Cloudbreak Discovery shares rocketed higher on Thursday after announcing early results from gold exploration activities in Western Australia.

Cloudbreak Discovery has reported what it calls ‘very encouraging results’ from its inaugural gold sampling programme at the Darlot West Gold Project.

Shares in the company were over 150% higher after Cloudbreak said maiden exploration work had yielded gold grades significantly above expectations.

Surface rock chip sampling across four distinct prospect areas has returned multiple significant results, with the highest grade reaching 28.62 grammes per tonne of gold. A repeat assay of this sample confirmed the exceptional nature of the find, returning an even higher grade of 34.15g/t Au.

Other notable results from the programme include grades of 4.50g/t, 2.62g/t, and 1.30g/t gold. These findings demonstrate consistent mineralisation across multiple areas within the project.

The Darlot West project sits just 10 kilometres southwest of the renowned Darlot Gold Mine, which has produced 2.8 million ounces of gold to date.

“These gold results from our initial field trip and the investigation, carried out as part of the Company’s due diligence on the tenement, are exceptionally good. Getting results approaching an ounce of gold per tonne are not common and are much better than we had expected,” said Tom Evans, Cloudbreak’s MD.

“An exploration programme is being planned to further understand the extent of gold mineralisation and the areas gold ounce potential. We look forward to providing further updates with respect to additional exploration to be completed.”

WH Smith shares were down 30% in early trading on Thursday after the group announced a sharp reduction in group full-year profit expectations.

WH Smith has slashed its profit expectations for North America by £30m following a financial review that uncovered accounting irregularities.

The travel retailer now expects headline trading profit from its North America division to reach approximately £25m for the year ending 31 August 2025. This represents a dramatic fall from previous market expectations of around £55m.

The overstatement stems largely from the premature recognition of supplier income within the North America operation. WH Smith’s board has commissioned Deloitte to conduct an independent review of the issues.

The revision means the group’s full-year headline profit before tax will be around £110m. Further details will be provided when WH Smith announces its preliminary results.

WH Smith reported £160m headline profit before tax for the year ended August 2024, and investors are bitterly disappointed they are staring down the barrel of PBT coming in a third less in 2025.

The fact that the profit warning is largely down to an own goal will make the news even more painful.

WH Smith shares are now trading at less than half of their 2023 high.

Premier African Minerals’ management has sprung into action after a rise in the share price to use the opportunity to raise a little of £1m to fund lithium mine optimisation and to pay off debts.

Premier African Minerals Limited has raised £1,380,000 before expenses through a share subscription for its Zulu Lithium and Tantalum Project. The funding was secured by issuing 6 billion new ordinary shares at 0.023p per share.

The raised capital will serve four primary purposes: refining and optimising the Primary Flotation Plant, potentially funding an alternative spodumene float plant pending review, covering operating expenses and debt settlements during ongoing negotiations, and providing general working capital.

CEO George Roach highlighted that the funding price represents a significant premium to the previous funding round, reflecting the company’s progress. Anyone who bought yesterday above 0.03p may have a different view.

“We are very pleased to have completed this capital raise at a price representing a significant premium to our last funding round, and see this as clear recognition of the progress we are making,” said George Roach, CEO.

Premier African Minerals shares touched 0.037p yesterday after trading as low as 0.01p in June.

The FTSE 100 recovered early losses on Wednesday as traders shrugged off a hotter-than-expected UK CPI reading and a US tech-driven sell-off overnight.

Defensive ‘safer’ names such as Unilever, United Utilities, Intertek, and British American Tobacco were in favour and helped the FTSE 100 edge past 9,200 in mid-morning trade.

The interest in defensive non-cyclical UK stocks followed a sell-off in US stocks overnight as investors booked profits in US tech ahead of key events, including Fed minutes and Jackson Hole.

“Markets tracked overnight declines on Wall Street, where technology shares led losses as investors turned more cautious ahead of the release of the FOMC minutes and the Jackson Hole Symposium in the US,” said Frank Walbaum, Market Analyst at Naga.

“The selloff reflected concerns about overextended valuations, as investors moved to profit-taking after a period of strong and rapid gains.”

UK markets started the session in the red after UK CPI for July came in at 3.8% – an increase on June’s 3.6% figure.

However, the concern around higher CPI inflation was short-lived, with much of the increase due to flight tickets, and core inflation was little changed on the month before.

“Despite the sell-off in the US overnight, emanating from the technology sector, UK stocks were pretty steady in early trading on Wednesday,” explained AJ Bell head of financial analysis, Danni Hewson.

“The index was not helped by the hotter than expected UK inflation report – which gave sterling a modest lift. A stronger pound hits the relative value of the FTSE 100’s dominant overseas earnings.

“The implications for interest rates of the higher than anticipated CPI reading also saw housebuilders foundations quiver given, in turn, what this might mean for mortgage affordability and availability.”

Persimmon, Taylor Wimpey and Barratts were all down more than 1%.

Anglo American was the FTSE 100’s top faller with losses of 2%.

BAE Systems has been the best way for UK-focused investors to position their portfolios for increased defence spending in response to increased aggression by Russia.

Indeed, the BAE Systems share price has tripled since Putin rolled his tanks into Ukraine in February 2022.

However, there is mounting evidence to suggest the share price has gotten a little ahead of itself from a valuation perspective, and investors should consider the medium-term performance of the stock from elevated levels.

With the prospect of peace in Eastern Europe looking just slightly more likely after Trump met separately with Putin and Zelenskyy this week, the defence spending trade could become less attractive, making companies such as BAE vulnerable to selling.

Throw into the mix an earnings multiple that puts the stock on the highest valuation for nearly two decades, and BAE Systems shares look set for a correction.

BAE Sysems’ recent performance

Beyond the geopolitical situation and high valuation, there are plenty of positives to take away from the group’s recent half-year report.

BAE Systems secured £13.2bn in new orders during the first half of 2025, with all segments enjoying higher order flows. The company closed the period with a substantial order backlog of £75.4bn, providing exceptional revenue visibility and underpinning future cash generation.

This backlog, combined with programme incumbencies on long-term contracts, supports BAE’s value-compounding business model and offers investors predictable earnings growth.

Key successes stories include Typhoon combat aircraft, Type 26 frigates, Dreadnought submarines, electronic warfare systems, precision munitions, and space-based capabilities. BAE’s participation in strategic programmes like GCAP (Global Combat Air Programme), AUKUS submarine development, and the US Golden Dome project positions the company to capture significant long-term contracts.

However, for all the predictability of cash flows and heightened demand for arms, earnings growth hasn’t exactly wowed investors.

First half revenues grew 11% and EBIT rose 13%. While these are solid numbers for a firm of BAE’s scale, they don’t seem high enough to justify a valuation of 25x historical earnings.

For many years, BAE Systems traded between 10x -16x earnings. The current 25x multiple is an outlier.

Forward earnings on analyst estimates fall only modestly to 22.5x earnings.

Earnings will continue to be underpinned by higher defence spending plans. NATO members agreed to increase defence investment to 5% of GDP—a significant jump from the previous 2% benchmark.

However, it appears the market has already priced in many years of increased defence spending and BAE profit growth, which isn’t a 100% certainty, making BAE Systems vulnerable to profit-taking.

You can afford BAE Systems a higher valuation than historical averages due to the likelihood of geopolitical tensions persisting in the years ahead.

But 20x earnings seems more sensible than 25x. This would put BAE Systems shares back down to 1,360p.

Angling Direct’s strategic shift to focus on growth in online channels and its loyalty programme is paying off with revenue climbing 17% to £53.6m in the six months to July 2025.

The specialist fishing tackle retailer saw strength across both its retail and online channels during the period.

UK retail stores drove significant growth, with sales rising 15.4% to £30.5m. Online performance proved even stronger, surging 21.2% to £20.6m as the company benefited from higher transaction volumes and increased customer numbers.

The omni-channel approach appears to be paying dividends. Total UK like-for-like sales grew 14.2%, whilst the company’s MyAD customer loyalty programme swelled to over 496,000 subscribers by July – up from 409,000 at the start of the year. The milestone of 500,000 members was reached in August.

Store expansion continued apace during the period. A new Chester outlet opened in May, followed by a Bradford store after the period end, bringing the total estate to 55 locations across England and Wales. Management cited “increasing levels of footfall” as underpinning strong store performance.

European operations remain modest but showed promise. The Utrecht store, which marked its first anniversary in May, saw customer visits almost triple in June and July compared to the same period last year. Overall European sales edged up 5.1% to £2.5m, though the digital market remains challenging.

Perhaps it was this weakness in Europe that curtailed investor enthusiasm on Wednesday with shares down slightly in early trade.

“I am pleased to report that we have delivered another period of sustained progress against our medium-term objectives. Our increasing customer appeal underpinned by our loyalty fishing club, MyAD, and the associated growth of revenues in our existing UK stores and digital platforms, provides us with further confidence in achieving our medium-term UK revenue target of £100m,” said Steve Crowe, CEO of Angling Direct.