A levy on casino and betting operators’ profit will bring in £100 million to put into tackling problem gambling, the UK government has announced. A statutory levy will be imposed on gambling operators, with half of the money to go directly to NHS-led treatment and support, the Department for Culture, Media & Sport has confirmed.
Comment: Of course, the proceeds of any tax go to the unfillable black hole that is the NHS. However, using the government’s prevailing logic, the more you tax something, the more it will grow, so maybe the levy is not the solution to problem gambling.
Just Eat Takeaway.com (JET), one of the world’s largest online food delivery groups, is providing a further update in relation to its review of listing venues. JET said that in order to reduce the administrative burden, complexity and costs associated with the disclosure and regulatory requirements of maintaining the LSE listing, and in the context of low liquidity and trading volumes of the Shares on the LSE, it has requested that (i) the FCA cancel the listing of the Shares on the equity shares international commercial companies secondary listing category of the Official List of the FCA, and (ii) the LSE cancel the admission to trading of the Shares on the main market for listed securities of the LSE (collectively, the “LSE Delisting.”
Comment: Contrary to the comments of the stock market’s conventional commentators, lackeys and people who do not understand the stock market, the budget last month was another nail in the coffin for London listed companies. In addition, the malaise is not just limited to small cap “loser” companies, but even successful blue chips. The deliberate winding down of the UK stock market continues at pace, something which is now perfectly aligned with the policy of a socialist government. Enjoy.
Cykel AI (CYK), a leader in AI-powered digital workers, announced the launch of Lucy, an advanced recruitment AI agent that represents the next evolution in autonomous workplace technology. This launch strengthens Cykel AI’s position at the forefront of the digital worker revolution, where AI agents do not just assist but autonomously complete complex workflows. CYK said “Lucy is a fully autonomous digital worker capable of executing end-to-end recruitment processes.
Comment: It sounds as though if Lucy was available a few years back, she could more than filled the shoes of “Rachel from Customer Services.” The CYK RNS does not make it clear how Lucy is positioned on WFH and / or working 3 or 4 days a week.
Vinanz (AQSE: BTC), the publicly listed Bitcoin mining company with US and Canadian Bitcoin mining operations, announced the first of its initial order of ten next generation Canaan Avalon A1566 188 TH Bitcoin miners for our Nebraska fleet (as announced on 30 October 2024) are now online with its hosting partner there – Basic Mining.
Comment: It is very timely that Vinanz has place this order, in the wake of Bitcoin approaching the magic $100k level. The company remains well leveraged to further upside in the digital asset.
Eco (Atlantic) Oil & Gas Ltd. (ECO), the oil and gas exploration company focused on the offshore Atlantic Margins, announced its unaudited results for the three and six month periods ended 30 September 2024. The Company had total assets of US$28.74 million, total liabilities of US$1.44 million and total equity of US$27.3 million as at 30 September 2024. ECO said it was pleased with the continued operational and financial progress achieved in recent months. Following completion of the farm-down of Block 3B/4B, we received a payment of US$8.3 million from our JV partners, with the potential for Eco to receive a further US$11.5 million in 2025.
Comment: With more money swilling around than King Midas, the only missing ingredient is the company so far being unable to successfully sing its praises to the market. As such it remains a stock only for those who are happy to buy a stock at 10p when it should be 15p or more.
easyJet (EZJ) improved annual profits by 34%, achieving £610 million PBT, following another record summer. Strong progress towards medium term targets. FY24 headline profit before tax of £610 million, +£155 million YoY (Reported PBT £602 million). easyJet holidays recorded £190 million profit before tax, +56% YoY.
Comment: Clearly EZJ has felt the benefit of both all the rich people leaving the country during the period, and all those who cannot afford to leave getting away from it all for a few days. Presumably, a new green levy is not far away, EZJ is making far too much money.
Pennon Group (PNN) announced its results for the half year ended 30 September 2024. PNN said water companies are rightly being challenged to do more for customers today and invest more for the future. We are doing both. 100% of customers across the south west found their bills affordable for the first time – five years ahead of the sector-wide pledge to eradicate water poverty.
Comment: PNN has managed to come up with a wonderful example of corporate spin. But of course, with the funds available the company can afford the best spin doctors. The key here is what the meaning of “affordable” is.
DG Innovate (DGI), the advanced research and development company developing pioneering solutions in sustainable mobility and energy storage, announced that it has signed a Joint Venture Agreement with EVage Automotive Pvt. Limited, an Indian electric vehicle maker and automotive technology company, to manufacture and supply a range of DG Innovate’s Pareta® e-drives. This follows on from the Company’s announcement on 28 March 2024 that the Parties had entered into a MOU.
Comment: Shares of DGI have already looked to be in turnaround mode this month, and the latest news underlines the reason why. It would appear that the show is on the road as far as the company’s e-drives.
Helix Exploration (HEX), the helium exploration and development company focused on helium deposits within the ‘Montana Helium Fairway’, has completed test work on the Amsden formation, one of three target zones at the Clink #1 well, and has identified sub-economic helium grades. HEX said while not the results we were hoping for from the Amsden formation, one of three reservoir targets in the Clink #1 well, there is significant opportunity within the Ingomar project from the Charles formation, where acidisation and appraisal is due to commence, and our primary target in the Flathead formation which has supported the case for the Ingomar Dome with the presence of 2.5% helium and 55% hydrogen.
Comment: A bump in the road perhaps for HEX, but one would expect that as in September the share price dip will be a decent dip to buy into, given the big picture potential of the company.
GreenX Metals (GRX) announced that high grade antimony mineralisation has been identified at the Company’s Eleonore North project in Greenland, based on historical results recently released by the Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland (GEUS). The historical results indicate the potential for a high-grade antimony-gold mineral system at ELN. Antimony prices have been on a rapid uptrend since China announced antimony export controls from 15 September 2024, with antimony prices in the US having rocketed to US$37,500/t from US$18,300/t1 in the past week.
Comment: It seems rather harsh, even by London stock market standards for shares of GRX to be back near year lows. Ideally, today’s high grade antimony news reminds investors of the share price / fundamentals mismatch.
Firering (FRG), an emerging quicklime production and critical mineral exploration company, announced a maiden JORC-code compliant Mineral Resource Estimate for its quicklime project in Zambia, which is being fast-tracked towards an imminent phased commissioning. FRG said it was delighted to announce a maiden JORC-compliant MRE, which almost doubles the resource tonnage of the Project based on the previous non-code resource, and which supports over 50 years of quicklime production. This firmly positions Limeco to become the largest quicklime producer in Zambia and a prominent regional player for many years to come, enabling it to meet the growing demands of the copper industry and other industrial clients.
Comment: As anyone watching the share price chart of FRG could tell, the company has been in turnaround mode for quite some time, with the maiden JORC a decent driver for further gains.
Prospex Energy (PXEN), the investment company focused on European gas and power projects, updated on the schedule of the flow testing at the Viura-1B development well, which is expected early in December. The Viura-1B development well which has been drilled by HEYCO Energy Iberia S.L. reached its revised targeted Total Depth of 4,500 metres, which is ≈4,100 metres True Vertical Depth, on 21 October 2024 in the 6-inch hole section of the bottom 450 metres of the well.
Comment: Even though the market has thus far been rather loathed to mark up the shares of PXEN, a combination of possible revenues from Viura next month, and a rebound in gas prices should finally do the trick in this respect.
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