BBC: Prices rose by more than expected to 3.6% in the year to June, the steepest rise in inflation since January 2024, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said.That marks a rise from the 3.4% rate in May, boosted by higher food prices and a lower drop in fuel prices than this time last year.
Comment: Good luck with inflation being a reason for lowering interest rates. Perhaps a more likely trigger would be a crashing economy. But then that is what Labour want, so another reason for the “independent” Bank of England not to cut.
The Smarter Web Company (AQUIS: SWC), a London listed technology company, announced the purchase of additional Bitcoin as part of “The 10 Year Plan” which includes an ongoing treasury policy of acquiring Bitcoin. Details are as follows: Number of Bitcoin Purchased: 325 Bitcoin. Average Purchase Price: £83,525 per Bitcoin ($112,157 per Bitcoin). Amount Purchased: £27,145,693. Total Bitcoin Holdings: 1,600 Bitcoin. Total Average Purchase Price: £79,534 per Bitcoin ($106,798 per Bitcoin). Total Amount Purchased: £127,253,776. The Company has achieved a Year-to-Date BTC Yield of 39,258% on its treasury.
Comment: With Michael Saylor of MicroStrategy fame generally accepted as being a recent significant investor, all of its holdings onside with the recent BTC rise, one might say, what’s not to like here for the leading UK play in the field. That said, the 39,000% yield (from just buying BTC) may be a number some would question. Being up around 10% on BTC holdings seems a fairer description.
Strip Tinning Holdings (STG), a leading supplier of specialist connection systems to the automotive sector, is pleased to report that it in conjunction with the grant consortium companies has been successful in the government’s DRIVE35 funding programme, facilitated by the Advanced Propulsion Centre UK (APC) APC26; “Industrialising net zero automotive technology”. The grant award to Strip Tinning is for £857,000. The project starts in Q3 2025 and is a 2.5 year project.
Comment: It is interesting that the government has £857,000 to spare, when it could be used for welfare, the NHS, and the Prime Minister’s international trips.
Empire Metals Limited (EEE), the AIM-quoted and OTCQB-traded resource exploration and development company, announced several strategic technical appointments and partnerships that strengthen the in-house project development team and support the advancement of the Pitfield Titanium Project in Western Australia. These appointments coincide with the commencement of bulk-scale metallurgical testing, a critical step in progressing Pitfield toward commercial development.
Comment: The uptrend in EEE shares has been relentless, finessed by RNS updates such as today, highlighting the progress being made at Pitfield, a project which is shaping up to being a mega one.
KEFI (AIM: KEFI), a gold and copper exploration and development company focused on the Arabian-Nubian Shield with a pipeline of projects in the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, said that in light of the successful field preparations for full launch of the Company’s Tulu Kapi Gold Project the community resettlement programme is being triggered this month, for payment of compensation for Phase 1 of the Resettlement Action Plan. This is being funded from KEFI’s existing cash resources following the Company’s recent capital raise and the Company will be reimbursed from the drawdown of the broader Project funding package.
Comment: Yesterday evening saw an event at the Ethiopian embassy in London featuring KEFI, and attended by the great and the good of the City. The takeaways were not only that Ethiopia is open for business, but that KEFI now has the momentum to deliver in the country.
Hemogenyx Pharmaceuticals (HEMO) announced that it has been awarded a $120,000 G-Rex® grant from ScaleReady, in collaboration with Wilson Wolf Manufacturing and Cell Ready, to support the optimization and scale-up of the manufacturing process for its lead CAR-T product candidate, HG-CT-1, currently in a Phase I clinical trial for relapsed/refractory acute myeloid leukemia (R/R AML) in adults.
Comment: Although the $120k will of course be welcome, given the history of the company, even $1.2m or $12m would not go amiss as far as getting HEMO over the line on its various candidates.
Cordel Group (CRDL), the Artificial Intelligence (AI) platform for transport corridor analytics, provides an update on trading for the year ended 30 June 2025 and the progress made by the Company in the year. The Company expects to report revenue for the year ending 30 June 2025 of £4.79 million, subject to audit confirmation, representing growth of c.8% over the previous corresponding period (FY24: £4.43 million).
Comment: While the markets here and in the US are AI crazy, what is most interesting, and perhaps less risky are companies like CRDL who have real life applications of the technology.
Itaconix (ITX), a leading innovator in plant-based specialty polymers used to decarbonize everyday consumer products, is pleased to announce a renewed global agreement with Croda Inc. in odour control, extending and expanding a successful supply collaboration that began in 2017 and was last renewed in 2022. Under the terms of the new supply agreement, Itaconix is adding ZINADOR® 22D, a new dry powder format, to the two current ZINADOR® products that the Company produces for Croda to market and sell globally in home care applications.
Comment: Shares of ITX are up off the lows by 25% over the past month, something which shows the market is responding to recent news, and the wonderful world of odour control. Having a blue chip partner such as Croda does no harm at all.
Yesterday Eurasia Mining (EUA), the iridium, osmium, palladium, platinum, rhodium, ruthenium and gold mining company announced an update to the planned Astana International Exchange (AIX) dual listing. As announced via RNS on 9 July 2025, Eurasia was preparing to sign the final and binding listing agreement with AIX, which now has been signed by the Company. EUA said “The Directors are delighted that our strategic milestone of dual listing is successfully approaching the finish line. We are looking forward to announce the dual listing and the launch of trading on AIX later this week”.
Comment: The AIX listing is key for EUA, not only as a potential new pool of liquidity, but also as an antidote to the Russia / Ukraine conflict. Being listed there will mean the company is “above the clouds” as far as both of these issues, something which will no doubt frustrate any remaining bears of the company.
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.
