If I can quite easily live with the volatility of Rolls-Royce (RR.) year-to-date and see an overt opportunity to buy more as detailed HERE, I cannot say the same for my other tip of the year Playtech (PTEC). Back in late December I noted that the business was 'misunderstood', that the gambling technology business 'continued to trade strongly and grabbed the top spot in the online betting and gaming market for the first time' and that its loss-making finance business had restructuring options. Meanwhile activist investors were lurking. Well...

The markets this week have been so poor that even a monkey could have picked 10 shares to short and made money. Hurricane Energy (HUR) has not suffered as badly as many in the oil and gas sector. I have commented on Hurricane Energy (HUR) on a regular basis in recent months as the operational story has evolved, calling it a hold pending further and better information regarding water cut in the Lancaster field wells and forward plans. Yesterday’s RNS telling us the CFO had walked, together with a few other risk issues has triggered me to now call this a SELL.

Assuming that you aren’t just going to move entirely to cash and wait for the markets to bottom and show signs of a rebound before buying anything, there are still some options for shares to hold whilst you ride out the storm.

In today's podcast I look at the overall market bloodbath asking whether we see capitulation and a buying opportunity or if things could get much worse. I look at Bidstack and the speed at which it must complete a bailout placing, at Blue Jay Mining (JAY) and the antics of its disgraced Nomad and broker SP Angel, at Versarien (VRS) and the true import of today's free podcast and finally at AFC Energy (AFC) one of the most overvalued stocks on AIM.

Time for a tips of the year update.  Obviously it is grisly thanks to our old pal the coronavirus.  However you have to keep looking and thinking even when it is not going well...

Good news for shareholders in now suspended NMC Health (NMC), the establishment suits at ShareSoc have launched the NMC Action Group (NAG) to help realise value for sghareholders. The release is below:

Having made a total shambles of its half-year trading statement to the end of December, contradicting itself the very next day, AIM-listed Haydale (HAYD) has offered up dire interim results. The company will need more cash – and given the fiasco last time, that spells bad news for shareholders.

Scandal after scandal, suspension, sacking the CEO, the CFO on extended sick  leave, a whole bunch of boardroom resignations, the admission that Muddy Waters was on the money but it is far worse and finally the chocolate teapots have woken up to the fact that there was something wrong at NMC Health (NMC).

Hello, Share Sizzlers. You might think insurance companies aren’t such a good bet these days. What with stronger hurricanes, floods and the new virus. But wind and floods cause a rush of worried new customers while people seek more travel protection in case they’re forced to cancel their plans. So the outlook for RSA Insurance Group (RSA), formerly Royal Insurance, is possibly even more positive than the encouraging set of full-year results it’s just published...

Sadly Lyin' Neill Ricketts of Versarien (VRS) has not been in touch about my offer to record a podcast but I have a former senior executive turned whistleblower to interview instead and I shall do that tonight and it will go live, togerher with a chat with Lucian Miers in the next edition of ShareProphets Radio out soon, Elsewhere I discuss NMC Heath (NMC) and lessons learned,  Zenith Energy (ZEN) and Anglo African Oil & Gas (AAOG), whether Tullow (TLW) could be a sero, Aston Martin (AML), Cobra Resources (COBR) and finally ask when Telit (TCM) will serve up a profits warning. Surely it is due.

Of course there is insolvency as far as the law is concerned, and insolvent in that there isn’t enough cash to pay the bills but AIM-listed Conroy Gold and Natural Resources (CGNR) had not the cash to pay its bills, but still goes on. The interims to last November 30 show that it clocked up a pre-tax loss of EUR 278,000 and had negative net current assets of a stonking MINUS EUR 3.7 million!  

You cannot say you were not repeatedly warned here on ShareProphets – we have been bears from the start of Aston Martin’s latest incarnation as a listed vehicle (geddit?) and this morning we learn that having listed at a stonking £18 per share in October 2018, there is a rights issue on offer at just 207p. Oh, and the full year results are out….

Every time I look at Reabold Resources (RBD) I find more questions and reasons to dislike the Californian operations the company has, regardless of how often it shouts that they are great assets. I remain with no answers to questions I have raised with respect who sold these assets to the company and gained the benefit of the £3.1M million consideration. Yesterday the company outlined 2019 H2 production numbers from these assets. That raises even more questions.  

‘Customer engagement’ technology company Netcall (NET) has announced results for its half year ended 31st December 2019, with “Financial highlights” including “Revenue up 8% to £12.3m”, “Cash generated from operations of £1.57m” and “Group cash at 31 December 2019 was £6.50m”. However…

The FCA and AIM Regulation are now looking at Neill Ricketts claim to have sold shares to fund the building pf a laboratory at a school which has not built the lab and claims a much smaller sum is NOT coming from Neill persobnally. While the regulators deal with that act of market abuse here is another twitter lie from Ricketts.

Withshares in NMC health (NMC) – a soon-to-be-retired member of the illustrious FTSE100 – now suspended in the wake of a string of revelations over founder and now ex-co-chairman’s share dealing shenanigans, dodgy related party share guarantees which one assumes will haunt the company’s bank balance in due course and apparent discrepancies at the bank, Muddy Waters must be celebrating a seemingly total win. But what of fellow main-market play Finablr (FIN), where the warning signs are surely flashing red for similar revelations regarding the same people but as yet the company is remaining tight-lipped. That surely is a giant-sized Red Flag…

Early last month I noted on Topps Tiles (TPT), the shares have recovered from nearly re-hitting in November the sub 65p of my prior update to a current circa 75p. From here, certainly at least before clear evidence of improvement… I continue to avoid. The shares closed yesterday at 78.6p but are currently heading towards 60p on the back of a “Trading Update”…

Are the deadwood press still blowing smoke up the arse of Sam Smith, the boss of FinnCap (FCAP), a woman showing the men how it’s done in the man’s world of broking and corporate finance? Maybe there will be less blowing after a shock profits warning today.

As someone who occasionally shorts companies, particularly on AIM, my goal is to find companies which are total  frauds and so their shares ultimately prove worthless and I get 100% profit. However, I also like to short what I term "stock promotions", where management and/or shareholders have used various methods to get the stock to levels which are impossible to justify. On AIM, a stock promotion can take companies which are essentially worthless to a value of several hundred million pounds, depending on the story being spun.

Yesterday (natch, after hours, at no-one is watching o’clock) came the bad news from NMC Health (NMC) which saw it Game Set and (almost) match to Muddy Waters. Now shares in NMC have been suspended. Has Muddy Waters moved from 5-0 up in the third set to match point?...