Five days before Mr Osborne gave his Autumn Statement the UK Government released its latest borrowing figures. They should have got more attention than they did. Public sector net borrowing rose by £1.1 billion in October 2015 as compared with October 2014 to £8.2 billion for the month – the highest October level since 2009.…
Most fund managers go to a lot of time and trouble to meet the senior directors of the companies that they invest in. They think that this can help them to get a better insight into the business and the people behind it, but Jeremy Lang of Ardevora UK Income believes otherwise. Lang thinks that…
An unusual opportunity has arisen at Lonmin (LMI). It is raising circa £300m at 1p per share. The issue is underwritten. Curiously the nil paid (LMIN) stand at 0.03p offer, which, added to the 1p subscription price, gives an all in cost of 1.03p. This contrasts to the 1.25p or so at which the ordinary…
As I mentioned in the November magazine, with the outlook for other mining commodities cloudy and funding for their projects problematic (Paragon Diamonds is in trouble because finding funds has been more difficult than it thought – interested investors will find more up-to-date information on the BBs than we can provide here) it seems sensible…
Tomorrow (Wednesday, 02 December 2015) the United Kingdom, barring some unforeseen upset, will formally enter War on Terror II. Given Jeremy Corbyn’s reluctant decision to give Labour MPs a free vote, it now seems certain that the Prime Minister will get what he wants: Parliamentary approval for RAF bombing attacks on IS positions in the…
Little fish are sweet (Chapter 94): It has always been hard to take African Potash (AFPO) seriously since its website is in material aspects identical to that of some other fertiliser business. This in turn raises the clear inference that AFPO’s management does not take originality seriously. However, this morning it transpires that they have…
After more than a decade of easy money, the emerging world is nearing a downturn (if not a collapse), as the Federal Reserve is threatening to cut off the fuel that for years has fed skyrocketing corporate debt levels. Investors are anxiously awaiting the outcome of the next FOMC meeting, scheduled for December 16, to…
Thomas Cook (TCG) has just reported its results for the year to 30th September 2015. As an investment, it is highly speculative because of the absence of net tangible assets and the share’s lack of dividend support. In consequence, it also has a share price that is notably volatile. Way back in July I thought it worth…
Little fish are sweet: I have been sat in BCB (BCB) for years. It’s Lord (Michael) Ashcroft’s Belizean toy bank. It reported last week, showing net assets of £38m as against a capitalisation at 7p of £7m. Further, annualising the first quarter’s results gives a profit expectation of £4.8m net of tax. Or put another…
As I write this, I am on a working Norwegian ferry, hugging the coast between Bergen half way up and Kirkenes in the far North of the country. Kirkenes was the second most densely bombed town (after Malta) in Europe in the Second World War, and is the nearest town in Norway to the Russian…
