Hey Carson – why aren't you flying me out, all expenses paid, to LA for the Fidouchies event below? I'd love to meet you and be even keener to meet Stormy. What would a celebration of financial misdemeanours be like without a Brit there to represent the AIM casino?

It was reported at the weekend that Neil Woodford’s funds' previous holding in AIM-listed Eddie Stobart Logistics (ESL) was sold at just 6p per share – as against the 70p suspension price. That should give a measure of the trouble Stobart is in, and also a measure of Woodford’s failure here. This morning DBAY updated on its proposals, presumably in response to noises from the competing Tinkler camp, as it tries to take control and rescue the outfit, and Tinkler has responded...

The South Sea bubble promised access to the untapped riches of the vast Asian sub-continent...

Over the next week or so we will run articles by supporters of the three main parties in Britain urging you to vote for their party. If you are some SNP supporting sheep molester or cottage burning Taffy and want to bleat about not having your say, tough. This is about parties that are serious across the UK ....and also the Lib Dems. Our first contributor was lifelong Labour supporter Brian Basham, now writer here and recently elected Conservative Councillor Chris 'three brains' Bailey writes:

It is forty-nine days since my last “monthly” update. Hmm – it seems that the calendar has run away without me. Nevertheless, here is my update as at the end of November so I guess I’m squeaking in a sort-of monthly update. My portfolio of dividend munchers – BT (BT.A), Vodafone (VOD), Centrica (CNA), Centamin (CEY) and ITV (ITV) has held up pretty well overall but please don’t treat the stocks as tips: the object was to beat bank interest because markets seem to me to be overvalued and bank interest and bonds offer so little income...

Hello, Share Smashers. Despite the uncertainties of a Trump administration, the American economy is doing well. You can tell that by the number of British companies which are doing so-so in Blighty, but which are making increasing profits in the USA. This, of course, helps British share prices to bubble along...

It has been a busy weekend...although not exclusively for the reasons Tom briefly mused upon in his bearcast yesterday(and on which i will do a grand reveal early next week).  Back to the markets and I read that another FTSE reshuffle is imminent.  Regular readers will recall that this is a regular opportunity moment I muse upon.  

At first glance Argo Blockchain (ARB) seems to be very different to the type of companies that I normally cover within the natural resources sector, but the actual economics of the business isn’t all that dissimilar.

In today's bearcast I reflect on the start of Advent which I miss in Wales and on its start here in Kambos Greece. I look at pay at the big accountants and what it says about the sanctions against such folk when they screw up. Then it is onto Neil Woodford's biggest cheerleader in the press until recently, Jeff Prestridge of the Mail on Sunday and his demands for action against the guilty parties in this scandal. Jeff misses out two of the guilty parties and misses the point on the rest.

In a few decades, two warring toothbrush giants have carved out a market worth billions, with the help of a little science and some clever marketing. But where does it go next?

AIM-listed Bowleven (BLVN) issued its annual results to June 2019 on Friday morning and the headlines are not that great. In short, the Etinde asset off the coast of Cameroon has been written down by around a quarter and the path to possible commercialisation has been extended. In other words shareholders are being told they will have to wait longer and will get less than originally hoped for.

This has nothing to do with shares or investing or anything. It's the end of the weekend and we've organised a quick pub quiz. Grab your own beer, there are no prizes, and for Pete's sake, no Googling! Only I get to do that. If you are so inclined, please enter your score in the comments. The highest score still won't get a prize.

The death throes of ShareProphets AIM-China Filthy Forty play Walcom (WALG) seem to be going on even longer than your average opera. Having encountered problems last in getting its largest customer to pay up (still no progress there despite a court win) and hits to its business by disease, Walcom has been teetering on the brink for an age. But with the Christmas and New Year break coming up, I wonder if the company will survive into the new year following Friday's intra-day update.

Last week, Bill Gates once again became the world's richest person at $110 billion. Here's a short animation that shows what your £5.99 per month could do.

I apologise for the lack of articles today, Gary Newman is on a book deadline, Chris Bailey is engaging in his dirty secret and I am olive harvesting. A few words on that and then I look at comments that Roger Lawson of ShareSoc makes on debt and also on Victoria (VCP). On this occasion he is only partially wrong, which must be seen as a result.

Having asked for readers tips for 2019 for the amazing prize of a meal with Tom Winnifrith (or the chance to fob it off on someone you don't like) HERE, the following is an update on performance as this year’s competition enters its final month (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 2019)...

Hello, Share Greeters. One probably goes on a bit too much about one’s long-held belief that a monitor investment in a pocket pharmaceutical venture can reap huge rewards very quickly. At the same time, we must acknowledge that a medical share can fall like a lead anvil from a church tower when, for example, a line of research comes to naught.

From the FCA's spreadsheet of short positions required to be disclosed to it, the following shows the shorted AIM shares with positions from 2018 and thus far in 2019 (by net short position %, those in bold not on the list at the start of 2019) – and if this position has increased (red), reduced (green) or remained unchanged (black) since last week...

I reply to a listener who blames yesterday's lack of bearcast on my thoughts shifting away from Ms Cole to this young olive harvester - such a suggestion is almost defamatory. Then it is on to Dignity (DTY), St James Place (STJ) and - in some detail - the very naughty boys at Iconic (ICON), led by toxic Dave Sefton and why the two NEDS walked today.

I concluded back in July, with the shares at circa 50p, to avoid Live Company Group (LVCG) and most recently concluded, with the shares at 38p, with there still clear financial challenges remaining, still currently avoid / sell. Now an intra-day (11:51 am) “Update re the Riverfort Facility” – and the shares currently more than 10% lower on the back of it, to 32p…