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GM Stock Lobster. My predictions of the dollar stopping at 1.50 euros seem wishfull thinking. Last week - at the ECB conference call - Mr. Trichet was asked if ECB will take any supportive steps to stop the dollar slide. He answered in a very nonchalant way - don't remember the exact words, but the message was this: The US governement has announced a strong dollar is in its interest. Period.
It seemed like he has not forgotten the US governement's (who was it?) statement about the overstrong euro: That's your problem.
Cranky children playing.
You said it! - I checked: ACUS will have a conference call on Tuesday, so maybe some action before that. Just looking.
GM Stuffit. ACUS waking up?
Yes. You've been through it.. I have been through it...
Nice to see so many board members coming to help to keep the board alive and kickin'. I can only help by Buy low and Sell high :)
GM Stuffit. Not so good times now for good ole Lobby.
All the best to you and to your family.
Thank you Stuffit. Oh well.
GE SL. Oh no! Hopefully nothing serious.
GM folks. Charlemagne
Don't play politics with the euro
Mar 6th 2008
From The Economist print edition
The lessons of German history haunt the single currency
Illustration by Peter Schrank
IN THE heart of the Money Museum, a shrine to economic rigour in the grounds of the Bundesbank in Frankfurt, a large machine allows visitors to see what would happen if French populists took control of Europe's single currency. In truth, the simulator is not labelled in quite that way—museum-goers are merely invited to grab a lever, and choose how much money to supply to a slowing economy.
But for anyone seduced by French complaints over an overvalued euro, and the need for the European Central Bank (ECB) to concentrate more on pursuing growth, the lesson is plain. If you ignore the post-1945 German focus on fighting inflation and pour in easy money, then disaster follows.
The machine shows prices running out of control, warning lights come on and the game ends. “Sorry, but you've failed,” reads an illuminated rebuke. “Go back and review the basics of money again.” The real-life costs are spelled out, a few metres away, by sombre displays and newsreels describing the miseries of currency instability. They show Germany's hyperinflation in 1923, when it became cheaper to burn banknotes than to buy fuel. Then came deflation and mass unemployment in the early 1930s, triggering despair that—the museum commentary suggests—helped the Nazis to power.
Other sections explain how post-war Germany was saved by the strict policies of the Bundesbank. A display marked “conflicts” describes how politicians from Konrad Adenauer to Helmut Schmidt all failed to browbeat the bank into bending the rules on inflation. Each time, visitors are told, the bank was ultimately proved right. Students looking round the museum agree that experts, rather than politicians, should be in charge of currencies. Thies Bach (looking quite cheerful, considering he won his visit as third prize in a school contest) said: “It is very important to have a stable currency. If the economy hadn't been so bad, Hitler might not have had a chance.”
A trip to Frankfurt helps to make sense of the deep divisions that the strong euro has exposed among the 15 European Union members of the single currency. In countries like France, placing economic decision-making in the hands of politicians, rather than unelected bureaucrats, sounds like a defence of democracy. But even among Germans too young to remember the D-mark, any hint of political meddling raises fears of unstable prices that have, in the past, destroyed democracy.
French complaints about the strength of the single currency have been rumbling for some time, as the euro has climbed in value against the dollar and Asian currencies. They became louder than ever when the currency recently broke through what a French minister called the “psychological” barrier of $1.50 to the euro.
But what precisely do the French want? It is unclear, given that their comments are mostly couched in code. French business leaders have asked the EU to “wake up”. In an interview with Le Monde, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, a former finance minister who runs the International Monetary Fund, said the euro was overvalued and blamed the “excessive power” of the ECB. On the one hand, Mr Strauss-Kahn said, the ECB had done well in controlling inflation (its mandate, to focus on medium-term price stability, was inherited from the Bundesbank). On the other, he said, the ECB lacked a “political” counterbalance in the form of a “finance minister for Europe” to promote growth.
President Nicolas Sarkozy has been attacking the strong euro for months, saying that the currency should be put “at the service” of growth and jobs. Yet he also insists that he does not question the independence of the ECB. More recently, he has preferred to hint at dark dealing by America and other rivals with weaker currencies, saying that European industry must not be “penalised” out of existence by “monetary dumping”.
The euro's strength was debated at this week's meeting of the “Eurogroup”, the club that brings together euro-area finance ministers with the ECB head, Jean-Claude Trichet, and Joaquín Almunia from the European Commission. France was clearly “hoping for a depreciation of the euro”, comments one minister. But he adds that “what France says outside is a lot stronger than what they say inside.” Still, there are deep differences of opinion. Germany pulled off an export boom last year, despite the strong euro. Other countries whose trade is mostly within the euro area point to the inflation-controlling benefits of a strong currency, when it comes to buying imports and above all oil (which is priced in dollars).
The economics of charcuterie
It has not escaped EU ministers that France (like so many others) is in the grip of a big row about rising prices. Domestic political debate in France is dominated by talk of households' falling “purchasing power”, down to a startling level of detail (both Mr Sarkozy and his prime minister, François Fillon, have denounced prices of supermarket sliced ham).
Within the Eurogroup, there is irritation at the incoherence of calling for a depreciation of the euro, which risks fuelling inflation, but at the same time worrying about purchasing power. Most charitably, it is suggested that French politicians are trying to woo special interests by denouncing the strong euro. Less charitably, some say there is no real strategy behind the criticism—merely a calculation that talking of political action and bashing central bankers sounds good to French voters.
Such attacks are meaningless in practical terms: the treaties guaranteeing the ECB's independence can be changed only with the unanimous agreement of all 27 EU members (which many, starting with Germany, will never give). In short, if French politicians want to play at being European central bankers, their best hope may be a trip to Frankfurt to play on the Money Museum's machine. Even then, they may not like its stern lessons.
Cellulosic ethanol much discussed also in Europe. Forest companies to move from paper and pulp to ethanol?
Lumber and Forestry Companies: Building a Better Future
posted on: March 03, 2008 | about stocks: ARA / DEL / LPX / MXM / MYS / POPEZ / UFPI / VCP / WY
With the move towards the production of renewable transportation biofuels from non-food sources, such as lumber and wood waste, maybe it is time to look at lumber and forestry stocks.
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Weyerhaeuser Co. (WY), the largest lumber company in the United States, manufactures, and sells forest products. The stock has a P/E of 17, a PEG of 7.58 , and a yield of 3.80%.
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Deltic Timber Corp. (DEL) harvests timber and sells lumber throughout the United States The stock has a P/E of 55, and a yield of 0.60%.
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Universal Forest Products Inc. (UFPI) produces preserved and unpreserved dimensional lumber. The stock has a P/E of 26, and a yield of 0.40%.
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Pope Resources LP (POPEZ) is a limited partnership that manages timber resources. The stock has a P/E of 12, and a yield of 4.20%.
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MAXXAM Inc. (MXM) grows and harvests redwood and Douglas-fir timber, and produces logs and lumber. The stock has had negative earnings.
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Masisa S.A. (MYS) is a forestry and lumber company in Chile. The stock has a P/E of 29, a PEG of 1.05, and a yield of .6%.
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Aracruz Celulose (ARA), which is based in Sao Paulo, Brazil, is one of the major manufactures of pulp in Brazil, and is the world’s leading supplier of eucalyptus pulp. Its shares are traded on the Sao Paulo, New York and Madrid stock exchanges. The stock has a P/E of 12, a PEG of 7.35, and a yield of 2.4%.
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One of the largest pulp and paper companies in Brazil, Votorantim Celulose e Papel (VCP), manufactures printing and writing paper, coated paper, tissues, labels and thermal paper. Votorantim owns two paper and pulp mills located in Jacarei and Luiz Antonio, and two paper mills in Guaiba and Eunapolis. In addition to selling throughout Brazil, Votorantim also markets and exports its products internationally. The stock has a P/E of 5, and a PEG of 1.82.
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Louisiana-Pacific Corp. (LPX) is a manufacturer of wood products for new home construction, repairs, remodeling, and manufactured housing. The stock has had negative earnings, and a yield of 5.3%.
This article has 3 comments:
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TIM SULLIVAN
Mar 03 09:04 AM
Your forestry/lumber picks are interesting. I have followed VCP and SinoForest. They have had great runs in an environment that has not treated NA paper,pulp and lumber very well. I was led to your blog by the teaser on your high yield picks. In a combined theme I would mention that I own CFPUF,ATBUF, and TWTUF the Canadian pulp, paper, OSB, biomass, lumber producers & nursery operators. They all have excellent yields. CFPUF has been hit hard again post the Loonie's previous rise to 110. The Loonie is now surging again & up to +/- 102. This has hit CFPUF again. These are becoming great value plays as even if dividends are cut they are structured as trusts (As you mentioned PWE which I also own) and will continue to pay comparitively high dividends that are mostly 15% tax qualified. TWTUF is an exception as it's dividend is actually an interest payment on a bond. This perhaps creates an advantage for tax sheltered accounts. ATBUF has already announced plans to convert to a REIT, before the 2011 tax change you mentioned. I believe it is woth $14/sh on the ultimate recovery in 2010? in the US housing market. Also looming on the horizon are the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver/Whistler-Blackcomb. There is going to be a small building boom in PAC/NW Canada, that has already begun with big investment in the highway connecting to the mountain venues. I just added another partial position to CFPUF last week at $8.98 US$. The current C$0.12/month dividend may in fact be unsustainable due to Loonie strength, and be again reduced to C$0.10 from the current C$0.12. That would leave you a +13% dividend which after taking the 15% tax allowance would still yield 11.35% tax advantage @ he 15% rate. The tax is then recoverable on your US tax return as a foreign tax credit. Forestry products are the last of the commodities to still not have participated in the huge global commodities rally. When this situation reverses this stuff including your picks is going to soar. Look at a chart of DBA as an example. I just prefer the Canadian companies not just for their strong dividends while awaiting the market turn, but also for their permanent unfair trade advantages and Gov't subsidies. NAFTA is not unfair!
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jjason
Mar 03 02:36 PM
It is nice of you guys to give a list of what to buy. I find,however, that neither the author of this article or the first commentator, Tim S. gives enough data on which to make an intelligent investment decision. I don't like teaser articles. They are a waste of my time. Discussing one stock with good data is much better than six stocks with very little data.
Also, you forgot to put in Pope and Talbot. At $.025 this penny stock will double your money in about two weeks,eh.
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Arohan
Mar 03 04:06 PM
My Website
I own Lousiana-Pacific. Although it has negative earnings, it has cash on the books to the tune of better than 50% of its market cap and sports a P/B ratio of 0.61. It mainly serves the construction market and has been badly affected by the housing downturn. The question is, whether it can survive long enough to see the housing market come back? The company currently continues to restructure and reduce cost and with 532million in cash on the books I believe that it has the stamina to outlive the housing/construction downturn. With the stock already reflecting the worst case scenario, it is a good buy right now for someone patient enough to wait a few years. The dividend also helps while I wait
jjason, I don't know if this provides enough data to make an intelligent investment decision but atleast this should be a trigger for starting your due diligence. There is some more discussion on LPX on my blog that you are welcome to read
Ensco Contracts Rig Under Construction
ESV $60.99
Friday March 7, 4:58 pm ET
Ensco Agrees to Deal on Newly Built Offshore Rig, With Revenue Seen at $372M Over 2 Years
DALLAS (AP) -- Ensco International Inc. said Friday it secured a provisional deal to operate an offshore drilling rig now under construction that should generate $372 million in revenue over a two-year period.
The drilling contractor has agreed to a letter of intent with a customer to operate the ultra-deepwater semisubmersible rig for two years, with an option to extend the contract at a mutually agreed rate. The base rate for the initial two years is $510,000 per day, subject to adjustments to account for operating costs.
Ensco has three similar rigs under construction in Singapore, with delivery expected beginning in the third quarter of 2008 and extending through the third quarter of 2010 for the most recently contracted vessel. Each now has a customer lined up.
Ensco shares fell 3 cents to close at $60.99. Other drilling stocks also fell.
TOPS $2.37 TOP Ships
TOP Ships Announces Date of Fourth Quarter and Year-End 2007 Results Release and Conference Call
Friday March 7, 11:06 am ET
ATHENS, Greece, March 7 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- TOP Ships Inc. (Nasdaq: TOPS - News) announced plans to release its fourth quarter and year-end 2007 results on Thursday, March 13, 2008, before market opening. That same day, at 11:00 AM ET, management will host a conference call, which will be broadcast live over the Internet. Those interested in listening to the live webcast may do so by going to the Company's website at http://www.topships.org, or by going to http://www.investorcalendar.com.
The telephonic replay of the conference call will be available by dialing 1-877-660-6853 (from the US and Canada) or +1-201-612-7415 (from outside the US and Canada) and by entering account number 286 and conference ID number 277433. An online archive will also be available immediately following the call at the sites noted above. Both are available for one week, through March 20, 2008.
About TOP Ships Inc.
TOP Ships Inc., formerly known as TOP Tankers Inc., is an international provider of worldwide seaborne crude oil and petroleum products and of drybulk transportation services. The Company operates a combined tanker and drybulk fleet as follows:
-- a fleet of 18 tankers, consisting of 10 double-hull Suezmax tankers and
8 double-hull Handymax tankers, with a total carrying capacity of
approximately 1.8 million dwt, of which 85% are sister ships. Eleven of
the Company's 18 tankers are on time charter contracts with an average
initial term of over two years with all but three of the time charters
including profit sharing agreements above their base rates. In
addition, the Company has ordered six newbuilding product tankers,
which are expected to be delivered in the first half of 2009.
-- a fleet of five drybulk vessels with delivery of one additional drybulk
vessel expected during March/April 2008. Including this vessel, three
of the Company's six drybulk vessels will have period charter contracts
for an average period of 18 months.
TV closed - no more news tonight for me. I've noticed that WYSIWYG really works.
Where do you get these Woody Allen things from?
Yes. The governements do not have to be afraid of globalization taking their jobs. That's why they don't worry and are happy..
Oh my...he has the word. He can see: "The emperor has no clothes" lol
Every second sentence from our governement here begins with the word "globalization". It's wonderfull. "Don't worry, be happy" tells our governement to us.
(They have no other ideas to tell us).
Lol - you surely get those nutty ideas here when you go to a grocery or to a bakery or to a gas station..
GM Stock Lobster. Good idea, call the dentist and spend your time usefully! Maybe better keep the puter closed today.
- Not so rosy in Europe either. The German official sector workers - ca one million people - began their strike today, and it seems it will be a looong one. They say they want to have wages, on which one can live.
Yes, I know US shareholders will get cash and not the shares of ITC. I also have understood that online buying directly from Oslo OTC market is not possible, but I believe that banks and brokerhouses can do it for you, if you want to buy the shares.
Here's a link, where you can follow the shareprice of ITCL in Oslo/OTC (15 min delayed):
http://www.hegnar.no/netfonds/unoterte/
Good morning Milner. ITC began trading in Oslo bourse OTC list this morning! Ticker ITCL has been trading between NOK 10.00 - 12.00 (USD 1.95 - 2.34), volume 139 750 shares. It's a downday in Oslo, and the whole bourse is very slow and quiet. I will receive ITC shares (not yet on my broker account) as FRO dividend, but I will buy some more. Better wait for a while and see, where the price of ITCL will settle.
Can you buy these shares from Oslo OTC? The shares will not be listed elsewhere (in USA) before they will be listed in Oslo main bourse.
Hello Milner. Glad to hear you have found GOGL/GDOCF. Follow the quarterly reports and buy more on the dips. Don't get scared of the rollercoaster rides in shipping industry - stockprices are volatile, but dividends keep coming, at least when it is John Fredriksen's company.
I am very happy about my FRO portfolio, which I mostly bought when the prices were just like GOGL's now. Now I need not care too much about the flippin/floppin shareprice, and the dividends have already paid tenfold my investment.
GM Wildbill and Stuffit. FRO's spinoff:
06/03-2008 16:40:35: (ITCL.OTC) ITCL: Independent Tankers Corporation Limited is registered on the NOTC-list
Independent Tankers Corporation Limited is registered on the NOTC-list as from the 7th of March 2008.
Ticker: ITCL. ISIN: BMG4758V1000. The company has issued 74 825 169 shares. Par value per share is USD 0.3.
The company has entered into an agreement whereby it will be able to use the reporting system as from the 7th of March 2008.
ITC owns all the issued and outstanding shares of the three ship-owning companies; California Petroleum Transport Corporation, Golden State Petroleum Transport Corporation, and Windsor Petroleum Transport Corporation. ITC’s business is concentrated around the ownership of tankers on long term bareboat contracts to major oil companies, including certain cancellation options. All vessels are financed through bonds and some of the vessels are also subject to lease arrangements. ITC purchases all necessary management services from Frontline.
ANW $29.12 adds four newbuilding bunkers.
Aegean Marine Petroleum Network Inc. Exercises Four Newbuilding Options
Tuesday March 4, 4:15 pm ET
PIRAEUS, Greece, March 4 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Aegean Marine Petroleum Network Inc. (NYSE: ANW - News) announced today that it has exercised its options with Qingdao Hyundai Shipyard, China to purchase four new 5,500 dwt double- hull bunkering tankers. The four newbuildings are expected to be delivered between December 2009 and March 2010.
ADVERTISEMENT
E. Nikolas Tavlarios, President, commented, "Management's strategic decision to exercise the options to construct four new double-hull bunkering tankers, in accordance with the Company's plan, further expands the number of newbuildings currently on order and underscores Aegean's strong growth prospects. Including these four vessels, we now have 27 bunkering tanker newbuilds scheduled to be delivered by end of 2010, increasing our fleet to 47 bunkering tankers, of which 44 will be double hull. The significant growth in our delivery capabilities complements the notable expansion in our global network for the physical supply of marine fuel. With new service centers in Northern Europe and West Africa combined with the scheduled launch of our U.K. service center, Aegean is well positioned to continue to drive future performance and strengthen its leading industry reputation for the benefit of the Company and its shareholders."
Noble, Transocean Protest Nigerian Shipping Fees
by Suzi Carter
Rigzone 3/3/2008
In response to the Nigerian government's move to classify drilling rigs as ships, Noble Corp. and Transocean Inc. are contesting the plan in a Nigerian court.
The plan would allow Nigeria to take 2% of the companies' Nigerian revenue generated by the rigs under the country’s taxes regulating coastal shipping. According to Dow Jones, both Noble and Transocean received letters last year asking for this fee.
Transocean would pay nearly $21.5 million annually from its 11 rigs offshore Nigeria. Noble would pay nearly $6.8 million from its six rigs. However, those figures would only remain the same if the companies do not seek more Nigerian contracts.
The companies are seeking "a declaration that our drilling operations do not constitute 'coastal trade,'" keeping their rigs from being classified as ships.
Raymond James analysts said that Nigerian government success in this attempted reclassification would be "clearly bearish for both companies, but instincts point to resolution as such a move would push available capacity out of the region at a time when Nigerian oil output faces internal problems."
If the companies were made to comply with Nigeria's shipping law, operations would be negatively impacted. It would require both companies "to incur additional costs of compliance," Noble said in its annual report.
URL: http://www.rigzone.com/news/article.asp?a_id=57711
Anybody can read Barrons? What do they say about Pride Intnl (PDE)? Titled "Pride runs deep".
DeepDown = HighUp 0.79. Offshore and oilfield services green.
Yes, they are. I remember the first time I saw that little puppy robot "Aikido" in action. Its movements and mimics were so amazingly puppy-like and touching that I felt like wanting to lift it on my lap and stroke it. It was kind of scary feeling.
"To live among people, robots need to handle complex social tasks," said project leader Junichi Takeno of Meiji University. "Robots will need to work with emotions, to understand and eventually feel them."
My goodness!! Where are we going?
Good morning Stuffit. We got snow and looks like it would stay this time for a couple of days. Wonderful!
Wallymac. Thanks for the charts. What fixed my eye in that article was that Motley Fools gave the questioner the standard answer: Just wait patiently and some day the sun will shine again.
They seem to have no solution for Mr. Market's stock manipulation - but at least they could admit it. Like the questioner did..lol
As to shortselling oil drillers (DO), no wonder if somebody got the idea when T. Boone Pickens, the oil king, is saying why should USA send their money to Middle East or West Africa, when they can research and develope alternative energies and keep the money in own country. Ecco!
When you look at DO's, RIG*s and Rowan's (RDC) charts it looks like the shortsellers have come to other thoughts now.
Drilling is thrilling.
Drilling With Pride
Toby Shute
February 29, 2008
In the final quarter of 2007, offshore driller Pride International (NYSE: PDE £35.44) nearly doubled its per-share earnings compared to the prior year. Pride is positioned nicely for the deepwater dance, and the firm has reaped the rewards of robust rig rates. That said, when I look more closely at how this operation is being run, I can't say that I feel a swell of pride.
The good news is that Pride keeps on signing sweet contracts for its fleet. Just recently, the firm locked down a five-year commitment from BP (NYSE: BP) for one of its spec-built drillships. Transocean (NYSE: RIG) has no taste for ordering newbuilds without a contract in hand, but Pride has thus far been rewarded for taking the plunge. The driller now has just one uncommitted deepwater rig under construction (estimated cost: $680 million), and this one won't hit the water for more than two years.
Also sensible are Pride's sales of noncore assets, such as the tender rigs recently sold to a Norwegian investment group for $213 million. What bothers me is the suboptimal deployment of today's fleet.
In the fourth quarter, overall utilization was 72%. Deepwater and international jackup rigs were generally kept busy, but midwater and domestic jackup rig utilization was abysmal, at 59% and 58%, respectively. There is just a whole lot of upgrade and repair activity going on. A glance at Pride's fleet status report shows 2008 to be shipyard-heavy as well. ENSCO International (NYSE: ESV) had a lot of shipyard work the past two years, but it still managed utilization north of 90% in each year. Meanwhile, Atwood Oceanics (NYSE: ATW) has captured tremendous upside with 100% utilization over the past two fiscal years.
Pride's margins are slowly improving, but they're still soggy. The firm's total offshore drilling services EBITDA margin, which excludes noncash charges, clocked in at 53%. That beats both last quarter and the year-ago quarter, so the directionality is there, but there's a big chasm between Pride's margins and those of Noble (NYSE: NE) or Diamond Offshore (NYSE: DO).
It's no wonder that Pride has been a constant object of takeover rumors. It would be a marvel to behold these rigs operating in more capable hands.
http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2008/02/29/drilling-with-pride.aspx
Drilling With Pride
Toby Shute
February 29, 2008
In the final quarter of 2007, offshore driller Pride International (NYSE: PDE) nearly doubled its per-share earnings compared to the prior year. Pride is positioned nicely for the deepwater dance, and the firm has reaped the rewards of robust rig rates. That said, when I look more closely at how this operation is being run, I can't say that I feel a swell of pride.
The good news is that Pride keeps on signing sweet contracts for its fleet. Just recently, the firm locked down a five-year commitment from BP (NYSE: BP) for one of its spec-built drillships. Transocean (NYSE: RIG) has no taste for ordering newbuilds without a contract in hand, but Pride has thus far been rewarded for taking the plunge. The driller now has just one uncommitted deepwater rig under construction (estimated cost: $680 million), and this one won't hit the water for more than two years.
Also sensible are Pride's sales of noncore assets, such as the tender rigs recently sold to a Norwegian investment group for $213 million. What bothers me is the suboptimal deployment of today's fleet.
In the fourth quarter, overall utilization was 72%. Deepwater and international jackup rigs were generally kept busy, but midwater and domestic jackup rig utilization was abysmal, at 59% and 58%, respectively. There is just a whole lot of upgrade and repair activity going on. A glance at Pride's fleet status report shows 2008 to be shipyard-heavy as well. ENSCO International (NYSE: ESV) had a lot of shipyard work the past two years, but it still managed utilization north of 90% in each year. Meanwhile, Atwood Oceanics (NYSE: ATW) has captured tremendous upside with 100% utilization over the past two fiscal years.
Pride's margins are slowly improving, but they're still soggy. The firm's total offshore drilling services EBITDA margin, which excludes noncash charges, clocked in at 53%. That beats both last quarter and the year-ago quarter, so the directionality is there, but there's a big chasm between Pride's margins and those of Noble (NYSE: NE) or Diamond Offshore (NYSE: DO).
It's no wonder that Pride has been a constant object of takeover rumors. It would be a marvel to behold these rigs operating in more capable hands.
Related Foolishness:
* ENSCO's time has come.
* Diamond hit the rough.
* Noble's drilling is thrilling.
http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2008/02/29/drilling-with-pride.aspx
FRO's dividend paying and ability to generate cash flow is again causing astonishment. It's FRO's (=JF's) policy to distribute everything on the bottom line to the shareholders (that goes for all his companies), who risk their money in putting it in FRO. And that happens after ALL operational costs - also in foreseeable future - are taken in consideration. The numbers in filings show the current situation, but they do not show, what has been planned for the future of the company. JF is not dumb and overrisk the capital. He always has a plan No.2 - or 3,4.
The dividend may fluctuate in the course of years, as does the whole industry, but as long as I have followed FRO (10 years) there were two times, when there was no dividend payed. Must say there were times, when you read the analysts forecasts with understanding, but for the last five years FRO has beaten the forecasts in EVERY quarter.
Dividend Stock-Picking: Know the Ratios, Hedge the Risks
Stockpickr Staff
02/29/08 - 05:04 PM EST
This assignment was written by Stockpickr member Ira Krakow.
A great way to give your portfolio a boost is to look for stocks paying high dividends dividend (see Value Stock-Picking: How to Find Top Dividend Plays"). Yes, with a good dividend-paying stock, you can get the potential double reward of dividend income and stock price growth.
In addition, a dividend sets a "floor" on the stock price. So if the stock price goes down, then the dividend yield goes up. This attracts investors looking for income. When that happens, with more buyers, the stock price goes up.
Why You Need to Look Beyond a High Dividend
It's not enough to just pick the highest dividend-payer from a stock screen screen. If you do only that, you risk investing in a company that might not really be able to pay that high dividend, which could lead to a double whammy: the dividend could be cut, or eliminated entirely, and the stock price can go south as well.
Before you buy a high dividend-paying stock, you need to look at the company's financials to determine whether there's enough cash to cover the dividend payment -- now and in the future. To help you gauge the health of a company's dividends, there are a few ratios you can check out.
First, look at the company's payout ratio, the percentage of earnings that the company pays as a dividend. A payout ratio of 70% or less generally means the dividend is safe. If the payout ratio is greater than 100%, that's a warning signal. For example, Citizens CommunicationCZN, which has a dividend yield of 9.3%, also has a 256% payout ratio. Why so high? Perhaps it's using debt or selling assets to pay the dividend. You need to research the company and find out.
Next, check out the debt-to-equity ratio and the current ratio, which are measures of the level of assets relative to liabilities liability.
If a company is carrying a lot of debt relative to its assets, that should set off an alarm bell. As with the payout ratio, a debt-to-equity ratio or current ratio over 100% could mean that the dividend might not be sustainable, and a rate of 70% or less is considered a safe level.
Reviewing these ratios will help you avoid being seduced by impossibly high yields. Take FrontlineFRO, an oil tanker carrier with a yield of 16.6%. Is this astronomical dividend sustainable?
Its payout ratio of 109% and current ratio of 179% should give pause before clicking the buy button. On the other hand, perhaps the oil tanker business is so profitable that the company can continue to pay the rich dividend. Again, when you see ratios like this, you need to dig a little deeper to find what's going on.
Keep an Eye On the Flip Side
On the other end of the dividend spectrum, when a company cuts its dividend, it's often a sign of trouble, as with La-Z-BoyLZB, a furniture manufacturer hit hard by the housing slump, or Flagstar BancorpFBC, a troubled mortgage lender, which eliminated its dividend entirely.
Your Dividend Stock-Picking Assignment
Your Dividend Stock-Picking Assignment
Your assignment is to find dividend stocks with healthy dividend-related ratios.
Step 1. On Stockpickr, create a portfolio called "High Dividend Stocks: [Your Stockpickr Username]." (To create a portfolio on Stockpickr, you'll need to first log-in. If you're currently not a Stockpickr member, you can register at www.stockpickr.com/register.)
Step 2. Select five dividend stocks from Stockpickr or TheStreet.com, by searching for the keywords "dividend" or "dividends."
To help you get started, check out: High Yield Warren Buffett Stocks and Top Dividend Stocks You've Never Heard Of on Stockpickr, and "The Top Dividend Stocks of the Week" on TheStreet.com.
For each stock, go to Yahoo! Finance and note the stock's payout ratio, current ratio, and debt/equity ratio. At the end of the trading day, record the closing price in the "Reason?" box on Stockpickr.
Here's how to find the dividend-related ratios on Yahoo! Finance:
1. On the specific stock quote page, click the "Key Statistics" link on the left hand side of the screen.
2. On the Key Statistics page, look for the "Dividends and Splits" section. That's where you'll find the payout ratio.
3. On the Key Statistics page, look for the "Balance Sheet" section. That's where you'll find the current ratio and total debt/equity ratio.
Step 3. Check back after two weeks, one month, six weeks, and three months to see how the company's price has held up and whether or not the company is still paying the dividend. If you're serious about picking solid dividend stocks, consider monitoring the health of each company's dividends for about three months.
Even in this challenging market environment, by doing fundamental analysis on high dividend paying stocks, you may be able to earn a better rate of return than a certificate of deposit (CD) or money market, with the
Pumping?? That was for your information about all kinds of alternative energies.
The Motley Fool (click the link to see the tables)
You Can't Win in This Market
Tim Beyers
March 1, 2008
To look at my email inbox, you'd wonder whether:
(a) My friends are all exiled Nigerian bankers with loads of excess cash.
(b) I'm on more medication than Britney Spears.
(c) Hedge funds and short-sellers are out to destroy me.
Since neither "a" nor "b" have much to do with investing -- unless, that is, you're betting on the burgeoning futures market built around the odds of Britney's next stint in jail or rehab -- let's focus on "c". Should I be paranoid about hedge funds and short-sellers? A reader thinks so. Here's what he wrote to me recently:
"Please help us smaller investors to fight against the naked short selling and stock manipulations in our market. Small investors have no chance to win at all. (Emphasis added.)"
Really? I beg to differ:
Company
52-Week Return
Short Interest
SunPower (Nasdaq: SPWR)
52.8%
22.12%
Take-Two Interactive (Nasdaq: TTWO)
46.1%
43.06%
ArthroCare (Nasdaq: ARTC)
11.2%
56.41%
Sources: Nasdaq Reg SHO list, Yahoo! Finance, shortsqueeze.com
Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus ... and his name is Mr. Market
Each of these stocks has spent months, and in some cases years, on the Nasdaq's Reg SHO list, which identifies firms commonly considered the subject of short attacks. Especially naked short attacks. Yet owning any one of them over the past year would have helped you to crush the market in grand fashion.
Now, does that mean you should buy every stock on the Reg SHO list? Certainly not. There are some pretty bad businesses on that list. Closeout retailer Overstock, though improving, may be one, thanks to a long and sordid history of capital destruction.
My point is this: While it's true that prices can't move up when there are more sellers than buyers, given enough time, excellent businesses always draw more buyers than sellers.
And that spells opportunity for you, the belled-cap small investor who doth call himself Fool.
Here's why. Short sellers tend to have a very short timeline for investing. As they should; there's no limit to the losses for the short seller that bets against a stock that turns north.
Thus, when they err by shorting companies with outstanding fundamentals, they create temporary price depressions that enable massive long-term returns. Behold:
Company
52-Week Return
Current Shares Short
Prior Shares Short
China Medical Tech. (Nasdaq: CMED)
120.4%
1,506,600
1,572,100
National Oilwell Varco (NYSE: NOV)
89.3%
15,538,600
15,733,700
Diamond Offshore (NYSE: DO)
62.5%
6,465,100
6,901,000
Sources: shortsqueeze.com, Yahoo! Finance
Still not convinced? Check out the long-term returns for China Medical, National Oilwell Varco, and Diamond Offshore. All three have throttled the S&P 500 on their way to multibagger returns. Yet all three also have a history of being targeted by short sellers.
Small caps bite back
Therein lies the single greatest advantage of the small investor: time. By staying invested longer than others will -- certainly longer than the shorts will -- you can profit from those looking only to make a quick buck. Three to five years is an ideal time frame for Seth Jayson and Bill Mann, who together co-host Hidden Gems, the Fool's market-beating small-cap service.
Their reasoning? Small caps are rarely followed as closely as their larger brethren, and given time, they're more likely to be undervalued or unfairly shorted.
And remember: 10 small caps went on to become the 10 best stocks of the past decade. Via Hidden Gems, Seth and Bill are hunting for the next 10.
So let the Chicken Littles cluck all they want, Fool. You, the small investor, have no chance in this market? Poppycock.
This article was originally published on December 7, 2007. It has been updated.
Fool contributor Tim Beyers didn't own shares in any of the stocks mentioned in this article at the time of publication. Take-Two Interactive is a Rule Breakers recommendation. The Motley Fool's disclosure policy was never small time. It just went big time.
Legal Information. © 1995-2008 The Motley Fool. All rights reserved.
http://www.fool.com/investing/small-cap/2008/03/01/you-cant-win-in-this-market.aspx
The Coming Death Of Indian Outsourcing
Sramana Mitra 02.29.08, 6:00 AM ET
BURLINGAME, CALIF. -
India is riding high on outsourcing.
Information technology and IT-enabled services will employ 4 million people in 2008 and account for 7% of gross domestic product and 33% of India's foreign-exchange inflows, according to Nasscom, an Indian IT industry organization.
The death of this industry is far from anyone’s mind.
However, the reality is that wages are rising in India. The cost advantage for offshoring to India used to be at least 1:6. Today, it is at best 1:3. Attrition is scary.
Jobs that are low value-added and easily automatable should and will disappear over the next decade.
People talk a lot about India moving up the value chain. Some of that has indeed happened. An industry that started gaining momentum when Indian software developers were tapped to help fix the "Y2K" problems in old software code has blossomed beautifully into one that offers a much more comprehensive spectrum of services.
Yet, India, for all its glory, is still the world’s back office. India's tech industry is a "services" industry. The Indians don’t do the thinking. The customers do. India executes.
As a result, India has not learned to invent technology products of its own. Barring a few exceptions, the huge amount of venture capital chasing India finds it difficult to be deployed. There is way too much money, way too few deals. Instead, tech-sector VCs are now diverting capital to retail, real estate, hotels and other non-tech sectors.
India's $30 billion IT/ITES services industry, meanwhile, is slowly and surely losing its competitive advantage.
Most of the 4 million people that the industry employs have now "arrived." They have breezed through the milestones that their fathers had to toil all their lives to reach. A phone. A watch. A TV. A car. A house.
They are complacent. They will not take risks. They have "outsourced" thinking to their customers.
As the 1:3 cost structure becomes 1:1.5, it will soon become inefficient to use Indian labor. Why not Oklahoma or British Columbia? For many Europeans, Eastern Europe has already become more compelling than India. The pure labor arbitrage equation will no longer balance.
ADP, the largest U.S. payroll services provider, has 45,000 employees worldwide, of which only 2,500 are in India. It has around 1,000 workers in El Paso, Texas, it's expanding a location in Augusta, Ga., and it's opening a facility in Jackson, Miss. It's also growing a location in Halifax, Canada. ADP isn't moving its workforce to India--it's hedging its bets geographically. On a recent earnings call, ADP's chief executive used terms such as "smartshoring," and "nearshoring" to describe the strategy.
The software as a service (SaaS) megatrend in technology also plays against India.
Here's an example: There's a tiny Silicon Valley start-up called InsideView. It helps customers to generate sales leads, qualify those leads and use technology tools to help find big sales opportunities for customers.
In November 2007, InsideView acquired a company called TrueAdvantage, which did the exact same thing manually with a team of 150 people in India. After the acquisition, InsideView moved all 2,500 of TrueAdvantage's customers over to its SaaS solution. All 150 TruAdvantage employees in India were laid off.
That's been a familiar tale in Detroit--but no so far in India. But that's changing.
Indian powerhouses like Infosys and Wipro must diversify their portfolios away from pure body-shopping and process competencies to technology-driven advantages. They, too, could build--or acquire--SaaS businesses.
So far that's not happening. Infosys is still hiring thousands of new employees in India every year. The mood is upbeat. Nasscom is forecasting 25% annual growth in the Indian IT services industry for the next few years. The golden goose is still laying large, warm eggs, enough to feed the 4 million and their families, servants, chauffeurs and cooks.
Meanwhile, the workforce is getting comfortable in their cubicle chairs, just as the turkey gets comfortable before Thanksgiving.
Forbes recently published some scary statistics on wage inflation in India. (See "Indian Employees Enjoying Swift Pay Hikes.") Salaries rose 15.1% in 2007, up from 14.4% the previous year. The 2008 forecast: 15.2%. This would be the fifth consecutive year of salary growth above 10%.
Add to that the appreciation of the rupee against the weakening dollar, and its impact on the labor arbitrage market.
Is the death of Indian outsourcing all that far off?
Assuming a 15% year-to-year salary hike rate, and a 2007 cost advantage of 1:3 in favor of India, if U.S. wages remain constant, India’s cost advantage disappears by 2015. Then what?
Comments for Comments 1-10 of 23
The Coming Death of Indian Outsourcing
Sramana Mitra
Advances in technology could render much of the Indian IT services industry obsolete.
Posted by jinglee | 03/01/08 03:58 PM EST
This article looks nothing more than a link-bait. Pretty much nothing substantial with respect to statistics. Here are a few sentences that would make any serious Forbes reader fall off from his chair laughing:
- Jobs that are low value-added and easily automatable should and will disappear over the next decade. : A prophesis or a curse at best
- Meanwhile, the workforce is getting comfortable in their cubicle chairs, just as the turkey gets comfortable before Thanksgiving. : WTF
- They are complacent. They will not take risks. They have "outsourced" thinking to their customers. : No comments.
Maybe the author was given too less a time to simply google up a few facts and throw an article or Forbes is plain crazy to publish such articles with no facts and pure intestinal gas.
Posted by Venkatesh_pr | 03/01/08 03:44 PM EST
@amolkat , no point in attacking. If you have some facts to counter Sramana argument it would be nice instead of attacking her.
The size of IT Export for FY2008 is $40 Billion. That is equal to almost one MSFT. Just think about it. More than 20 Years of rupee/dollar advantage and not a single Product company to talk about from India. I don't want to be-little Infy or Wipro ,but they are responsible to a large extent for not fostering innovation and thus sustainable long term businesses.
One big difference which is often lost between India and China is , Chines manufactures are competing withe their erstwhile "outsourcing partners". While India is still the back office or cheap labour source. None of the US companies have any kind of competition from Indian IT companies. Not even Accentures/Bearing Point, which would naturally feel threatned by INFY or WIPRO.
Lot of this is to do with Indian IT Companies mentality. The want short term gains and not ready to make long term strategic investment in R&D or Product development. Even for that matter in good resources to develop consulting arm, to compete with Accenture and Bearing Points.
Indian IT depends on labor arbitrage, immigration issue and the willingness of Indians to work for less. Nothing else.
Do not forget the TAX sops to IT companies is going away too. That will reduce the margins by further 4%.
The article is spot on. Indian Outsourcing as we know today is under threat. Infy or Wipro might come up with new way to stay in the game, but the glory days of buying resources in India for rs 4 lakhs and selling them at $70K are over.
Posted by amolkat | 03/01/08 02:26 PM EST
Pretty lame and worthless article without any substance.
Unbelievable that it came from the same person who authored "The Smartest Unknown Indian Entrepreneur" and other good articles.
At this rate of declining quality, you need to worry more about the "death of Sramana's career at Forbes" than "death of indian outsourcing". Get a life, please!
Tags: what tags?
Posted by orrorin | 03/01/08 01:39 PM EST
Interesting article and I do agree with the need for innovation if Indian IT/ITES industry wants to be globally competitive.
On the other hand, what are the chances that the most of the software engineers at InsideView are not Desi's?
Posted by awaknis | 03/01/08 01:31 AM EST
Good but one way to look at it. This is my take:
- I think it is too simplistic to assume that the wages will continue to rise by 15% for the next 8 years or US wages will remain constant. Market forces will cause the the wage increases to slow down.
- 15% increase to what base salary?? Infosys, WIPRO, Satyam, IBM et al ... all pay a starting average salary of around 4 lakhs or so. That's $10K/year. In US it is probably $45K or so at least. Still a 4x difference. Similar differences exists for 4-8 years exp people. The delta is shrinking for Sr. management positions and above but they account for say 10% of workforce.
- Again, too simplistic to assume companies go to India for cost advantage alone. What about large pool of educated people? "Why not Oklahoma or British Columbia?" Try finding couple of million software engineers there. Scale matters.
- It would be myopic to do smart/near-shoring alone. They would have to do all some for cost benefit some for scale.
- Sure more companies will start getting more IT professional back to US but here again it will not scale beyond certain limit for at least 2 reasons:
1. US immigration is not going to change at least in the near future to accommodate a large influx of legal immigrants.
2. Life getting better, not as many urban middle class Indians would be willing to come to US.
Last but not the least, I am hopeful that as as more cutting edge innovation happens in India albeit due to HPs, GEs, Googles, Microsofts, Oracles et al setting up research, design and development there, the culture of innovation will take roots in the next 10 years.
Posted by jagubarot | 02/29/08 09:55 PM EST
Don't forget that the subjects of your topic are spiritually committed to reincarnation and blessed by the Trinity of Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesh. What a dim-witted or a pseudo-intellectual view as death, the Indians view it as a transformation, or more precisely, an opportunity for dispersion and creation for perpetuation. Do not underestimate the shrewdness, professionalism and capability of the Indian executives. Most of them grew up with no resources or support structure. They have laid solid foundations and spread their wings worldwide. An advantage is an advantage, even if it is 1:2.
Tags: brahma, vishnu, mahesh
Posted by rasputyn | 02/29/08 06:46 PM EST
people may wish to continue to bury their heads in the sand, but this article reflects business trends in every developing region. The reason the US wentr to India was for the short term cost advantage. As costs rise they will look elsewhere. China is in the same boat. Is the US going to have their manufacturing done in China forever? No. The Chinese are smart enough to realize that too. That is why China has preconditions that businesses manufacturing there MUST have their development/technology based there as well (so the locals learn the science) Look at motorola - products that are assembled by robots. So why did they go to China? To capture that market. Ahaha but they had to move their development from Illinois to China because the Chinese govt would not let them do business otherwise. India needs to levy similar restrictions on foreign firms. Otherwise the employed indians will soon be like their US counterparts...learning Chinese.
Posted by sramana | 02/29/08 06:44 PM EST
Btw, some of the points you are bringing up are also discussed in this article and its comments:
http://sramanamitra.com/2008/02/21/indian-it​-industry-the-next-8-years/
Sramana
Posted by Mohan_Bhargav | 02/29/08 06:37 PM EST
Wow, Pretty lame article by a lame author. Is she saying Infosys and Wipro should take advice from her on how to run their companies? Or, NASSCOM and other organisations just don't have the foreboding that she has for them ?
Get a life!!!
Tags: Sramana Mitra lame
Posted by vluthra1 | 02/29/08 06:24 PM EST
Too bad, an Indian who probably has acquired American degree, businesses and hopefully citizenship too by now, gets endorsed by Forbes (what a shame) to blast a nation, herself sitting in a cold turkey country, which is under debt, at war and potentially no future! Surely she can dazzle a few with her words of wisdom, but not all. Wake up Alice in Wonderland and look around - you should be more worried with what happens in your glorious America, more than in India. I'd be darned worried being in USA, which has no past, a murky present and a grim future in lurk. Luckily for those who pride in India a little more than Ms. Sramana, know well that it had a glorious past, a good present and even a better future. Not too late Miss, to change sides...Vivek Luthra
Tags: FUTURE, American, Indian, past, present
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Agriculture Sector Looks Good in Genes
Jack Uldrich
February 29, 2008
On the inside pages of today’s Wall Street Journal is a half-page advertisement from BASF touting its ability to get “48 miles per kennel.” The claim is a clever bit of hyperbole, but it does hint at a promising future for the entire agricultural sector -- an area which, as fellow fool Matt Koppenheffer noted earlier this year, is already doing quite well.
A new tool: the supercomputer
For centuries, the agricultural industry has been adept at applying the latest advances in technology to improve both yield and productivity. There is no reason to believe that this trend will stop anytime soon, and one unlikely hero in this unfolding technological revolution will be the humble supercomputer.
Earlier this week, researchers at Sandia and Oak Ridge National Laboratories announced that they were developing an exascale computer. For those of you counting at home, an exascale computer will be 1,000 times faster than today’s petaflop computers -- which, as I explained in this piece, are already wickedly powerful.
Now, these supercomputers won’t be tilling the fields or harvesting crops anytime soon, but they will allow farmers to reap more from every kennel of corn and acre of land. This is because supercomputers are the engines fueling the new discoveries being made in the rapidly maturing field of genomics.
This past week brought two noteworthy breakthroughs. First, a team of scientists announced that they had completed a working draft of the corn genome. Among other things, this development is expected to lead to better crop varieties that can meet society’s growing demand for food, livestock, feed, and fuel.
Last week, I wrote about how agricultural scientists at DuPont (NYSE: DD) had identified a key gene that boosts the yield of oil and oleic acid and explained how this could be a windfall to a company like Archer Daniels Midland (NYSE: ADM).
With the corn genome now unraveled, researchers will be able to take this advance many steps farther, including making corn both more nutritious and more efficient for ethanol production -- although not likely in the same cob. In addition to being a boon for large ethanol producers such as The Andersons (Nasdaq: ANDE) and Poet Energy, this could also alleviate some of the tension over the “food vs. fuel” debate by allowing farmers to squeeze more ethanol from each bushel of corn.
Who needs the rain?
A second area in which genomics promises to yield some important breakthroughs is in the creation of drought-resistant crops. In a paper published in Nature this week, biologists at the University of California, San Diego, outlined how they have isolated a gene responsible for opening and closing the stomatal pores, which regulate water loss from plants.
This might not sound like that big of a deal, until one considers that plants under drought stress lose 95% of their water through such pores.
If successfully developed at a commercial scale by a company like Monsanto (NYSE: MON) -- and this is still a big “if” at this time -- the advance could open up vast regions of the planet to productive farming. And because many of these crops will still need to rely on fertilizers and other chemicals to achieve maximum output, this could be a boon to companies like The Mosaic Company (NYSE: MOS) and Syngenta (NYSE: SYT), which supply those materials.
Foolish bottom line
As significant as these advances are, I would strongly advise Foolish readers to keep an eye on the work of geneticist Craig Venter. At a presentation at the prestigious Technology, Entertainment and Design (TED) conference this week, Venter disclosed his potentially world-changing “fourth-generation fuel,” which (as you may have guessed) is being fueled by advances in genomics.
As Venter noted, he has 20 million genes which he can genetically reengineer to “eat” agricultural feedstocks and “excrete” pure fuel. If he is successful, agriculture could not only feed the world, it could fuel it.
Advances in genomics are going to impact a great many industries, including health care and pharmaceuticals. But for my money, if you’re looking for an industry that might look really good in “genes,” you should consider the agricultural sector.
http://www.fool.com/investing/high-growth/2008/02/29/agriculture-sector-looks-good-in-genes.aspx
Yeah. Somebody has made his car run with only water... in news not so long ago.
I've been thinking if I put bigger back wheels under my car...
Algae - an alternative energy!!?? Sounds too good to be true.
GSPI Presents Algae to Biodiesel Report at the Biofuel Symposium
Thursday February 28, 10:37 am ET
SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Green Star Products, Inc. (OTC:GSPI $0.04 - News) announced today that its president, Joseph LaStella, will be a keynote speaker at the Big Sky Coalition Biofuel Symposium, presenting a cutting edge report titled "Algae to Biodiesel and Cellulosic Ethanol."
ADVERTISEMENT
Mr. LaStella stated that, "The public still does not comprehend the fact that the U.S. cannot sustain its present standard of living if we do not wean ourselves off foreign oil soon."
Believe it or not, the United States possesses only 2% of the World’s known oil reserves; yet the U.S. consumes 25% of all the oil produced in the World each day. This is a grossly unsustainable economic factor facing all of us.
Also consider that present agricultural oil crops (soy, corn, canola, Jatropha, etc.) can only produce about 100 gallons of oil per acre per year; while microalgae can produce more than 4,000 gallons of oil per acre per year.
The Biofuel Symposium will be held on March 1, 2008, at the First Interstate Event Center in the city of Hamilton, Montana.
Hamilton also happens to be the home of one of the largest demonstration algae production facilities in the world, built by Green Star Products, Inc.
Green Star has been releasing news updates on the successful demonstration accomplishments of the facility since May 2007 (see website GreenStarUSA.com).
On December 21, 2007, the local newspaper in Hamilton printed a full-page in-depth report on the project titled "Algae's Answer", which includes some new first time photographs of the facility.
It is now posted on Green Star's website and is really worthwhile reading.
The symposium is free to the public and many notable speakers from universities and labs from five states are on the agenda. The states include Arizona, Montana, Utah, Washington and Wisconsin (see Biofuel Symposium schedule at GreenStarUSA.com or BigSkyCoalition.org).
Green Star Products, Inc. (OTC:GSPI - News) is an environmentally friendly company dedicated to creating innovative cost-effective products to improve the quality of life and clean up the environment. Green Star Products and its Consortium are involved in the production of green sustainable goods including renewable resources like algae biodiesel and clean-burning biofuels, cellulosic ethanol and other products, as well as lubricants, additives and devices that reduce emissions and improve fuel economy in vehicles, machinery and power plants. For more information, see Green Star Products' Web site at http://www.GreenStarUSA.com, or call Investor Relations at 619-864-4010, or fax 619-789-4743, or email info@GreenStarUSA.com. Information about trading prices and volume can be obtained at several Internet sites, including http://www.pinksheets.com, http://www.bloomberg.com and http://www.bigcharts.com under the ticker symbol "GSPI".
Forward-looking statements in the release are made pursuant to the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Investors are cautioned that such forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, including without limitation, continued acceptance of the company's products, increased levels of competition for the company, new products and technological changes, the company's dependence on third-party suppliers, and other risks detailed from time to time in the company's periodic filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Contact:
Green Star Products, Inc.
Joseph LaStella, President
619-864-4010
619-789-4743 fax
info@GreenStarUSA.com
"Dean Store Ulven" looks a bit concerned... The two men are fighting about the ownership of Aker Drilling (Røkke has upper hand for the time being):
http://www.na24.no/imarkedet/shippingoljefisk/article1495535.ece