TalkTalking of law: Some have canvassed the idea that TalkTalk (TALK) faces financial ruin through litigation brought by its customers. Perhaps. But I doubt it. Say TALK has in effect handed a customer’s bank account number and sort code to a fraudster he is not thereby enabled to make payments since he does not hold…
I held 40,000 shares in Victoria Carpet (VCP) for many years and then, out of boredom, sold them about five years ago at about 250p. I thought no more about it. That noted, I was staggered by the huge rises that have since occurred – indeed shareholders seem to have had a cash dividend of…
Gold on the way: the chairman reminded me of the need to be long gold. So I did as I was bidden. So far so good. Now $1,176. ***** Yesterday, I was visited by a bright fellow who went over why he considers Globo (GBO) to be a scam. It is pretty sobering. It’ll all…
A few weeks ago I touched upon Global Resources Investment Trust (GRIT). In the light of an RNS after COB Friday 16th October it seems that we can look at this company differently. This was floated in early 2014 and is full of unmarketable rubbish. There are 39.5m shares in issue (but see below re…
It took its time but it has happened. After all, it is surprising that there has been such a delay in troubles being identified. However, the Stockholm-listed TrustBuddy a P2P lender has emerged as having advanced £238m where £29m of this has not been lent to “legitimate borrowers”. Until it is shown otherwise this £29m…
The gold price has really been quite strong. It still feels right to run it, now $1,185. However, funnily enough the gold miners are not responding materially, if at all. Orosur (OMI) reported acceptably this morning but has barely changed. I am told that the price of gold really needs to go through $1,200 and…
When AstraZeneca (AZN), then £40, turned down a bid from Pfizer at around £55, the objections, based on employment in the UK and the benefit of long term research laboratories based in the UK, were spurious. Given the current price of c. £40, the result has been that shareholders have been denied about £10bn. Not…
My longstanding colleague, Lucian Miers, notes that APR’s 17% shareholder GE (General Electric Co) is not named as party to a prospective bid for APR, whose assets are mostly what was GE’s power rental business and which APR acquired in 2013 for $314 m of which $250m was in APR paper valued at £10 per…
It’s all very well SABMiller’s board turning down a bid from AB InBev of £42.15 since the price languishes at £36.55. I doubt the SAB shareholders will take kindly to this. So SAB is a clear buy here. The deal will take months to clear through various jurisdictions. But the outcome will be the same.…
There is no denying that on the face of it I have been wrong-footed by the approach by Fairfax Financial and Chums to take over APR Energy (APR) since I thought that this would dissolve into a debt for equity swap with the bulk of the new equity going to the bankers. I incline to…
