It was announced this morning that crocked Finablr plc (FIN) has received an offer for Finablr Ltd and its subsidiaries. Good news – or is it?…

Premier Oil (PMO) has today announced an agreed deal that will see Chrysaor, a private equity-backed North Sea operator, takeover the company. I previously concluded I would not touch Premier Oil equity with a bargepole. This deal is a material change to the investment proposition, which I rather like…

The Restaurant Group (TRG) has announced results for its half-year ended 28th June 2020, including emphasising “decisive response to COVID-19 pandemic… implemented significant restructuring actions resulting in a higher quality, diversified estate” and “trading performance post-lockdown (for the 11 weeks from July 4th to 20th September 2020) with c.90% of the retained estate now open has been very encouraging… Wagamama: Like-for-like sales growth of 11%… Leisure: LFL sales growth of 4%… Pubs: LFL sales growth of 14%” – and the shares have currently responded to above 57p, 5% higher…

I think you have probably read enough of my ramblings on this fine website to know that I am far from a classic luxury goods purchaser. So my observation back in December last year that Watches of Switzerland (WOSG) is a geared play on a premium product is true to form…

After his role in anabling the fraud at Sefton Resources (SER), including in smearing the UK’s top investigative journalist, Dr Michael Green should NOT be working in financial services. You know my views. But he is. and his job these days seems to be penning bonkers research notes on small mining stocks setting insane share price targets which are multiples of the current share price. You may remember his classic piece on Bluebird Merchant (BMV) where the target – and I say this as an enthusiastic sharenholder – was just insane. Then there was a classic on the worthless James Parsons POS Ascent. His latest note is on Xtract (XTR) where he predicts profits of 500% for those buying the shares. If you enjoy a piece of badly wfritten fiction and don’t have a Jeffrey Archer to hand, the note is below. 

If the title is not immediately clear as to why it is relevant, listen to the podcast and it soon will be. 

I commented last week that I saw the sell-off in fully-listed Centamin (CEY) shares as a buying opportunity. The drop was due to an announcement from Centamin that movement had been detected and that consequently higher-grade open pit mining had been suspended at the Stage 4 West Wall at Sukari, and Q4 production is expected to come in at just 70,000 oz gold. This morning it was announced that Chairman James Rutherford has been buying shares.

Hello Share Chasers. Every so often I commend the pioneering cost-cutting City of London Investment Group (CLIG) to your further scrutiny. Since my last write-up, this on-the-ball share company has seen an approximate 20% hike. It’s become one of those special investments which put on a few percent each day followed by the usual profit-taking correction, only to start creeping ahead again. The latest news is that an all-share merger with Karpus Management Inc., a US-based investment management business has gone ahead…

A “Blyvoor Gold Tailings Project Funding Update” from Katoro Gold (KAT), including that there is now “a select number of preferred funding providers with whom it is currently developing a final funding arrangement… certain milestones having now been agreed to guide a predetermined due diligence process towards a final funding agreement for the project. The first milestone to be completed is the Resource update and upgrade… expected by the end of October”…

I have a small holding in AIM-listed Optibiotix (OPTI) – perhaps Tom Winnifrith’s favourite stock. It has been a wild ride, with the shares having headed above £1 a pop but the stock has certainly been in the doldrums recently, having tested 50p over the summer and has now perked up to just 63p. Yet we are getting an extended flurry of contracts and deals which should transform this business, which as far as I can see has little issue over cash whilst we await the mega-profits promised. What gives?…

Recruitment and training group Staffline (STAF) is “delighted to be extending our working partnership with Tesco… in addition to our PeoplePlus’ services being represented so widely across the CAEHRS framework. We also welcome the Chancellor’s recent amendments to existing VAT deferral measures” – and the shares have responded above 27p, 15% higher…

Tom noted in yesterday’s bearcast the latest from Cineworld Group (CINE) and the shares set for a Monday crash – and they are more than 40% lower, below 25p, with a “Temporary suspension of US & UK cinema operations” announcement…

Three weeks ago the share price of Manolete (MANO) slipped below 300p. Given that it was 515p when I published a major dossier on July 10 warning that the shares would more than halve, it was panic stations…

I think that I am still c£25,000 underwater on my Wishbone Gold (WSBN) shares so far be it from me to discourage shameless Aussie stock promoter Big Dave Lenigas from ramping the stock as shamelessly as possible. However…

Having asked for readers tips for 2020 for the prize of 1/2 litre of Tom Winnifrith’s Greek Hovel olive oil (2020 harvest) HERE, the following is an update on performance at the end of September (to be eligible needed to have selected, on a per username basis, a buy & sell pick from the LSE or AIM casino and the stocks not to have been suspended at the commencement of 2020)…

AIM-listed energy provider Yu Group (YU.) has this morning announced a new ‘Long-Term Incentive Plan’ for directors and senior management. The terms, from a shareholder perspective, look OK but Yu’s balance sheet suggests to me that this is more about spoofing investors than rewarding management…

I do not think I have written about Weir Group (WEIR) on these pages before. After all, it is a FTSE 100 name that many investors find it easy to overlook. But the company is a not insignificant operator in the global mining, materials and energy services space – and it is the latter of these areas which grab my attention today as the company announced the ‘cash sale of the Weir Oil & Gas division to Caterpillar Inc. for an Enterprise Value of US$405m’. Admittedly, that is only a single digit percentage of the company’s enterprise value, but you can see the rationale when it notes that it will take ‘Weir pro forma Net Debt / EBITDA at 30 June 2020 of 1.9x’…

Hello, Share People. A long time ago I dumped my shares in Smiths Group (SMIN), the British engineering giant. Year after year, the shares remained largely static and I lost patience. But now the company seems set to continue a strong recovery from the virus crash. I see no obvious reason why Smiths can’t regain previous share levels and possibly go beyond them…

BP (BP.) is apparently going to become a tree hugging “green” Integrated Energy Company. It would appear to me that this is driven by the sole aim of being “politically” correct. I do not accept the premise upon which the new company strategy is based or far more importantly the detail of the implementation. So is Mr Looney true to his name or an enlightened visionary?

Coming to you from Shipston, I discuss Andy Hornby and why he is a posterboy for the unacceptable face of capitalism at the Restaurant Group (RTN) and also the news from Cineworld (CINE) – told y’all! As the shares are set for a Monday crash, I discuss the systemic failure of the media to understand the issue at hand and especially the guilt of the Sunday Times in losing folks’ money.