UK 12:46 Wednesday, 7 October 2026
Breaking news and expert analysis on fast-moving AIM and LSE listed shares
Disclosure: I have no positions in any stocks mentioned, and no plans to initiate any positions within the next 72 hours. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from ShareProphets). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.
Once again IT issues in Greece delay this podcast. I start by explianing why the reaction of Paul Scott and the craven deadwood press to the new national living wage proposed by George Osborne displays 100% economic illiteracy. It is simply a transfer of wealth from business to the State, the poor will gain nothing. Then onto defending David Lenigas and Andrew Bell from some of the sillier comments made by some folk and to explian why flip flop Ben Turney is again wrong on New World Oil & Gas. hats off to Paul Curtis for the silliest remark of the day as I stck the boot into Gulf Keystone and then also to the prep, pump and dump at Beowulf Mining. And finally I have another go at biotech dog ValiRx.
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Comments
LE
Interesting views on Bell. Not sure that long suffering shareholders would agree that for Bell to buy in at the same price as the bucket shops would be considered a great thing. Interestingly, maybe the same bucket shops he referred to on March 19 as new and committed investors to the register (Cornhill capital), which got the share price up 33% on the news that 67% of issued equity was being raised. Oddly enough, not a single holding rns followed. But I digress. Onto his latest buy, you also omit to mention the additional warrants he gave himself (at the incentivising price of the prior days close!), that almost makes the plethora of free shares he awards himself through the SIP scheme appear stingy.
Not sure what holders you have heard from, but as much as I wanted Bell to put his money where his mouth is, was it really too much to ask for those shares to be bought on the open market to help with the latest bout of confetti overhang inflicted on us? Isn’t the share price at these historic lows, low enough?
I personally don’t see the fact he bought at the same price as the bucket shops, with a slab of easily exerciseable warrants thrown in for good measure, a demonstration of faith and something to be grateful for. I am not sure how you do either.
turbograndad
Tom, the £9 per hr min wage is not all of a sudden, it comes in 2020, thats the twat bit.
By then the global meltdown would of happened, and all the TWATS exposed, but not dealt with, they will have peerages, and pensions, and all the other crony club endowments, they are all a set off twats, why so surprised.
DUCK AND DIVE
You’re missing the big picture. The overarching aim of this govt is to reduce welfare payouts by making it less attractive for layabouts to stay in bed all day. The increase in the minimum wage is designed to make sure that state scroungers can earn more by getting a job than they can by doing SFA. And it’s a gradual increase, btw, so no need for a sudden hike in the price of pizza.
Any small businesses which claim that the national living wage is the reason they went bust probably weren’t going to last very long anyway. The successful ones, like RMPC which can afford to fund its proprietor’s jet-setting lifestyle, will continue to succeed, will have happier, more productive employees and may save recruitment costs on reduced employee churn.
turbograndad
Tom, all things 2015 budget, as you debate the price of a sandwich, for the next 5yrs our finiancial requirement OBR figures on top of the £1.5 trillion nat debt, will be £514 billion ontop, not sure if this includes, or how debt service charges, that no one talks about media/politics, of £40 billion per annum, as a payment to gilts were included.
So my friend, £514 × 1.4 euro=717 euro, will be added to our nat debt by 2020, twice that Greece owes, that is threatening the breakup and possible Grexit, and will any body notice ??????, no wonder you bought a hovel in Greece.
J P Spaghetti
Trouble is, as long as we have an economy where the market is not allowed to function in the private sector (due largely to – yes, that old chestnut – artificial house price inflation, but also to such dodgy shenanigans as compensating private arms manufacturers by the state when deals with dodgy regimes they were trying to broker fall flat), much of this talk of the wider effects of the living wage hike and the reduction of tax credits is largely moot.
I’d impose a specific tax for mobile phone use in non-emergency situations (just to pee off a few people)!
Daniel Victor
Tom’s right on this one.The problem with minimum wages is that they simply prevent firms from offering jobs for which they can’t afford to pay that much because the numbers just don’t add up.So then everybody misses out.George Osborne has succumbed to the temptation to meddle with the free market for short-term political gain.That will hurt the economy.