Under promise and over deliver is what PR poltroons tell their AIM clients. So you say you are looking to raise x but know you will raise x and a bit and then call it a massive success even if the placing is only at 66% of the share price a week or so earlier.

Purecircle (PURE), the jam-tomorrow sugar substitute shambles about which I have written in the past is a difficult stock to trade. The share price seems to do nothing for ages and then move violently for no obvious reason in a very short space of time. Late in August it lost 25% of its value, from 400p-300p, in three straight trading days. Since then it has rallied to 375p after publishing dire results for the year to June 2018.

San Leon Energy (SLE) has announced that Midwestern Oil & Gas Limited has notified it that Midwestern has entered into a binding agreement with SunTrust Oil Company Nigeria Limited to acquire SunTrust's equity interest in San Leon, that is 14.29% of the company.

Hello, Share Turners. Though sending cards is a necessary ritual of life, I have my doubts about investing in firms which make or sell them - or do both. Technology and high postal charges are a growing problem. And younger people look more to Facebook and the like to confer their birthday and other greetings.

I note the wise words of Chris Bailey on Royal Mail (RMG) and have swapped emails with him on the subject. He is, much cleverer than I am so you may wish to heed the conclusion of Three Brains Bailey. But I am not so sure if a 6.8% current year yield is enough to offset the risks both operational and political.  The article I wrote on water leakage which I refer to in the podcast and which the Sun Tel picked up on is HERE

Shares in Ilika (IKA) are currently 15% higher on the day, heading towards 20p, on the back of an announcement of “Pre-launch samples of mm-scale batteries shipped”. However, I immediately note the announcement is an ‘RNS Reach’ rather than a formal RNS. Hmmm…

In this two part series I shall explain why the valuation of Accesso Technology (ACSO) is quite simply insane. At £29.20 the market cap on the AIM Casino is £791.2 million. That is bonkers. In part two I shall look at the “interesting” way it generates profits and its dire cash generation.  But let us start with sales growth for this is valued as a mega growth stock.

A rough old start for certain large cap UK equities this week. Tom has already commented on Ryanair (RYA) and today's September traffic from the same company does nothing to encourage me to bottom fish here. By contrast, the knock-on impact on easyJet (EZJ) shares - which I loved up on these pages on Saturday - has been pretty savage, pushing the shares down 10% odd since the Friday close…

The tweet below relates to Carillion (CLLN) and comes from a leading group of supporters of Jeremy Corbyn and Labour. And it shows why the British left today not only fails to understand capitalism but also despises it.

Like Tom Winnifrith I am licking my wounds, after AIM-listed Big Sofa (BST) announced awful interims (after the deadline, but escaped being suspended by releasing the numbers first thing this morning before AIM announced today’s suspensions) and a placing so heavily discounted that it made the interims look like the company had won the lottery. It has been a bad couple of weeks. Having been keen I suggested that readers pile in when IPSOS bought at a big premium yet the shares hardly moved. If it looks too good to be true…..lesson learnt.

Having asked for readers tips for 2018 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 a monthly update on performance (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 2018)...

Tom Winnifrith writes: Firstly an apology from us. Big Sofa (BST) has been a very poor tip - as big investors in the IPO we share your pain and - justifiable - anger.  We apologise for believing numerous things said by CEO Simon Liddington. I have just emailed him and called him, to his face rather than behind his back, a “corporate wanker” for reasons I shall explain below. He should resign at once allowing newly appointed CCO Kirsty Fuller to take charge. Liddington is not fit for purpose and I am sorely tempted to go to the forthcoming EGM and tell him that, once again, to his face and demand he goes.

Petropavlovsk (POG) has announced results for the first half of 2018, which it notes “show the effect of the disruptions to the operations caused by the management hiatus in H1” but the recently returned management emphasise that “we can already report significant progress”…

Hello, Share Minders. As the price of Brent crude continues to climb, still the big oil companies lag behind the surge. I keep stressing that their share prices will catch up, probably sooner than later. But what about the smaller fish?

Saintly Vin Murria having walked from a potential controlling equity investment and nominated adviser finnCap having resigned seeing the shares suspended, today a “Company Update” from Imaginatik (IMTK) commencing; “Since the company's announcement on 4 June 2018, the company's financial performance has improved”. Hmmm…

I have told this to Simon Liddington to his face but my comments merit a wider audience. I apologise for a dire share tip. I have lost £40,000 myself on Big Sofa (BST) and I must take blame for my own decisions. But I also have words for Arden Partners but the buck stops with the pathetic failure Liddington who MUST GO NOW! I also comment on Avanti Communications (AVN), Ryanair (RYA) and on Rosslyn  Data Technologies (RDT) and Avocet (AVM)  

Ten years after the Great Recession’s onset, another long, deep downturn may soon roil the U.S. economy. The high level of asset prices today mirrors the earlier trend in house prices that preceded the 2008 crash; both mispricings reflect long periods of very low real interest rates caused by Federal Reserve policy. Now that interest rates are rising, equity prices will fall, dragging down household wealth, consumer spending and economic activity.

Secure payment and customer contact technology company Eckoh (ECK) is “delighted to have won our largest ever secure payments contract and with such a prestigious client” - and the shares have currently responded 8% higher to 41p…

Kefi Minerals (KEFI) has announced that, as per the RNS of August 24, it has now signed a binding deal with ANS Mining Share Company which will see ANS invest $30 million for a 23% stake in the Tulu Kapi project (not the PLC). Another $8 million could see that stake go to 29%...

Another month has passed, so it is time for another look at my portfolio of AIM stocks which I marked as slam-dunk sells at the beginning of the year. The five in question are UK Oil & Gas (UKOG), Frontera Resources (FRR), Telit (TCM), Inspirit Energy (INSP) and Catanae Innovation (CTEA), formerly Milestone Group. At the last count the portfolio was down by 22% - what is the score now?