ERI selloff may be overreaction, however, they also delayed May15 reporting of Q1 earnings as well, so could be another ugly horse under the tent.

In terms of risk/reward, EZM earnings have greater probability of taking the price down than up, IMHO.

I (like SKILLZ1) do not hold EZM but I hope to buy some after a correction tomorrow. It has gone almost straight up for awhile now. IMHO it is due for the correction all are worried about. It may not be a sharp selloff, but I suspect it will be below 2.75 for at least awhile tomorrow.

I've been burned by too many earnings disappointments on value microcap fliers lately (vphm, ksw, edac), so I'm biased by bad recent experiences.

Good luck tomorrow ...

Len, Awhile back I believe you had mentioned an index or mutual fund that you would buy to effectively "short the market". What's the name of that fund/index?

Although I'm not feeling like the market will fall off the cliff in one fell swoop, I do want to look at ways to make money on the way down (other than just betting on commodities to protect against a falling dollar). Since most of my funds are tied up in IRAs, I cannot short the ETFs, but when the market does show that it has turned (could be soon if following the same pattern as last two years), I want to have an effective tool to protect myself (better than cash).

Thanks,
'peeker

This appears misleading based on last news release from CTBG... If I buy a share of GFCI tomorrow, I do not get 1.89 shares of CTBG.

Mr. Bill, I see no reason to debate you at all. I just choose to believe the CTBG news that stated the xDiv date had occurred as of 1 May, so I sold some GFCI shares shortly thereafter, believing that GFCI shares no longer include CTBG as part of GFCI share value. Notice that GFCI share value did drop after the CTBG news. Surprisingly GFCI shares held up fairly well after the xDiv date, but volume has fallen off also in the last few days. It will take awhile for CTBG shares to be distributed, but they will get here eventually. Unfortunately, it will not be possible to know the value of the CTBG shares until financials are published AND the 75million newly-distributed shares are free-trading, which may be July sometime.

Mr. Bill,

That last inappropriate comment by you may well be construed as a personal attack. As the moderator of the GFCI board, you should know better. I sold some shares last week due to the xDiv date having passed. Didn't you do the same?

IMHO, your posts continue to be slanted based upon whether you are trying to buy or sell GFCI.

Mr. Bill, didn't you sell out all your shares last week? Why are you griping again this week? Trying to get back in?

I think the real question for GFCI is what is the value of GFCI without CTBG, since the spinout has already occurred according to the latest CTBG news last week.

ASPN: Shouldn't there be some sort of info available on the oil well they are drilling? I haven't perused the old news but today's price move could be a foreshadowing of good things to come? I guess only the ASPN shadow knows.

Good luck to all ASPN longs, as we could use some good news on this one.

Bobwins, TGA ... when I spoke to CEO a couple of weeks ago he mentioned the Egypt drilling may not commence until Q1 of 07 due scarcity of drillrigs.

Glad they have a nice one with Godah#2. Thanks for the update.

News doesn't confirm anything but that GFCI.pk stock is now worth less than it was, in that the current GFCI.pk price no longer includes the value of CTBG.pk shares. At least that's the way GFCI sellers are interpreting the CTBG news.

Caveat: GFCI recent release said shareholders had to hold thru 15May, so there seems to be a discrepancy between that release and this one by CTBG.

tmcal6, sounds like you've had a great year with major positions in TGB, EZM, DNO.ol, so CONGRATULATIONS for holding these winners during such extended runups.

Mr. Bill, which hedge fund are you affiliated with?

10:35 VPHM ViroPharma upgrade details (9.14 -1.93) -Update-

As we note in our 10:07 comment, Cowen upgrades VPHM to Neutral from Underperform as there is less value for Vancocin in shares presently, particularly with this being generally a cosmetic miss. However, with generic threats for Vancocin remaining an overhead on shares, they believe it may take time for investors to focus on maribavir's prospects to drive upside.

10:07 VPHM ViroPharma upgraded to Neutral from Underperform at Cowen (9.27 -1.70) -Update-

09:41 ERHE ERHC Energy: Under The Radar (0.89 0.00)

ERHC Energy Inc. (ERHE.OB) is a Houston based independent oil and gas co focused on growth through high impact exploration in the highly prospective Gulf of Guinea and the development of undeveloped and marginal oil and gas fields in offshore central West Africa. The co's current focus is to exploit its only assets, which are rights to working interests in exploration acreage in the JDZ (Block 4 of the Joint Development Zone between Sao Tome & Principe and Nigeria) and the EEZ (the exclusive territorial waters of Sao Tome & Principe). The Co's CEO Walter C. Brandhuber said in March, "The entering into production sharing contracts in Blocks 2, 3 and 4 of the JDZ represents an important step in our goal of commercializing the Co's interests in the JDZ and increasing shareholder value. The Co' interests in the JDZ blocks represent the cornerstone for the Co's future growth strategy." The Co has entered into agreements with upstream oil and gas co's to jointly evaluate and apply for interest in production sharing contracts in these JDZ Blocks. The technical and operation expertise in conducting exploration operations will be provided by the Co's co-ventures. According the co's latest 10K filing released in late April, as of September 30, 2005, the Co had negative working capital of $1,758,428. Subsequent to September 30, 2005, the Board of Directors has approved the Co raising an additional $10 mln of working capital in the market as soon as practicable. It is expected that a minimum of $2.5 mln will need to be raised to fund working capital requirements in fiscal 2006. However, there is no assurance that such financing will be obtained. BriefingTrader Note: Shares of ERHE.OB, (market cap of ~632mln) climbed curiously yesterday despite the overall weakness in the energy complex. We do like the fact the co in late March announced changes to its Board and it put in place a new independent audit committee and we are raising our eyebrows w/ interest b/c West Africa has been seen as the next region where duking it out for oil can occur. The islands and states around the Gulf of Guinea in particular are attracting increased interest from global oil firms and Washington, which seeks to reduce U.S. dependence on Middle East crude (PROFX).

KSW goin' momo? Good volume (and price) increase on AMEX thus far. Makes up for a lowly VPHM morning. BTW ,,, was able to dump my VPHM shares premkt at 9.75. Will probably try to buy back under $8.50.

R59 and KisK, Thanks for the mention of IMOS earnings. Bought some at 7.40 afterhrs. Good luck to the 3 of us. Let's hope the world doesn't come down on us due to the CEO comment on next qtr's margins. Thanks to valuemind for mentioning that margin statement.

Fingers crossed for a nice pop tomorrow due to IMOS' exceeding the earnings forecast and CEO positive statements.

Examples (paraphrased):
1. Revs should increase to $137-140million in Q2 vs. $135millioin in Q1.
2. LCD Tv and DDR-2 business should grow in second half of yr.
3. Cautiously optimistic for near- and long-term business.
4. DDR-2 business continues to GAIN MOMENTUM.

'peeker

Hey, let's start a new board: VM Off-Topic BS and Banter

The amount of inane chitchat and public sparring has reached Yahoo board-like time-wasting proportions.

Pleeeeeease stay on topic here and take the off-topic personal disagreements offline.

JMHO...

BTW, just kidding about the new board, as nobody would really want to read it.

Anybody have an idea what's the catalyst for ERHE being up today? Nice move, but don't see any news from ERHE. Did CVX release something?

Thanks, Bigpike, for the SIL news, but it appears to have fallen too far, and it's heading higher now, so I'll stick a stop loss in and fergetaboutit.

Just saw this as well:

Apex Silver Responds to Unusual Trading Activity in Its Ordinary Shares
Tuesday May 2, 1:31 pm ET


DENVER, May 2, 2006 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Apex Silver Mines Limited (Amex: SIL - News) today responded to the unusual trading activity in its ordinary shares. The company believes this activity is related to recent events in Bolivia concerning the country's planned nationalization of its hydrocarbon industry. The company is not aware of any plan by the government of Bolivia to follow a similar policy in mining. Apex Silver was particularly encouraged by recent statements made by the Bolivian Minister of Mines and Metallurgy in which he emphasized that "the mining policy does not contemplate nationalization and even less incorporation of private companies such as San Cristobal."
...

12:32 SIL Apex Silver Mines: shares plunge on concern for Bolivia mine project- Bloomberg (14.25 -6.75) -Update-

I guess that's why SIL took a hard hit this morning. It seems to be coming back pretty good though.

ERS note from Briefing.com (premium service) TraderInPlay:

12:25 ERS Empire Resources: Hearing takeover chatter by RYI going around; $65 mentioned; rumor is UNCONFIRMED (50.31 +2.91)

Note it is unconfirmed and probably NOT true, but stranger things have happened. Still, most "buyout rumor" comments I've seen from TraderInPlay turn out NOT to be the case.

SIL newslink:

http://finance.yahoo.com/mp#sil

excuse me; it was Yahoo...

ERS: Rumor floating around about possible bid for the company. source: Briefing.com

11:36AM Apex Silver Mines - - 200 Day Alert (SIL) 17.25 -3.75 : Price plummets over 17% this morning to test its 200-day simple ma at 17.38.

my comment:
SIL fell out of a tree today. Down 25% on no news I can find. Just a technical "correction", or does anyone know why it fell so hard? I bought some at 15.10 for a bounce, but I'd hate to see some news pop up to confirm the selloff.

Choice Announces Year End Reserves
Tuesday May 2, 7:00 am ET

CALGARY, ALBERTA--(CCNMatthews - May 2, 2006) - Mr. Gordon Harris President and CEO of Choice Resources Corp. (TSX VENTURE:CZE - News), is pleased to report on the latest reserves results as completed by Sproule Associates Limited as of February 28, 2006. The reserve definitions and ownership classification used in the evaluation are the standards defined by COGEH reserve definitions and consistent with NI 51-101 and used by Sproule Associates Limited. The values in the table below are on a before-tax basis and the final detailed NI 51-101 report will be filed on SEDAR towards the end of May.
In terms of the underlying asset value of the Corporation the value of the reserves have increased 55% discounted at 10% from the last fiscal year end report. The reserves value on the same basis has increased 16% from the September report. The proven Company volumes before royalty have increased approximately 50% from the last fiscal year end report after production and property sales and have increased 48% from the September report after production and property sales. Probable reserves have declined slightly due to a move into the proven category.

Len and Rogue, with all due respects, please go private with your disagreement. Thanks in advance.

15:23 VPHM ViroPharma: data concluded that the safety and PK profile of compound supported additional clinical evaluation (11.36 +0.12)

Co announces that pharmacokinetic data from a Phase 1a trial of HCV-796, an orally dosed non-nucleoside viral polymerase inhibitor with the potential to interfere with the replication of hepatitis C virus, that is being co-developed with Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, (WYE) were presented at the 2006 European Association for the Study of the Liver meeting. These data concluded that the safety and PK profile of the compound supported additional clinical evaluation. HCV-796 is currently in Phase 1b testing in combination with PEG-interferon. "These initial Phase 1a data were the first set of data from our human clinical analyses of HCV-796, and important in that they set the stage for our ongoing multiple dose studies... Overall, the findings demonstrate that the absorption and elimination profile, distribution, half life, and tolerability of HCV-796 are acceptable, and supportive of our ongoing clinical development."

TGA earns .11 vs .13 single analyst estimate. YoY production growth has slowed considerably. Lots of wells planned. Sorta disappointing. Maybe we can buy in the 5.75 area soon.

Article on GM vs. US economy; problems and remedies:

http://www.pimco.com/LeftNav/Late+Breaking+Commentary/IO/2006/IO+May+2006.htm

Keep in mind that CTBG shares will not be "freetrading" until distribution to GFCI shareholders is confirmed. Not sure how long that might take given slothlike speed with which the company communicates.

O'wizard, I'm prejudiced and usually assume that anything he offers is highly doubtful, especially the Dr. part. Seems like just the average 30something Yahoo poster trying to grab a few dollars as he tries to influence others' actions, all the while hiding behind the secret veil provided by all message boards. I envision him as Mr. Bill of SatNitLive fame, and I keep seeing his (easy to reconfigure) clay figure hit by the lawnmower or by the mallet or otherwise. Imagine him falling down into an oilwell and yelling "Oh, no!" as a JetMotor revs up above him.

Sorry... got carried away, but I am not a "believer". In fact, I'd say if anyone was a seller today, 'twas Mr. Bill. Kind of reminds me of an old RB poster named tvibooster.

When's the last time you saw any poster ONLY posting on one board?

Is there a link where I can see list of ERHE.ob owners who own >5%?

AMTD Izone $5/trade
Other AMTD accts $7/trade

Call em and tell them you trade enough to qualify for "their best rate".

OT: IDWD.pk fell apart this AM; down hard. Moving back up slowly here... might be interesting to any pinksheet players here ...

Mr. Bill, calm down; it sounds like you are desperate to sell some of those 575K shares of yours. Don't worry; be happy ...

Could be a good idea to add DAAT shares here if Laseter's selling is all that took it down. He has a program in place that sells his shares on quarterly basis, come rain or come shine.

Vic, regarding SHY.v, thanks for the update and comparison of Jan and April releases. It looks like Hancock #1 production may have fallen back after the frac to pre-frac levels. but like you say, Hancock #2 appears to have higher production than #1. Good news.

If you haven't seen Bobwins' comment about SHY.v, search thru Bobwins' posts over the last few days on the VMC board.

ASPN is currently drilling an oil well, perhaps venturing beyond their area of expertise. CEO has filed to shares about 6 weeks back, not a fortune, but selling nonetheless. Could be ASPN is just caught in a downdraft with other falling energy stocks today. Tends to move quickly and strongly on very little volume.

Mr. Bill, have you recently been to Spring TX yourself?

Just curious... about your interesting turnaround in sendiment for GFCI.