Spain

464 days ago

Greek Hovel olive oil prize contest: Face nappy covid madness on the way to Spain - can any mask nutter explain the logic?

Okay mask nutters please explain how this stops the spread of covid and you can win a jar of my finest olive oil from Greece if you can. Just enter your logical explanation in fewer than  200 words in the comments section below.  A friend of mine flew to Spain yesterday and says:

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471 days ago

The BBC rewrites history regarding Sir Francis Drake

Some crackpot school in London has renamed itself as it does not wish to be linked to Sir Francis Drake because he was an evil slave trader. Except that he was not. The BBC is keen to whip up more fake history and has joined in the battle as you can see below.

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1172 days ago

Flying to Heathrow from Portugal can now be a more serious crime than many rapes says Matt Hancock

The Government’s latest covid travel restrictions are non-sensical,smash the young and the poor disproportionately and the penalties for flouting them are offensive. Matt Hancock, you are a disgrace.

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1368 days ago

Novacyt – the desperate share-ramping continues: Reminder that October 17th is Noses in Trough day

On my first weekly video show, I spelled out to you all why bosses at Novacyt (NCYT) will do absolutely everything they can to ramp the shares ahead of October 17. Every extra  penny on the share price on that day is worth more than ten thousand pounds to the CEO alone. In that vein, we have more ramptastic “news” today. But perhaps you are excited about a “second wave” of Covid deaths in Spain.

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1764 days ago

Berkeley Energia – commences initial battery & EV metals drill programme

Berkeley Energia (BKY“is pleased to announce the commencement of its initial (six hole) drill programme to test for critical battery and EV metals across its large licence holding in Western Spain”

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1811 days ago

Optibiotix – another day another deal, but a question...

Steve O’ Hara says he is looking to do two new distribution deals a month and so here is the first for May. Optibiotix (OPTI) has announced that its fully-owned subsidiary ProBiotix Health Ltd., has signed a license agreement with Instituto Español de Nutrición Personalizada, S.A. for the use of Lactobacillus plantarum (LPLDL) in personalised food supplements in Spain.

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2003 days ago

Does Safran know that its employees threaten journalists? Ref Antonio Mateos and Berkeley Energia

I am contacted on twitter, as you can see below, by a man claiming to live in Spain who opposes Berkeley Energia (BKY) and its plans to create thousands of jobs at Salamanca. I do not wish to deny the poor the dignity of work this chap does. Follow the thread for it ends with a clear threat - I should stay away from the project...

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2006 days ago

Berkeley Energia – a more positive permitting update

Berkeley Energia (BKY) has updated that it “has been advised by the Nuclear Safety Council that it was not the source of the widely circulated media reports that the government was intending to deny the permits for the Salamanca mine” and “is continuing to work with the Nuclear Safety Council in progressing the necessary approvals for the Salamanca mine”

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2789 days ago

Berkeley Energia - more great drilling results but does it matter?

We already know that Berkeley Energia's (BKY) Salamanca uranium resource in Spain is commercial so does it really matter if it serves up more good drill grades?

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2856 days ago

40,000 very silly young people #marchforeurope. Oh no they don't

As the earnest young people, mostly loathsome students, gather in London today they claim that they march for Europe. it sounds good to be an internationalist showing solidarity with a whole continent. MarchfortheEU does not sound quite so good. The EU is after all, as even its supporters in the remain campaign admitted, inefficient, corrupt and far from perfect. Moreover it is loathed across the continent.

Switzerland has just withdrawn its application to join. In France, Austria, Greece, Italy, Holland, Sweden and Denmark there are growing calls for their own referendum and signs that in many of those countries folks will vote to leave. For what these young people fail to see is that across Europe there is a widespread feeling that the EU serves an business, bankster, media and political establishment very well but for the ordinary Joe, for the 99% it sucks.

Here in Greece, youth unemployment is 60%. It would be far higher

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2882 days ago

Dodgy Dave Cameron - when were you going to tell us about the extra £2 billion EU bill? Post Brexit?

To be fair to David Cameron he does not need to open his mouth to tell an actual lie in order to mislead the British people about Brexit. Sometimes his silence is equally deceptive.

It appears that the EU has overspent its budget by circa £20 billion and that member states will be asked - once again - for bonus contributions to fill the black hole. But in order to assist Dodgy Dave who is trying to tell the British people that we are "better off in" it has been agreed that the invoices will not be announced or sent until after June 23rd. How convenient.

No doubt lyin' Dave will now pipe up

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3136 days ago

Work Related Trips I’d like to do: Kosovo, Spain – any other ideas?

It I all very well sitting in my garage in Bristol or in the Greek Hovel writing about companies but it would be fascinating to actually go visit a few of them on the ground with a video camera in hand to report from the coalface. Right now that is not an option for personal reasons you know too well but next year I’ll need to clear my head and already two road trips are sort of planned.

I shall have family reasons to visit the Pindus Mountains of Northern Greece at some point. It would be great to pop in to see The Baker of Zitsa and have a glass of sparkling red wine and read some Byron while I am there. But from Zitsa it was just a horse ride for Byron and Hobhouse to Albania and would be a short drive for me to Kosovo and Macedonia (the ex-Yugoslav Republic).

Again

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3528 days ago

EMED – Buy after placing

Having worked to have key permits granted towards the re-starting of production from the Rio Tinto copper project in Spain,  EMED Mining (EMED) has announced a €6.80 million net cash outflow in the six months ended 30th June 2014. Together with that negotiations “in respect of an equity financing to support an altered debt and equity structure… have taken considerably longer to conclude than originally anticipated”, this put its balance sheet in a troubling position and has seen it conditionally raise a further £13.1 million at 7.25p per share “to fund its activities up to the end of 2014, and thus enable the company to finalise its plans for the full financing of the Rio Tinto copper project”

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3632 days ago

EMED Quarterlies - Buy

EMED Mining (EMED) has announced results from a “transformational” quarter – in which it received the Unified Environmental Authorisation for the Rio Tinto copper project in Spain , and shortly after was granted ‘Administrative Standing’. So are the shares cheap? Yes.

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3745 days ago

Having to Choose 14 beers to drink – it is a hard life as we prepare to launch Maribelle’s

You know I have a hard life. Deciding which 14 bottles of beer to drink is the sort of chore that I have to suffer. I can sense the waves of pity heading my way. Actually it was not quite as it seems.

The countdown to the launch of our new Spanish themed wine bar Maribelle’s is accelerating. We go live on Monday February 3rd at 91-95 Clerkenwell Road.  Fear not, Real Man Pizza is not closing – it thrives with its new menu as the quirkiest Italian restaurant in town. It is just that we are opening up our unused basement as Maribelle’s. And so last week I worked hard on:

Hiring a new waitress. The first girl to walk in was Ana from Spain. What can I say? Her CV was perfect, she wants to be a journalist but she could be a model. She had the job in 30 seconds. No messing about there. An easy executive decision.

Then the wines – 25 Spanish wines, white, red, rose, Cava. I love a white Rioja. That was fun. Eight Sherries as well. I know I kind of associate sherry with our grandparents, with what my philosophy tutor at Oxford Dr Malpas used to pour before a tutorial or with the 1970s. But white Sherries, chilled, can be fantastic and we have a cracking selection on offer.

Then to the “Spanish speaking beers”. This is a bit of a cheat. Of the 14 one is a Spanish cider. And seven come from Spain. The rest are from Argentina, Peru, and Mexico and – as a real cheat since they speak Portuguese there – one is from Brazil. I dithered about the Argie lager but it is just so good.

Then the real treat – the tapas menu. A few heated discussions with Maribelle herself (our chief waitress from Spain who has two degrees in economics and takes her clothes off to campaign for world peace) ensued. But we have agreement now and this week the cooks will be practising hard to get everything just right.

The sign makers are commissioned and new signage goes up this week while the electricians and carpenters are in over this weekend.  This afternoon Darren and I will finalise the artwork (some debate over a brass model of a woman’s bottom is still to be concluded – I vote yes, Darren and his Mrs are dithering) and the furniture. And then down to the marketing literature featuring Ana.


All of the team at Real Man is very excited about this new venture. Fingers crossed. I hope to see many blog readers popping into Maribelle’s from the third. Hint: Ana works Tuesday to Thursday.

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3750 days ago

EMED – Getting there at last: Buy at 10p

EMED Mining (EMED) last week commented on what it considers “an extremely significant step” towards gaining environmental clearance for the Rio Tinto copper project in Spain.  Might the green light be imminent?

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3816 days ago

EU backs Spain over Gibraltar - what total tossers: buy the T-shirts

If you were not short of reasons to leave the Evil Empire…here is another one. There is little doubt that the good folks of Gibraltar want to remain British. But bankrupt Spain has other ideas and has been turning up the heat on this issue with ludicrous border restrictions. And whose side is the EU on? Obviously..

The EU commission today states that it

has not found evidence to conclude that checks on persons and goods as operated by the Spanish authorities at the crossing point of La Linea de la Conception have infringted the relevant provisions of Union law.”

What the fuck? But it gets worse. The EU has decided that if anyone is doing anything wrong it is the wicked British and is demanding that we:

develop risk based profiling (in particular Gibraltar should ensure non-systematic and risk analysis based checks on travellers and their belongings upon exit from Gibraltar, optimising legislationand safeguards in view of contributing to an efficient fight against tobaccosmiuggling; and develop the exchange of intelligence on tobacco smuggling with Spain.”

So what is that about a single market? Jeux sans frontiers, etc.

At one level Sod Off Spain. At another It’s Time to Leave (the EU).  You can buy splendid T-shirts, mugs, hoodies, etc making both points only at my online store HERE

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3881 days ago

It’s Time to Leave (the EU) T-shirt winning fans at breakfast in Greece

The Sod Off Spain T-shirt seems not to have caused a stir here in Greece. I guess not a lot of Spaniards can afford to travel abroad these days. And so today at breakfast it was time to wheel out the “It’s Time to Leave” T-shirt (red edition). The Greek waiters and waitresses were clearly onside but our fellow guests (all from the rich North of Europe) also perked up.

A stack of smiles and nods and a couple of “I love the shirt comments”.

Naturally I said that I designed it and that you can buy it only at www.TomWinnifrith.com in my online store.

Clearly this fashion item will be sweeping Europe…

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3893 days ago

A day when friends popped in again and again and again

Perhaps they were all psychic and sensed pending news but Clerkenwell's finest celtic Italian restaurant Real Man Pizza was a buzz all day yesterday. First up was blog reader Gareth to whom I promised a Piss off Argentina T-shirt in a caption contest a while ago. We will not go into details as to how much of a while. Gareth was in town, popped in for lunch and was – as you can see – presented with his shirt by myself (wearing my Sod off Spain T-shirt which is getting stacks of positive comments). You can buy both shirts only HERE

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3895 days ago

Maribelle from Real Man & Spain models our Sod off Spain T-shirt

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Maribelle our senior waitress is from Spain but has worked in Gibraltar and is a right-thinking sort of bird and so was keen to model the new Sod Off Spain T-shirt which arrived at Real Man in Clerkenwell today.

You can show your support for our countrymen in Gibraltar by wearing your own shirt, which can be bought here.

 

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3911 days ago

NEW Today: Show your support for Gibraltar with Sod Off Spain T-shirt, mug, hoodie range

It seems that the Argies are not the only Spanish speaking folks with a train wreck of an economy who don’t give a flying wotsit about self-determination. This may not play well with any Spanish readers of this website but the folks in Gibraltar are British and want to stay British and so they should stay British.

I explained my anger at both the Spanish and the home grown deluded lefties who wish to betray our countrymen in a video postcard this weekend which you can watch here.

Now I have launched my brand new T-shirt, mug and hoodie range: Sod Off Spain! With the logo you can see below

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You can order your merchandise in my online store here

What better outfit could you sport if you are heading off to the Cost del Crime for a summer break?

The Sod off Spain range is in ideal compliment to the Piss off Argentina range which sports the logo below



You can order both Piss off Argentina and Sod off Spain goods only in my online store HERE

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3912 days ago

Video Postcard Number #43 – Gibraltar, the Evil Empire, Ted Heath edition

Recorded today I let rip on the subject of Spain & Gibraltar. The sabre rattling by our bankrupt EU comrades sums up all that is wrong with the Evil Empire. My discussion covers fishing tights, the lies of Ted Heath and the issue of self-determination as well as the drivel spouted by deluded lefties on this matter.

My financial video postcard this week covers the looming UK housing bubble, is now up on www.shareprophets.com and can be viewed here

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3977 days ago

Green investors beware - learn from Spain

The pain in Spain falls mainly on….everybody. But right now it is investors in a range of solar schemes that are taking an almighty beating and there is a lesson and warning here for anyone considering backing any one of those numerous solar or wind schemes you see flagged as sure-fire winners across the globe.

If you are looking for a safe alternative investment

 

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4030 days ago

A generation pulverized by the Euro – this is a crime against humanity

In Greece youth unemployment is c60%. Ditto Spain. In Eire 30%. But these figures dramatically understate, yes I repeat understate, what is going on and it is the Euro that is to blame. An entire generation across much of Europe is being pulverized, systematically smashed and it is the Euro worshipping leaders of the same countries who are to blame. This is almost a crime against humanity.

Why the understatement?

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4044 days ago

What Cyprus actually means – the New post Euro Order

Cyprus is a small island and it was easy to ignore or play down events at first but the situation is now out of control. We live in a new world order, the post Cyprus order and you need to wake up to the reality of that fast.

The Euro was never an economic project. It was a political one. And as such the “believers” brushed aside any economic objections and sought to ensure that everyone joined the club. Some countries were not fit to join (Portugal, Eire Spain, Italy, France, Greece, and Cyprus) but that mattered little. The leaders of those countries and the ECB agreed to lie in order to gain entry. 

This was a concerted lie by the political elites across Europe – a class distinct from the folks they nominally represent. And so today as the Euro collapses the political elites of Poland, Rumania and elsewhere are still applying to sign up. Hey, I know the Titanic is going down but is there any chance of me jumping off a floating currency lifeboat and getting on board your fine vessel? Madness.

And one reason that it is madness is that we have no idea how Cyprus will play out. The initial plans for state bank robbery have been shelved and so if you have less than 100,000 Euros in your bank account that money is, pro tem, safe. But it is impossible to withdraw it in more than small tranches. If you have more you will lose some of it. Perhaps 40% or 60% or potentially all of it.  The idea that bondholders should lose everything if a bank fails seems fair to me. The idea that depositors should lose cash is just obscene.

What will be the effects?

For one you will see a growing scandal of how the political elite looked after its own and its friends.

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4057 days ago

EMED and the Great EU bank robbery

The prime focus of AIM and TSX Listed EMED Mining (LSE:EMED) is on restarting the huge Rio Tinto copper mine in Spain but it was set up in Cyprus (it initially targeted a small copper deposit there) and so lo and behold it still has some Cypriot bank exposure. And yesterday the company announced that as a result it will fall victim to the great EU bank robbery. The following explains... 

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4059 days ago

Cyprus – State Sponsored Socialist Theft in the Eurozone – it could happen here

Cyprus has become the fifth Eurozone nation to get a bailout but this one is different. At the insistence of the Germans one condition of the bailout is that private citizen’s pay and they will do so via a tax of up to 10% levied on all bank deposits in the Mediterranean island. This is pure socialism in action – the idea that the legitimate savings made by an individual as a result of fully taxed income can just be seized by the State. It is a horrific precedent.

For having established that the State can effectively seize whatever it wants whenever it wants you rather accept that you have no private property or savings. You can work your socks off, pay taxes to support those who do not work, save prudently so that you will not be a burden on the State or your family in the future and then one day the State just seizes your money. Heck why stop at 10% of bank deposits? Why not seize land, houses, etc.? The precedent is now there and this is an EU precedent.

David Cameron wishes to remain part of an organisation which thinks that State sponsored theft of private wealth is acceptable. I do not and nor, I suspect, do most British people. If the Conservative party and for that matter the Lib Dems and Labour support State sponsored theft that is fine they should be honest about it and we can all vote UKIP. But will the established parties stand up to the political elite in the Evil Empire and say

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4071 days ago

What will be the Black Swan that blows up the world economy by 2015? China, US or Europe?

The answer to the 1998 financial crisis was to slash borrowing costs across the globe so that we all over-leverages and misallocated our capital. On that occasion it was junk dotcom investments and property. In 2008 another crises and the same solution. The fact is that the world has been misallocating capital for decades, led by Governments freed from prudence by the abandonment of the gold standard in 1971.

With each crisis that crops up, the solution is simply to print more money and to get folks to take on even more debt. You owe too much – heck borrow some more. And so capital is misallocated and bubbles grow ever bigger. But at some stage the party ends. It will. The current set up is simply unsustainable.

And so what will be the black swan event that causes the mother of all reality checks? If offer four runners and riders. Inevitably if one occurs it will trigger the others. And it will probably be a fifth black swan that no-one has thought much about that starts the party. But here goes.

1. The Chinese property bubble. I have written before on numerous occassions about just how mammoth this is and how it really can knock the Chinese (and thus the worlds) economy for six. The answer of the authorities to the slowdown in the PRC in 2012 was to pump more hot air into this bubble. It has to be my top black swan bet. Read this piece out yesterday on Zero Hedge if you doubt me.

My major work from September 2012 on China, the misallocation, fraud an inevitably of a crash is HERE

2. A market refusal to buy US T Bonds in an auction. The US Government is three years away from having a balance sheet like that of Greece just before the crisis. An economically illiterate President and, to show balance, a spineless Republican party in Congress just cannot get to grips with what is happening. The US today is like sick Britain at the end of WW1. But it will take the US far less time than we took to see its currency tank. At some stage folks will refuse to stump up cash for a debt that yields sod all and is clearly unrepayable and unsupportable.

3. Sovereign default across Europe accompanied by widespread Civil unrest. The only folks buying Spanish debt right now are the Spanish state pension funds. Oooh lucky Spanish state pensioners. But those funds are tapped out. Spain is bust and its economy is enjoying an EU austerity driven spanking session which Max Mosley could only dream of. It is not just Spain. Italy, Greece, Portugal are in the same mess. The Irish economy and society has been beaten to a pulp in the name of fiscal responsibility and yet could still collapse. France is heading the wrong way fast as is the UK. The collapse of the Euro as we know it has to be an odds on bet it is a matter of how it occurs.

4. The Arab spring moving to Saudi Arabia. A regime with no legitimacy is kleptocratic, autocratic and barbaric. It bribes the people with a fraction of the nation’s wealth and panders to radical Islam in a most unhealthy sort of way but it is unloved. One day it will fall. Revolution in the world’s largest oil producer could perhaps trigger unforeseen events elsewhere.

Hey, maybe we can all carry on spending beyond our means, leveraging up as individuals and as States for a good while yet. We have been kicking this can down the road for decades so maybe we can carry on for another few decades. Or maybe not. One day something will happen and we will find our noses against the wall at the end of the Cul-de-sac. That day may be sooner than we think.

For more thoughts from Tom Winnifrith follow him on twitter @tomwinnifrith

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4083 days ago

Is Spain about to go bust triggering a Lehman x 10 crisis?

In a sense this a daft question. Spain IS bust. We are just not admitting it yet. The Euro fanatics at the EU will not admit it until it has happened. But the day of truth is almost upon us. Spain will go bust and we will see a Sovereign default this year, taking the Euro down with it -or at least forcing a two speed Euro upon the Evil Empire.

Greece was small fry. Spain matters.

I suggest that you read this brief note from Phoenix Capital on the Zero Hedge website and think very carefully about what happens next. You can read that note HERE.

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4085 days ago

EMED Mining: New technical report, target price cut and house broker flags that it will follow – shares still a buy

Landing on my desk on 18th February is a note on EMED (EMED) , the company planning to bring the Rio Tinto copper mine in Spain back to life, prepared by its house broker Fox Davies. The house or “shop” is meant to be closer than anyone to a quoted company and thus its take on a new technical report on Rio Tinto is interesting, if not entirely bullish.

The company announced that independent technical expert Behre Dolbear, has completed an updated NI 43-101 Technical Report on the Company’s Rio Tinto Copper Project. That is in the public domain. The bad news from the report comes in three forms:

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4087 days ago

Caitt Reilly, Idle British Youth and hard working European youth

Caitt Reilly is the job snob geology graduate who said that being forced to work at Poundland rather than just sit on the dole until she found a job that suited her was illegal. Needless to say some crackpot judge found in her favour. Incidentally that work experience did her some good as she now has a job at Morrison’s with one suspecting that the supermarket thought the stint at Poundland was a more impressive part of her CV than a degree in geology.

Caitt seems like a sour faced deluded lefty with a point to prove but she is utterly typical of British youth today in believing that she can sit on her fat arse collecting benefits paid for with taxes paid by those of us who do work (often in jobs we don’t relish) until something she likes comes along. That process can take years. And the more we churn graduates out with 2:1 degrees from useless Universities in pointless subjects the more you will get young people saying that a menial job is “beneath them.” The only way to address this is by root and branch reform of the welfare system.

I contrast this with the attitude of young Europeans mainly from Spain and Italy who are flocking to London. Back home there are simply no jobs – youth unemployment is 50% plus and rising thanks to the joys of being in the Euro. And so the more enterprising ones

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4173 days ago

EMED: Broker Fox-Davies thinks shares will treble & Slovak approval

Regulatory approval for EMED (EMED): Great news we have been waiting so long for this news. But sadly this is not the final Spanish permits needed to get the giant Rio Tinto copper mine underway but news from Slovakia. Meanwhile broker Fox Davies reckons that the shares could treble from 10.625p to 32p. I think it is correct about this stock I first covered on t1ps.com. But to Slovakia first.

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4182 days ago

EMED Mining $50 million financing secured – Very Good News Indeed

EMED (EMED) the AIM and TSX listed developer of a large copper mine in Spain has today announced that it has secured a $50 million financing and an offtake deal from commodities giant Red Kite. This is a monumental step forward for EMED and really is very good news indeed. Those of you who bought the shares on October 4th after I wrote this can thank me later: “EMED has been on the point of starting to build a huge copper mine in Spain for ages. But getting the consents needed seems harder than finding a 17 year old virgin in Romford. And EMED is still not there. Hence, having tipped the shares at 14.75p back in July 2007 and with the stock at 9.625p today I look like a bit of a schmucko. Apologies for that. However, I had a long chat with CEO Harry Adams this week and I sense that we are almost there and that now would be a good time to buy.“ I hope you did, the shares are now 11.625p. But they will go much higher and here is why.

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4187 days ago

Going on Strike soon: Spain, the Guardian, The Tube Drivers – I stand with you comrades.

The Greek General strike has come and gone. A few riots, a few more businesses closed than usual but no real change. Unemployment creeps up. The 4th Reich imposes more austerity and society falls apart. And so as the workers ( or in the case of Greece, non-workers) of the world unite who is next to strike? For a range of reasons I urge some of the lead candidates to go ahead – comrades I stand along side you.

Starting with the poor oppressed editorial team at The Guardian newspaper – average salary no idea but with some highly paid columnists (Polly Toynbee on £300,000) pushing up the mean. My guess is that most of the writers on the Guardian are on £50,000 plus and heck you do not get to live in Islington and Camden if you are on the minimum wage.

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4295 days ago

Shorting Ban: Spain is Bust so too are Italy and France. Let’s be honest for Once.

This is a farce. Spain is bust. So too is Italy. France will be next. We have already forgotten about Greece and Cyprus. They are buster than bust. Yet the leaders of the Evil Empire and the IMF just arse about pretending it is all under control. “Don’t panic” shouts Corporal Jones. Das is Gut says Frau Merkel as she announces that she is off on holiday for a month. The Spanish are relaxed. Just ban short selling for 3 months and if we remove the evil speculators everything will come up smelling of roses. Well at least not like the streets of 10 Italian Cities where the trash is 10 foot high and the schools will not re-open in September because there is no money. But that in no way implies that Italy itself is bust, says whichever bloke is leading Italia this week. Yeah right. Of course not. So there you have it. It is all about dealing with evil speculators and we can rest easily. Bollocks.

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4296 days ago

Video Postcard from Tom Winnifrith & Book News

It is all happening. Or rather it will happen. One minute, from the comfort of a sun bed by the swimming pool, diet coke in hand I am sitting here trying to think how I can advance a long article on the Bombay property market. The next minute it appears that there is another book to be written with a contract winging its way to me from France. Meanwhile I amuse myself with a video recording using a neat little gadget some Welsh bloke gave me before I left London. Recording is a piece of cake. Transmitting is a horror. But at last the video now plays smoothly for all to enjoy.

On the agenda:

Greece
Spain
The Euro Crisis
The Impending Dollar Crisis
Gold
The Middle East and the Oil Price
Avanti Communications, Northern Petroleum, 1Spatial
Cash shells, investment companies
Speculative oil stocks
Risk & reward
The equity markets generally
Lots of cheap jokes

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4302 days ago

The USA is even more bust than much of Europe

This year all eyes have been on Europe. In a recent poll even most Guardian readers now accept that the EU is not good for Britain and that joining the Euro would be a disaster. “I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance.” I cannot put it better than the gospel of Luke (King James version natch). Even the most deluded of Euro loon (Charles Kennedy, after lunchtime?) must now accept that Greece, Spain and Portugal are bust and that Italy and France are heading that way. Not surprisingly the Euro is tanking, the dollar looks strong and the world seems to think that the Old World has a monopoly on insurmountable problems. It does not. The USA is in the same boat as Europe and that boat is called the Titanic.

Now I accept that Europe has its own particular issues. A fixed currency for uncompetitive economies is a killer (for them). A genetic aversion to hard work, addiction to welfare-ism and the need for regular fixes of industrial action ( i.e. inaction) across swathes of the Southern part of the continent post challenges that, in the current set-up, are insurmountable.

But the US also faces challenges. Some of those it has in common with Europe. I no more believe the stated NAV of most of the big American banks than I do that of Barclays.

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4307 days ago

Striking Miners, Baroness Thatcher & Spanish Madness

I was planning to have another pop today at Louise Mensch MP for being so thick but I shall save that treat for another time. Instead my mind wanders to Spain where the Prime Minister, Mariana Rajoy is implementing austerity measures with vigour in return for another bailout or twenty. This is not going to be fun. It is sheer madness but we are talking about the EU here so I guess that is par for the course.

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4317 days ago

Spain – An Apology

I suggested here in an earlier piece that Spain were a boring side. To be fair they had shown real Arsenal-ish tendencies in earlier Euro 2012 games. But last night they were magnificent. Even before Italy gave up with 20 minutes to go Spain were just masterful. After 20 minutes I had given up on an Italian victory as Spain mentally destroyed their opponents in that opening spell. That they were only 1 nil up at that point was irrelevant – the game was won.

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4319 days ago

Italy versus Spain: Euro 2012 Final

I shall find somewhere to watch the game tomorrow. My head tells me that Spain are the reigning World and Euro champions and will win. My heart fervently wants an Italian victory – it would be a far better result for lifting the human spirit. We shall see.

Spain enjoyed one goal-fest in the group stages. But that was against a very poor Irish side playing without passion, intelligence or – frankly – much skill. Crushing a Hackney-marsh side like that Ireland team told us nothing. For more or less the rest of the tournament Spain have been, for want of a better word, plain boring. Reminiscent of Arsenal sides of old, the Spanish seem to regard a 1 nil victory as a reckless experiment in attacking football.

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4335 days ago

Farage on the Euro Farce – not enough lifeboats and the titanic has hit the iceberg

I cannot say that I always agree with Farage and UKIP. They appear to have some rather dodgy views on issues such as immigration and civil liberties which I cannot agree with. But on Europe Farage is always bang on the money. If you do not understand why the Spanish bailout will not solve anything and will just postpone the inevitable watch Farage in full flow today. If you do understand, the man is so funny it is worth watching anyway.

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