial position and outlook. The share price does not look to reflect that at all.

I was reading the other day that 60/40 investors (60% equities and 40% bonds) in the United States have so far this year had their 1937. No surprise then that any investors who have only seen (or remember) the “everything is awesome” views of the last twelve or so years are a bit worried. Of course, those of us who remember the world before 2010 know there are always plenty of periods of volatility in the world’s financial markets. People should try and relax a bit more however. After all putting all your money under your bed or into a new and more expensive house is far from smart either. Anyhow - as far as your pension fund goes - when people are getting fearful (greedy) then you should be getting greedy (fearful).

The Mrs arrives in a few hours so I record early so that Joshua and I can tidy up the hovel and car in order to ensure a harmonius reunion. I am sure all men know how I feel when your other half has spent a few daysd away from home allowing you to make the sort of mess only men can make. In the week coming up I shall be chatting to Yair Tauman the new supreme ruler of ADVFN (AFN) about various matters but mainly about how the sewer that is the ADVFN Bulletin Board can be improved. I share my views with you, noting some recent extraordinary market abuse on the Optibiotix (OPTI) thread, but also invite you to post your views in the comments section below and, as long as they make sense, I shall relay them to Yair.

Good lord! We’ve been running the Sunday Pub Quiz for 150 weeks now? I thought it would fizzle out within the month. No matter, grab a cup of tea, sit back, and test your knowledge against the other ShareProphets members. Write your score in the comments, there are no prizes, and most important of all – no Googling!

In its latest letter to those conned by Neil Woodford which is strictly priovate and confidential sdo I have published in full below, law firm Harcus Parker explians how thingsd are now hotting up with more than a thousand claims now submitted, what its case is and what wreteched defence Link is trying to use. As this heads towards court it seems that Neil Woodford's threatened comeback is stalling. I can't think why! Link may be the defendent but it is Woodford's skulduggery, deceipt and incompetence which will be exposed in Court. Enjoy. 

Here are five long reads that have nothing to do with shares. Put the kettle on, find a comfy chair. You have the time, don’t you? 
 

I was sitting in a pub in Vancouver drinking a Tart Pineapple Grisette and I had an epiphany. When I got home, I yanked out some wires from the ShareProphets server and now it should be running much faster for everyone now. I also fixed something that had changed and messed up the layout on smartphones, which had bugged me for awhile. Let me know in the comments if you are not seeing faster loading or still seeing general wonkiness.

These are the most-read articles and most listened-to Bearcasts of the week. The most read non-Tom article is I think Kistos is taking the piss with its offer for Serica and expect shareholders to reject it by Gary Newman at number two or number five if you include Bearcasts.

Writing on OptiBiotix Health (OPTI) last month with the shares at 21p to buy, we noted clear news flow potential to spark the shares.  We drank our own medicine with Tom Winnifrith buying more shares in the market at c22p. They are now further up at 37p on the back of a “Joint development agreement signed with Firmenich”-titled announcement.

It is quite clear that Ironveld Resources (IRON) is a serially underperforming AIM dog and that its management should be held to account. Since Giles Clarke took the helm its shares have plunged from 4.5p to just 0.35p.  But Giles is a top fellow who went to Rugby School, then Oxford and was head of the England and Wales Cricket Board so we are not allowed to say what a crap job he is doing and how he should never be allowed to run an AIM company again. Clarke is a jolly fine fellow and anyone who says otherwise is just a smelly oik. Step forward professional northerner Richard Jennings.

I start with some advice from Greece on coping with the heatwave. Then it is Jennings versus Ironveld (IRON) and why - in this case - you really should back Jennings. Finally re Fevertree (FEVR) what do you make of the photo below? And why its dividend should be chopped. And why it is still a short whatever PL suggests.

I note that AIM-listed Scirocco Energy (SCIR) now sees its market capitalisation (according to ADVFN) down at just £2.3 million, having deteriorated from £3 million a few days ago. The reason appears to be two after-hours no-one-is-watching o’clock RNS announcements which were released at 6:10 pm on Tuesday and 5:09pm last night. They concern the Ruvuma disposal, which some shareholders are not very happy with.

Normally, 70% of seats are sold in the seven weeks before a show. Here we are, more than ten weeks from ShareStock, and one third of the seats are already booked out. Fingers crossed, it will be sold out by September 10 - and why not, as we have a great day on offer. Shares, prize croquet, salmon fishing, all-day booze and home-produced food: what better way to spend a Saturday? 

Gold finished the week at $1709, down (again) on last week’s $1743. This all seems a bit odd, as inflation figures from the US showed it was still on the rise and Gold is supposed to be the great inflation hedge. If only it were that simple.

Hello Share People. Though I’ve gone largely to cash, fearing a recession, I still have a toe hold in some companies. A few of those are in the oil game, because it’s hard to see how they might fail given prevailing circumstances. It’s this old punter’s view that big oilers are still undervalued. Let’s look at the evidence.

Yes I fell for this scam sponsiored by the British and French Governments ands I mention this in the context of folks getting, wrongly, excited by news today from Novacyt (NCYT). Make no mistake: the covid testing bubble is over. I discuss Fevertree (FEVR) where I predict two more profits warnings - stay short. And then on the vicious attack on Richard Jennings by Ironveld (IRON). Jennings is a litigious fellow so may well be talking to his lawyer. I wouldn't bother myself but cant think that Ironveld's board is doing itself any favours with such antics. 

Allergy Therapeutics (AGY) has issued a trading update for its year ended 30th June 2022 emphasising “effective cost controls implemented alongside the group's significant clinical progress” and “in 2023, sales are expected to return to their previous near double-digit growth levels”. So what of a current share price response to 17p, approaching 7% lower?