I have been really impressed by Hotel Chocolat (HOTC) as a (very) occasional consumer, but never (to date) as an investor. A couple of months ago I observed that I was waiting for a 300p or below share price, a level we have not seen for around a year. Yesterday early evening PrimaryBid offered an opportunity to participate in a money-raising for the group. You can guess what I said at a 355p share price (equivalent to a then discount of 2.74%) offer.

Having commented on the potential insider trading and undeclared related party deal at Predator Oil and Gas (PRD) only a few days ago and triggered Tom Winnifrith to write to the FCA, I’ve been drawn back again to look at a few further aspects. So often when you find something really questionable going on within a company, it is rarely a one-off and it would appear to be the case for this company.

During the early months of this year Zak Mir was the hero of numerous bulletin boards but notably those for Supply@ME capital (SYME) and remote Monitored Systems (RMS) for his almost non stop buy calls and ludicrous price targets. By contrast in calling out Supply as a fraud and Remote as an overvalued POS, I was the villain of the tale. With shares in both companies heading south at a rate of knots I invite you to consider the cartoon below and offer up suitable captions in honour of my good pal the Sith Lord. Post away in the comments section below. Do your worst.

Patrick Karim is a technicals based trader so take what he says with a pinch of salt but he makes a few big calls. 

I have been taking a brief look at AIM-listed Plexus – mainly because its ticker code is POS. So is it? Er……

That is because there really is no trading. But the update does contain an explicit warning that the cash is going up in smoke fast. This is a shocker. Some turds can be polished but PR man Graham Herring at IFC will not have bothered with this one. It is just a rough and ready turd au natural. And that makes the valuation a joke. BTW Graham: I wonder why the shares have fallen so sharply in the couple of days ahead of this awful update? It is a coincidence I am sure.

Hello, Share Stickers. As I’ve observed before, companies which operate within a niche have a better chance of success. A niche outfit operates in a tiny corner of a market which their customers can’t do without. Such is the nature of Strix Group (KETL). You’ll notice the epic code has now’t to do with the company name. Until you know that Strix makes bits for kettles.

Bluebird Merchant Ventures (BMV) has made an “Operational Update” including that the legal transfer of the Southern Gold (ASX – SAU) holding in the Kochang and Gubong projects in South Korea was finalised this week and emphasising “a clear plan to bring about gold production commencing at the Kochang gold and silver mine”.

Previously writing on windows and doors manufacturer and retailer Safestyle UK (SFE), in May with the shares at 62p I concluded risks saw the attempted recovery only on the watchlist. Today an update including that it now “expects 2021’s full year financial performance to be ahead of current market expectations”…but the shares currently at 57p?…

I shall explain why and what tomorrow. But I eat my own pudding in that I believe the recent sell off in small caps offers opportunity. But for some companies, notably those with funding issues, it could be very bad news. I discuss Supply@ME Capital (SYME), its director Mr Bull and its mother of all death spirals, Remote Monitored Systems (RMS) where the cash, its only asset of value, is disappearing fast and Versarien (VRS) where I urge you to back Ian Westbrook TODAY as its 2 death spirals really start to bite. I also comment on Predator Oil & Gas (PRD) which looks to be a can of worms and Loop Up (LOOP) where maybe I am just a bit dim but isn’t it pointless?

Fat Bastard Malcolm Graham Wood takes fees from companies to write (positively) about their shares without disclosing the payments. He will do this for any company even proven frauds such as the late lamented Frontera Resources (FRR) which is why he is the whore blogger. His defenders insist that he is fundamentally honest but can they explain this away?

Previously writing on IT services group IDE (IDE), in January I concluded that a contract win did not justify the share price response to 3p. What about full-year results and the shares currently further down at 0.90p?…

It was on July 1 that Evil Banksta sent me a job advert for the non exec chairmanship at Supply@ME Capital (SYME) asking me if I was thinking of applying. With no wish to add chairing a fraud to my CV I declined but I assumed that Supply had already announced that Dominic White was off. Schoolboy error!

Previously writing on cloud communications platform group LoopUp (LOOP), in March with the shares at 86.5p I noted that my doubts remain. Today it has made a half-year trading update including that “in Cloud Telephony, we have seen a material acceleration in new customer wins”…but the shares have currently responded further lower, closer to 50p. So what’s going on?…

Fully-listed Egyptian Gold-producer Centamin (CEY) released its Q2 report this morning. The good news is that all seems on track to meet full-year guidance as the company continues its recovery from the ground movement issues last autumn and an interim dividend is on the way.

Yesterday Peter Brailey exposed certain pre placing share trades in Predator Oil & Gas (PRD) by executive director Ron Pilbeam which I commented on in bearcast HERE. I cannot see how the FCA can stand idly by on this one and thus I have dropped the woke dullards a note demanding an urgent enquiry. The letter is below:

Hello, Share Passers. One of my all-time favourite companies, Creightons (CRL) which makes cosmetic fripperies and, in these times, more importantly antiseptic hand-washes, has just posted some happy full-year numbers. The share price nipped up by 10% but I don’t think that’s the last of it.

Previously writing on soft drinks company Nichols (NICL), in March I noted there is still obvious business recovery potential, but also current lockdown and future ‘sugar tax’ challenges. What’s the situation with results for the first half of 2021?…

The Morons who believe in the cult of Neill Ricketts and the cash guzzling POS that is Versarien (VRS) think that Ian Westbrook (Club Sandwich), the Bulletin Board poster Ricketts wishes to destroy will fail to raise the £20,000 needed to keep his defence going. They are wrong. Here is one cultist posting on ADVFN today. Hap tip JD:

Is the sound okay? The arrival of the Mrs and Jayarani means a change of recording location. I start with Peter Brailey’s Predator Oil & Gas (PRD) expose. If the FCA does not come down on director Ron Pilbeam like a ton of bricks we might as well all give up. Then I look at Vast Resources (VAST) – a total bargepole stock where I sniff a deeply discounted placing  – then challenge you on two counts regarding Online Blockchain (OBC) before considering Argo Blockchain (ARB) its strangely worded RNS today and whether it will still be solvent on St Ledger’s day.