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Well - and that’s not a pun - sometimes we have terrible trouble with these little drillers. This is because they are all over the world and the names of these places vary a lot.But here is one firm that’s oilier than Casanova’s pick-up lines...

Albemarle & Bond is posh name for a not particularly posh company. But in times like these it is a mighty valuable source of cash for those who need it. And could well be a very handy little earner in your portfolio.

Hey! Wow! Yeah! That’s it folks, all that contrived over-excitement from the top-smash-hit show of the 1980s.But unlike Frankie Goes to Hollywood, the mullet, hairspray, rolled-up jacket sleeves and low cut shoes,Top of the Stocks is back! Wooooo!

Trailer for Interactive Investor TV special, Life of Britain previewing 20th October 2010

Urals Energy, eh. Where do you lot get them from? This is a share which been up and down faster than a WAG’s handbag in a shoe store. At 9.5p though - there has been very much more downside than up.

What is it with these mining companies? You guys just can’t get enough of them. It doesn’t matter what the balance sheet looks like, it seems. If it’s got a hole in the ground and a sexy name, you buy it...

You rely on one man. His talent, skill and judgment. What is an investor supposed to do? Indeed when a company has been built up from nothing by two fellas, one of who takes the lead...

A share price rise of 240% in a year is highly impressive stuff for any company, but most especially an oil driller.

OK, so this is a re-run of last year's show, but you know what, it's still relevant. BA's losses have widened from £401m in 2009 to £531m to the end of March.

Ah, Sainsbury's. Regardless of whether you're a fan of our dear Jamie Oliver or not, you may want to take a closer look at this leading supermarket.

Have you ever heard of herding wind? No? Me either. In other news, you may want to take a look at Scottish and Southern Energy for a fairytale dividending... Sorry!

Bureaucracies! We've all had our fair share of belligerent bureaucrats but for Pan Pacific Aggregates it may feel that the red-tape brigade really have got it in for them.

There's nothing as serious as cancer - seriously - but also there's no greater goal than finding the cure.

One of the oldest stockbrokers in town but a relative newcomer to fund management. Walker Crips has put on a fine performance in recent times.

The pharmaceutical business relies on change in the world, and the profile of disease to thrive. So while AstraZeneca has been quietly getting fatter, so have we...

Some companies have had their ups and downs but very few more than PartyGaming. It came off second best to the United States Congress, of all organisations. But, as the saying goes, when the going gets tough, the tough get going.

Well, since the whole banking-in-a-basket thing seems to have settled down, it is now time to have another look. And what we see is a powerhouse in waiting. The fundamentals all in place. So let's put to sea on the HMS Lloyds and see what we can see.

Pace makes things which will be genuinely useful as we go further into the digital age. And as we do and become more and more of a couch potato we will definitely need to change channel more.

Desire Petroleum has been a favourite pet stock of the private investor for almost as long as there have been penguins on the Falklands. In fact, if the speed of the chit-chat on interactive investor's bulletin board is anything to go by it's a wonder the investors have time for anything else.

Hornby is a forward-thinking company which is able to embrace change and deliver a dividend. Well, most of the time anyway. And if you were to pick a company that might well be in the forefront of the race for Olympic gold, would you normally think of Hornby?.

International Power then is an energy company which has seen lively trading in the last few weeks. Recently, it has been a little tale of unrequited love. So why don't we have a look at that sorry little tale. Violins please, Maestro.

For this episode we thought we might pop over and have a little look see at our old friends in The Netherlands. To see what our investing colleagues over there might think about a small company called ING.

ADVFN is quite rare among us in that it, itself, is an investable company. But don't take our word for it, because we all know the number one rule of investing. Do your own research.

Schroders is an old-style City firm rich in the history of Old Europe and the New World. So if you are kind of investor who likes expert hands to hold your money, and still believes there are any, why not give them a fly?

Barclays has been keeping a relatively low profile through the scrunch, as it has become known in the iBall office. So is it still a good one for investors to get stuck into or not? Let's have a look, shall we?

Now, when it comes to investing do you like a company which seems to do well in bad times and will certainly benefit from the election? Hmm.. well then, you may well be interested in this...

It is always nice to know that someone is watching our little show and it is even better when they come up with ideas for us. So iBall viewers all, we bring you... European Nickel.

We turn again to the Dark Continent and one of its most famous resources - oil - in the shape of Afren. Of course such an investment is not without its risks....

Western Coal has embraced the rising demand for steel making in the Far East and is increasing capacity as we speak. So, don’t be too keen to dismiss good old fashioned coal as a place where money can be dug from deep underground.

If you want to make some money out the hard-pressed construction and engineering sector perhaps the best way to do it is to look at a company which doesn’t actually have any expensive and fiddlesome plant. Scott Wilson Group would seem to fit the bill.

With some new investment, a new finance director and directors eating up shares Premier could be a good one for 2010. And, as a bonus, if you don’t fancy the shares you can always just stuff yourself with cake.

Aminex interestingly also operates in Africa – another great theme of the last few years. So, as our second string in the Jackson Five, here’s Aminex...

Anyone of a certain generation will be beloved of the Carry On films. But the ‘proper ones’ haven’t been made for decades. Until now. Unlike most broadcasters, who seem happy with pumping out endless repeats, our Carry On film, is brand spanking new.

After a horrible year, that the Game Group could deliver more than just virtual dead terrorists. This would be good, even if it might overwhelm the NHS with new patients suffering from RSI.

If Cobham sounds like a rather nondescript dormitory town in Surrey, that is because it is.  It's also a massive UK company dealing in the defence industry. And as we all know, defence is pretty hot stuff. You might say it's a great, er, defensive stock.

If you like the pharmaceutical sector as a decent play for turbulent times, then this could be one for you. It has certainly delivered for its shareholders over the last few years, as well as a few of its happy(er) customers.

Barratt Developments has come along way since the heady days of the 1980s. Today, the housing market has yo-yoed all over the shop. So much so that no-one knows whather to buy in, drop out, get in or throw up....

The alternative health industry is huge. It has as many exponents and fans as it does detractors and charlatans. But here and there is a company which seem to be a sensible player in a more often than not wild world. So, Provexis and its ‘digestive comfort’ products might see it make solid movement on the stockmarket.

Investors are buying up this stock like it was chocolate biscuits ready to dunk in their tea. As a result Sirius Exploration's share price has put on about 700 per cent even after it has settled back from its year high.

Cadbury, one of Britain's finest and most respected companies in under attack from across the water. Yes, Kraft Foods want a piece of the UK's favourite confectioner, well actually they want all of it. But will they succeed?

Weatherly International is an AIM-listed base metals producer with operations in south west Africa. No better excuse then, albeit a completely tenuous one, to cover this well-traded stock with reference to the great Bard himself.

Like honey bees to a hive, shoppers have been flocking to Morrisons for its cheap prices throughout the credit crunch. It seems even Richard Hammond’s naff hair hasn’t deterred those price conscious hunters.

Nostra Terra seems to have all the right bits and pieces in place, solid interest in apparently untapped wells in a country with a stable political regime - well, if the US can be described as that. So we thought we had better have a look at it for you.

Capital & Regional's share price has had more ups and downs in the last year or so than a rubber than a yo-yo in a lift shaft. So we thought we'd have a little look at it and see what all that excitement has been about...

Ascent is an intriguing looking exploration company that, refreshingly, drill in places we have heard of. Early days yet but it does seem, with a recent spectacular share price rise, that quite a few people think there's something in it.

Happy birthday to us. Happy birthday to us. Happy birthday etc etc. We are two. Can you believe it? Fabulous. A long time ago we looked at a star of the AIM market called ASOS which we thought was a nice share. But much has changed since then.

Break it up, buy some more, sell it, what’s to do – and that’s just the UK government, never mind what we are going to do. Still, whatever you decide to do there is one thing you know for sure. It certainly isn’t going to be dull...

Antofagasta is a huge copper miner named after a town in Chile where it all began back in the days when mining was just a hole in the ground. And copper, at more than $6000 a tonne means it is a real commodity!

New media has companies and processes which sound impressive are in fact cobblers. But all of a sudden out of the ether came a 'numedja' marketing company called Brainjuicer which filed some impressive results. So we thought we'd have a look at it...

Life scienes companies are always a punt, but there is a lot to be said for Verona Pharma here. So let's have a game involving a volative share price, a box of tissues and a few red boxes.