I am afraid that events have conspired to deprive us of Malcolm’s words of wisdom for a third day. You will remember that Malcolm has now moved the contents of his 26 room South Wales seaside mansion to his new home in North Wales in a carbon net zero worker friendly manner. But he has no internet. Yesterday …

Ferrexpo (FXPO) emphasises that it produces high grade iron ore pellets, which are a premium product for the global steel industry and enable reduced carbon emissions and increased productivity for steelmakers. That sounds good, but it does so from Ukraine. That is why it has seen a share price fall from approaching 500p last summer, but we can now see reasons why the shares could bounce sharply.

Hello Share People. Though I’ve gone largely to cash, fearing a recession, I still have a toe hold in some companies. A few of those are in the oil game, because it’s hard to see how they might fail given prevailing circumstances. It’s this old punter’s view that big oilers are still undervalued. Let’s look at the evidence.

Legendary mining investor, Rick Rule, pulls no punches. He critiques governments for being so corrupt, and why they prefer fiat systems. Then, he explains the difference between backing a currency, and pegging it to a commodity.

These are the most-read articles and most listened-to Bearcasts of the week. The most read non-Tom article is Ferrexpo looks like a good recovery buy with large upside as long as its operations in Ukraine continue uninterrupted by Gary Newman at a sexy Number Six or Number 11 if you include Bearcasts.

Hostel market-focused online travel group Hostelworld (HSW) has announced an AGM update including “performance to date has been stronger than we had initially expected… we are seeing the recovery continue across all destinations and demand segments. In particular, booking demand into Europe, our largest destination in 2019, has almost fully recovered to 2019 levels with some markets exceeding 100%… trips from the US and Canada into European destinations at 2019 levels”. So what of a share price rising above 86p?...

It isn’t really surprising that any companies operating in the region where the current conflict between Russia and Ukraine is going on have taken a big hit to their share price since it all kicked off, but that can also present opportunities as long as you are prepared to take on the risks associated with that.

Iron ore pellet producer, Ferrexpo (FXPO), has announced results for the 2021 calendar year, and that it has continued to operate, launching a significant humanitarian programme to assist those directly impacted by the Russian invasion.

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.

Anglo Asian Mining (AAZ) has announced it “is pleased to provide a production, sales and operations review for its Gedabek contract area in western Azerbaijan, for the three months to 31 March 2022”. So, what of the shares responding slightly higher to 95p?

Iron-ore pellets producer, Ferrexpo (FXPO), has announced - despite operational constraints following Russia's invasion of Ukraine - “production of 2.7 million tonnes in the first quarter of 2022, representing a figure in line with the same period in 2021, and 11% below the previous quarter… Sales in 1Q 2022 of 2.6 million tonnes… net cash position of approximately US$159 million”.

Hello Share Crimpers. Scrolling through YouTube for my guilty pleasure of old westerns, I happened upon a science video. Apparently, outer space isn’t a vacuum after all. There are bits floating around. It seems these particles collected together to form a mystery bubble around the solar system with the sun dead centre. Nobody knows how or why this took place. Except that it appeared at exactly the time man first walked on the earth. And if the protective screen wasn't there, we would have been ground to powder by marauding meteors. Possible evidence of a protective God, don't you think. 

Gold analyst, Jeffrey Christian, believes it is clear the world is shifting towards higher gold prices.

Bullion analyst, Nick Barisheff, gives a call that will cause even our in-house gold loon, Nigel Somerville, to spit out his cornflakes. He is, of course, talking his book.

As Q1 limps to a close, it is difficult to see clearly through the fog of war. Mindful, doubtless, of the Covid aftermath – which bottomed almost exactly two years ago and led to a spectacular rally in stocks – investors have returned, and the sell-off seems to have petered out.

Hello Share Crackers. It’s harder to get out of bed these days. We’re faced by so many assaults on our happiness.  Prices are rising at their fastest rate for 30 years and millions of households will endure soaring energy bills. Petrol is going through the roof and the war in Ukraine is depressing anyone who has a heart. But as far as share trading is concerned, well, things aren’t so bad. 

Investor, Lawrence Lepard, states that Russia’s actions will likely drive the price of gold, as we’ve reached a tipping point not unlike in the 1970s. Putin is hitting back economically: the theft of reserves was a clear warning to many countries. Thus, the Ukraine/Russia conflict is not only military but economic.

Only kidding, Elric – the bit about Optibiotix (OPTI) is at the end. Before that, I discuss bear market-funding economics (it is more interesting than it sounds); c/o Luke Johnson; Russia & Ukraine; ADM Energy (ADME) and its pre-bailout-placing spoof; Vast Resources (VAST); Versarien (VRS); and then, matters to keep Mr Lemming happy.  

Central Asia Metals (CAML) is one of those companies which I think is consistently undervalued by the market, and although it carries some degree of geo-political risk, I believe that too large a discount is applied for that.

Jordan Roy-Byre of TheDailyGold.com  is getting very excited about the prospects for Gold and Gold stocks, saying this week that now could be the last chance to buy cheap and that he thinks that we are in a bullish consolidation ahead of a major break higher in the next 2-5 months. Given that he is perhaps the most bearish Gold-bull around, it is a big call.

Imperial Brands (IMB) has announced an update on its actions and impact of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, concluding on Russia “an orderly transfer of our business as a going concern would be in the best interests… have begun negotiations with a local third party about a transfer”.

Analyst Don Durrett says that it is fear that will get gold racing away. And he can see plenty of fear on its way. 

I discuss the latest developments in Ukraine. Then I move on to Fevertree (FEVR), Tern (TERN), Braveheart (BRH), Iofina (IOF)  and the fraud Chill Brands (CHLL) and the bucket shop based maths based on liquidity, or rather the lack of it. 

I discuss those threats and at a company level I add commentary on Nightcap (NGHT), Cake Box (CBOX) Chill Brands (CHLL), Cellular Goods (CBX) and Supply@ME Capital (SYME)

There was no Bearcast yesterday as I was a) knackered after a tough Rogue Bloggers for Woodlarks training walk and then b) a bit pissed after Ireland’s triumph over the infidels. You can now donate to the 2022 Rogue Bloggers walk on June 11 HERE. In today’s podcast I discuss Optibiotix (OPTI), a long chat with Steve O’Hara and an, in my view, mistaken, but for him massive, call by Lemming Investor. I also cover SkinBiotherapeutics (SBTX). The Russia/Ukraine podcast I refer to is HERE

I see that amid some optimism that we might see peace in Ukraine the FTSE 100 is staging a bit of a rally as I write.  And with that all sorts of stocks among the small and mid-caps are heading higher. Of course, I pray for peace. If we get it then all stocks will be marked higher but for how long?

Hello Share Hunters. I don’t know about you, but I feel totally on edge and sad at the mo. I’ m not sure whether its the madness in Ukraine or that my share portfolio is well down in value. I hope, for the sake of my humanity, that it’s the former. And I think it is. Because as I’ve argued before the Footsie often soars when the initial shocks of war are out of the way. Ordinary share owners can’t do anything to make Putin stop. But we can minimise any damage to our portfolios. 

So what if women and children are being blown to shreds in Kiev. The “good” thing about that war is that it means we must stop using oil and gas produced by the evil Russians – we don’t use much anyway – and thus need to turn to UK Oil & Gas (UKOG) run by Lyin’ Steve Sanderson to bail us out. Talking of which, I wonder how the placing is going …

Again I present this as a counter view to a one way traffic in the MSM. I can’t say that I agree with all of what follows. Libertarian commentator Tom Luongo does not hold back. For starters he believes social media should be reserved exclusively for puppy and unicorn videos. As a hardcore libertarian he believes in human rights and is therefore against war as a matter of principle. Wars support the state and they are the worst possible outcome of human interaction.  He says that the Ukraine war is full of disinformation and bias from the media and as always the first casualty in war is the truth and that Russia appears to generally be less biased in its reporting. The Russians feel this is the least bad action they can take regarding Ukraine at this time.

After the excitement of Wednesday’s market moves comes Thursday…which unsurprisingly after the down and up volatility of the last few days is a bit more boring. We could all probably do with it, although a regular bout of volatility is the markets for you (and I would have it no other way). As for today’s corporate updates, two strike me as being particularly noteworthy, Capita (CPI) and DS Smith (SMDS)…

Mothercare plc (MTC) has made a “Statement re Russia”. As a “global specialist brand for parents and young children”, what does it have to say?…

I start with a recovered Joshua learming a new word. Then it is onto Gfinity (GFIN) and Nigel Wray, Guild ESports (GILD), Parlsey Box (MEAL), the markets and Ukraine, Chill Brands (CHLL) – the day’s biggest gainer (pro tem), a true dead cat bounce and Cineworld (CINE).  There is also a history lesson for GCSE student, our in house Euro loon, my friend, Jonathan Price.

Petropavlovsk (POG) has today issued a statement “Events in Ukraine.” After this I would feel dirty owning its shares, it shows a company that is morally bankrupt.

What does your listed client have to hide? The truth I suspect. But two days of silence on this Standard listed POS really is not good.  I look at what is happening in Ukraine and what happens next and suggest that some Ukranians are now not being sensible or reasonable. I cover Omega Diagnostics (ODX), Amigo (AMGO), Guild ESports (GILD) and Predator Oil & Gas (PRD).

Nigel Somerville’s hero Jordan Roy Byrne has come out with a big call: gold to $4,000, silver to $100 by 2024 with a stagflationary recession on its way.  The great man says that…

Currently the conflict in Ukraine is a huge risk for any companies operating there or in Russia, and even more so with further sanctions being put in place and proposed.

I see this morning that Gold hit around $2025 per oz as the Ukrainian crisis and the associated sanctions continued to hit the market. The price has since eased a little to $2009 but this is the highest the yellow metal has been since the record high at $2063 in August 2020 and I don’t see anything to hold it back beyond a short bout of profit-taking.

I am shortly off to Tesco then will be in action as the family cook. Ahead of that I look at Deepverge (DVRG) run by the arse Gerry Brandon, wondering which will come first, the next trading warning or the next bailout placing, at Mirriad (MIRI) where I disagree with comrade Stacey, Amigo (AMGO), Chill Brands (CHLL), Jubilee Metals (JLP), Supply@ME Capital (SYME), Cellular Goods (CBX), oil, gold and Ukraine and finally at Argo Blockchain’s (ARB) latest news. 

I take a tour through four weekend press articles starting with that greedy scumbag Nigel Farage – I refer in the podcast to THIS PIECE. Then to two great pieces on Ukraine and on the decadent West by Peter Hitchens and Matthew Syed respectvely before discussing the Sunday Times article on CBD and pot stocks. Finally I discuss Chris Bailey’s excellent piece on this website and my own approach to shares I own, mentioning Skinbiotherapeutics (SBTX) and some news breaking in the USA.

All credit to Palisade Radio for this podcast with Peter, a chap on the ground in Russia in St Petersburg. You will not hear or see this sort of thing in the mainstream media as we now hear only side of the conflict and anyone suggesting there may be another point of view faces a firestorm of hate.  Peter has a background in economics and finance while also being a private investor in both stocks and cryptocurrency and was just old enough to remember the collapse of the Soviet Union and recollects the emotions of family during that time.

The world of investment is never simple, if it was we all would be on the beach all the time.  Life – in any case -  is always about how you respond to challenges and that brings us to the markets year-to-date. It is little surprise that the Russian ETF market is down over 80% year-to-date (assuming you can trade it) and little surprise that markets in Poland and Germany are both down more than 20%.  But despite all the pan-European angst, ETF markets in the United States, Japan, India and China are all down either side of 10%, far worse than the 5% fall seen by the UK ETF market and far, far worse than the year-to-date gains still seen by a third of global markets including Brazil, Chile, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, Nigeria and Canada.  Of course you all know why: high commodity market exposure – rather than the technology stocks that have dominated many investors over the last decade – has been rather helpful.

These are the most-read articles and most listened-to Bearcasts of the week. The two most read non-Tom items last week were by me – The ShareProphets Sunday Pub Quiz #130 and Sunday Long Reads: Last of the Department Stores, Successful Estate Agent, Secret Taliban, Inside Pornhub, New Goldfish– which should buy me some time against a P45. TW Note, Don’t kid yourself.  The most read non-Tom, non-Darren story is After Ukraine it can never be the same again and it is going to be far worse before it gets better by David Scott.

Gold finished this week at $1973 – up $74 from last week and now only $90 from its all-time high and seemingly set to challenge that mark very soon as the perfect storm gathers force. Even our favourite technical analyst, Jordan Roy-Byrne of TheDailyGold.com, has turned uber-bullish.

This has certainly been an interesting first four days of March for global investment markets.  And – in a way – being a bit too busy with meetings and travel over Thursday and Friday to do anything much with investment market choices is no bad thing. 

Ten Lifestyle (TENG) describes itself as a “leading technology-enabled, global concierge platform for the world’s wealthy and mass affluent” . It is also a great believer in talking about adjusted EBITDA, aka bullshit earnings, begging the question of whether it wants to fool investors or itself. Today it blames Omicron for a “profits” warning.

With inflation and possibly stagflation now back with us for the first time in forty years what differently are you doing with your investments/pensions? Nothing is not the rifght answer.

Tomorrow will be four months since Eurasia Mining (EUA) announced that its supposed “Buyer” had completed due diligence for its supposed asset sale.  It’s two years and four months since Eurasia first announced that its assets were up for sale and yet still, shareholders have no idea what assets are for sale, what the sale price is, who the supposed Buyer is or when a sale might complete.  Given that Eurasia is mining in Russia it should come as no surprise that its share price has collapsed since my last update – down another 36% since then, a total decline of 64% from the 40.5p share price peak in November 2020.

Forget Ukraine it is not the real driver of the bull case for gold. Analyst Keith Weiner explains what is and why the makes him a gold bull.

The big news this week was, of course, the Russian invasion of Ukraine. It is horrendous, and once again my thoughts are with those in the firing line. The market’s initial response was to mark up Gold and oil/gas, and sell everything else. But then a recovery set in – although I am not convinced it will last.

Hello Share Jumpers. Most of the time the stock market is erratic and illogical. But there are periods when it behaves with precision predictability. Like the thankfully rare occasions when a war breaks out. The path is nearly always the same. 

I start with events in Ukraine and possible peace and where that leaves some Russian owned stocks.  Then I turn to Ncondezi (NCCL) and then a detailed explanation of why today’s Versarien (VRS) analysis matters but also why the cash crunch is coming far sooner than most morons realise and the next bailout for the loathsome Ricketts will not be pretty. And then I ask where next for gold and oil prices and stocks?

I start with events in Ukraine and offer a few thoughts. But I also look at a few companies notably Eurasia Mining (EUA), Versarien (VRS), ADVFN (AFN)  – one of which is, I think, a buy – and also, en passant, the fraud that is Supply@ME Capital (SYME) and in the context of bitcoin tanking, Argo Blockchain (ARB).

I start with a few thoughts on flooded fields then on where next for Julie “Lingerie on Expenses” Meyer after yesterday’s six months in jail (suspended pro tem) bombshell.I fear that things are very soon going to ge much worse for her.  Then onto Ukraine and panic, oil and gold. Then onto Hargreaves Lansdowne (HL) and finally as to why I am so proud of the Mrs which is, in a way, linked to Hargreaves.

So Russian troops have ”invaded” the Ukraine. Well to be accurate they have entered the two districts which are overwhelmingly Russian and where the folks almost certainly want to be part of Russia. And to be totally accurate, Russian troops have actually already been there since 2014. But listening to the BBC earlier let’s not get inconvenient facts get in the way: Britain, the EU and the USA are already imposing sanctions. So where does this leave Eurasia Mining (EUA), shares in which are off another 12% to 16.25p – almost 60% down from peak ramp 14 months ago and heading rapidly for an 18 month low?

A number of readers have noticed that their comments on the comments platform here are being liked by good looking birds and wonder if these birds want to hook up with them. I am afraid not, this is a Cupid style scam affecting the whole of disqus not just this one small website.

I start with some thoughts on Ukraine and Russia which some of you may disagree with. Perhaps what is happening there will be a handy excuse for Eurasia Mining (EUA) to ‘fess up to the lack of bid? Then onto how bitcoin and other cryptos are faring as a safe haven right now. And why that makes Argo Blockchain (ARB) such a monumental sell. It could utterly implode. I see that more than 25% of posts on the ADVFN Bulletn Board,a few hours ago,were on Shield Therapeutics (STX) with nearly all of them slating me for all the usual reasons. I do not play the man here even though my critics do seem to have the collective IQ of a Cheese sandwich, but the ball and answer each of the bull points made to rebut my bear thesis in turn.

Gold ended the week at a tantalising $1899, up from last week’s $1859 and right on the technically critical $1900 mark. In fact the weekly closing spread, according to Kitco.com, was $1899.2 – $1900.2. The general view amongst technical commentators is that if Gold crosses above $1900 we are in for some fun, but some of the current strength is down to a war premium as tensions regarding Ukraine are at boiling point. Will Putin go in or won’t he? And if he doesn’t, then the war premium will have been temporary – I would expect Gold to fall away at least a little. I’d rather not think about the scenario if he does….

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”:

Gold closed the week at $1859 – well up on last week’s $1808 and the highest since November when it briefly went to $1867. Before that, the last high point was at the end of May last year at $1908, and then the all-time high at $2063 in August 2020. My view is that all of these marks could get taken out in pretty short order: inflation still rages and there is a potential catastrophe looming in Ukraine.

I comment on a kind post one of you made on the LSE Asylum. In today’s Poirot on Channel 10 he had tired of fighting crime in the City and retired to tend his garden. I know how he feels. I discuss events in Ukraine, inflation and how it those who dismiss the damage it causes, Comrade Stacey, are wrong. Then I look at a BB portfolio of death, something for tomorrow’s bearcast. Two stocks which were both in it are Omega (ODX) and Tern (TERN). After last week’s collapse Omega may now be out – though I certainly would not buy. I discuss the common trait of how both mislead investors. I discuss how all folks should own some oil, a point I have made before, naming the 2 oil stocks I own.

Hello Share Chasers. We must never underestimate the power of oil prices to influence stock markets all over the world. If the Footsie drops, it’s almost guaranteed that oil will be on the back foot, too. This old punter monitors fluctuations of Brent Crude much more closely than he does the Footsie.

I start by considering events in the Ukraine where my sympathies are, naturally, with Mother Russia but what could it all lead to? Then I consider why shares in Zak Mir’s Lift Ventures might fly but why his plan is flawed.  Then onto THG (THG), Deepverge (DVRG) and Union Jack (UJO) and CEOs who say the shares are too cheap too often or who “fear” a takeover at this price. 

Gold ended the week at $1818, nicely up from last week’s drop to below $1790 and the close at $1797. The yellow metal is still not though $1830 resistance but the general direction of travel over the past month and a half has been upwards and the past four and a bit months has seen a steadily rising series of low points – even if of late there seems to be a ceiling at $1830. 

I cannot help but think that unfolding events in the Ukraine are going to be positive for both gold and oil in the coming weeks. But that is not the thesis of analyst Steve St. Angelo of the SRSrocco Report. Steve seeks to show how energy can impact the price of gold and why it essentially sets a floor for the metal. He argues that the foundation of our global economy is the cost to produce goods and there has to be a profit margin: Everything has a margin but unfortunately, investors often forget this factor when evaluating charts.

A “private & confidential” KPMG report commissioned by the new managers of Petropavlosk (POG) has, as you can see below, been published in full by the company and claims that its founders Peter Hambro and Dr Pavel Maslovskiy and associates may have taken out $302.4 million to which they were not entitled. But Hambro says that he and Maslovskiy (currently incarcerated in a Russian jail) were not given, as promised and as the company says they were, a chance to comment on the report which,he says, is riddled with innaccuracies.

JKX Oil and Gas (JKX) is a company that I’ve followed for a number of years but it has never quite lived up to expectations, nor performed anywhere near as well as its assets on paper suggest that it should have.

Iron ore pellet producer in Ukraine, Ferrexpo (FXPO) has announced a first quarter 2021 production report which includes it noting some ongoing pelletiser upgrade work impact though also that there has been some additional production, in terms of high-grade concentrate…

Currently you could easily argue that there is a longer term investment case for numerous oil and gas producers, based on the assumption that commodity prices will improve over the next few years, and could even spike in the same way that we’ve seen in the past after prolonged periods of low demand.

There is a lot of focus on oil companies of all sizes at the moment, with many investors speculating on their future recovery now that commodity prices have improved, but I would probably be more focussed on those which largely produce gas.

Hello Share Peekers. I’ve always regretted my very long-term holding in JKX Oil & Gas (JKX), the middle range producer. That’s because the share value has eroded sharply over the years. However, things now seem to be picking up...

I always find it surprising that private investors are prepared to take big risks on the drilling of oil and gas wells, yet they won’t touch certain shares due to geo political risks.

The announcement from Ferrexpro (FXPO) today is brief but shocking.

Hello, Share Peckers. A company which has caused me anxiety and loss in the past seems to be on the up. And as I’m not one to hold a grudge, I won't be selling my shares any time soon. In fact, I think the future could be quite rosy from herein - which is nice because I need to claw back a setback which once nudged 80%...

Often at the lower end of the oil and gas sector private investors get fixated with taking gambles on drills with large prospective resources and dream of untold riches if the company gets lucky with the drill bit, but the reality is that in the majority of cases this will result in a duster and substantial losses.

Regal Petroleum (RPT) has seen a huge increase in its share price during the past year, and I know that always makes some investors wary, but a lot has changed during that time, both for the company itself and the area in which it operates.

Hello, Share Punchers. Are you getting along with your 2016-17 tax return? Only about a week to go now before the end of January when you’ll have to pay more if you don’t file in time. Luckily, many Armchair Tycoons are no longer troubled too much with capital gains tax as most of our holdings are in ISAs. For this reason, it’s well worth keeping your ISA topped up.

Often when it comes to AIM companies investors get far too fixated on revenue and orderbooks, and forget that in reality it all comes down to the bottom line and the actual net profit that the company is either already making, or is likely to make.

Investing in foreign stocks usually brings with it a greater exposure to risk. That risk can come in a variety of forms: fraud, legal and political problems, and even war. But I would wager that few investors in Ukrproduct (UKR), the Ukrainian dairy producer, ever thought it was possible that a war would light up on their doorstep and damage the prospects of their harmless butter and cheese manufacturer.

It is the final day of the campaign and most have likely made up their minds or indeed voted already. But please indulge me with a few reasons why I am in favour of Britain leaving the EU.

The International Monetary Fund has decided to delay fresh loan payments of $3.4 billion to Ukraine. In the meantime the World Bank has given the Deposit Guarantee Fund in Kiev $500 million to keep the leading Ukrainian banks solvent. The two international agencies have also agreed to the seizure of $174 million in funds held in a Kiev bank by the London-listed iron-ore miner, Ferrexpo. The state raid on Ferrexpo’s corporate account in Finance & Credit Bank, one of the top-10 Ukrainian banks in asset value, is the first cash confiscation from a Ukrainian oligarch for the benefit of the Ukrainian reform programme. 

Way back at the start of the year one big picture investment theme I had a good deal of sympathy for was that bond investors would have to get used to the term ‘haircut’ (a cut in anticipated coupons/principal repayment cash flows) reflecting the reality of too many crud balance sheets out there.  I still believe Greek government bonds have that capability given time and a variety of energy sector bonds look deeply shocking but yesterday the Ukrainian Parliament voted through an agreement struck with its largest bond creditors which included a 20% haircut on its sovereign bonds. 

Shares in AIM-Cesspit listed Ukrproduct Group (UKR) dropped a whopping 30% during trading on Tuesday. What calamitous news had there been to cause the drop? Er….none. So why the drop?

That Arricano (ARO) is a real estate developer and operator of shopping malls in Ukraine probably tells you everything you need to know about this company and its finances, with the results statement there just to quantify the disaster that was 2014. There is no point trying to hide it, yet the company released its numbers after hours on Friday (at 4.58pm), in an RNS packed with some of the most convoluted nonsense you could imagine. 

I have some sympathy for the board of Regal Petroleum (RPT) given that its area of operation is in the Ukraine. I sense that they are doing their best to manage the company in the most difficult of situations, but for investors the RNSs released yesterday are very worrying. Cash is trapped in a rapidly depreciating currency and the risks here are massive.

Hello Share Fans. When I was just launching into the golden game after the Big Bang of the eighties, a very nice chap, who became a big cog in organising the last Olympics, suggested I buy Dragon Oil (DGO).

Hello Share Pushers. It's intensely annoying for us to see the Footsie repeatedly approach its all time high and then draw back. As I write this, the old target of around 6950 has still not been breached.

Hello Share Comrades. Let's have another look at one of the nasty situations which is said by the gloomsters to threaten our chances of making really big money out of our shares this year. And once again I seem to be picking a fight with TW - see below.

Hello Share Swizzlers. In the new year, shares took an alarming lurch into the red abyss. Did this bother me? Not a bit.

Hello Share Tweakers. So shares aren't doing too well at the mo. All those of us who expected a Santa rally to squeeze in before December 25th have so far been disappointed. We got an early Yuletide splurge, but it wasn't much of a fillip was it?

I read with interest my friend Ben Turney’s post OPEC bear view on the oil price and stocks HERE. I disagree with him and my initial economic reasoning is that lower oil prices will see heavily indented US fracking firms wiped out so restoring a supply demand balance. 

Prevailing world conditions have conspired, in a surprisingly short space of time, to cause us to question the possibility of progress. It is a world of one (civilisation challenging) problem after another. 

I regard the sanctions the West is imposing on Russia as wrong and our policy as both misguided and likely to backfire. Nowhere is this more obvious than in the world of oil and gas. My colleagues at Palisade Capital this week recorded an interview with Marin Katusa, the Head Energy Strategist for Casey Research, who explains this far better than can I.

Today could be an eventful day! UKIP has gained its first elected MP, and yesterday stockmarkets took a sharp fall around the world (the two are not connected)!

Hello Share Wavers. There is a lot of dithering in the share market at the moment. We still can’t break through the glittering 7,000 barrier. We keep getting knocked back by various events which should not really affect share buying at all.

Hello Share Polishers. Dragon Oil (DGO) is a bit of a scary share to be honest. Though the price is holding up well, despite some slightly worrying aspects.

It’s early September and the international qualification campaigns begin again in earnest today. After a very profitable World Cup (despite Brazil’s collapse and my terrible picks in the knockout phases), I am back to my favourite international league format. The system I use, as I showed in the group phase in Brazil, works best when the variance is smoothed. The principle is simple. Over the course of a run of competitive games all the quirks of 90-minute games of footy average themselves out and the true quality of teams shines through. The scoring system I use is better than the FIFA Ranking system, because it better captures the relative strengths of opponents.  Over the next few days, I will follow the same format as I did over the first fortnight of the World Cup, but this time I will also throw in at least one accumulator. And boy is it a fantastic bet.

It is not often that one finds a new method of stock selection. I feel that I may lay claim to that distinction by drawing the world’s attention to the attractions of BAE (BA.) equity back in March and April when I combined conventional technical analysis to historical analysis, in the shape of Kremlinology. (I now rush to confess that this observation is offered in the spirit of good humour and fun, lest anyone actually supposes that I am serious.)

You know that I am a bear of equities and a bull of commodities on fundamentals. But you do not need to be glued to CNN to know that there are a few things kicking off in Iraq and the Ukraine and elsewhere that could be game changers. Jeb Handwerger, the editor of Gold Stock review, was interviewed this week on this theme by my colleagues at Palisade Capital on which black swan events could spark the great commodity rally.

Hello Share Chums: At the end of last week, the Footsie ended a brilliant day by rising by more than 50 points. Then the day's hike evaporated like dew in a forest fire. Why? Because there were some last minute jitters about that Russian convoy of lorries to the east of Ukraine.

Sitting on top of his newly constructed uber-green eco-loo at the Greek hovel, Tom Winnifrith discusses what the market sell-off of last week means for shares and which shares are most vulnerable.

Hello Share Shakers: I am heavily invested in oil companies. This is partly due to laziness. They are fairly easy to research. I check how much they hold in reserve first.

Hello Share Fiends: The markets are in a stuck-in-the mud phase, as nobody really knows which direction shares should take. Consequently, the Footsie has been trading in narrow bands on most days. Daily gains have been coming quite steadily, but mostly under 30 points and often a lot lower.

The weather is very much like the markets – unsettled. In the great outdoors, there is sometime blue sky, with floating islands of contrasting white and grey cloud. Sometimes, sunshine; and then sometimes, skies so black, that it might be midnight. And all of that can happen in an hour let alone a day. It’s what you might call stock jobbers’ weather!

Earlier this year an undercover reporter from the Ukraine Post applied for a job with Cupid (CUP) and she claimed that she was told that she would be paid on a freelance basis to pretend to be a dolly bird interested in dating ugly Western men in order to get them to pony up for a Cupid paid for service. Cupid denied the charge but commissioned an independent review by KPMG to investigate and today it has published its findings.

Now if you really wanted to find out about the charges levelled by Svitlana Tuchynska who is the first person you would contact?