(Alliance News) – The UK government “must focus on how it will reduce the public policy costs which are pushing up food prices”, the British Retail Consortium has said after reports the Treasury asked supermarkets to limit food prices in return for the lifting of some regulations.
The proposals would see shops voluntarily cap the prices of essential groceries such as eggs, bread and milk, according to the Financial Times. The Treasury has said it would in return offer supermarkets “incentives” which may include easing packaging policies and delay potentially costly changes to healthy food rules, the newspaper said. Helen Dickinson, the chief executive of the BRC, the leading trade association for retailers, said: “Rather than introduce 1970s style price controls and trying to force retailers to sell goods at a loss, the government must focus on how it will reduce the public policy costs which are pushing up food prices in the first place.”
Comment: Just in case some thought that we are still some distance aware from being a banana republic, this is the announcement that confirms it. It also confirms that we are in full socialist / Marxist mode, given that healthy disregard for the free market. Perhaps bananas can be added to the list of essentials with a price cap too?
MedPal AI plc (MPAL), the AI-native digital health and pharmacy platform, announced the launch of New Health, a dedicated consumer sub-brand focused on the GLP-1 weight-management and broader peptide medicines market opportunity, supported by a £1.3 million national consumer marketing campaign. The launch is being positioned in the context of rapid growth in the GLP-1 category and ahead of the Board’s anticipated UK approval of Novo Nordisk’s once-daily weight-management pill in summer 2026. New Health will sit separately from the broader MedPal Clinic app and MedPal consumer platform. It has been created to give the Company a sharper consumer brand, acquisition funnel and patient journey for the highly competitive GLP-1 category, while continuing to use MedPal AI’s regulated healthcare infrastructure comprising: AI-assisted intake, clinician-led assessment, prescribing where clinically appropriate, automated pharmacy dispensing and ongoing monitoring.
Comment: MPAL, already in one of the fastest growing spaces given the boom in weight loss jabs and other medical / cosmetic improvement treatments and drugs, goes in heavy to the space with its new brand name and associated marketing campaign. This should turn heads not only in the sector it occupies, as well as the stock market, after being one of the best received IPOs of last year.
East Star Resources Plc (EST), the Kazakhstan-focused gold and copper exploration and development company, announced the first results from exploration at the Company’s Piket Licence which was awarded in 2025. Recent geological mapping, hyperspectral interpretation and geochemical sampling have identified a large and geochemically anomalous lithocap as a potential host for a copper-gold porphyry or epithermal system. The work has significantly enhanced the Company’s understanding of the regional geological setting and identified one large priority target for follow-up exploration at the Symbyl 2 Prospect area.
Comment: Although shares of EST were up nearly 2x last year, there is still the feeling that despite the company’s ongoing achievements it has not fully realized its stock market potential, largely on the basis that there are plenty of other explorer developers who shout louder and are not based in the still relatively obscure jurisdiction of Kazakhstan.
Serval Resources Plc (SRVL), a company focused on building an independent copper and future metals developer, announced the results of the ground geophysics programme carried out on Licence PL061/2021 in the Kalahari Copper Belt (“KCB”), Botswana. SRVL said “I am delighted to report that we have completed another field programme in Botswana, in short turnaround time and in alignment with our commitment to keep on doing systematic exploration work, building our understanding of the geology, whilst maintaining capital discipline. It is encouraging that this ground geophysics programme has indicated the potential presence of the D’Kar and Ngwako Pan Formations within our licence area and provides a focus for future exploration efforts.”
Comment: SRVL always looked to be one of the brighter prospects in the explorer / developer space, something which recent newsflow as well as today’s has underlined. One would expect the still under £10m market cap seems too cheap given what we already know.
Mkango Resources Ltd. (MKA) announced that it has signed an asset purchase agreement with Heraeus Amloy Technologies GmbH, to acquire its Remloy rare earth magnet recycling business for €8 million (US$9.4 million) in cash, of which €5 million (US$5.6 million) is payable on closing, expected within the next three months, and €3 million (US$3.5 million) payable two years after closing. The initial payment of €5 million (US$5.6 million) will be funded from Mkango’s existing cash balance following its £12.5 million (US$16.8 million) equity placement, which closed on April 10, 2026.
Comment: MKA makes a significant move with some of its cash pile to deliver a land grab in the space, one that remains one of the hottest around. Backed by the great and the good of the London market – approximately three or four people, and on the right side of 40p, we may see the shares head towards a technical target of 70p later this year.
Gana Media Group (GANA) announced that Estadio Deportes, the Groups Mexican sports media platform, has signed a strategic advertising agreement with Feenicia of Mexico City. Feenicia, Mexico, is a trusted multi-platform point-of-sale payment solutions provider. Feenicia will run advertising campaigns across the estadiodeportes.mx platform, placing its brand in front of millions of passionate Mexican sports fans at a landmark moment for the country’s sporting landscape.
Comment: Shares of GANA did not manage to make any progress on yesterday’s social influencer announcement. One hopes that they will do better in the wake of today’s “landmark” news. All the while, whether this the case or not, there is the whiff of a company looking to create a positive enough vibe / share price to raise money.
Petards (PEG), the AIM quoted developer of advanced security, communication and surveillance systems, announced that its subsidiary, QRO Solutions (QRO), has signed a four year framework contract with Northumbria Police for the provision of ANPR equipment and support.
Comment: Given that ANPR is probably one of the most despised acronyms in the English language, and most people do not entirely love the police, today’s RNS from PEG has perhaps some of the edge taken off it. That said, it is a decent win, and should enable the recent share price recovery to continue.
Fulcrum Metals plc (FMET), a company pioneering the use of innovative cyanide-free technologies to recover precious and critical metals from mine waste and support site remediation, announced that it has signed agreements to acquire surface rights at the Teck Hughes tailings project. The Company has secured five surface rights totalling 270 acres of the Project area representing a significant milestone in advancement of the Project. It provides the Company with the necessary land access and operational flexibility to support ongoing exploration activities, environmental studies, infrastructure planning and future development work.
Comment: Shares of FMET essentially turned the corner last autumn, and have not looked back since. Indeed, the funding achieved since then has essentially de-risked the company and made it one of the safer buy and holds in its space among the small caps.
Premier African Minerals Limited (PREM) announced that it has reached agreement with certain creditors to settle outstanding liabilities through the issuance of new ordinary shares in the Company. The Settlement forms part of the Company’s ongoing creditor management strategy and is intended to preserve working capital while enabling Premier to continue focusing on the advancement of the Zulu Lithium and Tantalum Project and its broader operational objectives.
Comment: Given how many shares of PREM are in issue, a few more seems nothing to quibble about. That said, today’s news / settlement comes in the wake of a surprisingly strong share price run, something which hints that one or two people guessed today’s in advance.
Helix Exploration (HEX), the helium exploration and development company advancing the Rudyard Helium Project in northern Montana, announced that it has agreed terms for an initial short-term spot sales arrangement with an industrial gases group for the supply of helium produced at Rudyard. The Arrangement represents the Company’s first contracted route to market for helium produced at Rudyard.
Comment: It could be argued that for the main helium plays last month was peak Iran conflict fears over supply. Nevertheless, today’s news from HEX reminds the market of its dealmaking, and of course the fact that one day, hopefully soon, it will actually be producing helium.
Cloudbreak Discovery PLC (CDL), a London Stock Exchange Main Market listed company, advised that an application for a co-funded geophysics program has been granted covering the Company’s Paterson Project located ~40km south of the Telfer Gold-Copper Mine and ~60kms SW of the Havieron Gold-Copper Mine in the Paterson region of Western Australia.
Comment: Last year’s near 5x share price rise will be a hard one to follow, but it would appear that CDL is making a reasonable attempt to replicate it, especially given the way that the shares have already more than doubled since the beginning of this month. The magic word in this latest update is “Havieron”.
IntelliAM AI (AQSE: INT), a leading provider of AI-driven software solutions for the manufacturing and engineering sectors, has appointed a highly accomplished asset management executive, Joel Crawford, as Chief Revenue Officer. Crawford will join on 1 June 2026 and be based in Knoxville, Tennessee, where he will lead IntelliAM’s global revenue strategy with an immediate focus on strengthening its US market penetration.
Comment: Shares of INT are down over 30% so far this year, something which is disappointing given the way that the company is supposed to be a winning combination of AI and real world applications in industry. The move to the US rather implies INT has run out of road domestically.
88 Energy Limited (88E) updated on its recently consolidated South Prudhoe acreage position on Alaska’s North Slope (100% working interest, 16.7% royalty). The South Prudhoe lease position covers approximately 52,269 acres within one of the most prolific hydrocarbon fairways on the North Slope, immediately south of the Prudhoe Bay Unit and Kuparuk River Unit. The South Prudhoe Project presents a high‑impact, multi‑reservoir drilling opportunity in one of Alaska’s most prolific oil provinces. Augusta‑1 targets a 133.7 (MMbbls)2,3 (2U, Gross unrisked) stacked resource adjacent to major producing fields, supported by extensive regional data and infrastructure.
Comment: 88E has delivered a rather volatile ride in share price terms over recent months. However, one would assume that with crude oil prices continuing their $100 a barrel ride since the end of February, it is difficult to imagine that this year’s re-rate will not continue.
Strategic Minerals (SML), an international mineral exploration and production company, announced its results for the year ended 31 December 2025. SML said “We are looking forward to continuing to progress our clearly set out strategic goals in 2026. The Redmoor resource had been largely overlooked for too long, but this is no longer the case. We believe it is now widely recognised as one of the highest grade undeveloped tungsten projects in the world, and we will seek to use our now strong cash position, as well as potential sale proceeds from Leigh Creek and existing and hopefully enhanced positive cash flow from the Southern Minerals Group to advance Redmoor at an ever greater pace through a Pre-Feasibility study and on towards Production.”
Comment: While SML may be a company of significant strategic importance both nationally and internationally, there may be some who thing that after so far multi-bagging three years in a row, in the near term there is not much upside to chase. One a charting basis one would like to see the shares remain on the right side of 4p ahead of a move towards 7p plus.
Eco (Atlantic) Oil & Gas Ltd. (ECO), the oil and gas exploration company focused on the offshore Atlantic Margins, announce that, further to the Company’s announcement on December 4, 2025, it has signed a definitive agreement to farm down a 37.5% working interest (“WI”) in Block 1 CBK offshore South Africa (“Block 1 CBK”) to Navitas Petroleum LP. The Agreement is a key milestone in Eco’s strategic framework agreement with Navitas which provided Navitas with an option to farm-in to Block 1 CBK.
Comment: 2026 has been the year when the Atlantic Margins have become the new rock and roll in the oil and gas sector, a situation which was magnified by the Iran conflict turning up at the end of February. It would appear that the re-rate for ECO will show no sign of abating for quite some time.
Goldplat Plc, (GDP) the AIM listed Mining Services Group, with international gold recovery operations located in South Africa and Ghana, servicing the African and South American Mining Industry, announced an operational update for the 3rd quarter ended 31 March 2026, of the current financial year. The two recovery operations achieved a strong combined operating profit for the quarter of £3,855,000 (FY Q3 2025 – £694,000) (excluding listing and head office costs, finance cost and foreign exchange gains/losses). The finance cost and foreign exchange losses incurred in Q3 mainly related to trading activities and resulted in a combined profit before tax excluding listing and head office costs for Q3 of £3,429,000 (FY Q3 2025 – £769,000).
Comment: GDP remains something of an unsung, or at least under-sung hero in its space, possibly due to the distinction the market makes between gold mining and its recovery. Nevertheless, with the shares pushing to new highs for this dividend payer, what is not to like currently?
Disclaimer & Declaration of Interest:
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.
