Ann: Half Year Accounts, page-6

First up- the accounts: Well done to management as we just keep marching forward. I like it. We will most likely be much more than a battery metals company- which is great because most ( actually all when we consider who really matters ), of the big players of the electronics world aren’t one trick ponies themselves.

From the report we note the continued focus on creating value for the shareholder- of course a standard line normally but after a rewarding 3:1 loyalty option in 2018 & rewarding spin off in 2019 it really does mean something.
We also note mining leases granted, cost saving on site neutraliser, critical minerals potential & many other good things.

As investors, our holdings have been smashed, that’s for sure, but the SP is not how much money the company has in the bank to continue operations. As Red points out, we easily have enough to keep going for the next year and more.

This bull market that has just died went for 11 years.
The West has only just started to seriously combat the spread of COVID 19 & whether we like it or not, to do so looks like it means shutting major infrastructure, social events and even domestic travel by ordinary citizens.

I’ve never lived through anything like this. It won’t be under any real control for at least a couple months & perhaps up to around a year or so- creating vaccines doesn’t happen overnight. Let’s not forget that the markets were already shown signs of slowing also.

As we’ve seen with Italy, our older aged Western populations can be hit quite hard. The EU in particular also now has recently added communities which have a higher proportion of pre-existing conditions than we are used to due to coming from distressed nations. The health systems of the EU & UK are going to be truly swamped- Italy for example has already gone triage mode which is something the West has only experienced in wars for this last 75 years.

I’ll admit that I underestimated the severity of the problem.
It is not an economics driven issue, it is a world wide societal health issue which is so serious that it is impacting the economy.

The Southern Hemisphere of course has been lucky with timing as it’s still nice and warm here but we don’t control the world economy. The Northern Hemisphere consumers do.

I’m certain that though the rate of infection etc has slowed in China that they are nowhere near a recovery- they’ve just slowed the spread by shutting things down. Reactivating normal social and economic activity without a vaccine will likely just reignite the spread.

All I can say is let’s all take extra care of our health for a while, sit back & learn about just how badly these things can affect markets while thanking our lucky stars it isn’t as bad as the Spanish Flu.

To borrow from an entertainment great- ‘look after yourself and each other’ & I really mean that. Buy, sell, do what you must but don’t forget your health!