The political turmoil in Peru fails has thus far largely failed to register in news pages of the UK media.
But for PetroTal and its investors, it is a combustible and very expensive reality.
Shares in the company, which operates in the north-east of the country, fell 9 per cent after an illegal and violent river blockade kept out vessels providing services to its operations.
PetroTal said the Indigenous Association for Development and Conservation of Bajo Puinahua initiated the blockade last week.
N Brown last week warned that ‘weaker confidence’ could continue to weigh on performance
The disruption coincided with planned production reductions which will allow PetroTal to connect existing infrastructure and implement modifications for future oil production.
As a result, the field will be shut down for five days, which started on 8 June, which will impact oil production forecasts for the year.
Across the broader market, the AIM All-Share Index was largely flat, down 0.03 per cent to 790.25 points in the first week of June.
Elsewhere, the FTSE 100 ended last week down 0.2 per cent to 7,593, while the FTSE 250 shed around 0.4 per cent to 19,075 points.
Sticking with oil players, and IOG plunged 45 per cent to 3.6p after it revealed a potential mechanical blockage downhole found during well clean-up and testing operations at the Blythe H2 well in the Southern North Sea. Output continues to be below the initial gas flow rate.
During a bad news week for junior oilers, Barryroe Offshore Energy nosedived more than 79 per cent to 0.24p as the Irish group ditched plans for its previously announced equity raise, which would have resulted in a €20million injection of capital.
Now uncertain over its financial future, Barryroe opted to reach out to its larger shareholders in an attempt to secure necessary working capital.
Clean Power Hydrogen‘s investors weren’t too pleased with the termination of its licence agreement with GHFG due to a breach of contract, with shares slipping 14 per cent to 22.5p last week.
Beleaguered retailer N Brown was unable to stop the rot after hinting that ‘weaker confidence’ could continue to weigh on performance, sending shares 11 per cent lower to 24.8p.
Onto some risers, and one of London’s largest movers last week was Amigo Holdings, which more than doubled to 0.69p.
The credit provider confirmed it started an orderly solvent wind-down of its business in March.
Also making positive share price moves was Barkby, the diversified group of high growth and quality business.
Barkby gained 27 per cent to 4.2p after its subsidiary, Cambridge Sleep Sciences, was granted a five-year global licence to manufacture a ‘Smart Pillow.’
Gama Aviation flew higher after it reported strong profits cashflow on the back of significant growth and improved profitability at its US maintenance and repair business, Jet East.
Underlying group profit nearly doubled to $22.9million as revenue rose 21 per cent to $285.6million, sending shares 4 per cent higher to 53.9p
Shares in mining company Premier African Minerals shined, gaining 32 per cent to 0.82p, after it confirmed it is in advanced discussions to add additional material to its agreement with Canmax Technologies.
The two are close to agreeing on an arrangement whereby both parties will equally share revenues from the sale of lithium hydroxide produced from spodumene supplied by Premier.
Canmax, which sells and manufactures new energy materials, also confirmed it has no intention to back out of its existing arrangement.
It was a good week for RWS Holdings, the language translation specialist, jumped over 10 per cent to 258p after announcing plans to return £50million to shareholders via a buyback.
The AIM-listed company, which broke a market cap of £1billion following the announcement, also held full-year guidance, with revenue of £747million and pre-tax profits of £126million.
Finally, are we witnessing signs of life in the capital markets?
The answer might be affirmative. A couple of large-cap IPOs have surfaced, including the FTSE 100-bound WE Soda.
Among the minnows, new listings are beginning to be announced, and about 20 secondary fundraisers have taken place in the past month. However, the funds involved in these latter instances have been negligible.
The average has hovered around £2million, with exactly half of the companies raising less than £1million, which in market parlance is just enough to keep the lights on.
Yet, we noticed a similar trend starting from the end of January, with amounts raised gradually increasing in tandem with confidence.
This trend persisted until mid-March when Silicon Valley Bank, a lender to thousands of high-tech and high-growth companies, collapsed, shattering sentiment and sending small-cap investors rushing for cover.
Sources within London’s corporate brokerage community suggest that there might be a short-lived renaissance in the fortunes of secondary and primary markets – however, this resurgence is expected to be brief as we transition into the slow days of summer.
What transpires when everyone returns from their holidays in September is likely largely dependent on the decisions of central banks, as well as the actions of Messrs Putin and Zelensky.
For more small cap news, go to Proactive Investors’ website.
