676 days ago
I start with a health update, finally some joy from the NHS and, even before that, I am starting to feel better. Then it is onto Pantheon Resources (PANR), Inspirit (INSP), and Atlantic Lithium (ALL) and share options, incentivising the dead. Then macro calls on interest rates, inflation, the real economy, shares, bitcoin, gold and oil. Details of ShareStock 2023 on September 23 are HERE
1191 days ago
There were two reasons why I eventually dumped my shares in Falanx (FLX) at a loss. The first was serial non delivery. There was a different excuse every time it missed targets and I shall turn to today’s abject trading statement in a separate piece. Suffice to say that if this company predicted that the sun would rise tomorrow, my instinct would be to dismiss this as just another fanciful aspiration. The second is the issue of share options.
1880 days ago
Just one guest in this week’s show, Andrew Bell of Red Rock Resources (RRR) and The Brexit Party. we discuss UK politics, gold, AIM’s woes and Red Rock. Before Bell I look at recent bond flops and the looming liquidity crisis. After Bell I look at share options with reference to Falanx (FLX) where we shareholders have been kicked in the goands. If you like this and can’t wait seven days for more of the same you should listen to my Bearcast every day.
2111 days ago
I own these shares and it was a tip of the year ( which is up). I update on that tip in light of the share option news of yesterday evening but also comment on Big Sofa's (BST) award and rebasing of options, one aspect of which is totally unacceptable and repellant.
2481 days ago
On February 1st 2017 Stellar Diamonds (STEL) announced that it was "in advanced negotiations" about a bid at 12.7p, a 452% premium to the share price on January 31. Hooray, trebles all round. But hang on Henry what about those share options?
2687 days ago
In theory share options are there to incentivise management. There is of course scant evidence that directors who are often grossly overpaid will actually work even harder/be less lazy because they get to have a one way bet on the share price. It may encourage actions that drive short term share spikes but is there a proven link between options and value creation? Er... no. What we we do know is that options are not cost free.
2896 days ago
The share options which were in force when Cloudtag (CTAG) was admitted to AIM in March 2013 contained certain vesting conditions. These included a product launch date of 20 March 2014 plus other specified criteria including turnover exceeding £750,000 in a month! and a specified share price being exceeded for a five day period starting at 40 pence and increasing to 60 pence.
3209 days ago
Eleven years ago I did battle with Eden Research (EDEN) and Environmental Recycling Technologies (ENRT), then called 3DM which were both run by Witney lawyer Ken "Kenny-boy" Brooks. They sent me a slew of lawyers letters, their advisers John Finn, Johnny Townsend and PR man/tipster Mike Walters engaged in a filthy dirty tricks and smear campaign against myself and Lucian Miers, but it was team Kennyboy that ended up with TWO FSA censures. I am now officially "at war" with both companies once more and will today endeavour to show why both worthless entitities should be delisted at once. I start with a very gentle opening delivery for Eden, the strange case of the options.
3241 days ago
Corrected version: Scancell (SCLP) today served up news of a fairly orderly chairman succession but the mystery is of the dog that barked in the night. Yes, it did not. I refer to the apparent lapse of millions of incredibly in the money share options over Christmas.
3400 days ago
In today's podcast I look at what is the critical lesson we draw from Afren's demise - that debt is crack cocaine for CEOs. Then there is the wider issue prompted by an RNS at no-one is watching O'clock Friday from Staffline of executive share options, LTIPs and greed.
3700 days ago
It sticks in the craw when management award themselves share options at 10p when the share price is 17p. But that is what Premaitha (NIPT) announced yesterday. However
3836 days ago
On Sunday Shareprophets rightly criticised West African Minerals (WAFM) for repricing options for its directors. I chatted to Jim Mellon at the weekend and he rather weakly said it was to incentivise the board.
I do not thing that risk free options incentivise anyone, I disagree with this idea but sadly it is a feature of the AIM Cesspit.
3837 days ago
I wanna tell you a story…it is a true story but not from the great Max Bygraves. It is from me and from a company meeting a while back and it is why I almost despair of some on public markets.
I shall not name the company but it is trying to raise a couple of million and for some reason I was at the presentation the other week. The two key men sounded pretty impressive and handled questions about strategy, assets and that sort of matter pretty well. I asked about pay and there was no troughing going on.
And so I asked how much cash they had invested in the company. Er…..
One fellow said he had vended in the odd asset – which did not exactly seem core going forward. The other said he had been granted options. “So to answer my question you have not actually stuck a penny of your own cash in have you?” Er, um, ah, but we could be earning far more elsewhere, blah, blah, blah.
I persisted. So how much are you putting into the placing then? I have options said one. The other said that if there are any shares left he might take a few.
As I explained that options were a one way bet it was clear that my questioning was not going down well. The look on their faces suggested that I had asked “how many time have you masturbated this week?” But that is not what I asked.
As The Sheriff of AIM, I merely tried to establish whether their interests were aligned
3971 days ago
On 17th December recruitment group ReThink (RTG) showed itself as a true posterboy for the AIM Cesspit by issuing a shed load of options which almost cannot but fail to hand free money to the board but the scandal is much worse as I can reveal today.
3992 days ago
The directors of AIM Cesspit listed recruitment group ReThink (RTG) have today shown themselves up as crony capitalists who do not give a flying wotsit about shareholders and are in it for themselves - they are greedy tossers. That should tell you all you need to know – do not own this stock.
The share price of this company is 5.875p – well down on the IPO. The board has today cancelled 11,484,364 options priced at between 6.75p and 11p which lapse between February 2015 and April 2018. And instead it had granted new options priced at just 6.12p lapsing between November 2016 and June 2021.
In other words, under the new scheme, if the company can deliver share price growth of just 1.3% per annum then every single one of these new options is free money for the board at the expense of shareholder dilution.
4268 days ago
I note an announcement the other day that AIM listed tech stock Blinkx (LSE:BLNX) had granted yet another 1.5 million share options to its senior execs. The subject of executive share options always seems to cause some folks to get their knickers in a twist. I am not so sure.
