After the slave labour in Leicester scandal, Boohoo.com (BOO) insisted it had done nothing wrong but put in place all sorts of ESG committees, procedures and staff to make sure it never did anything wrong again. Not that it had sinned in the first place, you understand. Today, an undercover reporter from The Times has exposed what happened when posing as a worker at the company’s Burnley distribution centre.
The Times has got hold of papers relating to the £134.6 million breach of contract claim made by the Government against Novacyt (NCYT), we reported here back in April, and this really looks as if it could bankrupt the company, currently sitting on c£90 million of cash. It also begs even more questions for ex CEO Graham Mullis who, if the Government is correct should be in jail for a £9 million bezzle not running Aquis listed Love Hemp (LIFE).
I start with a nasty shock my grandmother, Lesbia Cochrane, got in the late 1920s. This is relevant I suggest that a whole swathe of millenials could be getting a similar shock this year and that is one of many reasons why I pose the Boohoo (BOO) question. I look at its balance sheet, cashflows, shocking G ( as in ESG) and find myself agreeing with ouzo man. Thewn the chart below and what it means for any company including Purplebricks (PURP) , getting some PR dictated puffery in The Times today, exposed to UK housing. Finally it is 12 days to ShareStock. I am off to mow the lawn for the tents next, book your seats HERE
Apparently, the most popular share amongst retail investors is Polymetal (POLY). Although shares have plunged 80% since the invasion, it seems Joe Public cannot buy enough of them.
Sleazy Labour peer, Lord Drayson, pocketed an £850,000 bonus for floating Sensyne (SENS) at 175p, despite promising the Nomad he would not be so greedy. Now, three and a half years later, it has all gone horribly Pete Tong. So, will he hand the cash back, as those who backed the IPO prepare to lose, more or less, everything? Today, Drayson has got the order of the boot, and, to survive, shareholders face dilution to high heaven, while the shares will be slung off AIM.
Given the hysteria surrounding the situation in Ukraine over the weekend, the falls in Western-listed Russian names were relatively muted with most being down low single digit percentages on Monday. The exception to this appeared to be FTSE 100 constituent Evraz plc (EVR), the steel producer and coal miner with major operations in Russia and Ukraine. The stock which had closed on Friday at 444p opened at 285p, showing a decline of 159p or 35%. The press was quick to latch on to this “carnage”:
The top non-Tom article this week is Centamin – Q3 Report Again Shows All Is On Track: BUY For the Yield, The Upside Is In For Free by Nigel Somerville at number eight or number 14 if you include the Bearcasts. The next non Tom is at 9 or 16 and is from yours truly.
I start with the lamentable Brown whose splash today is about ex-Tory Minister sleazy Tim Yeo being branded a liar by a judge. Yes we reported that on July 29 HERE and others including Paul Staines at Guido followed up — and credited us — later that day. And the deadwood press wonders why sales continue to tumble. Then it is onto the storm over a four person £37,000 restaurant tab in London on October 8. Is it wrong? It is certainly utterly vulgar and given why so many folks, especially in London, have become so wealthy thanks to the thief in the night which has locked so many others in poverty, it is the sort of thing which, wrongly, will make capitalism more hated. I discuss.
Here in Wales, all 50 of Tim Martin’s JD Wetherspoon (JDW) pubs are now closed as a reaction to crackpot Mark Drakeford’s latest mad plans. Yet Covid cases are roofing it as never before. Lockdowns do not work and today Tim Martin has issued a statement making it clear why and how badly we are going wrong in the UK. The great man says:
The Times newspaper today flags up a series of tweets which, almost certainly, break AIM Rules and relate to Remote Monitoring Systems (RMS), a company rapidly becoming the poster boy for the AIM Cesspit. They are not the hanging offence but there is a hanging offence out there…
I look at news that Tesco (TSCO) is upping its dividend while getting a massive tax break from the taxpayer. This is wrong at every level. The Times tries to defend it, no doubt on orders from a powerful corporate PR machine, but this is simply a transfer of wealth from the poor to the rich and should not be allowed. I look at Nostra Terra Oil & Gas (NTOG) following up on my earlier piece with more questions for the board and Nomad, Strand Hanson, and another shocking revelation abiout the behaviour of CEO Matt Lofgran. Finally a few words on Concepta (CPT), my share tip of the year where I have averaged down in today's placing.
Woodford Patient Capital Trust (WPCT), which is considering Neil Woodford’s future as manager, announced its NAV as at the close of play of Friday this morning (just) at 11.57am. We had been warned that Link was marking down the value of investee Industrial Heat by the equivalent of 3.4p per WPCT share. But it seems this was not the only bad news….
You couldn’t make it up: angel investor firm Seedrs has had its shares suspended pending a financing deal which it says is at an advanced stage, according to The Times. The company wants it made clear that the suspension is simply what happens on this lightly regulated market established by Seedrs when a refinancing is in progress. So nothing to worry about.
The tweet below from Versarien (VRS) boss Neill Ricketts is surely against AIM Rules. I am referring it to nomad Canaccord and AIM Regulation and discuss in a podcast which also covers swimming pool ways, folks who insult me to ask a favour, Burford (BUR) its rebuttal (very strong) but its red flag antics elsewhere and the limp dick behaviour of the deadwood press, notably The Times. I also look at Cabot Energy (CAB) which is surely AIM Casino toast.
Not so long ago Neil Woodford was telling his investors that fully-listed Kier Group (KIE) was just the perfect investment. Then came the rights issue which flopped and fell to the underwriters. And then came the admission that it had mis-stated its debt position. And then a new CEO who immediately launched a strategic review. And then a profit warning. And yesterday The Times reported that Kier was looking at off-loading its house building arm as its suppliers were being refused insurance on Kier’s bills. But of course Neil knew best: as the shares collapsed from well over £8 a pop ahead of the rights issue fiasco to close yesterday at a new low point of 130.8p, until his Equity Income Fund was gated, Neil was keenly buying up ever more of Kier’s shares,, taking his stake to 20% at the peak.
For those of you who read The Times I bring you tomorrow’s news today: Neil Woodford’s Income Focus fund has continued its downward path. Yesterday I noted that it had suffered over 5% of redemptions in a single day, so how do the latest figures (to yesterday lunchtime) compare?
I start this podcast with a look at some of the shite press coverage of the Woodford scandal today, notably Patrick Hosking in The Times and the Daily Mail. Then it is onto what ios the end game for Neil personally: jail? insolvency of WIM? A lifetime ban from financial services? Another OBE and more tea with his pal David Cameron? Finally I look at Woodford Patient Capital Trust (WPCT) and reach out to fellow shareholders. I wish to call an EGM to sack the board and explain why. can you help me?
We must be doing something right. We are! We are exposing wrongdoing in financial services and thus I detail the three attempts to shut this site down of late. We will fight on and thank you for your support. If you value what we do please get others to subscribe HERE. I also look at the canard at the heart of the defence for Neil Woodford, a line spun to the Times today.
Ariadne Capital, the flagship vehicle of Julie Meyer may now be in administration but with the Insolvency Service and the FCA (as well as the IRS, HMRC and others) formally investigating Ms Lingerie on Expenses, whistleblowers should surely be cherished and protected? Er…
As investors settle down for the Good Friday and Easter bank holiday weekend, Neil Woodford has had a fair degree of coverage to assimilate. Articles in The Times and the FT point to Woodford’s sale of £42 million worth of NewRiver REIT (NRR) to his former junior at Invesco – something which ShareProphets readers have been aware of ten days now (it is good to see the dead wood press keeping up!) Meanwhile Citywire reports that the suspensions of Woodford’s stocks in Guernsey may be resolved this coming week although we are not told which way. And Hargreaves Lansdown appears to be standing by its man, still, as it covers the recent results from WPCT – something covered here some two weeks ago.
In today's podcast I explain what happened with Mrs Chav's pussy and also about how the move to Wales and the Grim North went and why this is now a bigger project than the Greek Hovel. I cover Bould (BOU) and systemic market abuse, Telit (TCM) and its dire results and the threats to Nigel Wray and myself from Julie Meyer. I gather the Times has also been threatened and it is standing its ground. How do you think I will respond ahead of a 5PM deadline? Meanwhile we are now at 25% of our £40,000 rogue bloggers for Woodlarks target and i urge you to check out the rioll call of heros ( even if you are a dripping lefty who thinks my world view stinks) and join them HERE.
First of all. I deal with James Hurley who is obviously a pompous little prat and a total knobhead. Then it is onto Neil Woodfotd where, belatedly, the deadwood press is waking up. I do the math on his remaining FTSE 100 holdings. I am a bit tired. having done a 16 mile training walk for Woodlarks in rain, wind and mud today so as you think of an exhausted 51 year old man slowly recovering please support the rogue bloggers for Woodlarks HERE
Another day, another mainstream rag picks up on yet another story that ShareProphets readers have been well aware of for months: this time the Sunday Times has "revealed" the pile of startups and cash-hungry mouths-to-feed in Neil Woodford's Equity Income fund. Of course, Cynical Bear was doing just that over a year ago on these pages. I guess we should be grateful that it wasn't put out as an exclusive!
Once upon a time, when a journalist claimed an exclusive it meant something no-one else had published. But I guess times change. The lead story in today’s Times Business section is an expose on Julie “Lingerie on Expenses” Meyer which hack James Hurley is tweeting is an “exclusive.” Sufice to say, ShareProphets readers will not be that shocked by what Hurley reveals.
Yesterday we exposed the sheer greed and reward for failure of Neil Woodford, trousering a small fortune for just one year’s work, as investors in his funds lost a packet. Today the deadwood press have followed up and have swallowed bullshit without question. It is a sad sight and shows why the MSM is not fit for purpose.
I start with news of a washing panic at the Greek Hovel. Then I look at why the mainstream financial press are part of the problem not the solution to stockmarket over-promotes and indeed outright criminality. In the podcast I look specifically at The Times on Neil Woodford and at The Sunday Times on Hollywood Bowl (BOWL) and Midas in the Mail on Sunday on the IPO of AJ Bell (AJB)
You could not make it up. Another week. Another Neil Woodford share support operation in the Mail on Sunday. I look at Woodford and wider issues he faces at The Times and Sunday Times and their shameful role in the MySquar (MYSQ) fraud and at Purplebricks (PURP) and the fundamental weakness in its business proposition that will ultimately sink it.
I note a report in the Times which tells us that US hedgie Greenlight Capital has been building a stake in BT (BT.A) with a view to pushing for the sale of Openreach. ShareProphets readers may also be interested to note that Greenlight and its head honcho Mr David Einhorn have been in the news recently as a bear of Tesla – so since it short a stock I don’t like and long one that I do obviously I take the view that this is a genius outfit!
Almost certainly using technology lifted from the SpinVox fraud she backed and still defends today, Julie "lingerie on expenses" Meyer has created a time travel machine. Now, thanks to the Times Newspaper, we can see that her bully boy lawyer Julian Pike of Farrer & Co is using it too as he smears critics and tells outright lies for his client.
I wonder if Julie Meyer's lawyers will be sending a missive to The Times to bully it after a devestating piece appeared today. It really does beg massive questions although Meyer says she has done nothing wrong. Having already chatted to a couple of creditors and investors in her companies today I am not sure that her opinion is universally shared.
You will have read our detailed coverage of Neil Woodford's woes and especially those of his uber dog listed investment company Woodford Patient Capital Trust (WPCT). Our sell advice has saved our readers thousands of pounds. But we believe in balance and so below is the advice of The Times Tempus column which is to buy. It is poorly researched - compare its coverage of Atom Bank with ours HERE) for instance and reads as if it was dictated by a PR person as is so often the case with the stinking carcass that is the deadwood press. Here goes...
If devout Christian Julie Meyer MBE does not like FACT based articles about her and Ariadne Capital Limited ( now in administration) by City AM, The Evening Standard, The Times, ShareProphets ( an avalanche) and ex employees turned whistleblower such as John Galt posting on LinkedIn she could always send yet another fascist lawyers letter to them. But since all that has been written has been based on fact....
I start with US classic car prices. It is relevant, bear with me. Then it is onto the Begbies (BEG) red flag report, a real bombshell. Then Carpetright (CPR), Bonmarche (BON), Dignity (DTY), RM2 (RM2), Online Blockcrap (OBC) and Character Group (CCT). I also look at today's article in te Times on insider dealing and welfare fraud.
Marcus does not seem to like Brexit so has a go at our great hero Tim Martin of JD Wetherspoon (JDW) today. My comments below each of the two sentences from nasty Marcus are in bold.
Tim Martin is again our4 hero of the day, speaking out against the FCA,m the CBI, the Financial Times and other remoaners" who are trtying to dilute Brexit with disingeneous comment. On the occassion of a trading statement from his JD Wetherspoon (JDW) chain of ghastly plastic pubs, Martin has let rip. The great man states:
The Times yesterday ran an article "Investors take aim at LSE’s mistrusted upstart - Stock exchange defends Alternative Investment Market but its critics are losing patience", which it painted as a major attack on AIM. In fact it appears to have found one new critic - Standard Life - which, having done its conkers on Fusionex (FXI) because its fund managers knew better than our writers here who issued repeated warnings, now seems to think AIM has a problem. On which fucking planet has Standard Life been for the past ten years?
It is not just Hart, the CEO for a few hours more at Bowleven (BLVN), but also the overpaid, inbred, upper class fuckwits at PR spinners Brunswick who view ordinary investors with unmitigated contempt. Someone leaked it to the Times this morning that Hart was to resign as boss of Bowleven after years of being paid a fortune while destroying shareholder value. If that is correct he is jumping before he is pushed at the GM, called by Crown Ocean.
Alistair Osborne lashed out at Nomad Roland "Fatty" Cornish in the Times on Saturday listing his long list of AIM failures. A central point made is that Fatty banks huge fees for doing an IPO only to quit before the shit hits the fan or before the fat lady sings. In other words he earns megabucks and then scuttles off to hide in his favourite restaurant whilst others suffer the financial damage. Osborne starts his article on New World Oil & Gas (NEW).
I start by analysing a very odd paragraph concerning Aureus Mining (AUE) in the Times Market Report. Then it is onto Boxhill (BOX) which is a zero, Lord Tim Razzall you are "in sights" there is more to come. Then it is onto Armadale (ACP), Purecircle (PURE) and FastJet (FJET), oh Duck & Dive where are you? It's time to say "sorry TW was right, as usual - I am sorry for daring to suggest that his analysis was wrong."
Marcus Stuttard, the Sham Sheriff and head of AIM told The Times a week ago that he thought he had got the regulatory framework of AIM absolutely right and that people wouldn’t invest if they felt there was any kind of problem with the regulation... So I thought it was time to take another look at Jiasen (JSI) of the ShareProphets AIM-China Filthy Forty. After all, the derisory rating suggests the market is less than happy with this stock and its results for FY14 were released in mid-April last year: we are now well into May 2016 and thus far there is no sign of FY15 numbers. I wonder why….
Last week’s AGM held by the London Stock Exchange Group (LSE) saw some biting criticism of AIM from our very own Tom Winnifrith and also from Mark Bentley of ShareSoc. What better way to counter the barrage than for the Sham Sheriff, Mr Marcus Stuttard, to get a soft interview in The Times (see HERE)? But in the article Mr Stuttard reveals that he simply has no idea at all. Unless, of course, there is a completely different AIM market on Planet Zarg…..
This is starting to become a regular occurance: ShareProphets prints a scoop; then time for lunch, dinner, a nice night at the pictures then bed, then a leisurely breakfast, a quick lunch, a long boozy dinner, and an early night in go by - and finally the Times comes out with its story.
According to The Times today, the Sheriff of AIM has for the past five years been a fellow called Marcus Stuttard - no offence, phoney Sheriff, but you are useless. You are Inspector Clouseau and your team are the Keystone Cops. You could not spot a felon if I took you on a guided tour of Rob Terry's next home, that is to say Wormwood Scrubs. Your inaction against miscreant Nomads and companies that tell lies and commit fraud is legendary across the globe. That is why the AIM casino is viewed as such a joke. In this podcast I look at how and why Mr Stuttard and his team have failed us all so badly and why they are simply not fit for purpose.
The Bulletin Board Morons do not seem to understand that if an Industrial Deafness case is lost Quindell (QPP) earns nothing it just incurs cost. So the mushrooming of bogus claims will not generate any cash for Quenron although it is happily accruing income on the basis that it takes on and wins 6,000 cases a month. Given that the number of claims settles has not risen above 20,000 across the while UK for many years, it is inevitable that at some stage it will have to write back all or nearly all of its accrued income from ID, prompting a profits warning. It will also mean that Quindell runs out of cash. The only question is when?
The Times Newspaper yesterday published an article on Quindell (QPP) and myself which is so palpably inaccurate but also sufficiently sinister that I reproduce it in full. If the Times pulls its lies in full and publishes a full retraction, clarification and apology I will withdraw the copyright breach. I sense that Quindell’s PR flunkies at Redleaf Polhill may be behind this article as part of their job of smearing me.
Thanks to Quindell (QPP) excluding me and also the Fleet Street guys there were very few questions at the AGM which would have troubled Rob Terry greatly. What did we actually learn from what went on there and from the accompanying trading statement?
My new best pals are Henry from the FT and investigative business reporter John from the Sunday Times. They too were both excluded from the Quindell (QPP) AGM.
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