BBC: AI could cause global economic downturn, Andrew Bailey warns G20. The governor of the Bank of England has warned G20 finance ministers that artificial intelligence could cause a global economic downturn and pose a significant cyber security risk to financial systems. Andrew Bailey said any collapse of growth in the AI sector could lead to a “future market correction” that spreads worldwide.
Comment: If there is an AI bubble burst, and it may already have started, it certainly will not be on the say so over an over promoted functionary. Or the present Governor of the Bank of England. It is partly due to the influence of Mr Bailey and his predecessors, that the UK does not have an AI bubble or significant tech sector to crash and burn.
(Alliance News) – UK house price growth remained subdued in August amid economic uncertainty and elevated geopolitical tensions, according to Nationwide Building Society on Tuesday. According to Nationwide’s UK house price index, house prices rose 1.6% in August from a year earlier, picking up slightly from annual growth of 1.4% in July, the latter revised down from 1.8%. The figure, however, came below the 2.0% rise expected by the FXStreet-cited consensus.
Comment: Having killed the golden goose in the south of England, it will be interesting to see whether the north of the country gets bogged down by stamp duty, the draconian renting laws, and eventually a mansion tax for all.
African Pioneer Plc (AFP), the exploration and resource development company, announced that planning work has commenced on the Ongombo – Ongeama development programme under the terms of the conditional financing and technical services agreement signed between the Company and Hong Kong Xinhai Mining Services Limited and announced on 30 July 2026. AFP said, “We are very pleased with the rapid progress in the drill program planning and this is a credit to our technical team and the highly professional approach of Xinhai and their commitment to a significant drilling campaign in the short term. The pending completion requirements in relation to the Definitive Agreement with Xinhai are well in hand.”
Comment: Of the Colin Bird stable of companies it does indeed appear to be the case that Kendrick (KEN) soaring has given a lift to the rest of Mr Bird’s collection. On this basis the next train to leave the station looks to be AFP, and given the latest newsflow, it could yet surprise to the upside.
Connecting Excellence Group (AQSE: XCE), the international executive recruitment group with a long-term, ambitious and disciplined Bitcoin (BTC) treasury strategy, announced that it has entered into binding Heads of Terms in relation to the proposed acquisition of two UK-registered companies, which trade as a single specialist recruitment business under one brand. The Company also provides the market with a trading update relating to the period from 14 May 2025 to 30 June 2026. Spencer Riley, the Group’s operating company, grew unaudited revenue 20.6% to £1,838,047 in the twelve months to 30 June 2026, from audited revenue of £1,524,064 in the prior twelve months Unaudited revenue for the Period of £2,160,137 – the twelve months above plus £322,090 for the stub from 14 May to 30 June 2025 – with gross profit of £1,253,157 and a gross margin of 58% Bitcoin holding of 62.94 BTC*, valued at £2,831,366 at 30 June 2026 The Group has since added a further 10 BTC to its treasury as of 1 September 2026 bringing total Bitcoin holding to 72.94 BTC, with a total value of £4,215,928.12, at BTC GBP price £57,799.90.
Comment: One may not be entirely convinced regarding the mix of recruitment and Bitcoin Treasury, which to some may be as appropriate as combining spinach and cheese. That said, the company is making money from its day job, BTC has rebounded, and it is listed on Aquis, so no one is really bothered.
East Star Resources Plc (EST), the Kazakhstan-focused gold and copper exploration and development company, announce it has signed a binding Heads of Agreement with Nova Ltd to establish a joint venture company (“JVCo”) pursuant to which Nova will farm into the Rulikha Copper Project and advance it through resource definition, feasibility studies, permitting, development and commissioning at no further cost to East Star. JVCo shall appoint Orion Development Ltd, an experienced Kazakhstan mine developer, as Rulikha operator.
Comment: It has been a case of slowly, slowly catchy monkey as far as progress at EST. One gets the feeling that the company has never fully put to bed possible concerns regarding Kazakhstan, not least the fact that most people could not even point to where it is on the map. But despite the waiting game here, the shares have remained rather more steady than many of the company’s peers.
Forgent plc (FORG), the Australian-focused critical and precious minerals explorer, is pleased to announce that Phase 2 drilling has commenced at its 99%-owned Peak Hill Gold-Copper Project in Western Australia. The drilling rig is now on site and operational, with the programme expected to comprise approximately 130 holes for around 8,700 metres of drilling. Phase 2 follows the encouraging results from the Company’s initial drilling campaign at Peak Hill and represents a significant expansion of exploration activity across the Project. The programme is expected to take approximately 60 days to complete, with samples submitted progressively for assay.
Comment: The excitement is building at FORG, in terms of whether James Parsons and friends can get this explorer to get more stock market attention than the plethora of peers all trying to do the same thing. Judging purely by the share price and the market cap there is still some way to go. But of course, share price and market cap are not everything.
Mkango Resources Ltd (MKA) announce that it has released the Financial Statements and Management’s Discussion and Analysis for the six month period ended 30 June 2026. Cash position of US$13.6 million as at 30 June 2026. Subsequent to the half year end, the Company completed the acquisition of the Remloy business from Heraeus Amloy Technologies GmbH and settled the initial €5 million (US$5.8 million) cash consideration. The Company also received proceeds of £94,500 and C$73,350 through the exercise of warrants and options equating to a total of US$180,515. Mkango is now uniquely positioned across the whole rare earth supply chain in Europe and North America, including projects for magnet and alloy manufacturing, short, medium and long loop recycling across UK, Germany and USA, rare earth separation in Poland, mining in Malawi, and rare earth metal making under evaluation.
Comment: Magnets, rare earths, Nasdaq listing, all the buzzwords are in the mix at MKA, with the company hence garnering an almost maniacal following amongst some of its shareholders. All of this makes the share price drift since the autumn all the more disappointing, even though MKA is supposed to be the new rock and roll.
Ondine Biomedical Inc. (OBI), a leader in light-activated antimicrobial therapies to prevent hospital infections, today announced positive topline results from its LANTERN pivotal Phase 3 clinical trial evaluating its nasal photodisinfection technology for the prevention of surgical site infections. The LANTERN trial was designed to demonstrate whether nasal photodisinfection in addition to standard of care reduced surgical site infections compared to standard of care alone. The primary analysis estimated a 40% relative reduction in 30-day SSIs and met the trial’s prespecified Bayesian criterion for treatment benefit. The safety profile observed in LANTERN was consistent with more than a decade of prior clinical experience with nasal photodisinfection, including more than 250,000 patient treatments performed outside the United States. No treatment-related serious safety concerns were identified in the topline review; these findings remain subject to completion of detailed efficacy, safety, subgroup and other analyses.
Comment: The testing continues and continues. There would have been less testing to land on the moon. We know photodisinfection is a great concept and it works. Just get on with the roll out. This apparently never-ending testing may explain why the share price has drifted somewhat of late.
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The information, investment views, and recommendations in this Zaks Traders Cafe interview are provided for general information purposes only. Nothing in this interview should be construed as a promotion or solicitation to buy or sell any financial product relating to any companies under discussion or referred to or to engage in or refrain from doing so or engage in any other transaction. Any opinions or comments are made to the best of the knowledge and belief of the commentator but no responsibility is accepted for actions based on such opinions or comments. The commentators may or may not hold investments in the companies under discussion.
