Evil Diaries: Unwarranted exercises

There is something rather fishy (or so it seems to me) that warrant holders at Empyrean (EME) have exercised warrants at 12p when the shares are 9p to buy in the market. The cash required has been paid to EME.

Yesterday’s tranche was a trifling 300,000 but, blow me down, there is a further 875,000 this morning. Are these buyers barmy or is there another constraint upon their behaviour?

My guess (and it must just be a guess) is that those who exercise these warrants are simply confident that the share price is going to go through 12p anyway. I bought 500,000 at 9p.

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Arc Minerals (ARCM) has denied adverse press comment which has arisen in Zambia in relation to ARCM’s Zambian assets. As far as I am aware Zambia is not sliding the Zimbabwe way – i.e. no law. Therefore ARCM’s view should prevail. I bought ARCM again at around 3.8p.

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Quite why the long gilt is getting back up to 124.50 I do not know: inflation is clearly building up a head of steam, albeit only partially driven by demand. I have again sold the long gilt at 124.20.