Back in April I observed that ‘from the perspective that Saga plc (SAGA) describes itself as “a specialist in the provision of products and services for people over 50”, before the end of this year I am going to be one of its potential customers’. I told it later in the article that it really should not bother contacting me…and, so far, it sensibly has not done so. The reality today is that if the (slightly) more mature fraternity want something relevant, the average bank, holiday company, investment company can offer plenty. And we have not even mentioned the bunch of pure-internet alternatives. That is why, despite an excitable AGM update this morning which has helped push the company’s shares up 5% as I write, the shares are still unchanged year-to-date.

I mentioned a month ago that easyJet (EZJ) was “looking forward to more summer holidays this year”. Today’s formal numbers for its half-year to the end of March are absolutely fine, talking about growing capacity, launching more flights out of Birmingham airport, boosting profit from holiday offers and “mid teen EBITDAR margin…low to mid teen ROCE”. Obviously, the latter two metrics are a bit comical but, as I shared with you at the link above, I think max future holiday hope hype for 2023-24 will occur in the late summer/early autumn period with this one. I think there will be a chance to sell my shares at 550p+ later this year and so continue to hold. So if easyJet is alright, what about BT Group (BT.A)?

Back in January, I talked about "some rising excitements at easyJet (EZJ)", but concluded that I was going "to exit when the investor crowd are crying for more...for the record, for me that is when the stock is north of 550 pence". Back then the shares were up over 50% year-to-date and now, at a share price of just shy of 530p, they are up just over 60%. And it all seems pretty correct and rational, as today's update from the company is kind of alright.

As I discussed just over a month ago, I have fallen out of love a bit with easyJet (EZJ) as a customer. However, I do still own some shares, which means I was all over today’s full year to the end of September 2022 numbers like a rash.

This company is somewhat bigger than the ones we usually cover, but it struck us as a relatively low risk trading buy and, although already well up from a below 300p tip price at approaching 350p, there looks some more to go. This follows a recent trading update from easyJet (EZJ) having emphasised continuing demand for its leading network alongside “step-changed” ancillary revenue and the rapid and profitable growth of the easyJet holidays business. The shares responded positively, but were above 400p as recently as August and above 700p earlier this year and, despite some clear challenges, we suggest that there is further recovery potential from here as we look to 29^th November-scheduled results and beyond.

There are two really busy weeks at this time of year: the last week of October and the first week of November. However, I have noted something else about recent times, a Monday is often a relatively quiet day. So, unlike the Boomtown Rats, I do like a Monday, mainly because I spent almost all of the last weekend playing catch up with the global corporate earnings season. Guess what is going to happen next weekend too… Until I get a bit older and more knackered, anyway. I wrote about International Consolidated Airlines Group (IAG) aka the previous British Airways last Friday, but I see The Times reports today that the “British Airways owner looks to snap up rivals as easyJet (EZJ) falters”.

International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (IAG) aka the stock you and I used to call British Airways, saved my backside a few months ago.  To be precise, I am sure the Gibraltar tourist board and/or a Spanish train company would have preferred me to be stuck thankis to Easyjet (EZJ) - with my eldest daughter - in the British Overseas Territory and a city located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, but IAG / BA stepped up in a timely (although slightly expensive) manner.  So, I have become a bit more of a fan (albeit that I do not currently own any shares in the company), which brings me to its third quarter numbers published earlier today…

It remains an interesting macro world when people who are not that naturally interested in the financial markets become obsessed with what the 10-year gilt yield is. It is a bit like when Barbra Streisand described herself as a day trader in late 1999, changes are upcoming soon. Despite the best efforts of the chancellor the UK is not going to go bust, your corporate pension won’t disappear and it remains very stupid to have a massive amount of cash in your back garden.

Shares in airlines have been hammered recently with concerns over demand during a cost of living crisis, as well as rising costs of running these businesses, but I’m not convinced that things are quite as bad as the markets seem to be factoring in.

Welcome to Friday and the ‘excitement’ (as the BBC put it) of a “wave of tax cuts expected from chancellor in bid to boost growth”. What fun awaits (not)! Meantime, what I have been busy with over the last couple of days is a couple of corporate seminars.

These are the most-read articles and most listened-to Bearcasts of the week. The most read non-Tom article is Fun (or not) at easyJet, Unilever and Rolls-Royce by Chris Bailey at number three or number eight if you include Bearcasts.

I hope you enjoyed a nice start to the week because - if you are an investment markets follower - it is going to get really busy. All good usual late July fun then. I guess I should start with easyJet (EZJ), a company I have become royally hacked off with ever since the cancellation of my flight back home with it in early July.

These are the most-read articles and most listened-to Bearcasts of the week. The most read non-Tom article is Do I dump my EasyJet shares, after it screwed me so badly as a customer? by Chris Bailey at number five or number 11 if you include Bearcasts.

I haven't posted much these last few days - I've been abroad for the first time since January 2020. What excitement!  I'm sure a bunch of you have been to Gibraltar, though I had not.  I have two key tips.  If, unlike me, you are visiting to explore lower taxation and other matters, do not discuss it in front of others having their breakfast.  Second, you must ask yourself whether to fly with British Airways i.e. IAG (IAG) or EasyJet (EZJ). And - if you should prefer the former - whether or not you should hold EasyJet shares.

I discuss both these corporates, and remind the 94% of you yet to support Rogue Bloggers for Woodlarks: please do so, HERE.  Then, I discuss Stuart Ashman of Skinbiotherapitics (SBTX), who has made me look like a complete git (again), as he withdraws from ShareStock. But, I will announce another BIG-name speaker tomorrow, and will replace Stuart. So, make sure you book your tickets, HERE.  Then, I look at Cellular Goods (CBX) and Guild ESports (GILD), the David Beckham dogs. 

Volatile times as also shown earlier this week in the United States, with the shares of two huge retailers, Walmart and Target, having their worst days since the stock market volatility of 1987. Interesting times out there. And it is a busy day in the UK market too, with three of my holdings giving an update…

Some good news and some less good news for easyJet (EZJ) today. Call me radical but I have booked an easyJet flight for later this year, which is a tiny bit of positive news for its finance team. The less good financial news is that the company is going to have to “offer new and existing cabin crew a £1,000 bonus at the end of the summer holiday season, as airlines battle to retain and recruit staff”. Frankly though, a bit like any company, if it doesn’t have happy and motivated staff it will ultimately struggle. I remain a fan despite a lower share price this morning. And what about Greggs (GRG), which published a trading update this morning? After all a couple of months ago I asked the question “At what share price will I want more than just a vegan sausage roll from Greggs?”...

It is now over a year since I wrote about ITV plc (ITV). I am trying to think if I have watched the channel since then but certainly, judging by the over 40% share price fall since, it was wise to observe last May that “if you don’t own it…you can chill…overall like the majority of TV in my opinion a bit of a yawn”. Have I changed my mind at any level today?

Over the last five years, £50 has been a regular share price for InterContinental Hotels Group plc (IHG).  Given the current challenges, I am surprised that the owner of Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn, and Regent Hotels & Resorts, has seen its shares recover to their pre-Covid peak.  So, whilst they have “seen very positive trading conditions in the first quarter, with travel demand continuing to increase in almost all of our [their] key markets around the world”, they must also hope for “a return of business and group travel". 

Happy Easter to all of you.  Whilst I can look forward to an EasyJet (EZJ) trip this summer, it has been warm enough over recent days to justify a bit of sun cream, which reminds me of PZ Cussons (PZC) and its St Tropez sun lotion.  So, do I still regard the manufacturer of personal healthcare products as a ‘bad day buy’, just as I did a couple of months ago?

I am just so tired and, needless to say, the carpenter has not done his work. But snake-repellent canisters have been put out. More on that later. Today, I chat about: EasyJet (EZJ); Fox Marble (FOX); Bluebird Merchant Ventures (BMV); and Vast Resources (VAST).

I am a bit of an easyJet (EZJ) fan even if it is over two years since I last was on one of its planes. Tom may be more of an expert on actually getting on its planes more recently given his regular trips to the Hellenic Republic. As for today’s announcement of its reduced H1 losses to a “range of £535-565m for the 6 months ended 31 March 2022", believe me it could have been a lot worse and the key remains the number of trips over the next six to eighteen months. The shares are little changed today at just shy of 550p but I am still hopeful of a run at 800p, which keeps it a Buy for me. By contrast, I see Deliveroo (ROO) goes from one shocker to another…

Maybe I will or maybe I won’t go on a plane this year as there are always plenty of other things to do in life. Based on number of historic trips, my favourite carrier remains easyJet (EZJ) but it is a good job I am not travelling with it today as “EasyJet cancels 100 flights due to Covid absences” – something I am sure all Easter travellers, across all airlines, are fully aware of. And this brings us to observations by its great peer and competitor Ryanair, which observed this morning that it “expects to report a pre-exceptional FY22 net loss of between -€350 million and -€400 million (previously guided range of -€250 million to -€450 million)”.

It is another manic Thursday with plenty of global market news and volatility to enjoy. Obviously I completely love it. In terms of the UK there are about ten different names I could write about today, but I will just leave it to four. After all yesterday I loved-up easyJet (EZJ) already and today’s first quarter numbers hit nearly 12 million passengers, nearly four times the level a year ago.

Have you been enjoying the volatile financial markets year-to-date? I have not looked but I guess the value of my pension fund has fallen slightly, even if my #1 position is my beloved Barrick Gold which unsurprisingly is up so far in 2022. I have added one new holding this week though as I did say here a couple of weeks ago about Currys (CURY) that ‘if you see the share price at or below 100p then you should buy’. We will see whether Monday’s buy was smart or not over time. Meanwhile, a couple of months ago I observed about the British multinational enterprise software company Sage Group (SGE) that I had an 800p+ share price target.

I start with a few comments on my life as a tree hugging, green feminist and the issues that presents. Then I comment on Wildcat (WCAT) and its smearing of me in a bonkers statement. I then comment on Versarien (VRS), the Ian Westbrook case and what will cause a share price collapse this year. Then it is on to Cineworld (CINE), the Restaurant Group (RTN) and easyjet (EZJ), three end of covid plays and why they are not all the same. Finally I look at Nostra Terra Oil & Gas (NTOG) and the latest statement served up by its devoutly Christian boss and why I am not buying into it.

Did you have a good start to the year yesterday? I had one or two excitements but as I did not enter 2022 with either (1) a bunch of bond holdings and/or (2) a bunch of technology sector positions, it was a great start to the year.

An already widespread virus mutating to what is being seen clinically as “extremely mild cases”. Not bad news then… except in Airstrip One – and a resultant very negative stock market reaction. However government response madness is gradually being revealed and travel and leisure should resultantly gradually recover, though some share prices here remain depressed. Opportunity?…

The last day of a month always has a bit of market excitement, typically involving investors who fiddle around with their portfolio to ensure they are not too embarrassed when their end of the month portfolio is published. But there is more to think about this end of the month, with the headlines that the ‘Moderna chief predicts existing vaccines will struggle with Omicron’ having naturally induced a bit of (negative) excitements for the markets today. Hello the FTSE 100 lurking again at the c. 7,000 index point level. And then we also had the full year latest update from easyJet (EZJ)…

Late November and early December is always a busy time for the brokerage industry to forge, write and publish its investment thoughts for next year.  Of course many of such thoughts end up as deeply embarrassing, even before you reach Easter, but – like most of the sales industry – what you said a few months ago was the ancient past, and what matters is your thinking today. 

I may not have been on a plane since January 2020 but I still like easyJet (EZJ) shares and was pleased to read earlier today on the ‘31 for 47 rights issue of 301m New Shares at 410p per New Share…valid acceptances representing approximately 93.0%’. Whilst most money raisings will induce volatility, earlier this month I wrote about how I backed this deal. Frankly, I am amazed that 7% of investors failed to do this. That’s their mistake in my view. Easyjet remains a buy for me. I might even get the chance to travel on one of its planes over the next year. Also earlier this year I talked about looking for the opportunities to buy the ‘British multinational diversified engineering business’ Smiths Group (SMIN) when its shares fell below £15.

I have been an easyJet (EZJ) fan for a while and, whilst holding some shares going into the COVID-19 crisis hurt, doubling up on the shares just under eighteen months ago has worked out well. So today’s complex update is of interest at many levels…especially as the shares today are down by more than 10% to only just over a 7 quid price following news of a (turned down) takeover approach and a decision to raise money. What is going on?

This is massive. Lloyds has 1400 stores across the UK. And as you can see HERE, it is now selling the MyHealthChecked (MHC) covid test. Boots is selling the test from more than 500 stores and that deal plus sales from MyHealthChecked’s own portal managed to drive sales of c£3 million in May and June alone. So gaining this additional distribution (plus that from partnering with EasyJet) is surely highly material. Why no RNS? 

In a few weeks time it will be eighteen months since I have been on a plane. No great hassle and progressively the world is coming back towards its historic norm. Given my historic preferences, I would imagine easyJet (EZJ) may get a booking from me over the next few months. As for its shares though  as I discussed here last month  I more than doubled my holding at the peak of COVID-19 concerns last year, and whilst they remain volatile I still hope for another run closer to a twelve quid share price over the next year.

The reality about the investment world is that thinking about realities for the next six to eighteen months matter a lot more than many people (even brokers and investment analysts) think. And that brings us to easyJet (EZJ) this morning publishing its nine months numbers. I know it makes sense for most companies to use the end of December as their full year point. Meanwhile some old-school corporations use the end of the UK tax year at the end of March/start of April. However many travel companies use the end of September, especially if they have a big summer holiday focus, often maxing out their revenue flow in the months leading up to that time. Nevertheless, you would expect some interesting comments – and guidance – at the nine month numbers published in July. And this brings us to easyJet today.

MyHealthChecked (MHC) has made a trading update, emphasising “the first half of 2021 has seen a transformation of our business” and the shares have responded more than 7% higher to 3.8p – so what’s the transformation?

In today’s bearcast with myself and Joshua recorded in Metsovo, I comment on MyHealthChecked (MHC), Boots & EasyJet, the blooming Poulden Lenigas bromance, on Zoetic (ZOE) and on Bidstack (BIDS). More ouzo tonight methinks. 

I start with four companies to boycott: Octopus Energy, Grolsch, Nivea and Kopparber. Not that it will make any difference. I then battle EasyJet (EZJ) to get my own money back and discuss why i would not own its shares. Then onto Bidstack (BIDS) which will meet payroll next week but will struggle in July, Verditek (VDTK) and finally Westminster Group (WSG) run by sleazy ex Tory MP Tony Baldry of the fraud 3DM infamy. 

I have been on a Wizz Air (WIZZ) flight a few times, but I have never owned the shares. That was a bad move as nearly five years ago the stock was below twenty quid a share whilst earlier on this year the stock had pushed over a fifty pound level. Not too bad for a company that can talk about the year to the end of March that it has ‘255+ new routes (meaning) 800+ routes in total’ across many different parts of Europe. Naturally though, the last year has been far from easy with passenger numbers at 10.2 million…down 75% year-on-year.

In both cases it has only added to my blood pressure. I explain what happened, a sense of guilt at how I can, as a journalist, pull strings, and what it says about the companies.

The good news is that Rogue Bloggers for Woodlarks inches closer to target. The bad news is we inch there so if you are yet to donate please do so HERE. In today’s podcast, which will please Matthew and his dog, I discuss Easyjet (EZJ), Amigo (AMGO), Zoetic (ZOE) and the fifth stage of moronism – Trainline (TRN), Bahamas Petroleum (BPC) and Purplebricks (PURP).

The last time I was on a plane was in January 2020 and – as it happened – it was an easyJet (EZJ) flight. Over the years it is probably the airline I have travelled on the most, so certainly I am a bit of a fan. It also meant that I bought some stock during the dog days of last year. But what do I do now?

Before I review today’s first quarter update from ITV (ITV), a few words on the AGM update from SIG (SHI) which I last wrote up in late March HERE.

Two FTSE 100 names of interest published an update this morning.  First easyJet (EZJ) which noted that the group headline loss for the 6 months ending a couple of weeks ago is expected to be somewhere between £690-730 million.  Naturally that is a lot of money but there were even worse losses feared by some analysts.

This year has all been about Covid- related stocks and anything with even a vague association with that, but over the next year or two the biggest profits will be made from companies that have been hit by the virus but have had the strength to survive and will reap the benefits as things begin to return to some semblance of normality.

Just over a month ago HERE I concluded about FTSE 100 names easyJet (EZJ) and Imperial Brands (IMB) that there was value in both. Since I wrote those words, the former has rather (if you will excuse the pun) taken off with the share up almost 50% from the either side of five quid level it was previously at. Meanwhile Imperial Brands shares are showing more evidence of clearly forging a triple bottom in the twelve/thirteen quid range and are now breaking up/out. That is nice darts…though neither of today’s updates are flawless…

Obviously the title question is not aimed at your personal consumption activities because I know you are sober and righteous people, fully locked down at the home office and whose only vice is contributing to the online gambling-driven profits nudge up of GVC Holdings (GVC), as disclosed this morning. You know my thoughts on that one already from here. Back to recently less remunerative shares though…

Well good luck to Kenton Jarvis who will be joining easyJet (EZJ) at some point in the next few months as its new CFO.  The budget airline may have raised money recently to strengthen their balance sheet, but you do not need to be an investing geek to know life is just a bit uncertain for any operator in this sector.  I talked about this with Tom W yesterday in a video that will go live later today. And certainly my conclusion is that whilst easyJet is a company with a strong offering and a real link with consumer demand/preferences, it can only buck the cycle for so long.  But…

I wonder how Nigel Somerville is celebrating. I wonder how long the gold rally will continue and discuss why Red Rock Resources (RRR) could utterly roof it if it can IPO its Oz gold arm in time. I just need another 25% and I am back at break-even. On an Andrew Bell stock, how many folks can say that? Only kidding Andrew – maybe we are in the right place at the right time? In the podcast, I also look at EasyJet (EZJ), Intercontinental Airlines (IAG) and how the woes of vodka fiend Olaf may be a sign of worse to come for all. I cover Supply@ME Capital (SYME) and look at results and the rum ‘n’ coke valuation of Dev Clever (DEV).

As the old saying going about air travel, “every takeoff is optional...every landing is mandatory.”  For investors, the sector is certainly always just an option.  I cannot remember when I have ever thought of the space as a mandatory part of my portfolio.  I may be wrong, but I think I have only ever owned two airline stocks across my whole investment life. 

It seems that some folks with three brains think that with a £450 million fund raise just completed, the worst is behind it for EasyJet (EZJ). But is it? Might its mega data breach referred to only en passant by the company be enough to sink it?. That spectre is raised by accountingweb today. The maths seem straightforward.

One of the earliest lessons I learnt as a neophyte investor too many years ago to remember is that correlation does not imply causality. The above headline is a good example of this. Both events have happened today and both are worthy of some comment, but I suggest the linkage between the two is nebulous at best...

I have flagged up the corrupt nature of the deadwood press, and the Sunday Times in particular, numerous times on this website. The way it blew off Neil Woodford in return for “scoops" and again and again backs boards, who by dint of underperformance, are quite rightly under fire with dirty attacks on their critics is shameful. Babcock (BAB) is a case in point. Today the paper shows its true colours again with its coverage of NMC Health (NMC) and more especially, and shamefully, of EasyJet (EZJ).

Excluding ShareProphets Radio 27, the most read non-Tom article this week is Gold: Dislocation, dislocation, dislocation! It is all going only one way by Nigel Somerville, at number four or number 12 including Bearcasts.

Easyjet (EZJ) founder and largest shareholder Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou has hit out at the Easyjet board, terming them scoundrels, and slated Airbus as a bribe giving arms maufacturer in a stinging letter out this morning. As you can see below, he does not mince his words.

Exciting times if you are long and strong on equities. Obviously it probably means you were long and strong back in February and March too, but we will gloss over that. Naturally I know something about that... Anyhow, rather than rambling on about the largesse of the Saudis in backing Carnival (CCL) or the 'skills' of easyJet (EZJ) in securing a £600 million coronavirus loan from from the Treasury and Bank of England’s emergency coronavirus fund, time to talk about a name that has not been so impacted by all the coronavirus issues…

Yes, after three weeks, I have shaved off a lockdown beard that was white, grey, black and brown and made me look like an elderly Big Issue seller. But having run out of foam i still have a dark moustache and so am now a throwback to the 1970s. The good old days.  I discuss this and also the idea that we will see a dramatic post Coronavirus economic, stockmarket and oil price recovery. I look at Easyjet (EZJ), Angling Direct (ANG) - using it as a case study of how the economy really is snagged so badly - and at the scandal at Versarien (VRS) where lyin' Neill Ricketts now stands totally exposed with regards to his share dumping a year ago. Surely the regulators must act now. I discuss how James Hay are m aking my life a misery with their incompetence lover my SIPP transfer.  Finally an appeal from Darren please send your views of your new home desks and the views from your window to editorial@shareprophets.com  

Okay, I have been wrong with such calls before. Quindell (QPP) was a total and demonstrable fraud, running on fumes and so just had to be a zero... Then along came those Aussie poltroons from Slater & Gordon, who bought most of its worthless assets, so saving Quindell but train-wrecking their own company. It happens now and again that the corporate world throws up an even bigger fool than your average Bulletin Board Moron on the LSE Asylum. Moreover, these are “challenging” times...

In today's bearcast  I look at Iconic (ICON) which really does not understand irony. Then at Purplebricks (PURP), self entitled snowflake young barristers, Hammerson (HMSO) and EasyJet (EZJ)

The founder of EasyJet (EZJ) has written to the board demanding it scrap £4.5 billion of planned Airbus orders, asking if any executives took bribes from Airbus and demanding wholesale boardroom change. The letter is dynamite and I reproduce it in full below:

To be fair to fully listed ITV (ITV) it has to be commended for this morning’s update at regards Covid-19 in much the same way as one should applaud the statement last week from Next (NXT) as Chris Bailey did. It should also be commended for chopping the FY dividend to conserve cash in this uncertain time – that is the responsible thing to do. But the shares have been marked down, suggesting there are problems – although as Chris Bailey points out, they are surely far less severe than at CEO Carolyn McCall’s old stamping ground over at Easyjet (EZJ)!

I have discussed coronavirus itself putting to you a question no-one dares ask over on my own website HERE. Then I discuss Peter Brailey's most excellent work on the oil price today and what it means for London's listed oil stocks if Peter is even half correct, which I think he may be. Finally to the airlines and why shareholders in EasyJet (EZJ) must now lose everything in a nationalisation not just be modestly diluted as the FT argues is being discussed. 

I start with a few thoughts on how folks here in our village are showing their good side and how some businesses in doing so and adapting are showing the way forward for capitalism. Then I look at the Boeing, British Airways and Easyjet (EZJ) bailout conundrums facing our leaders. Easyjet has just scored a big own goal on that front and almost deserves to perish, hence the share price move today. I look at Crest Nicholson (CRST) and also at R4E (R4E) which is either a five bagger or bust.

Another week starts, another day of losses in the market. You may recall my musing of a week or so ago concerning where we were in the different stages of market psychology. Clearly the early throes of panic/capitulation apparent then have upped their ante very considerably. We can all try to be experts on virus profiles and related but the reality of the situation is obviously short-term earnings uncertainty. You can see this in today's large cap regulatory news updates…

I had a long chat with Lucian Miers who is right now in Cambodia ( cue cheap Gary Glitter jokes from morons on ADVFN). We discussed coronavirus and the state of the markets. What to buy in the FTSE 100 and his shorts: De la Rue (DLAR), Versarien (VRS), Easyjet (EZJ), IQE (IQE), Apple, Tesla and Purplebricks (PURP) and also the ethics of bailouts and what Governments will be allowed to do., I also comment on Finablr (FIN) and panic selling in Big Sofa (BST)

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.  

Given I have undertaken a return trip to Dubai in the last three days (technically between Tuesday and Thursday - don't ask!) you would have thought I would have had enough thinking or talking about the airline sector. But musing about numbers from easyJet (EZJ) from Tuesday is no chore, because it is time to sell up and take some profits…

Hello Share Twiddlers. Airlines are a difficult area for me. Not since I ditched my old British Airways shares yonks ago have I dabbled in the sector. As a pilot might say: there seem to be more headwinds than tailwinds. The budget operator easyJet (EZJ) is a company which currently performs above City expectations. But for how long?...

One day fund manager types will realise that shares in the staffing space are geared plays on the hope level in the world. I see updates from sector peers PageGroup (PAGE) and Robert Walters (RWA) are decidedly shabby in nature, citing a bunch of macro-level issues as reasons why their profits are not set to continue to blast strongly forward…

Once again, please excuse my croaky voice. In this second edition of the ShareProphets Radio podcast sponsored by Riverfort Global Capital, this week, in order I discuss the cowardice of a well known AIM CEO, interview bear raider Lucian Miers on a wide range of subjects including Tesla, Neil Woodford and WPCT, IQE, Purplebricks, UK Oil & Gas, Thomas Cook and cannabis, I then interview value blue chip investor Chris Bailey on, inter alia, Tesla, EasyJet, Imperial Brands, Woodford, Burberry, Dignity, and St James Place. Enjoy. If you like this and can't wait seven days for more of the same you should listen to my Bearcast every day.

Index reshuffles in the UK are typically a quarterly thing and the one due to be definitively announced later this week seems to be bad news for a stock I have recently written about (and currently own): easyJet (EZJ)…

After admitting I still loved up easyJet (EZJ) shares late last week, what to make of its great peer Ryanair (RYA) which produced its latest set of numbers today?...

easyJet (EZJ) shares have been under the cosh in recent weeks due to the rum mixture of consumer spending being under pressure and the inevitable Brexit uncertainty. I know the latter is a bit of a 'go to' for many corporate names, but for a company such as easyJet it actually matters if any new impediments occur to travel or restrictions on ownership. The latter has been a real hassle for the company because of a need to show majority control by European Union-centric investors in order to keep maximum corporate flexibility...

As I write it is beautiful staycation weather outside which is wonderful news for many but potentially not so good for travel names such as Thomas Cook (TCG) which are focused almost exclusively on sending holidaymakers to foreign climes.  Of course I have spoken about the company before  - and my February call was looking downright shabby, even if there has been a touch of moving away from a Brexit cliff edge (the Halloween postponement) which has aided some of my other travel sector plays such as easyJet (EZJ) over the last week or two. 

So another week of Brexit-related excitement awaits. I have almost given up trying to predict the next twists and turns but there is always a practical impact and we have seen this from easyJet (EZJ) this morning…

EasyJet (EZJ), GVC Holdings (GVC) and Just Eat (JE.) all released eagerly-anticipated trading updates within the last week, so it’s no surprise that they’ve been attracting the most attention from brokers and tipsters amongst LSE-listed companies over the last seven days. In this week’s article, we take a look at how brokers and tipsters have interpreted the most recent numbers, and what sentiment towards these three firms has looked like over the last seven days.

Those corporate updates keep on a-coming and today's crop includes updates from both Dixons Carphone (DC.) and easyJet (EZJ)…

easyJet (EZJ) shares lost a bit of altitude yesterday and it was not really clear why, with profits growth of 41% aided by a revenue expansion of 17% and helped by the company pushing up ancillary seat revenue and continuing to push out an ongoing cost saving programme. Meanwhile income investors were well served with the ordinary dividend being pushed up 43%. The share is now yielding basically 5%. However, and despite dubbing itself the ‘best performing airline in Europe in 2018’, shares in the company fell back around 5% due seemingly to the ‘B’ word...

Hello Share Pasters. At the risk of trampling a little bit on my brilliant colleague Nigel Somerville’s territory, it might be useful to highlight the best Footsie shares for dividends. This information becomes even more pertinent in times of a falling stock market. As we can still make good money from our divis, even after the direst of shocks.

Well what a last week with fear - for once in recent years - in ascendancy and lots of 'worst week since February' statistics being quoted.  As Tom Winnifrith noted in a recent bearcast the big honking issue is debt around the world, although tactically you can throw in a supporting cast of world trade angst, a bit of inflation bubbling up and a firm US dollar.  

It’s been a busy week in the markets, with a number of big names announcing their latest figures. In this week’s article, we cover broker and tipster reaction to a handful of trading updates that have attracted our attention over the last seven days.

Hello, Share Scrimpers. Some of us consider ourselves ethical investors. We do not buy shares in companies with products and services which we think may harm people or the environment. But some of us have different views on what is ‘ethical. Now my colleague on this beautiful site Chris Bailey is an enlightened man. 

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…

We all love to hate the low cost airline carriers but at least easyJet (EZJ) has not completely shot itself in the foot like its great peer Ryanair (RYA) which appears incapable of having even half reasonable internal labour relations.  EasyJet has also been smart in taking advantage of some airline sector developments by hiring staff from the failed UK airline Monarch and buying assets in Germany following the Air Berlin bankruptcy.  

I travel Easyjet (EZY) often. In the winter it is Bristol to Athens and back, in the summer it is Gatwick to Kalamata and back.  Usually it is no worse and no better than any other budget airline. Not that I really care but I just want to point out a quite obvious scam it inflicts on its passengers.

Hello Share Pickers. I've ventured to suggest recently that airline shares may be a bit too risky at the mo. It's the headwind of the rising oil price that puts me off. You'd be amazed at the huge volumes of the ebony nectar they devour to keep a million passengers aloft at any one time.

As you know I regard much of the discussion on the gender pay gap as absurd with data misused by many - something that landed me in the soup at Bath Spa University in a most Orwellian way.  The most excellent Kate Andrews of the IEA has just produced a stunning report taking this discussion one and once again bases her superb work on hard data.

You may remember that in a podcast (HERE) on 4th March I recalled a horrific 22 hour trip from Kalamata, via Athens Airport, to Bristol made hellish not just by snow but by the behaviour of EasyJet (EZJ) staff who repeatedly lied to me and fellow passengers. last night I sent that podcast to EasyJet CEO Johan Lundgren with a note:

I have long been critical of Sir Bradley Wiggins and his fellow British cyclists whether in the Tour de Drugs or elsewhere and comment on what today's report says about our double standards and lack of standards. I comment on your comments on the airlines in the wake of my nightmare with EasyJet (EZJ). I look at Interserve (IRV), Feedback (FDBK), King of the spiv tweets UK Oil & Gas (UKOG), Metminco (MNC), Union Jack Oil & Gas (UJO), Fusion Antibody (FAB) and Andalas (ADL) which MUST make a statement ASAP after yesterday's shock revelation HERE.

I start with one reason I am thinking of quitting running businesses: folks who say that they will do something and then don't do it, letting you down. I have had two this weekend and it is just poor behaviour, very tiring and something that bores me. Then it is onto discussing a crap headline article in the Sunday Telegraph on Interserve (IURV) and another on Carillion (CLLN) before my main subject - my 22 hour trip home from Greece. EazyJet you are bastards and this is why I loathe, despite and pity you for being lying scumbags.

Hello, Share Smoothers. There's no point in my knocking the service given by the budget airline Easyjet (EZJ). For one thing, it would be hypocritical as I use the service more than any other flyer. This will no doubt apply to many of the other passengers swelling the airports for Christmas. And at last I am able to commend your further research into the company, as things are looking up.

Hello, Share Scoopers. We all know that investing in airlines is one of the riskier areas of share shifting. What with the Ryanair (RYA) situation and the end of good old Monarch. But the more speculative among us should not, given a huge surge in air travel, give up on the flying sector altogether. So may I suggest that you look at another British-based budget airline.

Hello, Share Curdlers. At the incredibly good UK Investor Show in April, I heard a strong recommendation to buy into ITV (ITV). The reasoning was - and I agreed with this - is that, if you want your product to be aired before 6 million people in one go, then ITV is the only platform you have.

Before he became a resource guru, Andrew Monk of VSA Resources was a transport analyst for many years. As such his comments today about Easyjet (EZJ). The point about executive greed, oops I meant incentivisation, is a very valid general one. The other point is ...SELL. Over to the Monkey who writes...  

Hello, Share Pingers. Budget airline EasyJet (EZJ) has issued a trading statement to say that passengers in its third quarter were up by more than nearly 11% to 22 million. Revenues improved by 16% to £1.4 billion.

I really do commend to you the search capability on the ShareProphets website because it provides a great short-cut to who-said-what-when. It was last August when I last mentioned Easyjet (EZJ) and since then the stock has been volatile but positive. Ok, it certainly did take a bit longer than I thought AND there were a couple of sub 1000p/share diversions...but you know what it is like with these low-cost airlines: take-off is not always precisely on time...but you get there eventually.

I was due to fly back to Greece on Saturday with British Airways but I did not. It is not for the reason you think, there being no British Airways flights at all out of Heathrow and Gatwick due to an IT bollocks up, but for other reasons equally damning of the airline, now part of International Airlines Group (IAG).

Hello Share Plinkers. The old memory is not what it was, but I think I may have commended Easyjet (EZJ) to your further researches not so long ago. But stories change all the time, as Uncle Tom often reminds us, and circumstances have altered over the budget airliner.

It is not that she wishes me to lose a few llbs, it is that she wants me out of the house so that she and young Joshua can watch rubbish on the TV without me sneering. In that vein I bring you this podcast but also another on why the Tory conference nauseated me (HERE). At a company level I look at President Petroleum (PPC), Wandisco (WAND), Agrittera (RUN A MILE), Cloudtag (CTAG), Fastjet (FJET), EasyJet (EZJ) and the bankrupt fraud Servision (SEV), 

I had to buy another Guardian for my Dad today. Two fecking quid of my money has gone to Polly fecking Toynbee to pay for the upkeep of her fecking Tuscan castle as she lectures me about all sorts of shite. I feel dirty for buying this rag and violated by the transfer of wealth from me to Toynbee. Moving on I cover Gulf Keystone (GKP), FairFX (FFX), Osirium Technologies (OSI) which I do not get at all and contrast with Falanx (FLX) which I do very much get and whose shares we own. I also look at WH Ireland (WHI), Servision (SEV) and Easyjet (EZJ) which gives me a chance to be rude to Andrew Monk at VSA Resources.

I ask that question just to make a point about discretionary consumer spending and as part of a discussion about Fishing Republic (FISH). I also cover Domino's Pizza (DOM),  Biome (BIOM), Foxtons (FOXT), EasyJet (EZJ) as well as more post Brexit coverage following up on points made at the weekend HERE 

Who would you want running the AIM PLC board from hell? Naturally with Outsourcery (OUT) becoming his 39th business failure, or is it 38 I lose track, Dragon's Den flop Piers Linney has to be the CEO. I'd nominate that silly woman from Easyjet (EZJ) as Group Equal Opportunities Officer. The Chairman has to be the patrician twit Gibson Smith formerly at the LSE. The FD...check out the CV of Nilesh Jagatia of Inspirit (INSP) and Teather's (TEA) infamy now on the run!

Following on from my recent coverage of Fastjet (FJET), the airline has today announced its final results for the year to December 2015. While clarity on last year’s calamitous financial performance are to be welcomed, the most important questions remains unanswered.

Since my last article on the subject of Fastjet (FJET), major shareholder and brand owner Sir Stelios has been back on the warpath, this time looking for the removal of the Chairman. With the annual results for 2015 due shortly, and reasonable questions hanging over the company’s funding position, the next few weeks and months are likely to be decisive for Fastjet’s future.

Shares in a number of companies in the airlines sector are looking quite appealing at the current levels that they are trading at, and for me EasyJet (EZJ) falls into that category.

I have an idea what Ryanair (RYA) supremo Michael O’Leary might say to this idea but reading through his company’s full year update today I could not help but think that it is time to buy EasyJet (EZJ).

I have been asked to give an updated view on Fastjet (FJET), following on from my tip to sell the shares last November (when they were trading circa 60p).

Back at Easyjet (EZJ), as CEO Carolyn McCall agonises about how she can get more women flying her planes, her Customer (lack of) Services Teams has emailed a apology to those folks whose Cretan holidays it trashed on Wednesday, including me. The apology is vague and does not wash. I Fiske it below.

I shall deal with willie obsessed holiday ruining Easyjet (EZJ) later. And also with Fastjet (FJET) but suffice to say its shares are a sell. A reminder SPUKI - book your seats today to hear me expose the fat share ramper Lenigas in full plus much more at UK Investor on April 30. Thanks to Intelligent Energy (IEH) for clarifying what net cash means ( please note D&D) I cover its woes today plus also Plus500 (PLUS), RedX Pharma (REDX), Next (NXT) and Sareum (SAR)

I am off to bed thanks to the PC imbeciles at EasyJet but first three announcements about UK Investor Show on April 30th. We send tickets out this weekend so if you have not booked go now to www.UKInvestorshow.com NOW and use the promotional code SPUKI to get a free investor class seat. At a company level I cover Lighthouse (LGT), Snacktime (SNAK), William Hill (WMH), UK Oil & Gas (UKOG), Solo (SOLO), MX Oil (MXO) and Tungsten (TUNG)

Carolyn McCall the CEO of Easyjet (EZJ) is obsessed with how many of her pilots have willies. She wants more women in the cockpit. I dont care who drives her bloody planes she has ruined my day with appalling customer service and I now find myself tired and bad tempered at Athens Airport, not having a stiff ouzo as planned in Crete. As such Ms McCall deserves a bearcast special.

You know that Michael O'Leary of RyanAir (RYA) is a bit of a hero of mine because he is a) Irish, b) a man who swears a lot and c) a man who tells the EU where to fecking stick it. I still loathe using his loathsome airline as it treats its customers like shit but O'Leary is a superstar. And now his company is sticking it to evil Google, possibly the world's most loathsome company. Go for it O'Leary.

Hello Share Scrapers. Shares dropped in value by 10% this year. Which means if you had a portfolio of £1m, then you are down £100,000. Ouchipoo! I expect your holding is a lot less than that. And any road up, we should always remember that a 10% loss is nothing in the great scheme of things. One year, I recall shares rose by 137%. (Or was it even more?)

Hello Share Muddlers: In an earlier piece this week, I opined that we should not be fearful of investing in airlines, just because murderous terrorists are at large. The argument was that there are so few airline incidents that the chances of being embroiled in one are more or less nil. And yet airline shares have suffered in the last few weeks. Ever since that crash of the flight from Egypt to Russia, to be exact. 

When the Paris massacre happened, I’m ashamed to tell you what one of my first thoughts was. Am I safe attending the Gold Bears and Traders Show at Westminster, London, this Saturday?

Which of the following do you believe is more important as a guide to Tesco’s (TSCO) corporate well-being?

I am back in the UK and in this podcast start to comment in detail on a couple of companies notably Avanti Communications and blinkx as well as a few wider issues.

Some folk say that it is better to travel than to arrive. I guess they have never travelled on a 5.45 AM Easyjet flight from Gatwick.  But my first sight in Greece was a pure delight. I was wandering from the plane into the terminal behind this stunning Greek goddess wearing a light but long skirt. Suddenly a gust of wind caught her skirt blowing it right up above her waist. Little was left to the imagination. Okay that is not true - I imagined away. Sadly I have no photo of this daughter of Athena. But now in the centre of Athens I bring you the first poverty porn.

Hello Share Shockers. I’ve regaled you in this modest column before with some of the best advice you could ever pick up. That is: to track down and invest in those star companies which grow their profits every year that comes round.

Hello Share Fiends. I've never been a fan of airlines as an investment. It always seemed to me that the risks of everyday running were too high.

Hello Share Swaggers. It's always nice when a company recommended by your Yorkshire correspondent on this splendiferous website rockets to the top of the winner's board a few weeks later.

OK so today I’ll give you my thoughts on other areas – so Airlines and Tour Operators, which Are my hobby sectors, and also a little bit on Energy as that is also an area we are looking to get more involved in and Agri 

Hello Share Shapers. When British Airways attracted Spaniards a few years ago and became International Consolidated Airlines Group (IAG), I kind of lost track of my holding.

Further to my last Flybe (FLYB) article the most recent update underpins the buy case with new routes announced which should underpin broker forecasts of a £50 million pre-tax profit for the year to March 2016. 

Following my recovery play holding of last week I promised to reveal my second private non-oil share this week – here goes it is Flybe (FLYB). This is a perfect hedge for anyone with large oil investments or a recovery play in its own right. It’s a sort of EasyJet in the making with a £250 million market cap -I reckon that should be well over £1 billion. 

A former leading transport analyst who still retains a very high City profile has this morning launched a blistering attack on Harriet Green the self-publicity addicted CEO of Thomas Cook (TCG). Is this just sexism in the City or is this fair comment. Read on and judge for yourself. Our man writes: