The #BoycottWetherspoons campaign by remaoning  Brexit haters continues to fail. For the first 12 weeks of the second quarter to 19 January 2020, like-for-like sales increased by 4.7% and total sales by 4.2%.  Take that snowflakes, stick that and your copy of today’s Guardian where the sun don’t shine.  Heroic Wetherspoon (JDW) boss Tim Martin once again did not hold back on a range of matters in the accompanying statement lambasting among others the BBC, CBI and the corporate governance bores run by a Marxist, PIRC. The great man opines thus:

A busy earnings Wednesday, so let us dive in…

AIM-listed Turkish gold miner Ariana (AAU) has delivered a strong set of drilling results from its 50% owned (via a joint venture) Tavsan prospect, part of the Red Rabbit gold project which is feeding its plant at Kizitepe. The good news seems to keep on flowing and the shares – just 1.5p a year ago and having bottomed out at just 1.1p in October 2018 – are now doing battle with the 3p mark.

After 12 years and 9 months on the AIM market doing what almost appears to be random things with fuel cells other than burn cash, AFC Energy (AFC) showcased its latest product - the H Power^TM Electric Vehicle (EV) charger - to retail investors back in December. This is clearly delivery of the IPO statement “The Company has a sole focus on producing commercially viable fuel cells”, or perhaps not – over 12 years to achieve no material sales?! Given the lack of success of its prior commercialisation ideas, and more importantly the operating costs associated with its latest ideas, I do not foresee a wonderfully wealthy future for shareholders. In fact I see nothing positive at all...

Hello Share Twiddlers. The great thing about a Footsie tinkering with record highs is that most boats float with a rising tide. This means that you can check on the share price of a sleeper in your portfolio and probably earn a nice surprise. This has happened to me with the BlackRock Greater Europe Investment Trust (BRGE)...

Previously writing on Lekoil (LEK), it was updates at 6:04pm… the sheikhs indeed fakes! Another massive scandal on AIM. Now it’s an intra-day, 2:29pm, “OPL 310 Project Update”…

Corero Network Security (CNS) has updated with CEO Ashley Stephenson emphasising “our strong order momentum in the second half of 2019, combined with our higher levels of recurring revenue and strong new business pipeline, provide Corero with solid foundations for 2020”. The shares have currently responded higher, towards 6p but that still compares to more than 12p at the start of 2019…

Suffice to say my observation back in June that Joules (JOUL) was a retail 'jewel' did not survive the Christmas trading season very well. You live and learn though and the shabby update from a few weeks ago centred on a ‘disappointing online sales performance due to an internally generated stock availability issue through the important end of season sale event, the cause of which has now been addressed’. And why? ‘Stock availability issue’. Goodness...that sounds so M&S (MKS)-like from a couple of years ago...

Both Versarien (VRS) and ADVFN (AFN) have been forced to issue major 'fess ups today directly as a result of my actions. I explain how both cases show just why AIM is not working at all, naming names why the Nomad system is failing you all and what happens next. And yes it is a day of fecking triumph for me and this website.

Having updated on latest quarter trading yesterday and stated that it “expects shortly to release its audited final results for the year ended 30 September 2019”, now “LightwaveRF plc (LWRF), the leading smart home solutions provider, is pleased to announce its audited final results for the year ended 30 September 2019”. Didn’t it know yesterday the “shortly” was going to be today?!...

In May of last year uber ramp Versarien (VRS) proudly announced a major US move. Unfortunately what it said was grossly deceptive and after I wrote to AIM Regulation last week it has today been forced to ‘fess up to this. Neill Ricketts is increasingly like the naughty boy sat outside the headmaster’s study almost every lunchtime hoping it is just another beating not a letter to his parents saying he must leave the school in disgrace.

If a trading statement needs explaining then it is badly written. Yet again Optibiotix (OPTI) stands accused of that. I really think the company should fire its PR PDQ. Frankly I could, and would, do a better job. As a result of a badly written release, folks are accusing boss Steve O’Hara of lying. He has not. Amid the confusion the shares have slipped to 50-52p. I have taken the chance to buy some more...

AIM-listed former Neil Woodford doggie favourite Eve Sleep (EVE) has offered up a trading statement. On the face of it the news appears favourable, with cashburn slashed by 51%, the EBITDA (bullshit earnings) loss heavily reduced by 43% and £7.8 million of cash in the bank at year-end. We are also told that the company reached break-even at an operating level in the last four months of the year. All good, but is there yet another fundraise around the corner?

Making a profit on small oil and gas exploration and appraisal companies largely comes down to timing your buys and sells correctly, rather than just holding onto your shares through the ups and downs. With many of these companies the actual risk of holding for a drill often isn’t worth it, especially with exploration plays, but good money can still be made in the lead up to drilling activity, and by leaving some profit to run in the case of some of the safer appraisals. Buying when there is a general lack of interest and no immediate operational activity, and then being patient, is often the best way to get in at a good price – even if not necessarily the lowest price, as that generally comes down to a large slice of luck...

Hello Share Makers. One benefit of following a bullish reporter like me is that it's tempting to ascribe a bit more attention where I take a more bearish view of a stock. As predicted, my fears about the rising share price of Fevertree (FEVR) have come true. The market leader in mixer drinks has just reported a disappointing Christmas. The numbers are not too bad and would probably have not made much difference to a most firms but when your share price has been growing very fast on hopes of continuing growth, well the market can punish those that slow down...

LightwaveRF (LWRF) has updated including “following a successful first two months of this financial year, which included Black Friday and Cyber Monday, the company has continued to make progress”. The shares though currently remain down at below 5p in response…

AIM-listed online Women’s wear peddler Sosandar (SOS) delivered a Christmas trading update this morning. Bearing in mind that I was previously very bullish on the company, but lost faith as management strategy appeared to change with the wind, I was fascinated to see if I was still comfortable with having sold out, or had perhaps been too much of a pessimist.

In today's bearcast I look at Versarien (VRS), Sosandar (SOS), Toople (TOOP), Audioboom (BOOM), ADVFN (AFN), Fevertree (FEVR), Zenith Energy (ZEN) and Eden Research (EDEN).

“Audioboom (AIM: BOOM), the leading global podcast company, is pleased to provide an unaudited trading update for the 12 months ended 31 December 2019” – with it emphasising “91% revenue growth and significant year-on-year EBITDA improvement”. The shares have though currently responded to 237.5p – a few percent lower...

What is it with disgraced Ms Sarah Cope of Anglo African Oil & Gas (AAOG) when she is faced with two deals for her shareholders she always goes for the worse option. Today’s news of a refinancing of the Riverfort funding facility is a case in point. It appears to be a shocking breach of fiduciary duty.