The Evil Diaries: Septuagenarian Vegetarian

Evil discusses Hargreaves Lansdown, Avanti Communications, Oxus Gold and vegetarianism…

Hargreaves Lansdown (HL.), now 980p, is on a PE of 28 or whatever. But the easy days of handling funds are over and that rating is just too rich.

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I closed my longstanding short in Avanti (AVN). I had to pay 245p which surprised me in the light of the substantial placing at 210p. I suppose the market engaged in a relief rally. Mind you, as ever, volume was slight.

One of the points that always has to be borne in mind is stock borrow costs and, in my case, my borrowing contract in respect of Avanti was overdue for settlement. Had that not been the case, I might have run the short for longer even though there is no getting away from the fact that money troubles for Avanti are over for a few months at least.

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Oxus (OXS) moved sharply into what is in effect recent high ground yesterday afternoon. In such circumstances one is bound to reserve the possibility that there has been a leak somewhere along the line. Here the leak, if any, would not have been from the London end but possibly from Uzbekistan. I toyed with selling stock at 4p but decided otherwise. It seems to me to be worth all of 5p since (I may delude myself) it is long odds on to receive a beneficial arbitration award. This could see the theoretical receivable come to many times 5p.

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Finally, at dinner in Oxford earlier this week, I sat at one stage adjacent to some incredibly bright bloke (a Nobel prize winner as it happens) and noting that he was about 50 checked his age. He is in fact over 70. He also advised that he is a vegetarian. So there is a downside to a sense of self-preservation.