RiverFort Global Opportunities (RGO) “is pleased to provide a detailed quarterly update for Q3 to 30 September 2019” – with it emphasising “total income generated in Q3 of £252,000, making a total of £919,000 for the first nine months of 2019. Increase in net asset value since 30 June 2019 of around 3%, or almost 9% over the first 9 months of 2019… Net asset value - fully diluted per share… 0.116p”…

Volex (VLX) was a share tip from ourselves at an 89p offer price in July. The company has now announced results for its half year ended 29^th September 2019 – and the shares have responded higher, to a current 119p…

The value of any asset traded in any volume is determined by the price at which buyers and sellers are prepared to transact. So for some surprisingly large companies where the liquidity ( lack of) or some other reason means there are no institutional investors, or trades, the share price is thus largely determined by private investors, many of them untrained in analysis and some of them full blown Bulletin Board Morons.

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...

Hello, Share Rousters. The hardest regrets we have in dealing is the shares we sold too early. I know many folks in Shareland who dumped their ASOS (ASC) shares too quickly along the spectacular path from 7p to £30. And though they still kick themselves, there really is no need. Because we all sell winning stocks too early - for the following reasons.

There are no guests in this week's show which is sponsored by Open Orphan PLC (ORPH). It is just me and I start with a phone call from a young man urging me to buy a cannabis stock. Then I look at why you are bound to lose money in junior mining and hydrocarbon plays. Finally I discuss the Golden Rule of Investing: Don't buy shares that are almost certain to go down. If you like this and can't wait seven days for more of the same and are tired of being a cheapskate you should listen to my Bearcast every day.

Previously writing on Veltyco (VLTY), in September I noted the shares rising above 4.5p though it’s ‘keep the lights on’ funding – and possibly still not for very long and it still, even from an increased to £3.75 million market cap, remains good luck! – I certainly continue to avoid. Today a “Trading Update” commencing; “Trading within the group's Bet90 sportsbook and casino business, in which Veltyco has a 51% interest, continues to be in line with management expectations, with Bet90 achieving its highest revenues since launch”. The shares have currently responded, er… to around 1.875p, approaching a further 50% lower on the day!...

In the years 2015-17 I demonstrated numerous times with articles such as African Potash (AFPO), No No No you are lying bastards and African Potash - now let's look at the lies in the RNS 6 days before the bailout placing in January, that then AIM listed African Potash run by Lyin’ Chris and Labour peer Lord Hain of sleaze had told industrial scale lies to ramp their shares and get away placings.  This was fraud plain and simple….

Today’s AGM at Kier (KIE) will not be a jolly affair. There is no update on planned disposals. The ghost in the room is the absence of Mr Neil Woodford the expert catcher of falling knives and the shares now trade at less than 90p, down from 800p a year ago and 1400p three years ago.

In today's podcast I look at two utterly absurd proposals from Labour on broadband and on Inheritance Tax. Insanity. I also warn No Gold that he better get his £50 ready for me on December 13. Then I look at Angus Energy (ANGS), Optibiotix (OPTI), Neil Woodford disasters Kier (KIE), Eddie Stobart Logistics (ESL) and Non-Standard Finance (NSF). Then at Veltyco (VLTY) which is clearly insolvent. 95p to 1.5p in two years, thank God it had a female CEO to demonstrate the benefits of boardroom diversity for some of that period. Incidentally that CEO Ms. Blau earned 220,000 Euro for just seven months work so did a great job of closing the #GenderPayGap.  Rejoice! Rejoice!

KEFI Minerals (KEFI) has followed recent positive news from its Ethiopia development project with it now “pleased to report encouraging results at the start of the scout drilling programme at the company's Hawiah exploration licence in Saudi Arabia”…

In August Nigel Somerville noted that Neil Woodford will be reading the half-year results of Non-Standard Finance (NSF) – which he put his weight behind in its takeover battle with the rather larger Provident Financial (PFG), which he also owns. But NSF lost that battle and this morning Neil learns that the whole exercise cost it £12.7 million. Those results at least though also emphasised “whilst macroeconomic uncertainties remain, the group remains resilient and well-placed to meet its objectives”. Today a “Trading Update”…

A couple of weeks ago I noted on BT Group (BT.A) that I thought fairer value was lurking in the upper half of the 200-300p share price level. Anyhow, a big new potential buyer of some of the company's assets has come into town over the last 24 hours...although I am not convinced that Jezza and his merry band of magic money tree followers are promoting re-nationalisation of part of the company's assets because they think it is cheap…

Eddie Stobart Holdings (ESL) still sees its shares suspended as the company can still not get its half year accounts bottomed out and published but a rescue plan today may well see the shares slung off AIM and the nature of the mega high interest loan injection makes it clear the equity is almost worthless. Well done Neil – this was a major holding in the Income Focus and Equity Income Funds.

Canadian Overseas Petroleum (COPL) has the honour of being in my crap quartet of utterly worthless and pointless oil and gas companies. I commented in June on this piece of shit noting the company had declared a need for unrealistically substantial funding via equity placings over the following 12 months. It’s now out of cash, again. Why bother with a placing to keep the lights on?  

Hello, Share Smashers. Insurance companies are in the news after the nasty flooding around my home town of Doncaster. As can happen with such disasters, the shares of insurance outfits might do the unexpected in the circumstances. They can rise. This could be because more people feel insecure and start buying policies...

Earlier this week I noted on Tissue Regenix (TRX) a further nightmare for shareholders including (natch) Neil Woodford investors – that with the company set to fail a financial covenant test and thus having to discuss with a weak hand - with also its latest results having shown it heavily loss-making with net cash down to £4.3 million - with loan facility provider MidCap Financial Trust. Now though Executive Chairman John Samuel reckons he’s “very pleased that Midcap have shown their support for the company by entering this revised agreement” – and the shares have responded further higher above 1p…

In today's podcast I look at PureCircle (PURE), the roll call of shame and who should be publicly executed. I also look at Dev Clever (DEV), Tissue Regenix (TRX) and, once again, at Blackmore Bond a mini bond car crash which appears imminent and is another part of what will be one of the biggest financial scandals for years.

Previously writing on homewares group Portmeirion (PMP), in May I noted after less than 2 months ago “we look forward into 2019 with confidence” … a significantly below market expectations profit warning, concluding, with the shares lower towards 900p, and with I also having previously noted from “expect profit before tax to be in line with market expectations for the full year” to “pre-tax profits are expected to be materially below” in less than two months, to avoid. The first ‘Headline’ of its 1st August-announced interims was “First half results are in line with our expectations set out in the 14 May 2019 trading update and we anticipate achieving full year expectations” – and now a “Trading Update”…

Mr Market giving you a kicking now and again keeps you suitably humble. Back in August I self-congratulated HERE about how 'one of my better portfolio performers year-to-date has been FirstGroup (FGP) which I have loved up a number of times in the last eighteen odd months on these pages, ever since the bus and rail company was silly enough (admittedly under a different management team) to turn down a bid from private equity'. Well that was all fine and dandy with both an activist shareholder AND the company coming up with its own plans to create value by splitting the company up. However today's update has pushed the shares down 20% odd percent as I write. So what has gone wrong given the value creation plans continue apace and full year numbers were reconfirmed?...