Have not heard anything from Ameritrade re. canadian side.. Interactivebrokers on the other hand already allows you to trade canadian side.. if you want to open a margin/cash account.. They don't offer RRSP at this time..

Good for you.. I am green barely but have not deployed more cash so of course I am cranky.. lol .. oh well..

markets going nuts.. at least US, and I am not having much fun.. Bummer..

something happening with BRA ? that dog.. should have dumped it ages ago..

TORONTO (Dow Jones)--With the unveiling of Microsoft Corp.
's (MSFT) next-generation Xbox game console, ATI Technologies Inc.

(ATYT) is finally in a position to discuss what eveybody already knew. Its chips will provide the graphics for the Xbox 360.

ATI, a Markham, Ont.-based graphics chips maker, announced in the summer of 2003 that it was working with Microsoft to develop technology for use in future XBox products. However, it didn't provide additional details or confirm that its chips would be in the next-generation Xbox.


That all changed Friday. In an interview, Rick Bergman, senior
vice-president and general manager of ATI's PC Group, said the XBox 360 will contain an ATI-designed graphics processing unit, the 360 GPU, as well as a companion-memory chip. "Our whole key on this was to deliver a new level of realism for any graphics platform," Bergman said. "We actually call it, fluid realism."

Fluid realism means the movements of characters in future Xbox games and the often harrowing events - chases, shootouts, hand-to-hand combat - they experience will appear more lifelike. Bergman said the companion-memory chip will help speed up the graphics processing power of the Xbox 360 and allow it to
display high-resolution images suitable for high-definition television.

ATI will receive a royalty payment from Microsoft for each Xbox 360 console sold, Bergman said. He didn't say how much the royalty will be.

XBox Revenue Could Hit $50M In 2006, Analyst Jon Hykawy, analyst at Fraser Mackenzie, said he believes ATI will receive a
royalty of about $5 for each Xbox console sold. That's similar to the
royalty that ATI receives for the ATI-designed chips in Nintendo Co.'s (7974.OK) GameCube game console, he said.

ATI could generate $50 million in royatly revenue from Microsoft
, assuming 10 million Xbox 360s are sold in 2006, Hykawy said. That translates to about 20 cents a share based on his calendar 2006 earnings estimate of $1.60 a share for ATI, he said.

Hykawy owns ATI shares. Fraser Mackenzie doesn't have an
investment-banking relationship with the company.

UBS Securities analyst Martin Cecchetto said the Xbox 360 is expected to be available by Christmas of 2005. That's well ahead of the release of Sony Corp.
's
(SNE) PlayStation 3, which isn't expected until some time in 2006, he said. Microsoft's first-generation Xbox came to market in time for the Christmas 2001 shopping season, but about a year after Sony's PlayStation 2, which resulted in a huge market share loss to the rival game console. Clearly, Microsoft is determined not to repeat that mistake, Cecchetto said.

PlayStation 3 graphics will be designed by ATI arch-rival, Nvidia
Corp. (NVDA) Nvidia designed the graphics for the first-generation Xbox, but squabbled over pricing of the Xbox graphic processing unit with Microsoft
.
On Thursday, the Financial Times reported that Santa Clara,
Calif.-based Nvidia said it is ending shipments of chips for Xbox in the current quarter. at peak periods in 2002-2003, Nvidia
generated 20% of its overall revenue from Xbox royalties, UBS' Cecchetto said.

Cecchetto doesn't own ATI shares and his firm doesn't have an
investment-banking relationship with the company.

ATI's Bergman said that ATI isn't responsible for manufacturing the
360 GPU and companion-memory chip for Microsoft , a fact that will help reduce any potential friction between the companies. To date, he said the relationship has been "fantastic."

When Microsoft worked with Nvidia , Nvidia was responsible for manufacturing the graphics chips used in the Xbox, Bergman said.

On Nasdaq Friday, ATI is up $0.90, or 5.9%, to $16.15 on about 3.0 million shares. The stock is benefiting from Microsoft's Xbox 360 announcement, as well as strong financial results reported by Dell Inc. (DELL), Cecchetto said. Dell is an ATI customer and its financial results are viewed as a barometer for the health of the entire PC industry, he said.

Nvidia , which reported strong fiscal-first-quarter financial results late
Thursday, is up 10% to $24.98.

Thanks.. Proven right once in a blue moon is good for my mental health.. LOL.. on the other hand, just a token position.. But hopefully, if there is a turn here in Techs, it feels like that in semi and chips space, then we may have chances to make some money going forward..

still here.. still no trade..

It seems their competitor NVTL has done relatively better in share price department.. Compare NVTL and SWIR over a 1-2 year period..

yeah I am watching it but no position.. They have climbed about 15% from the 52 week low although guidance for next qtr. still sucks I think..

10:18 (Dow Jones) Tight expense controls help Nvidia's
(NVDA) 1Q EPS and gross margin exceed Street views. Shares up 9.2% at $24.87. Merrill says it expects expenses to increase in 2Q as new products are scheduled for launch in early summer. The broker stays neutral on NVDA, saying it prefers ATI (ATYT) "on both
valuation and strategic grounds." Morgan Stanley backs its overweight
rating on NVDA, and expects "meaningful margin expansion to continue to drive a near- doubling of earnings power before the end of calendar 2006." (JHS)

NVDA reported good numbers.. ATY seems to be reacting well.. Not sure where we go.. still holding..

Since I have few shares of NII from before, I have been watching them.. I thought new appt. to the board and new CEO (quality of the people is high) meant something was cooking there.. Earnings and results certainly does not warrant the level of people who have been mentioned thru news releases..

Forgot to mention that I took a token position in ATY couple of days ago at 18.84 .. Not sure how long I will keep or what I do with it...

Prudence and pruning

Monday, May 09, 2005
Gordon Pape

TORONTO (GlobeinvestorGOLD) — I am a strong believer in working with good people and allowing them to freely express their views. That is one of my guiding principles as a newsletter editor. I don’t try to impose my opinions on our writers; they are all professionals with excellent credentials and readers are entitled to know what they think without the editor getting in the way.

There are times, however, when opinions expressed in a newsletter, newspaper, magazine, or on television are at variance, leaving people uncertain about what to do. That’s hardly surprising; no one knows with certainty where markets are going or how the economy is going to perform a year from now so of course there will be divergent views. For investors seeking guidance, that can be frustrating, however. I was reminded of that last week when someone wrote to me as follows:

“Could you please elaborate on the opposite opinions from you and others on the direction of the stock market? You feel we are in bearish period and you have good reasons to support that but, on the opposite side, Irwin Michael of the ABC Funds feels that we are in a period where stocks are getting undervalued. He states that towards the end of 2005 there should be a resurgence in the stock market. Of course, I understand that in this field there is a lot of speculation or else we would all be millionaires, but what are the odds? I got out because I fear a worse downturn. On the other hand, if I miss a good opportunity to get in I will be cut off, because once again prices will be too high.

“Which way to go, in this month of May that spells sell and go away? I personally feel, like you, that prices are still too high compared to what macroeconomic indicators can stimulate and the interest rate hikes are going to produce a set of investors who are risk averse. A survey by UBS indicates a 30 per cent loss of confidence in stock market investors recently.”

Let’s be clear on the facts before I get into a detailed answer. In a recent issue of the Internet Wealth Builder, Irwin Michael made some comments that were short-term in nature. Looking at the market over the next few months, he stated that he expects extreme volatility to continue but that markets would likely end the year “moderately higher” than they were at the time he wrote his article.

I agree that we are in a period of great volatility and that is likely to continue. I said in the newsletter, and on GlobeinvestorGOLD.com, that I don’t see a catalyst that is going to turn the broad indexes around, and I still don’t. But this is really a matter of nuance rather than substance in terms of the two views.

There are opportunities in every market for those who know where to look. Irwin Michael, who is a deep value investor, was making the point that as prices weaken, new opportunities emerge and he intends to take advantage of them. In other words, we are in a stock picker’s market, and I concur with that.

I think this is a bad time to be an index investor, except in specialized cases. If the broad indexes are higher at year-end, I believe that it is unlikely to be by very much. I hate to say it, but probably the best chance of a market turnaround later in the year would be a deep correction this summer that would bring across-the-board valuations down to attractive levels — and give money managers plenty of choices for adding to their portfolios.

So what should you do? Our reader says he “got out” because he fears a deep downturn. That kind of all-or-nothing approach is dangerous. I have advised taking selective profits along the way, not liquidating your entire stock portfolio. There are some securities that I still feel are good buys, even in this environment.

The wise investor takes some money off the table in rough times to have in reserve for later, when the bargains appear. My advice to those who are sitting on large profits and who have a low cash position is to do exactly that. Alter your asset allocation to a more defensive posture if you are worried. Sell in May and go away doesn’t mean you have to liquidate everything; it means that if you are going to occupy your mind with sun and fun during the summer then you should adjust your portfolio in advance so that you don’t have to worry about it while you’re at the lake.

I don’t believe we are in a panic mode yet, or even close to it. Rather, it is a time for prudence and pruning — by which I mean pruning the deadwood out of your portfolio and cashing in on some of the nice profits that, hopefully, you’ve made in the past few years. Then cool it for a while.

Funny.. for a minute I could browse and see posts on Chief's thread but now I can't .. oh well.. see if I am given permission to 'lurk' lol..

my take basically was due to the fact that it was pretty close to 52 week low and discounted to their competitor NVDA and yet ATY had some interesting announcement and really nothing had changed of late except insider trading issues hovering but that was being settled one by one..

TA as you can tell is not my strong point..

So my question on ATY other day was quite timely.. Too bad I did not follow my own instinct.. Bummer..

May be time to unbookmark this thread ?

LOL.. ok.. Personally, it seems a lot of time, life is an aggravation..

So is any one playing ATY yet ?

Good idea.. Markets suck..

QLT reported today..

QLT Inc beats by $0.03, ex items; reaffirms; announces $50 mln buy-back (QLTI) 10.86 :Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.19 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.03 better than the Reuters Estimates consensus of $0.16; revenues rose 55.0% year/year to $64 mln vs the $62.3 mln consensus. Co states: "We are pleased with our performance in this quarter with both Visudyne sales and EPS and remain on track to achieve our annual financial guidance," said Paul Hastings, President and CEO. "We are also announcing today the initiation of a share buy-back program because we believe that the current price of the stock does not reflect the achievements and prospects of the Company and therefore represents an excellent investment opportunity.

Took a token position in IMG at 7.61

fyi, QLT will announce their earnings on April 28 .. before market..

They also announced today Visudyne sale for the quarter.. Up 22% but according to one comment, a bit lower then what one brokerage house was expecting..

EYET already reported on Wednesday.. One para in their news release caught my eye.. They have already started a phase IV of testing Macugen with Visudyne .. that should give QLT a lift.

I hope..

I thought you moved to Arizona..

I still have my old, much higher price entry.. Have not added QLT yet.. EYET which is the first competitor for Visudyne will report tomorrow a.m. after getting approval for their products few months ago.. I think tomorrow set the stage for what happens although I think a lot of bad news is priced in QLT (ever since CFO resigned without giving any explanation)

Yes.. he posts a lot of charts .. basically looking for entry into oversold american names in semis/chips etc.. I think worth a bookmark if you play american markets..

http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=6088571

hmm.. should have been talking to you re. QLT.. I have been debating gettting in since under 14 this morning..

http://finance.yahoo.com/q/bc?s=%5EDJI&t=my&l=off&z=m&q=l&c=

Can you find 1987 blip here ?

LT we are all going to be dead so may be you have a point.. lol..

now a days that is not a virtue .. you are seen as unexciting and dull even if you are ultimately proven right.. whether that is making money or personal relationships.. Bummer..

Still here.. wide awake.. shock will do that to you.. lol..

no new buys.. thinking of adding some EGY .. not necessarily a trading situation..

No idea.. However, when dogs like this start to come to life, stockhouse.ca usually has people with speculation..

http://www.stockhouse.ca/bullboards/forum.asp?symbol=IZP&table=list

Barely.. What can I do for you..

I am sure you are right.. I plan to attend the AGM on 25th and then decide.. I attended one two years ago and to my regret did not follow up on my instinct.. The stock at that time was under 5 and of course it went all the way to 61.. I had a small position that I rode to mid 20s..

As for SW or SWIR, 20% of the float is shorted..

SW trying a bit.. AGM on April 25th..

QLT taking a bit of hit on CFO departure..

interesting.. I just put them on my watchlist the other day due to this.. I might pop into hear the story..

http://www.faskenforum.com/index.html