HARBOUR ENERGY (HBR) – Oil & Gas Harbour Energy announced it has won the contract from the Mexican government and its commercial partners to operate the offshore Zama oil project. The firm has a 32.2% interest in Zama, while Mexican state oil company PEMEX has a 50.4% stake and Talos Energy Mexico has a 17.4% stake. Discovered in 2017, the Zama field contains an estimated 750 million boe (barrels of oil equivalent) of recoverable resources. Price: 198.6p +0.2%P/E: n/aMarket Cap: £3.3bnYield: 10% Harbour operates two significant projects in Mexico, Kan – where it has a 70% interest and the project…

Digital 9 Infrastructure Trust (DGI9), which is in the process of winding down and handing back cash to shareholders, has announced the disposal of its Aqua Comms business for slightly more than expected. The business, which owns subsea fibre assets in the Atlantic and Irish Seas, was sold for £34 million against a June 2025 valuation of £32.4 million. Aside from around £10 million of working capital needed to process the final wind down of the company, the sale proceeds will be returned to investors via a pro-rata compulsory capital redemption. Price: 5.8pNAV: 32.7p (June 2025)Market Cap: £50mYield: n/a Once…

Thinking back to the global financial crisis, one of the most insightful accounts of the origins of the meltdown, and the various winners and losers, is Michael Lewis’s 2010 book ‘The Big Short’. In the book – and the 2015 film, which we would recommend to anyone interested in financial markets – one of main characters is hedge fund manager Michael Burry, who successfully shorted US housing credit. Short selling involves borrowing stock from an institution or a broker, for a fee, and selling in the hope of making a profit by buying back at a significantly lower price. It’s…

Technology group Defence Holdings (ALRT) has signed a deal with Gloucestershire Police to deliver a proof-of-value programme for AI-enabled automation of video and taped interviews. This will enable the police force to use AI to convert unstructured PACE-governed interview data into structured digital summaries, making workflows faster and more efficient. The PoV programme will set performance benchmarks and demonstrate whether the software is suitable, with a proposed second phase expected to assess evidential-grade accuracy and other requirements for a broader rollout next Spring. Price: 1.9p -9.9%P/E: n/aMarket Cap: £45mYield: n/a This is the second positive news story on ALRT in…

Gulf Marine Services (GMS), the supplier of offshore support for the energy industry, has announced a two-year extension for one of its mid-sized self-elevating vessels currently operating in the Arabian Gulf area. This contract takes the firm’s backlog to $607 million or more than three times this year’s projected revenue. Price: 19.3p +2.9%P/E: 8.5xMarket Cap: £223mYield: n/a GMS shares popped 12% a week ago when it announced a new contract for one of its large vessels also operating in the Middle East. Clearly demand for its services remains robust, so a period of hefty downgrades to forecasts we might start…

The board of Baillie Gifford-managed Edinburgh Worldwide Investment Trust (EWI) has sent a stiff letter to Saba Capital, managed by Boaz Weinstein, calling for clarification of his agenda by 5 January 2026. Less than a year ago, Saba campaigned for the removal of the trust’s board and investment manager and a change of strategy to trigger a ‘liquidity event’, but the proposal was roundly rejected by other shareholders. The letter suggests the board has since sought to engage ‘constructively’ with Saba and put forward what it calls a number of credible options to provide liquidity for shareholders, all of which…

Every December, the strategy team at Saxo Bank publish their Outrageous Predictions for the coming year, some serious, some not so serious. For 2026, the team has once again put together a collection of out-of-the-box, bonkers themes which, while they might seem highly improbable, just might come true. In total there are nine themes, but we’re focusing on the six we think are most interesting from an investor’s viewpoint. We have to start with tech, so how about Q-Day arriving early – Q-Day being the day when quantum computers can unlock public-key encryption, making large amounts of sensitive data vulnerable…

The board of specialist credit provider International Personal Finance (IPF) has finally given in to BasePoint Capital’s takeover offer of 235p per share in cash plus a final dividend of 9p per share. The deal represents a small premium to the 220p closing price but a 31% premium to the price in late July when BasePoint made its initial approach. Price: 233pP/E: 7.5xMarket Cap: £510mYield: 5.4% It was always a case of when not if the board would agree a deal, and despite arguing in favour of a standalone strategy the option for shareholders to monetise their investment at a…

AIM-listed premium cinema group Everyman Media (EMAN) has announced chief executive Alex Scrimgeour will step down with immediate effect. Current NED Farah Golant will take over the CEO role on an interim basis while the firm looks for a permanent replacement. Price: 27pP/E: n/aMarlet Cap: £24.6mYield: n/a Scrimgeour has been chief executive since 2017, steering the business through Covid and lockdowns and the subsequent rebound, more than doubling revenue. However, EMAN has been in a downtrend ever since the pandemic and currently sits at 27p, down almost 50% on the year and more than 80% from its old high. Earlier…

Pet care group Pets At Home (PETS) has announced the appointment of James Bailey as CEO starting from 30 March 2026. Bailey was previously MD of Waitrose for over five years, during which he oversaw the launch of its online business after the brand moved off the Ocado (OCDO) platform, and before that he was at Sainsburys (SBRY) for 20 years in a variety of roles including grocery buying director. Price: 203p +1.8%P/E: 14.1xMarket Cap: £893mYield: 6.5% Bailey’s experience in the FMCG business will undoubtedly be useful in managing PETS, especially as he’s overseen both bricks and mortar and online…