Alien Metals has begun drilling on the high-grade silver and copper-gold projects in Zacatecas, Mexico.

The drilling at the San Celso and Los Campos Silver Projects will focus on mineralised vein systems that have previously been mined for high-grade silver, with head grades of over 1,000 grammes per tonne silver previously reported.

The first holes will be drilled at the San Celso Silver Project.

For both sites, a detailed grid drilling programme is being planned to allow for future resource estimations, whereas these initial drill programmes are based on wide-spaced holes within the more detailed grids to determine initial mineralisation thickness, grade, and continuity.

Instead of merely testing one of the two very promising technologies at the outset, Alien Metal may test both projects cost-effectively as a first phase to aid next-stage planning and targeting based on the results.

Alien Metals is also drilling at the Donovan 2 Cu-Au Project, in addition to the high-grade silver projects.

Drilling at Donovan 2 will focus on a potentially large copper zone that has been linked to a 3.34% Cu sample retrieved from a Los Alamos water well. The company assessed the tests to be insufficient and will redo them.

An examination of the Donovan 2 drill core revealed a previously unknown zone of interest from drill hole DON21-003, which intersected an 11.5m zone of intense alteration with average Zn and Pb values of 0.4% each, at just 12.4m depth.

A study of hole DON21-001, which was the closest hole drilled to the Los Alamos target, revealed some excellent alteration, giving the researchers hope for future drilling.

Bill Brodie Good, CEO and Technical Director, Alien Metals, commented, “After a Covid-induced delay of two years, we are finally commencing the next round of exploration on our highly prospective Mexican assets.”

“Personally, I am very excited to be here in person to witness the start of a long-awaited maiden drilling programme. Over the last two years, the local team has worked very hard under difficult conditions to manage the programme and advance it to this stage.”

“We are also very pleased to be able to bring a local undergraduate into our team and provide some hands-on training and support her education costs. The drillers engaged are highly recommended by Mexico’s Environmental Agency for their quality of work, so it is a pleasure to be working with them.”

Alien Metals shares dropped 5.7% to 0.83p despite commencement of drilling in Mexico for high-grade silver and copper-gold.

Ted Baker’s board released a press statement confirming the group received two unsolicited non-binding cash offers from Sycamore Partners Management for the complete acquisition of the apparel company.

The proposals received by Sycamore Partners were regarding cash offers for the ‘entire issued and to be issued ordinary share capital’ of Ted Baker.

The first proposal was received on the 18th March 2022 from Sycamore which offered 130p per share for each Ted Baker share and was rejected.

On 22nd March, Sycamore increased their bid by 5.8% to 137.5p in their second proposal. However, the second bid was also rejected.

Ted Baker’s board of directors and its advisers thoroughly examined the offers that Sycamore made and concluded that the private equity firm has significantly undervalued Ted Baker and also inadequately compensates shareholders from the significant upside they would gain if Ted Baker remains listed.

Laura Hoy, Equity Analyst, Hargreaves Lansdown commented, “Ted Baker rebuffed advances from Private Equity firm Sycamore, saying the takeover offers didn’t accurately reflect the group’s potential.”

“It’s unsurprising that management’s not keen to give up the reins after a few difficult years. We’re finally starting to see some greens shoots from the group’s turnaround efforts now that formal occasions are back on the social calendar.” 

Ted Baker has undergone a change in management over the last 2 years which has led to the company’s solid footing for a strong future for the brand.

Currently, Ted Baker is dedicated to providing value to its shareholders exceeding Sycamore’s bids.

The company urges its shareholders to not take any haste decisions as they say there is no certainty on any firm offers coming in or terms for existing offers changing.

Hoy also said, “However there’s still a bumpy road ahead with inflation weighing on customers’ willingness to shell out for a new outfit. Ted’s prices are on the higher end of the spectrum, but not quite reaching into luxury, meaning its customers won’t be immune to the cost of living squeeze and could start to slide down the value chain.”

“The best of Sycamore’s offers reflected a 9% premium on Ted’s Friday closing price, so it’s a nod of confidence from management that they think they can deliver something better.” 

“On Sycamore’s side, the deal makes sense given the group’s stable of investments include a variety of American fashion brands similar to Ted.”

“But as there’s still a lot of work to be done and as Ted turned its nose up at a relatively steep premium, it’s unclear if another offer could be coming.”

Ted Baker’s shares fell 1.6% to 124p following the rejected proposals and increasing inflation rates impacting consumer spending.

Octopus Renewables Infrastructure Trust saw its share price increase 1% in early morning trading on Monday after the company reported a 4.8% rise in dividends and saw NAV per ordinary share increase to 102.2p compared to 98.2p in 2020.

The company announced a 5p dividend per ordinary share against 3.1p in 2021 and a Net Asset Value of £578 million compared to £344 million in 2020.

Octopus noted six acquisitions over the last year which totalled 179MW of capacity across solar and construction, wind and operational assets, alongside two developer assets across three new countries.

The company’s portfolio currently contains 31 assets across seven countries and two technologies, with a capable production of 494 MW against 315 MW in 2020.

Octopus has a projected capacity to power 337,000 homes with clean energy once fully-invested, with the potential to cut 364,000 tonnes of carbon emissions in global energy production.

Octopus remained cautiously optimistic concerning its 2022 growth in light of rising commodities prices and the Russian war in Ukraine.

“Whilst the portfolio benefits from significant inflation protection via index-linked revenues, the Board is mindful of the need to monitor discount rates to ensure risk premia remain appropriate,” said Octopus Chairman Philip Austin MBE.

“What is clear is that the desire to avoid purchases of Russian oil and gas has led
governments across Europe and beyond to seek ways to accelerate the deployment of new
renewable capacity.”

“With the need for new renewable generation therefore as urgent as ever, and the strong
pipeline of investment opportunities identified by the Investment Manager, the Company
is very well positioned to continue growing, providing genuine positive impact by bringing
additional generation capacity into operation, whilst delivering attractive returns to investors.”

Tandem’s share price tumbled 18.6% to 406.6p in early morning trading on Monday following the release of a bleaker outlook and reduced order book in 2022.

The company reported a 10.4% increase in revenue to £40.9 million compared to £37 million in 2020.

Tandem announced a gross profit increase to £12 million against £11 million in 2020 and an operating profit increase to £4.9 million compared to £4 million in 2020.

The sports, leisure and mobility firm attributed its revenue to growth across three of its four operating divisions which grew 14%, with the exception of bicycles due to stock availability problems.

The company also saw an 8% increase in revenue from its Toys, Sports and Leisure division.

However, Tandem reported a 43% decline in revenue in the 11 weeks to March 20 2022 compared to the same period in 2021.

The group mentioned a sales order book of £16.3 million against an order book of £27.3 million during the same period in 2021.

Tandem blamed the reduced order book income on the fulfilment of back orders, cancellations and a reduced volume of orders received by the company.

However, the group caveated its outlook with a comparison to its 2020 results reporting a £5.1 million order book.

Tandem said its Board remained confident in its long term growth prospects but is currently approaching 2022 with “a degree of caution given the challenges that we along with many other businesses face.”

Evusheld, created by Vanderbilt University Medical Center and licensed to AstraZeneca, is a long-acting antibody combination used in the prevention of Covid-19, and has been granted market authorization in the EU.

The European Commission granted the approval on the basis of the results from the Evusheld clinical development programme, which depicted strong results against Omicron.

In Europe, Omicron BA.2 subvariant of Covid-19 is the predominant strain, with 60% of cases caused by the Omicron virus.

Evusheld holds neutralising activity against the Omicron strain. In the PROVENT Phase III trial, Evusheld showed optimistic results with substantially reducing the risk of developing symptomatic Covid-19 by 77% and additionally provided protection against Covid-19 for at least 6 months. Overall, Evusheld was well-received in the study.

Evusheld is the only long-acting antibody combination that has shown to be effective in the prevention and treatment of COVID-19 in Phase III trials.

Mene Pangalos, Executive Vice President, BioPharmaceuticals R&D, AstraZeneca, said, “The EU approval represents an important milestone in our efforts to help prevent COVID-19, and we will continue to work with governments across Europe to make Evusheld available as quickly as possible.” 

“Evusheld has the potential to provide long-lasting protection against COVID-19 for a broad population of individuals, including those who aren’t adequately protected by a COVID-19 vaccine, as well as those at increased risk of exposure.”

AstraZeneca is filing to obtain emergency use authorisation or marketing approval for Evusheld in both COVID-19 prophylaxis and treatment globally.

In Europe, the recommended dose of Evusheld is 150mg of tixagevimab and 150mg of cilgavimab, administered as two separate sequential intramuscular injections.  

Evusheld can be used in adults or children above the age of 12 with a minimum weight of 40kg.

Around 3m people in the EU are immunocompromised by cancer and transplants. Evusheld may help prevent exposure to Omicron due to lack of protection from the Covid-19 vaccine for any patients.

Christoph D. Spinner, MD, said, “Increasing COVID-19 cases, driven by the highly-transmissible BA.2 subvariant, and withdrawal of several pandemic public health measures make it important to protect vulnerable populations, such as the immunocompromised, from SARS-CoV-2 infection.”

“The authorisation of Evusheld for a broad population will allow health authorities in the EU to identify the populations who are most at-risk and need additional protection.”

AstraZeneca shares rose 0.6% to 9,900p on Monday morning following the news of Evusheld receiving market authorization in the EU.

The FTSE 100 was up 0.2% at 7,499 in early afternoon trading on Friday, as oil prices fell to $116 per barrel and retail sales slumped on the back of spiking inflation.

According to the Office of National Statistics (ONC), retail sales reportedly declined 0.3% in February as inflation hit a 30-year record of 6.2%.

Inflation is currently anticipated to rise to 7.2% in the coming months and peak in winter at 8.7% in 2022, meaning retail sales could deteriorate further this year.

“Prices have been shooting up over the last three months, whilst inflation currently stands at 6.2% – looking at the difference between volume and value over the three-month period suggests an increase of 7.2% and definitely rising,” said said Danni Hewson, AJ Bell financial analyst.

“Until now, retail sales have proved remarkably resilient, still 3.7% up on where they were back in February 2020.”

The prominent value retailers are expected to take the brunt of rising costs, with razor-thin margins set to see suppliers potentially faced with little choice except to raise their prices at the expense of the consumer, or face margin pressure.

European value brand B&M experienced a fall of 2.9% to 563.4p per share.

Housebuilders and the Energy Price Cap

The market is also bracing for the rising price of oil, which some analysts predict could reach heights of $200 per barrel.

The energy price cap is scheduled to rise £693 in April, and companies will need to decide between absorbing the cost or passing it onto customers.

“People can’t spend what they don’t have, and that slow creeping erosion of living standards is about to get hit by an energy tsunami,” continued Hewson.

“Budgets will be reassessed and discretionary spend pared back. Retailers will have to make their own calculations about whether they can absorb the price pressures also assaulting them or to pass them on and hope that won’t totally squash sales volumes.”

Given retailing shares have already taken a big hit on expectations of higher inflation so far this year, it is now the turn of Housebuilding shares to feel the pressure of higher inflation. The FTSE 100’s housebuilding all fell heavily in the immediate reaction to poor retail sales at a time they are facing higher construction costs.

FTSE 100 Risers

The major oil companies remained steady, with Shell rising 0.8% to 2,099p and BP falling slightly by 0.1% to 388.5p in early afternoon trading on Friday.

The top risers on the FTSE 100 included Rolls Royce with a 3.2% increase to 95.2p after the company stepped in to offer the UK supplies of nuclear energy as the country cut ties to Russian oil reserves.

JD Sports Fashion saw a rise of 2.7% to 151.7p on the back of supplier Nike’s rising shares, which were up 0.8% at $133.2. Higher end retailers are expected to avoid the worst impact of rising prices.

Pershing Square Holdings climbed 2.5% to 2,8650p.

FTSE 100 Fallers

The market’s top fallers were led by Airtel Africa with a 10% slide to 139.7p after the telecommunications company announced the sale of its Malawian passive infrastructure firm to Helios Towers for $55 million.

Persimmon continued its decline by 3.4% to 2,117p on the back of rising material costs and concerns around the cost of living crisis. Taylor Wimpey fell 3.2% to 132.5p and Barratts fell 3%.

Reckitt Benckiser shed another 4% to trade just above key support at 5,400p. A break of the 5,400p level could see shares head down to 5,100p, the lowest point Reckitt’s traded at during the sell off at the beginning of the pandemic.