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Can't say, but seeing so many former U.S. listed Chinese companies swinging over to Hong Kong and Shanghai bourses, I suspect that may be the preferred end game.
You have a small, China-based company suddenly under attack from around a dozen class action litigators in the U.S., the NYSE delisting for late filing amid a fraud claim from U.S. blogs and the resignation of their auditors. Who wouldn't want to just get away for awhile?
The only part of the mix that doesn't correlate. to me, are the actions of the Chinese TV film crew who would seem to be unlikely co-conspirators IF that is what took place with the others.
I doubt that Charlie Chan could figure this one out!
There are a slew of shareholder lawsuits that began on January 3rd, "coincidental" to the GEO and Seeking Alpha blog exposes.
Amazing that such a huge, immediate outpouring of negative reaction could be independently crafted and set in motion by non-conspiring parties in so short a span of time. LOL.
The only value I see is as a tax loss to offset other gains. Very strange to watch a company with 4500 employees in recent times just switch off the lights and vanish after scattering the ashes of its assets. Never quite seen another one like this.
That may be true, but no bid and no ask showed at all on the OTCMarket summary board for LPIH, and that is not Lev II and normally shows no share quantity but always shows bid/ask. I'll see what happens if I try again tomorrow, but I could swear that my unfilled order on Friday showed as a confirmed bid that no mm accepted. I trade through Schwab and have never had a problem like this before.
After two trading days of unfilled orders I can definitely tell you that nobody is interested in unloading shares at these prices in either large or small increments. That's the good news. The bad news is that an illiquid stock on the buy is an illiquid stock on a later sell. That's the bad news. Tells me the mm's have an agenda and that could be at odds with a small, private investor in a faraway land.
Thinking...
Very strange trading action. I have had a confirmed buy order in since 2PM, the order remains open and Lev II shows no bid. Even with a trading halt, if that were the case, the bid would at least show. Very strange... could be an ominous sign. The buy order is within the days trading range, not at some unrealistic offer.
The RAD boiler room team is on absolute overdrive on other investment boards. That, alone, is NOT a good sign. Somebody is nervous and screaming "buyout" and has been doing so for a very long span of time.
The first four trains are sold out before they even open.
That's about as sure a thing as you can get.
Buy on the dips. 2013 to early 2014 is the time to accumulate if you plan to sell in 2015 for a huge gain at L/T cap gains tax rates when the Sabine Pass plant goes online. Plus the divvy is generous for so low a risk profile.
If there is geo-politically driven uptick in energy prices, this will only take off sooner at a steeper climb-rate.
If Bernanke speaks again, today, the S/P should go up. If not, expect it to go back down.
Ben Bernanke is "The Magic Man" for mReits.
That was the same link that I saw last week. I think that it is legitimate. I can only think of 3 reasons why Longwei would drop the suit: the allegations were true... it just wasn't worth the legal expense and effort... or, GEO agreed to issue a new report with different content.
There is a lot of stuff churning here. It's a "wild card" in my mind.
There is plenty of gel and absorbed electrolyte capacity in the industry so no takeover would be needed. There is also a ton (pun intended) of mined lead available, making smelted or reclaimed battery lead unnecessary except as a disposal issue, kind of like spent tire casings.
Under RECRA, if Vernon were shut down California would ask the EPA to declare it a Federal toxic waste site and there is no easy path by which Exide could run away from the clean-up cost as long as the company had any assets, at all. Eventually the tree-huggers would have to have a "reality moment" when someone recognizes that mountains of junk batteries are piling up somewhere because the secondary smelters were unpopular and "stinky". Even China and Mexico are unlikely to take the junk for recycling because lead is a by-product of silver production which Mexico produces copiously, and Russian mined lead is readily available in the Sino-Soviet region.
My predicted future chronology for Longwei Petroleum...
Longwei will secure new auditors with significant global credentials.
A positive earnings report will be published, possibly at year end since delisting eliminates the Q requirement.
Red Chip will re-emerge as marketing representative for Longwei Petroleum.
The shareholder suits will be dismissed, or settled for the usual pittance that goes entirely to the attornies.
Longwei will re-list on OTCMarkets when its filings are current.
Longwei share price will rise from $.08 at the market open, tomorrow, to over $2.00 by 7/01/14.
I have other predictions for litigation and the fate of "the cabal" that created the mess in the first place, but "someone" would probably view those opinions as "off topic"... LOL.
I like this company. If you disagree, please feel free to short them with their share price sitting at 8 cents. LOL, again.
Investing is all about making money. Do your own DD before buying any stock on the gray market.
I really can't say, but there is nothing improper about it. It is not that much different from any number of CFO's that sit on multiple boards and have multi-tasked responsibilities. As one example, Walgreens CFO sits on the board of Acadia Healthcare and no one cries foul, as just one example, off the top.
When LPH got whacked as you recall, most all the Chinese microcap stocks took a huge hit at the same time. The paranoia over bogus metrics maybe peaked with the Puda and a few other debacles... just prior to the GEO diatribe... but if you look at the skyline in the business district in Shanghai, Beijing or Hong Kong you just cannot convince me that all those companies and all that conspicuous employed capital is nothing but a huge fraud and scam.
That said, I am going out for some Chinese food and a fortune cookie. If it's relevant, I'll report back later!
A very "convenient" chronology of events coincided to destroy Longwei's S/P to next-to-nothing. Red Chip renews representation agreement with Longwei on 12/28/12. Efverything is just perfect... until... GEO makes comprehensive negative claims about Longwei in January. Seeking Alpha immediately jumps on the GEO bandwagon. The Rosen Law Group files a shareholder action against Longwei the day after the GEO/Seeking Alpha exposes are released. A Chinese TV crew claims film shows no traffic at Longwei terminal. Longwei says it will withhold Q#'s in light of GEO complaint. Longwei releases video showing traffic at terminal. Red Chip abandons Longwei as a client. Faruqi & Faruqi file a shareholder action against Longwei. Longwei receives delisting notice due to late filing (prompted by response to GEO). Longwei threatens counter suit for defamation. Auditors resign. Longwei accepts delisting decision. Longwei drops litigation. This is all by my recollection from published reports.
These activities took place over about a 60 day window! Incredible.
I find it impossible to believe that a class action law suit that specifically names the GEO/Seeking Alpha expose can be put together in a comprehensive 22 page complaint, replete with lead plaintiffs solicited/agreed-to-serve IN ONE DAY and filed with the court in Los Angeles. That chronology, alone, is IMPOSSIBLE to buy.
These events are facts, not conjecture, and whether Longwei is guilty of any of these negative claims has yet to be proven in any reputable way, IMO.
All FACTS to the contrary are certainly welcome.
I still like this company and I think they deserve a chance to exonerate their reputation.
Sitrick & Co. is a huge firm and very good at "spin doctoring" for high profile celebrities and BK clients. I wouldn't spend time calling them because you will get nothing useful out of them compared to someone on the investor relations side at Exide hdq.
It is difficult to answer the "why BK" question and Exide has only provided clues to the full rationale. My guess, and that is all it is, would be that they are trying to separate the U.S. from overseas operations due to environmental costs (known) and environmental costs (as yet undetermined), and due to weakness in its U.S. aftermarket business.
That Vernon has re-opened is positive. But then comes the cost of cleaning it up and preventing further infractions. My recollection from the Frisco Smelter clean-up is that this can be a huge, costly exercise and that one was 15 years or more ago, and in Texas which is not as obsessed with pollution as is California.
Exide has never reneged on its pension plan which is fully or almost fully funded, from what I have heard. Exide's labor pool is a mix of union and non-union and there is no lead dog like the UAW that represents a majority or even near majority of workers, IMO.
I believe that this will be a long, drawn out process.
Why would they continue buying oil if they had no business and the whole terminal station was really a scam? It strikes me that there is a whole lot of storytelling going on around here! None of this stuff adds up to the conclusion of wrongdoing.
I could see this S/P going right back up over $2 with one blast of PR or good news. It has little downside at 8 cents. Looks like a buying opportunity to me. I will renew my buy order on Monday.
I made a small fortune on real estate investment trusts by doing the exact opposite of what Seeking Alpha recommended. They have ZERO credibility in my book, and who ever even heard of GEO? Isn't that some old, defunct car brand that went bust?
You mean their financials in June, 2012? What does that have to do with hedging losses in Q1/2013?
All the bad news hit in one quarter in 2013. That is just plain preposterous as "bad luck." I do think that fraud and a scam are quite possible; I just do not think that Longwei was the perpetrator.
My opinion only!
Oil prices actually declined during much of that period. I doubt any serious losses from hedging activities. Sorry. I just don't buy that. Hearsay from locals in rural China is not a credible indictment to any real extent, in my mind.
Sorry. You are entitled to your opinion. I just do not see it as credible.
The NYSE delisting was the nail in the S/P coffin, IMHO. That had nothing to do with filings in prior years, just the late filing of the last 10-Q. Right?
I am confused... LPH (the predecessor symbol) only began trading on U.S. exchanges in mid-2009, by my recollection. Did you buy on the Shanghai Exchange "in the early years" when you say you got killed? The chart since listing in the U.S. was pretty compact until January, 2013. Nobody could have gotten killed on LPH from what I just reviewed.
If the audited numbers were made up, I guess that explains why the auditors resigned?
If the numbers were inflated by 100% then you would certainly be correct. I just don't believe it. Do you think all the numbers were "invented" since 1995 when Longwei was chartered?
The last audited figures I have were for the FY ended 6/29/12 which showed revenues of $510,593,000 vs. $481,553,000 for the PY. Doesn't look to me like the business was declining, even in the recession.
I don't see anywhere where anything untoward was proven, anywhere. I see stuff on the news, all the time, that I know is wrong... stuff like Obama is a Muslim and other rubbish. That's not proof of anything, to me.
I put a buy order in, today, at a price I am willing to pay. Has not cleared, yet.
Despite threats of a backlash, anyone notice how Walmart S/P recovered after they dropped Paula Deen? It's like Nike stock when they announced they were dropping Lance Armstrong.
I am not battering Paula, just making an observation. Most consumers want companies to do the right thing! Now if Congress could just have an Epiphany!
This is looking like $80, real soon.
Bon Appetite and good luck on the stock.
I really like BLMN. Look for a high gainer over 12M!
If the business suddenly dried up, which I doubt, it could be a lot more easily proven than via some arcane and long, drawn out secret camera technique. There have been prior business downcycles, right, but did Longwei previously adopt some fraudulent scam in reaction? I can't say for sure, but I do not think so.
You are certainly entitled to the opinion that the film crew was unbiased. I can't say that I buy it since in rapid-fire succession we had ALL these highly negative claims launched in an overwhelming salvo that drove S/P through the floor. It just doesn't seem logical that all of this "stuff" happened coincidentally and without orchestration.
All JMHO.
I have always liked this company and I am not changing my mind until there is some conclusive proof beyond innuendos and connect-the-dots "theories" that are claimed to be "Ah-Ha" moments.
Ruth's is nice, as well, but seems to cater to an older generation of retired expense accounter's who reminisce about the good old days on the corporate credit card. Fleming's is more a "clubby" kind of décor, similar to Capital Grille, and decidedly upscale from a Longhorn or BLMN's Outback. Flemings does a huge twilight lounge menu business with fabulous small plate items at very reasonable prices. They also have a highly advanced website reservation and follow-up system that makes Open Table look sickly, by comparison, and a clever electronic wine steward tablet that makes wine selection and food pairings quick and straightforward.
I used to own Mortons and Darden but prefer the upside here. If you are a Costco member you can purchase 2 $50 gift cards for $70 which according to my waiter on my last visit brings in a ton of business. It is a very creative cross-promotional venture.
I think BLMN has a real winner, here, plus their other properties seem well positioned for growth and expansion.
Anyone for shrimp on the barby?
You make truly excellent points.
I keep asking myself why a CEO who is widely respected in China's energy complex and successfully ran a growing and profitable business for many, many years would suddenly turn crooked and try to scam or defraud investors after successfully completing a substantial acquisition?
There have admittedly been some problems with a few Chinese micro-cap companies and there have been accounting and other irregularities, but why does that somehow indict Longwei Petroleum? Guilt by association enjoys no legal standing in either Chinese Law or U.S. Law.
I could be wrong, but it is my understanding that, like Walmart, even P/T workers at Darden were entitled to purchase healthcare at a group rate after a probationary period.
I do not think Obamacare matters a hoot, here.
Thank you, sir. I LOVE FLEMINGS! And I really like the other BLMN properties, as well.
There is a reason why this one is trending up so much!
Hey, I am sensing a public run by Shula's in the steakhouse segment. You hearing anything? Shula's is a better property than Ruth's Chris or Mortons and is less expense-account dependent in this era of no more 3 martini lunches.
I have done so and am actually fairly knowledgeable about their company. I am not disparaging their company, they are really very good at doing what they do. And they are the "go to" PR house in BK proceedings.
That said... Sitrick is a VERY EXPENSIVE "spin doctor" and to me would be unnecessary unless Exide had some really hard sell plan in the offing.
Time will tell.
I think BLMN is on the cutting edge of the Achilles Heel in the sit down restaurant business... the fear of DUI decline of restaurant alcohol sales. People that used to have several drinks or order a bottle of wine with their meal are now afraid to do so because a very low level of alcohol is now required in most states to justify an arrest. In Florida, they are trying to reduce it even further and friends of mine have stated they will stop going out for sit down meals and just eat at home if it passes.
BLMN in all its venues is a pioneer in "wine by the glass" offerings at Outback and Fleming's which offers a truly remarkable 100 wines by the glass. Bonefish Grill is only a fast step behind. Then I look at Applebee's, Chili's, Friday's and the Darden properties that promote Happy Hour "Two-Fers", where law permits.
Alcohol and especially wine sales were the primary profit driver for many sitdown restaurants for many years. BLMN has updated their formats for a mature and responsible response to the MADD initiative while still providing a superior culinary experience.
x1p,
I find it most remarkable that Exide hired a very expensive and capable PR firm in Sitrick & Company and has issued almost NIL PR, since. Very strange and highly unusual.
It's telling me that this is a long pull... not something that is going to the court with a complete plan, anytime soon.
All JMHO.
Hi robb,
Please understand that this is nothing personal. You and I have had excellent "chatter" for years in several venues. But I will not be posting here for the foreseeable future. Same reason that I have quit posting on ROHIQ, in case you wondered. Has nothing to do with you.
Good luck to all you Walgreens debaters. Hope your investments meet your personal objectives.
Yank
28+% gain, today.
Somebody is listening!
GO LONGWEI!
Longwei has been slow to respond to bad news with strong PR. I agree. Longwei has also been slow to respond to positive events with strong PR. Longwei's PR is admittedly deficient. But that does not discredit their ethics or impugn their corporate moral compass.
I do not think the $.20 cent target you mention is very attractive. I do think that the former S/P before the "full court press" of vicious PR is attractive. That is one HUGE decline. And one equally huge opportunity.
Dreams are made of opportunities like this! Some see the glass half full, others half empty. But neither position means that the glass is permanently broken or that the well is dry and the time has arrived to summon the undertaker.
I, too, feel sorry for "those that lost 10 to 20X their investment" except that they may have given up too soon and took an unnecessary loss, plus for each loss, someone else made money in equal amounts by being "right" the trade.
It will be interesting to see which way LPIH trades, over time.
I'm not sure on the trust issue... just like I am not certain about the offsetting mistrust or distrust issues. There are all these screams of "fraud" and "scam" from GEO, Seeking Alpha and many posters, here, but I fail to see any convictions either rendered or even likely.
History is chock full of companies whose S/P was driven down precipitously by rumor, lies, false reports and "whisper" numbers that later proved to be false. You know, the "fraud" or "scam" just could be from some 3rd party with an agenda and not some misdeed by Longwei management.
Bernanke's comments, pre-market, helped AGNC and all the mReits, today. Nice gainer. Maybe he should say more tomorrow?
Is that a short strategy for Longwei?
I think that Longwei's income line is only likely to go up as they unburden the costs of OTCMarket filings and compliance. That savings, alone, could triple the share price.
Well, I am tempted by years of profitable operations and no conclusive evidence of any wrongdoing. At under a dime, this stock is a screaming buy, IMO.
Shares trading up again today. Maybe some positive comments on this message board may be convincing investors of some future potential, here. I personally do not beliece any of these "fraud" and "scam" claims until they are proven in a court of law. Until such time, Longwei Petroleum looks like an interesting value play at under a dime.
I am getting very tempted.
LOL. Support of Longwei is not permitted, here at I-Hub.
Speaks volumes about social media in a courtroom setting.
See ya soon!
Bwahahahahahahahahahahahahaha.
Thanks for playing along! You helped out a bunch.