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Troy & wheels, thank you for your kind responses to my post.
hitimer- Rob
And now for something completely different - good news from a judge's decision in the Enron matter:
from the NYTimes today, 12/23/02 -
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/12/23/business/23ENRO.html?todaysheadlines
hitimer - Rob
Mike - Sad, but true. In view of past experiences with previous mgmt, anything that is not squeaky clean and purer than pure is looked upon with askance by some, while others ride such matters out, awaiting deliverance of the upcoming milestone...and little else matters, but taking note of what has transpired. If this is harbinger of things to come,
however, then we need to confront the matter head on and make our voices heard LOUDLY in NVC headquarters. If it is isolated, then we shall rejoice at the (upcoming) good news and look forward to future announcements and events with unalloyed joy. These recent PR events/announcements will then, imo, fall beneath the radar of all except the most querulous of company historians, perhaps as a footnote to the recounting of the storied saga of NVC, in all of its guises, failures, and, hopefully, ultimate triumph...JMHO
hitimer - Rob
austin01, NVC does not have the wherewithal to support a bank loan application; they have no revenue or profit, obviously, at this time for that purpose. IF all they can show a bank loan officer is their expense sheet and burn rate, no friendship with anyone will get them beyond the front door. Of course, once they have a demonstrable product which works, with the supporting technical data, things can change in a hurry in that fund sources will be glad to entertain their loan application, imo. Once
these financial sources, knowledgeable re the telco an telecom sector, are apprised of NVC's technology,
I dare say that not a few of them would be more than willing to "bet on the come", as it were. They might ask for a few more points than in a standard loan
situation (my guess), but NVC would likely be more than willing to accept "non-standard" terms.
Perhaps someone more familiar with banking in this area might care to comment on my surmises. The fact that Brad has alluded positively to future loan opportunities augers well for their successful step forward into commercialization.
hitimer - Rob
NT, thanks for expanding upon this most important
(and vexing) aspect of NVC's earliest ventures into
pre-commercialization of their product: funding. I see it - and it is only a surmise - that it will cease being a problem once the investing and lending worlds raise their collective eyebrows and open their checkbooks upon reading the upcoming PR, with all that it reveals and holds forth to the telco and telecom worlds.
hitimer - Rob
427Cobra - Thanks for posting the information about the meeting. So many quotable sentences. I agree that the PR s going to loosen up a lot of wallets and make further prototypes available in short order.
I'm stoked that they are announcing their maximum figures. and it brought a big smile to my face to read that part about our position being a "salesman's dream". It sounds like it was a great meeting. Except for the money factor, it looks like everything is coming up roses.
miler - paying them off with shares instead of
cash (= deferred salaries) means more cash in` the till. that is GOOD, not BAD, for the company which has a case of the shorts right now. JMHO
hitimer - Rob
Miler - nice post with which I agree, point for point. One thing further - which is almost too obvious to mention (but that never stopped me before!): after the PR is released and good things happen to the s/p, I suspect we'll have to beat potential lenders off with a stick. I wouldn't be surprised if mgmt has a` few lined up to call after the big day. JMO
hitimer - Rob
jjz34, Berkowitz would probably have to buy up a significant part of the float for his buyin to rise to the level of significance, considering his net worth! LOL Any financial loss mgmt/BOD personnel might experience in a failed company would suffer in comparison to the blight on their reputation and good name, imo. From that perspective, most buyins are tokens, relatively speaking (many exceptions). JMO
hitimer - Rob
Miler, Welcome aboard. Your comments are appreciated. In reviewing the net effect of these
buyin announcements, I believe `that it may have an extended affect on stock purchases of NVC. Firstly, we need to observe the obvious: that we are, after all, "just a lowly" BB company,
which company is now rising up to claim something most remarkable. In the face of daunting competition, to wit, the major telcos and telecom corporations nationally and internationally, NVC is laying claim to having solved - and patented - the technology which can and will solve the last mile solution.` Those investors not familiar with the company and the technology will, at first glance,
perhaps chuckle and give little credence to the claims BUT will check out the company (if they're smart!). As has been pointed out in a previous post, events such as mgmt buyins are listed in several websites - Thompsons,etc - and where investors can learn, upon further investigation, the names of these corporate buyers. While some of them may have limited name recognition, I believe that Berkowitz's name will jump out at them, particularly amongst those who have any connection or familiarity with the finance sector where he is widely known (people with a Billion $ + to their name have a way of attracting attention). And so - my thesis goes - NVC has suddenly been raised from its apparently Neanderthal roots to a level of an acceptable investment (upon their further DD) or so I believe. This is why I see Berkowitz's buyin as having a potentially greater effect on future share value
and purchases than the other buyers, important as they are. A small, but perhaps significant point to consider when considering the value of the buyin information to future possible investors.
hitimer - Rob
immitt, I couldn't have said it better myself. Imagine! Shareholders complaining that their own management is buying up shares in their own company!
What is the world coming to? I read their comments,
but the stretch required to comprehend the logic behind the complaints is beyond me. Stock Buying 101 has always taught us to look for companies in which mgmt is buying their own stock, that it's good evidence of their belief in the company's future.
Or is it just poor judgement when professional stock selectors and investment houses use mgmt buy-ins
as evidence in FAVOR of the stock that are evaluating? I think not. I salute the members of our BOD and mgmt who have supported NVC in these material ways above and beyond those described in their areas of expertise.
hitimer - Rob
excel,
Mgmt's words, when viewed from a post-delivery perspective, imo will allow them to be re-visited, assigning due weight`to mgmt's gravitas
and clarity of vision. Those words clearly reveal that mgmt
hasn't fumbled their way to their present stance, but arrived at it by careful planning and execution.
I can certainly understand those who interpret current NVC's actions as viewed thrugh the lens of past experience and tarring present and prior mgmt with the same brush. Obviously I disagree with this construct and have given our current executives the benefit of the doubt. They are different people with different experiences, having brought much to the table that heretofore had been
sadly in short supply. I can only hope that others will consider this view, when/should future events permit. They certainly will have earned our plaudits and support.
hitimer - Rob
Justin, with all due respect, an anti-dilutive PR,
dumb? I know that you labelled it a guess and, as
such, need not respond to the usual calls for substantiation. But your reasoning, which did enter into your post, was weighted heavily, it seems, with the scars of Xmases past, a perspective not unknown in these parts. I, for one, can only sympathize with the weight these ugly memories must bring to you and others similarly disposed. That mgmt is new, with
a series of milestones and timelines - and innocent of past sins - apparently offers no new perspective or surcease from the massive doubt that you hang over their heads. Within ~ 14 days or less, by their own statement - going forward to 12/31 - this guessing will be dispelled by sure knowledge, one way or the other: did they meet their timelines and guidance?
In the meantime? I'm making up a new batch of Koolaid for myself and friends! My best wishes to you for a very happy and prosperous Holiday Season.
hitimer - Rob
It's always nice to see them trimming away the fat and making our financial picture more appealing to those who might be possible future creditors and investors. A significant step in the right direction, imo; it might also be an inkling of things to come...
hitimer - Rob
MWL, the N.Y. transit strike was called off this evening by the transit operators; full service remains while negotiations continue. Per ABC news report, 11PM, PT.
hitimer - Rob
Jim, while you questions are certainly valid,I think that you will get a sense of these matters when we see what the upcoming speed/distance numbers are (quite likely, imho, within the next few days, but certainly nlt 12/31) I'm sure the discussion, on IHub, that follows this event will include references to the matters you bring up in your questions. In the meantime, you might wish to review the detailed inclusive postings made by pengy in recent days/weeks; they are a goldmine of reference material which will give you some guidance re these subjects. Good luck.
hitimer - Rob
Tiger - "...looking like a bust, so far" I'd say, is the operative phrase in your post. I still hold out hopes of something happening before Xmas. I find it hard to believe that such knowledgeable people at the helm would not go for maximum s/p affect by a PR release earlier, rather than later, in the month.
As Alexander Pope said: "Hope springs eternal in the human breast...". I understand that events within the company may be the limiting factor(s), yet I equally recognize their acumen and planning skills at this stage of the game
when push is coming to shove. They demonstrated their ability to get the prototype together in record time, imo, and use that as my sense of their ability to meet goals quickly and on time, per their track record, limited though it may be. A very exciting time, indeed.
hitimer - Rob
Craig, I agree with the thrust of your post, in that achievement of the milestone is of uppermost importance. Accepting that as a given, the date of its release as a PR can be considered in its own right. If we can marry the two considerations so as to maximize the affect the PR will have on s/p, why not? There is nothing which is really mutually exclusive about these two factors. The reality of the accomplishment, combined with an optimal date of PR release gives us the best of both worlds. Sure, we'll gather attention and people will buy the stock regardless of the release date, but, again, why not maximize the s/p result of the PR release? Couldn't hurt... jmo
hitimer - Rob
Mix, You definitely should be writing our PRs. That one is priceless!! LOLOL
Rob
wheels, LOL I'm in LALA land, on PST.
No more from me on the subject, btw. Nothing like a certain PR to change the subject REAL fast! Looking forward to happy days...that G35 is waiting for me in the showroom!
hitimer - Rob
miler, I never said that SS's post was an attack on the company. IN fact, I paid him a direct compliment
about it in a subsequent post. and re "fluff": sorry, miler, but I look upon it as a word with a lot of latent negative energy. As used by you, and in the context with which you use it, it devolves most negatively (read:attack) upon the PR authors - who just happen to be senior management.
If you have anything more to say to me on this subject, please PM me so that the board will not wilt under the onslaught of these narrowly-focused
posts.
hitimer - Rob
miler, two of the strongest controlling factors in
many stock buy/sell decisions are fear and greed. Intelligence, when applied to the process, will mitigate, to varying degrees, their role in the eventual decision. In an individual who can be dispassionate about their decision, then they have little influence upon their action. Since these are unknown factors when we speak of a body of potential investors, we can not assume uniform degrees of any of the 3 variables mentioned. Probably, there is a wide variation amongst these investors, some of whom will answer to your characterization of them as intelligent. The others will have different amounts of intelligence PLUS emotional components in their decision-making. Again,imo, these people will likely respond more negatively to negative judgements and positively etc, etc. It's difficult to escape the conclusion that, by this line of reasoning, our posts, if - or +, can and do have these unintended consequences. If logic has failed me, miler, please point out how. Otherwise, please review my previous posts on this subject today, addressed to you. I believe you'll find that the above is implicit throughout.Thank you.
hitimer - Rob
SS - Beer with a twist. I like that.
Rob
Spokeshave, I, too, have no problem with reasoned negative commentary on a stock - or any issue, for that matter - as long as it doesn't use shock or charged words - like "fluff" and its ilk - to make its point. That represents, to me, a lack of considered thought and, in its context, imo, represented an attack on the company and its mgmt. In fact, I don't think that your prior
post was negative at all. You drew no blood from the corpus NVC, and left the reader (at least, for me) feeling that you have respect for the subject and that truth was observed. You certainly did NOT attack the company, as had Miler.
As for carpe fermentus - I"ve never run across that one. I read that as either "seize the argument" or "seize the beer" (I'll drink to that!). How far off am I? LOL
hitimer - Rob
Marie, No, you definitely are not wrong. In a few well-chosen words you neatly summarized the thoughts of many of the posters on this board. "Soon" can't happen fast enough!
Rob - hitimer
miler, had you written the post to which you refer,
I likely would have complimented you on writing it,
and wondered if spokeshave had been your ghost writer! His was a well-reasoned discussion of the state of risk-valuing a company's stock on the basis of its measurable productivity - or lack thereof - and its resulting financial status. Your post, lamentably, took an (ill-considered, imo) swipe at the quality of NVC's PRs (you selected the word "fluff", not me or anyone else. Please take responsibility for it and its all too obvious implications and likely affect on would-be investors in NVC's stock). Spokeshave's post was not an attack on the company. Your post was. It really is that simple.
Hitimer - Rob
Miler, How can you be so sure of what you claim to be so is so? How can you estimate the relative affect such
derogatory comments might have on the prospective
investor? We can be reasonably sure that it will have a more likely negative than positive influence on a possible investor. After all, when one is about to, or considering, taking the plunge on a risk -bearing stock, any negativity one reads sbout the company is bound to give pause for re-consideration or moving on to another stock. This is simple logic.
Your denial of this dialectic is most revealing, but not surprising.
hitimer - Rob
miler, you ask why the stock has not crept higher and higher prior to the PR planned for later this month. There are, perhaps, several reasons, but one that comes to mind is that the potential buyers may have been negatively influenced by certain poster(s) on this board who characterize prior PR's as "fluff" - I believe is the word. Perhaps they are waiting, as these poster(s) have said they themselves would, for the PR announcement to be issued.
Just a thought...
hitimer - Rob
Miler, when you declare everything that NVC has issued by way of PR's is a piece of fluff because there is nothing of substance to back them up - earnings, etc., - it amounts to reductio ad absurdum, imo. Your definition is beyond the pale, since it exempts the PR's announcing the retention of the various advisors and mgmt personnel, all
premium grade, by their history and bona fides, from being significant. How accurate an estimation is that? The personnel who - jointly - came up to speed
in an amazingly short period of time and who have produced - as we will learn, from all indications -
a prototype of our patented technology which has escaped the finest minds in the teleco and telcom
sector - are now reduced to fluffdom? We wouldn't be here, awaiting public announcement of the results of the prototype and its numbers, were it not for their being part of NVC, retained by NVC, and continuing to labor to yield further products which will create and enhance our bottom line, imo. The PR's announcing their association with NVC was fluff?? IF you intend to be taken as a nonentity, you have succeeded beyond your wildest dreams. When you order a meal in a restaurant, do you yell and scream until you get it served, or do you wait quietyly, aware that it needs to be prepared? Guess what, Miler; your meal is being prepared.
hitimer - Rob
John, Tom, and Ray buying NVC stock? Hmmmmm, I
wonder if they know something that we don't??
You betcha.
hitimer - Rob
After having read all of the posts today, I'm left with the comfortable feeling that diversity is the name of the game here, and that thoughts and ideas were, for the most part, exchanged on a high and respectful level. It is as though the events of the past 24 hours have concentrated our thoughts which yielded the essence of our attitude towards NVC,
our expectations of it, and has helped differentiate
its personnel from its product in a more clearly defined fashion than before - for me, at least. I have always perceived an admixture of discussion and dissent concentrated about those 2 elements to the point, imo, that we could hardly speak of one without involving the other. Perhaps justifiably so,
inasmuch as the failure of the personnel to produce and the (promised) product were inextricably interwoven.
As we approach the new paradigm, I believe, we can see light separating the two.
Delivery of the promise (if and when, of course) will finalize the separation of those conjoined elements and, for many, will re-frame our conceptualization of NVC. Its growth and maturation must surely ensue. JMHO
Long may we prosper.
hitimer - Rob
chiefjoe, welcome in from the lurks! Your post is
right on, and I agree with your interpretation of the events you've described. Mgmt handled it very well, minimizing the potential s/p losses and showing consideration for the s/h's thereby, imo. I, too, anticipated the worst (bad news) and had a tough time getting by the initial statement of Tom Cooper's resignation. All that followed helped to dissipate the shock, and many of today's posts have additionally shed light upon the event, ultimately affording all concerned support and direction for the ensuing weeks - and beyond - until announcement time. Thanks for your input.
Rob - hitimer
Pandaman1 - A perfectly wonderful post. Rob
Spoke, I respect you for all of your very contributory posts, and the points you make are telling ones. We share your suspicion of mgmt in general due to the Enron fiasco, et al. Since we are close to the NVC situation, I believe we can make certain judgements based upon the quality of the individuals involved, refelecting upon their efforts in turning the company around and achieving the signal event we now find ourselves upon: the (final) issuance of numbers and release of the prototype for outside evaluation. I'm not even suggesting that we cut anyone any slack. They arrived at NVC with blue ribbon credentials, and they have delivered as
advertised - or, at least -will have done so by 12/31. by all accounts. IMO, they have earned our good will, and, at this parlous time in Tom Cooper's life, it would be considerate for us to extend him the gratitude and good wishes that I believe has earned and so fully deserves. JMHO
hitimer - Rob
Spoke - it seems we have a lot to say without knowing the specifics of Tom Cooper's pressing personal reasons for resignation. Attached to item 111 is the specification that there be no permanent
replacement of the CEO when he has a temporary
disability.Well, suppose he has a temporary disability, but they replaced him permanently? In our current state of ignorance concerning his departure, who is to say otherwise? I suggest that, while it makes for interesting discussion, we leave it in abeyance until we know all of the facts.
hitimer - Rob
deeba, hiring Fred as Marketing Director makes a
whole bunch of sense. For the tme being, however, in the interest of paring down costs/expenditures, I'd suspect that Brad, if (timewise)possible, will wear both hats of CEO and M.Dir. Also, I don't know if Fred is employed by any other company at present (?)
a possible consideration, as well. Hopefully and eventually, I trust all will be resolved and Fred can be our guy in marketing.
hitimer - Rob
Spoke, while I cn see that your reading of the contract is a reasonable one (and I must remind all up front that I am not a lawyer), it has been pointed out to me by attorney friends that a contract can be read by the individuals involved to mean what they agree it means, absent any specific contradiction of its contents, one assumes. For all we know, Cooper's "personal reasons", unless specifically excluded by the contract, could possibly have been read by all concerned as "good reasons". Why would this "yielding" of position take place? I'd imagine because they wished to maintin the friendly relationship they had long since, most importantly, it was in their mutual best interest to do so, as they will be working together in the future.
Each party probably had something to offer the other. Cooper, according to Brad, relented on monies/considerations due him. This was also a likely contributory factor on any accommodation afforded Cooper. Tom's telling Brad what his conditions were also would strike me strange,unless, of course, he told Brad that in the course of discussions finalizing the terms of resignation (?).
JMHO, of course.
hitimer - Rob
Excel, a VERY timely post and it could not have been more to the point on the many issues you discussed with him. FWIW, my limited connection with him, via telephone, also left me with a very positive impression. Thanks for your efforts.
Rob - hitimer
Spoke, gritting your teeth is bad for your health. Go to your dentist and ask for the "NVC Special" anti-gritting device. Discounted to all NVC shareholders and in large lots.
hitimer - Rob
austin01, I suspect that Brad is using the careful terminology we've also seen in Cooper's
statements. While the term "disruptive" isn't that far from "adjectival acceptability" - to put it in "correct" terms - imo, his reluctance to use that term during the webcast may well have stemmed from an overabundance of caution on his part to be conservative in his descripton of the tech's
prowess. It's definition, however, remains the same in that NVC's tech applications will cause a seminal alteration
as to what the world will accept as standard transmission rates upon our disruptive technology's being accepted as the normal state of affairs. I can imagine many telco CEO's falling into line awaiting NVC's "magic bullet" implementation to enhance their company's speed/distance upward to the new standard. Even after the passage of little more than 1/2 a day, since the news was announced about Tom Cooper's "reluctant" - his word - resignation, and assimilating its' implications, it's clearer to me than ever before that the company's inherent strengths will easily see it through the pending announcements this month and the funding, much discussed on the Webcast, will become much easier, it would seem, after the announcement, than before.
On a slightly different note, it was most encouraging to hear from the newly-posting s/h's, and I'd like to encourage others to join our ranks to add your thoughts to the proceedings. They would be most welcomed.
hitimer - Rob