Today co-chair of the Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Treasury committee Stephen Williams has announced policy proposals to give shares in RBS and Lloyds to the British people.

In his pamphlet “Getting your share of the banks” Stephen Williams argues that the mass distribution of stakes in the banks is the fairest way of giving taxpayers a share of the rewards while ensuring the Treasury returns its investment.

Commenting, Stephen Williams said: “There is danger that when the banks return to the private sector, it is business as usual. There is a general feeling in this country that we need to get something positive in return for the bailout.

“HM Treasury needs to recover the approximately £66 billion it spent bailing out the two banks. There is a general feeling in the country that we need to get something positive in return for the bail out.

“This pamphlet puts forward an idea for giving us all a stake in the banks, for HM Treasury to clear its debt and restore public confidence in the state owned financial institutions.”

ENDS

How can so many shareholders contribute in an orderly manner to the affairs of this bank? On this basis the taxpayer would take for ever to get his money back. Whereas under current management there is a chance in the next few years, provided regulation is not too draconian and taxation does not lead both banks into penury.

No final decisions on increasing the equity interest have been made.

This latest news, in conjunction with the Rio Tinto announcement, should have acted as a ‘one-two’ incendiary punch for its valuation, were it not for the unfortunate timing of the current bloodbath in the mining market. We expect that when the market gets a grip of itself again, investors will take stock of the materiality of these announcements and we therefore expect the stock to bounce aggressively when it does.

Assets of this quality come around once in a blue moon and it’s worth comparing the grades and lengths of the recent intercepts (on yet more targets!) against the head grades that Rio Tinto is currently mining… We are talking hits of +800ppm U3O8 over compelling distances vs. Rio’s 300-350ppm at the Rossing Mine.

We find this extraordinary given the size and quality of the deposit at Rossing South. Rio Tinto’s continuing talks should demonstrate to the market that Rossing South is now clearly being viewed as a Tier One Asset by the players that count in the uranium market.

Although the potential offer price of 1650p is only an 8.3% premium to the previous close, we note that the Forth Ports share price has been unusually strong of late (+14.0% over the past month). Arcus was part of the Northstream consortium that made an unsuccessful approach to Forth Ports a year ago, and on that occasion the Forth Ports board consistently refused on open the books for due diligence. Although opening the books is still a long way from recommending an offer, we believe this gives an indication that the board considers the indicated price to be sufficiently high to not dismiss it out of hand.

Given the substantial pre-existing shareholding of Arcus (c.23.5%) we consider it unlikely that an alternative suitor for Forth Ports will emerge. This is likely to limit the upside to the current indicated terms, although it is possible that Arcus may have to offer a small additional premium in order to secure a recommendation from the board.

Our previous 1340p target price was based upon our ongoing valuation of the group’s Ports business and our assessment of the likely uplift to the external valuation of the group’s development landbank due to be released at the forthcoming FY results (22 March). Although 1650p does not feel like a knockout offer, at first glance it appears to offer a balance between a premium for the Ports business and a reasonable current valuation of the landbank and property assets. A higher valuation could be justified, but would rely upon bullish assumptions on the landbank and renewable energy opportunities.

We would expect shareholders to be keen to see the updated landbank valuation (and the results) before deciding on whether or not to accept an offer. In the meantime, we have increased our target price to 1650p with our recommendation remaining Neutral.

Also what is not new, and also right and proper, is that governments everywhere should manage their mineral (or hydrocarbon) endowment in the best interests of the people of the country and this means, among other things, finding the best balance between investment incentive and financial return. Failing to do this in a balanced and transparent manner is at the heart of much of the political upheaval in North Africa and is likely to spread to similar regimes elsewhere.

However, the bit we do not understand is why George Soros, a man who has made fortunes from secretive investment strategies and deals, is advising the Government of Guinea on transparency. Our guess would be that there is a bigger mineral prize in all this and not just the “street cred” earned from advising an undeveloped – but mineral-rich – West African nation towards better management of its resources.

Other stories obviously coming from the News Corp side suggest that now the best thing to do would be to walk away, given how much excitement there is around price, and return at a later date knowing they have regulatory clearance in hand. FT backs this view up suggesting this is not a must do deal for Murdoch at any price.

This is both sides obviously talking their own book, and I expect it will continue to happen until the end of the public consultation period which expires on 21st March. We traded c 18mm shares the last 2 days of last week, and are still in touch both ways this morning.

As announced on 29 November, the shareholders at a General Meeting approved that the Company adopt a new investment strategy and change its name from Zest Group Plc to Rare Earth Minerals Plc.

The new investment strategy allows the Company to seek to acquire a diverse portfolio of direct and indirect interests in exploration and producing rare earth minerals and/or metals projects and assets.

The Company is currently looking at a number of potential investment opportunities in line with its investment strategy. The most progressed of these is a moderate investment that if concluded would result in an investment of approximately 12% of the Company’s current available funds which currently stand at approximately £400,000. However, there is no assurance that any of these opportunities will result in an investment by Company.