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SSKILLZ1: QID / RSI .. I am not much of a technical trader. I am curious if you feel that RSI for an individual stock is a comparable indicator when dealing with an ETF such as QID or any other basket of many stocks.
Actually is technical chart reading the same for index work as it is for individual issues?
TIA
nelson: Thanks for the post. That is valuable info. Last company I owned that did one of those spent $400,000 on the mailer. The stock traded up to $2.00 and is now $.01 ...
KIK: My largest position is 3% at market value (cost is almost nil). Usually I would limit myself to 1-2%.
As for a 15% position I guess that would depend on your objectives, age, total net worth, other sources of income. Can someone tolerate waking up some morning and seeing 15% of equity wiped out by SEC stopping trading or some other scam. Not for me anymore.
When I started out in the brokerage business I had 1 position which was 150% of my net worth. It worked out well, but since then I have scaled back, way back!
CFSG: Uplisting to NASDAQ ...
China Fire & Security Group, Inc. Appoints Four New Directors
Tuesday April 17, 10:12 am ET
Members Bring Industry Experience in the Fire Protection, Corporate Governance and Accounting Sectors
BEIJING, April 17 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- China Fire & Security Group, Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: CFSG - News) "China Fire", a leading industrial fire protection products and solutions provider in China, today announced the appointment of four new members to its board of directors, Mr. Gene Michael Bennett, Ms. Tieying Guo, Mr. Guoyou Zhang and Mr. Yushen Liu.
Mr. Bennett's career includes extensive financial and accounting experience as a Chief Financial Officer and corporate consultant. From 2000 to 2004, Mr. Bennett, age 59, was the Partner of ProCFO, a California based firm providing contract CFO services for high tech firms in the US. Currently, Mr. Bennett as a CPA and Partner of Nexis Investment Consulting Corporation has been working as a corporate consultant in Beijing where he his assisting in bringing China-based companies up the US standard in various areas including Corporate governance, Internal Control and accounting transparency. In addition to his appointment on the board Mr. Bennett has been named Chairman of the Audit Committee. Mr. Bennett received a law degree from University of Michigan, and a bachelor's degree in Accounting and an MBA degree both from Michigan State University.
Mr. Zhang is currently the Vice President of Beijing University and the director of the Institute of International Business Management, Beijing University. Professor Zhang, age 57, has extensive experience in economics and business management and has written and/or edited many published articles and books over the past 20 years. In addition to his appointment on the board he has been named Chairman of the Compensation Committee. Professor Zhang has been teaching in Beijing University since 1976 while receiving his Ph.D degree in Economics from Beijing University in 1991.
Ms. Tieying Guo, age 48, is the current president of China Fire and Security Group and has served her position since July 2006. Ms. Guo has over 20 years of experience in China's Fire Protection Industry, including a job with the Ministry of Public Security. Before coming to China Fire and Security, Ms. Guo was Executive Vice President for China Fire Enterprises, a fire protection equipment and engineering company in China that has been listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange since 2002. During her tenure, she helped provide strategic guidance in M&A activities. From 2000 to 2004, Ms. Guo held management positions with China Huandao Group, the company which, at one point, owned almost all of the largest state-owned fire protection companies in China.
Mr. Yushen Liu, age 63, has over 40 years of experience in the Petrochemical fire protection industry. Mr. Liu is also the current chairman of the Fire Expert Committee of PetroChina and is recognized by the State Department as a National Safe Production Expert. He is a renowned technical expert in PetroChina's Safe Production Standards Committee and has helped extinguish more than 3000 fires, 400 of which were classified as severe fire hazards. He has authored three national standards and has drafted and reviewed various chapters of China Fire Codes. In the past, Mr. Liu was the Fire Chief of Daqing Oil Stock Company, a subsidiary of PetroChina. Mr. Liu received a Bachelor's Degree in Fire Protection Engineering from the Chinese People's Armed Police Force Academy in 1988.
"We are pleased with the recent additions to our board and believe each of their respective industry experience will be invaluable to China Fire as we evolve as a U.S. publicly traded company," commented Mr. Brian Lin, CEO of China Fire. "With this now complete the majority of our directors are independent and we are currently applying to list the Company's shares on the Nasdaq Capital Market which we believe will lead to increased visibility for the Company."
About China Fire & Security Group, Inc.
China Fire & Security Group, Inc., through its wholly owned subsidiaries, Sureland Industrial Fire Safety Limited ("Sureland") and Sureland Industrial Fire Equipment (Beijing) Limited ("Sureland Equipment"), is engaged primarily in the design, development, manufacture and sale in China of a variety of fire safety products for the industrial fire safety market and the design and installation of industrial fire safety systems in which it uses its own fire safety products. It also provides maintenance services for customers of its industrial fire safety systems.
Headquartered in Beijing with over 30 sales and project offices throughout China, Sureland markets its industrial fire safety products and systems primarily to major companies in the iron and steel, power and petrochemical industries in China. It is developing and expanding its business in other industrial sectors including transportation, wine and tobacco, vessels, nuclear energy, and public space markets.
Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward Looking Information
This presentation may contain forward-looking information about China Fire & Security Group, Inc. and its wholly owned subsidiary Sureland which are intended to be covered by the safe harbor for forward-looking statements provided by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward- looking statements are statements that are not historical facts. These statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "believe," "expect," "may," "will," "should," "project," "plan," "seek," "intend," or "anticipate" or the negative thereof or comparable terminology, and include discussions of strategy, and statements about industry trends and China Fire & Security Groups' future performance, operations and products. This and other ''Risk Factors'' contained in China Fire & Security Groups' public filings with the SEC.
For more information, please contact:
Investors:
Matt Hayden,
HC International
Tel: +1-858-704-5065
China Fire & Security Group, Inc.:
Brian Lin, CEO
Tel: +86-10-8589-7509
echos, Foreign currency trading is not my thing. However I do follow mutuals. Actually I used to. I would mostly use ETF's now. Exchange traded funds. Similar to mutual funds, except they trade like stocks. You can short them, you can sell instantly instead of waiting for the end of day price.
I would recommend checking out all the Vanguard Funds ETF's. https://flagship.vanguard.com/VGApp/hnw/FundsVIPERByName
They might not have what you are looking for, but it will give you an idea of LOW expenses so you can compare to other ETF's. I would never buy a fund that invests in other funds.
My only recent mutual fund has been Vanguards Health care fund. A long term great fund.
also from Smartmoney.com
Ironically, more of that foreign exchange now gets executed through the NYSE, using the innovative CurrencyShares products we've mentioned numerous times over the past year or so. As you might recall, these are ETFs that hold foreign currency, such as the euro (FXE: 135.60, +0.57, +0.4%), yen (FXY: 83.91, -0.06, -0.1%) or Swiss franc (FXF: 82.49, +0.33, +0.4%). For most investors just getting started with the asset class, these offer an excellent, unleveraged way to gain exposure. There's also the PowerShares DB U.S. Dollar Bullish fund (UUP: 24.69, -0.01, -0.0%) and PowerShares DB U.S. Dollar Bearish fund (UDN: 25.68, +0.08, +0.3%), profiled here last month, which are essentially bullish/bearish index funds for placing bets on the dollar.
Len, you got me. I should have said "nigh" impossible. LOL
Echos, check that funds expense ratio, 12B-1 fees and the fact that they list GLD as number 1 holding. You could do a lot better buying ETF's directly.
Portland OR, although I did stay in a Holiday Inn in Seattle once.
I would not mind playing some golf one of these days. I am pretty bad, so it would be just for kicks! It would also give a distraction to the MetalHead talk that would come from you! LOL
I would have to check with the wife as she has plotted things out for the next few (many, a lot) of months!
I would think as a first meeting you would want to keep it cheap (Lentinman - Sonic Catering), low key and easy to get to. Greater participation would help gather support for future meetings. If it turned out to be only Bobwins standing in front of Key Arena waiting for a Sonics game, I guess it would be considered a dud! LOL
Pick a spot with a few trusted advisors and announce it. Trying to get consensus with a large group is near impossible. Been there and not done that!
If it is within driving distance of Seattle or Portland, that would be my subliminal idea.
Not making any more land! LOL
Real Estate in Its Purest Form
by Jeffrey R. Kosnett
Friday, April 13, 2007provided byKiplinger'sPersonalFinance
Residential real estate prices may be falling, but the cost of land is going up and can be a solid investment.
A few weeks ago I drove from Maryland to Florida and back. On long trips, I usually turn onto some two-lane state and county highways. This time, I had a mission: to watch for land on the market and get a sense of whether pure unimproved real estate is a plausible investment.
A few people who invest directly in real estate own all or part of neighborhood retail strips that house beauty salons, pizza parlors and the like. Most direct investors buy condominiums or houses. With houses or apartments the risk is big that you'll constantly be searching for tenants to keep the units filled and spend more time on the property than you want, unless you hire a property-management company for around 8% of the rent. Moreover, although some distressed investors may be trying to unload their properties, prices, based on current rents as a percentage of the gross cash flow, are still high in many places.
But none of this necessarily means that the timing is wrong for all real estate. One of the best-performing types of investment property lately has been land, specifically farmland or rural land that can be used for recreational activities or can be subdivided into parcels for homes with panoramic views.
The lure of land isn't a temporary phenomenon. Land has long been a desirable holding among long-term buy-and-holders who don't need current income or tax losses and can buy for cash or pay bank-loan installments from current income. Or consider the case of a Kiplinger's reader from northern California who just sought our opinion on a plan to take $125,000 from certificates of deposit and buy additional acreage adjacent to his six-acre country home. The beauty of the reader's plan is that it would combine the intangible value of having the acquired property serve as a buffer against unwanted development with a plan to hold the land for 10 to 20 years and sell it, perhaps in pieces, as a retirement investment.
I posed this situation to a group of financial planners and advisers. I was shocked at the vehemence of their opposition. "I've seen a lot of people lose tons of money in land or get frustrated with the lack of return and get out," says Marc Vorchheimer, a financial adviser in Nanuet, N.Y. Chris Van Slyke, an adviser in La Jolla, Calif., said, "What if this is not a good area long-term? What if there is chemical contamination?"
These and other financial people prefer more liquid and diversified ways to add real estate to a portfolio, namely real estate investment trusts and mutual funds that own REITs and other property-related stocks. I can't argue with REITs or the best of the funds. The ten-year annualized return of REITs is 15%. That's fantastic. But just as there's more to real estate than houses, there's definitely more to real estate investing than securities.
A quick tour
That means back to land. A real estate broker and landowner in Colfax, Cal., Robbie Robinson, says land in the area where he and our aforementioned homeowner live has risen steadily in value for ten years, to as much as $2,000 an acre for raw mountain land and $125,000 for a small building lot. This is in part because of the Sierra-foothills scenery that attracts second-home buyers. The growth of the metropolitan Sacramento area, which is 30 miles away, is also behind the appreciation.
In North Carolina, you hear a similar story. Keith Brouillard, co-owner of Carolina Forestry, a land brokerage in Raleigh, lists tracts for sale ranging from one-acre home sites to 280 acres of timber and hunting land. Most of the property is an hour or less from Raleigh, Durham or Chapel Hill.
Log on to www.carolinaforestry.com and you'll see the panoply of possible land investments. For $20,000 you can get a one-acre site that's ready for a house, with a paved road and electricity easily connected. An expanse of timberland, which can pay you some income over the years but needs more work before you could think of building a house, is $3,000 to $5,000 an acre, depending on size and location. Variations in price also depend on availability of water, whether the soil "perks," meaning that it is suitable for septic systems, and amenities, such as hunting and fishing conditions, lake or river frontage, and privacy. Higher-priced land, which has the better amenities, ready utilities and is nearer to cities and highways, has the most investment potential, Brouillard says. He says that many parcels will sell at full list price within a couple of weeks, and that's without inclusion in the realtors' multiple listing system.
Realtors list land, but some of the best-sounding properties are sold directly by specialized land dealers. McKeough Land Company, a Michigan company, has expanded rapidly the past few years and now sells recreational and second-home land in six states. McKeough buys land (often farms from heirs who don't want to farm) and gets it zoned and partly developed so that it's pretty much all set for buyers to build on the property. The prices vary with views and water frontage. McKeough handles the details, such as zoning matters and making sure the land perks. So it becomes is more like buying a suburban housing lot than a piece of wilderness, even though McKeough's parcels are in rural areas.
Most investment land, however, is sold as is, which is why it's often called "raw." At the B.B. Brooks Ranch near Casper, Wyo., 40-acre sites start for little more than $1,000 an acre, but you will have to pay for wells, sanitation, possibly a generator and other essentials. Unimproved roads provide access to most of the property. Still, since the ranch went on the market in 2005, about 500 parcels have sold, at prices from $37,500 to more than $150,000. The first buyers paid $800 to $900 per acre. Today, the price is closer to $1,100 to $1,200. The few that are left for sale are going fast.
Scarce information
If you think land that raw is dear, a ready-made slice of Western heaven can really cost. A 960-acre Montana spread called Buffalo Jump Ranch, with wildlife, pastureland, mountain views, water and a remodeled four-bedroom house, is on the market for $10 million. That's more than $10,000 an acre.
For most of us, of course, that's a fantasy, and the broker offering it, Country West Ranch & Land, of Bozeman, has a bunch of other, more reasonably priced properties. But none of the easily available information tells you one of the most critical pieces of information: What's happening to the values?
There are no indexes for raw land. Zillow.com doesn't hazard its guesses. Nor are there the press releases and studies that real estate firms and organizations compile about residential housing. That's one of the risks of land as an investment: It's really hard to determine is real value. You can haggle, but it may not be the most informed of haggles.
Wherever you're looking, you can go by assessments. Whether you're in Montana or Wyoming or North Carolina or in your home county, one of your first stops should be the local assessor's office. Real estate agents and brokers are disinclined to talk down property, but in my experience, real estate people who have dealt in land for many years and know a lot of the local shakers are straight shooters. They'll tell you, for example, that in a Gulf of Mexico waterfront area, the best land investments are parcels that have room for larger boats, because rich buyers who pay top dollar and don't think about every buck tend to own bigger boats. In a semi-suburban area around Raleigh, 7% to 8% annual return is a fair guess, figures Keith Brouillard, the Carolina Forestry co-owner. The appreciation may be a little higher for land that's close enough to the cities to attract buyers who want to build family homes and drive to work. More than an hour way from town and the prices (and the taxes) are lower. But there's less of a scarcity factor for more-remote property, so you should figure that the value of the land will appreciate more slowly.
Two other aspects of land investing to consider are financing and foregone income. Land isn't like a house with a traditional mortgage. You can borrow to buy land, but the interest rates are generally a couple of percentage points higher than on buildings and the term may be shorter. Land dealers, like realtors who sell houses, may have relationships with local banks and can help you find the money.
Don't expect as generous a tax deduction on the interest for a loan to buy land. Land loans are treated more like a margin loan on stocks, which means your interest deduction cannot exceed your total investment income in a given year (and some common forms of investment income are ineligible). The best tax advantage to owning land is the same one you get on stocks and funds: Hold it long enough, and any appreciation is considered a long-term capital gain. And, in case you're wondering, land does not depreciate, so you cannot claim any losses from depreciation even if someone builds a power plant across the road.
All of these factors make the financial analysis of a land deal far more complicated than a rental condo. But owning land gives you a lot of flexibility and comes with some terrific intangibles, including a sense that you really own a part of America. As I drove on U.S. 401 in North Carolina between I-95 and Raleigh, I saw a lot of really beautiful tracts for sale, interrupted by little villages with neat stores and little cafes. Who could resist the picture of a custom-built house with green views in every direction, with breakfast on the deck, buffered by acres and acres of nature? It may not be as profitable as a real estate investment trust, but it's a lot more rewarding.
Copyrighted, Kiplinger Washington Editors, Inc.
Of course, soldiers and their families weren't the only ones surprised by the Pentagon announcement. Just hours before the news leaked out, President Bush complained about Democratic congressional foot-dragging that has held up approval of a $120-billion-plus supplemental war bill. "The bottom line is this: Congress's failure to fund our troops will mean that some of our military families could wait longer for their loved ones to return from the front lines," Bush told an American Legion audience in suburban Virginia. The next day, his Pentagon did it all by itself, without any help from anyone of either party on Capitol Hill.
You just have to love these guys!
m_winston: Thanks for the K-Meleon idea! It is the fastest browser for my computer. It screams... even without blocking ads it is much faster than Maxthon, Firefox & Opera.
GLEN
We are experiencing technical difficulties. For more information please contact:
818-907-1505 or 661-607-9659
Links
Penson Online - to view your account
ViewTrader - trading platform to place trades online.
R59: I don't think CPNE owns that database of medical providers. Dig deeper.
http://www.medavanthealth.com/providers.aspx
Finally some real news. EKCS could be way undervalued if the sub contract awards are large enough. When they were giving out sub contracts to others the margins were very thin, hopefully in this case they will be making the $$$$. Depending on the size of these awards, the stock could fly this summer as details come out.
Curious about Hyundai. Was that a total scam?
Electronic Control Security, Inc. is Teamed With Lockheed Mart
n On NAVFAC Program ( PrimeNewswire )
B: Electronic Control Security, Inc. is Teamed With Lockheed Martin On NAVFAC Pr
gram ( PrimeNewswire )
CLIFTON, N.J., Apr 13, 2007 (PrimeNewswire via COMTEX) --
Electronic Control Security, Inc. (OTCBB:EKCS) ("ECSI"), a leading provider
of electronic security system technologies and services to the government,
military and private sectors, today announced that it had received
notification of a subcontract award as an integral part of the Lockheed
Martin Warrior Shield Team. This Anti-Terrorism Force Protection initiative
is for U.S. naval bases worldwide.
The ATFP Procurement, Installation, and Maintenance-Multiple Award Contract
(PIM-MAC) program is designed to upgrade Naval installations with
anti-terrorism detection, assessment, tracking and response systems to
protect assets, personnel and equipment from the sort of terrorist threats
best illustrated by the USS Cole, Marine Barracks and embassy incidents. The
program will provide security enhancements including regional and local
command/control/response centers for worldwide naval installations.
ECSI's awards under the program are a result of the company's unique core
competency in the manufacture and support services for state of the art
multi-environment land sea and air perimeter intrusion detection systems. The
company's inclusion as an integral member of the winning teams is based on
ECSI's status as a qualified DoD Small Business subcontractor under the small
business set aside requirements of the program. Task orders are expected to
be issued during the first quarter of fiscal 2008, which begins October 1,
2007.
"ECSI's award under the ATFP PIM-MAC program is another step forward in
achieving our objectives," stated Arthur Barchenko, President and CEO. "We
will be operating as a subcontractor to our winning team partners which gives
us a significant portion of the award,. At this point it is premature to
quantify the expected size of the awards to ECSI over the full term of the
program, but we do look forward to making further announcements as we receive
the initial task orders for the program as it ramps up this summer."
About Anti-Terrorism Force Protection PIM-MAC Program
The ATFP PIM-MAC Program is a critical element in improving the security
posture at Navy shore installations worldwide. It includes Waterside Security
Systems; Electronic Security Systems (ESS); Access Control; Command, Control,
Communications and Intelligence; and more. The purpose of the program is the
procurement, installation, and sustainment of Anti-Terrorism Force Protection
Ashore Program equipment at naval installations worldwide. The total amount
per year is not to exceed $100,000,000; and the cumulative total for all four
contracts over the entire contract term is $500,000,000 (base period and four
one-year options).Work will be performed at various locations worldwide. The
term of the contract is not to exceed 60 months, with an expected completion
date of March 2008 (March 2012 with options). Contract funds will not expire
at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively
procured via the Naval Facilities Engineering Command e-solicitation website
with 11 proposals received. The Naval Facilities Engineering Command,
Southwest, Specialty Center Contracts Core, Port Hueneme, Calif., is the
contracting activity.
About ECSI
ECSI is recognized as a global leader in perimeter security and an effective
quality provider for both the Department of Defense and Homeland Security
programs. The company designs, manufactures and markets physical electronic
security systems for high-profile, high-threat environments. The employment
of risk assessment and analysis allows ECSI to determine and address the
security needs of government and commercial-industrial installations. The
company has teaming agreements with major system integrators in both the
United States and overseas to support the installation and after market. ECSI
is located at 790 Bloomfield Avenue, Bldg. C-1, Clifton, NJ 07012. Tel:
973-574-8555; Fax: 973-574-8562. For more information on ECSI, please visit
Electronic Control Security, Inc. is Teamed With Lockheed Mart
n On NAVFAC Program ( PrimeNewswire )
B: Electronic Control Security, Inc. is Teamed With Lockheed Martin On NAVFAC Pr
gram ( PrimeNewswire )
CLIFTON, N.J., Apr 13, 2007 (PrimeNewswire via COMTEX) --
Electronic Control Security, Inc. (OTCBB:EKCS) ("ECSI"), a leading provider
of electronic security system technologies and services to the government,
military and private sectors, today announced that it had received
notification of a subcontract award as an integral part of the Lockheed
Martin Warrior Shield Team. This Anti-Terrorism Force Protection initiative
is for U.S. naval bases worldwide.
The ATFP Procurement, Installation, and Maintenance-Multiple Award Contract
(PIM-MAC) program is designed to upgrade Naval installations with
anti-terrorism detection, assessment, tracking and response systems to
protect assets, personnel and equipment from the sort of terrorist threats
best illustrated by the USS Cole, Marine Barracks and embassy incidents. The
program will provide security enhancements including regional and local
command/control/response centers for worldwide naval installations.
ECSI's awards under the program are a result of the company's unique core
competency in the manufacture and support services for state of the art
multi-environment land sea and air perimeter intrusion detection systems. The
company's inclusion as an integral member of the winning teams is based on
ECSI's status as a qualified DoD Small Business subcontractor under the small
business set aside requirements of the program. Task orders are expected to
be issued during the first quarter of fiscal 2008, which begins October 1,
2007.
"ECSI's award under the ATFP PIM-MAC program is another step forward in
achieving our objectives," stated Arthur Barchenko, President and CEO. "We
will be operating as a subcontractor to our winning team partners which gives
us a significant portion of the award,. At this point it is premature to
quantify the expected size of the awards to ECSI over the full term of the
program, but we do look forward to making further announcements as we receive
the initial task orders for the program as it ramps up this summer."
About Anti-Terrorism Force Protection PIM-MAC Program
The ATFP PIM-MAC Program is a critical element in improving the security
posture at Navy shore installations worldwide. It includes Waterside Security
Systems; Electronic Security Systems (ESS); Access Control; Command, Control,
Communications and Intelligence; and more. The purpose of the program is the
procurement, installation, and sustainment of Anti-Terrorism Force Protection
Ashore Program equipment at naval installations worldwide. The total amount
per year is not to exceed $100,000,000; and the cumulative total for all four
contracts over the entire contract term is $500,000,000 (base period and four
one-year options).Work will be performed at various locations worldwide. The
term of the contract is not to exceed 60 months, with an expected completion
date of March 2008 (March 2012 with options). Contract funds will not expire
at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively
procured via the Naval Facilities Engineering Command e-solicitation website
with 11 proposals received. The Naval Facilities Engineering Command,
Southwest, Specialty Center Contracts Core, Port Hueneme, Calif., is the
contracting activity.
About ECSI
ECSI is recognized as a global leader in perimeter security and an effective
quality provider for both the Department of Defense and Homeland Security
programs. The company designs, manufactures and markets physical electronic
security systems for high-profile, high-threat environments. The employment
of risk assessment and analysis allows ECSI to determine and address the
security needs of government and commercial-industrial installations. The
company has teaming agreements with major system integrators in both the
United States and overseas to support the installation and after market. ECSI
is located at 790 Bloomfield Avenue, Bldg. C-1, Clifton, NJ 07012. Tel:
973-574-8555; Fax: 973-574-8562. For more information on ECSI, please visit
My first career was as an accountant. And I can tell you for sure that CPA's are beat down this week as it is the last weekend before TAX return deadline. Hopefully they find the time to get DPDW out the door!
split thanks for the info. I wonder if they do indeed sell the shares in Canada? Anyway I guess I will wait another 22 years to short an OTC stock. The last one was a killer.
Gates: Army tours extended by three months
Gee can't wait until my son is 18 so he can enlist!
IMUS: never much cared for the guy. He is a fossil and the Rutgers team should ignore him. I expect that the advertisers will call the shots on his future. He was one of the originators of the shock jock moronic radio programming, Howard Stern owes his millions to IMUS.
He does however plow a ton of money into his camps to care for and help kids with cancer. He did jump all over Bush and Co, for the Katrina treatment of the poor in N.O.
I would not waste my time listening to him, I think what he said was stupid. I think BUSH must love the fact that it covers the continued killings of our soldiers in IRAQ.
I have no use for Jessie Jackson.
Al Sharpton is another matter entirely. He is funny as the best stand up comedians and is a very intelligent guy. When they used to ask if you would rather have a beer with Kerry or Bush, I would always say The Reverand Al!
Watch him debate some of the conservative talking heads, he can go toe to toe with them. He gets himself into trouble when he jumps into things without proper Due Diligence. He could use some time on the VM board!
OPBL Short: I have not been short an OTC stock in 22 years. How exactly would you expect that he shorted OPBL? I know that you can't short it at Schwab.
In the old days I could use a firm trading account, but with something like OPBL it is not marginable and not shortable with Schwab. Anyone using a broker that would let them short it?
OTCBB stock market makers are under an obligation to fill an order to the size that is shown. So if they are bidding $.35 for 5,000 shares they should be buying them. If they are not bidding they don't have to buy them. HOWEVER most big trading houses will compete with the bid or offer to retain the order flow of the customers. So NITE the big gorilla in the business will most likely do the trade even if they are not on the bid or offer. Then they will either keep the stock if they think they can sell it higher or hit the other guys bid and get rid of it fast. On an illiquid stock they will sometimes go hit the bid prior to executing your trade. Riskless for them in that case.
Schwab for the most part shows my bids and will give me good executions. If I place a bid on DPDW, I will usually see it reflected within 5 seconds of placing the order. Can't ask for more than that. They also have a large internal order flow that greatly increases liquidity in many stocks.
A few years ago I noticed that many of the BB market makers started to show customer orders. I think they did this in response to GNET/ARCA ecn which was starting to become a bigger factor in the OTCBB arena. I confirmed this with someone who worked for GNET at the time. Since then the competition has proven to help us get better BB executions.
If your broker is not filling your orders, speak up or go away to some other firm. They don't have to fill your order in many cases, they should if they want to keep customers.
Pharo1: I would be screaming @ Ameritrade for not filling your order. There is no excuse for that. If the stock is available @ $.43 and you have $.43 limit order they should be going out and taking the stock from the seller (GLEN).
I have heard other people say what you are saying and I always figured they were BS'ing. I guess Ameritrade is just not the place to be.
Ameritrade sucks. Try Schwab or another broker that has a brain. I got a fill with schwab the other day @ $.32 while people were paying $.38 plus.
That makes no sense if you were willing to pay $.43 and did not get filled on your order. It was offered @ $.43 most of the day and closed with the offer @ $.43
Either your broker sucks or you are mistaken.
Multiple market makers. Just because you bid an order with one firm does not mean that they will see every sell order on the street. Buy 5,000 shares, don't be a cheapskate. <g> LOL
Someone took down 20,000 shares EOD.
"Anybody have experience with OTCBB trading at Schwab or Fidelity"
I prefer Schwab using Streetsmart Pro which is a direct connection program, not web based. They route orders mostly to UBSS which bought out Schwabs trading business. I have a local rep who can usually problem solve any issues I have. I like that a lot. Reminds me of the old days of customer service!
Fidelity routes orders for BB that I have seen through NITE, the same as Ameritrade. Generally similar executions although you would think Fidelity has a longer standing relationship with NITE> My guess is that like Vanguard, Fidelity does not want to associate themselves with stocks under $1.00, therefore they keep the commissions high.
If my order on a BB stock goes to someone other than UBSS when they are in the stock, I will usually cancel it and forget about the stock. It tells me something stinks and I run away. CEDA being the recent example.
Bobwins:
Linkwad is a plug in for firefox that handles tabs.
Opera browser natively opens all the tabs.
I still use Maxthon mostly... but it is slow compared to the others as it is basically a jazzed up IE.
Most likely not games. MM's are sitting with a bunch of sell orders under 5K. They just take the sell orders out when a buyer came in @ $.48 .. They are doing what they are supposed to do. We have no idea how many small orders are sitting between $.36 & $.48 .. The good thing is that they are small orders and don't mean much in the overall picture.
going in the right direction>>>>>>
EDIT: someone just showed us some $.43 stock!
hog: The market size is 5,000 shares. If your order is less than 5,000 then you have almost no chance of seeing your bid. It is not a combined system. One market maker may get hit on the bid and it has no bearing on your order.
Even if you bid $.36 for 5,000 shares, the MM has no requirement on the BB to show your bid. They only do so if they want to be nice <g>/
CPNE: Thought this might be of interest. Don't own the stock myself.
http://www.otcjournal.com/archive/listserv/20070407-1.html
I spend a fair amount of time dealing with questions and theories about Commerce Planet. Investors are concerned, and the recent behavior of the stock is exacerbating everyone's fears.
I have a conspiracy theory. I'm not sure if there's any truth to it, but it does make some sense when you think about it. After all, here's what's changed in the past month:
First of all- the price. The stock was $3.40 at the end of February, and is currently residing at about $1.80.
Secondly- the company's bravado. In the past, the management of CPNE consistently put out a series of news releases updating investors on all sorts of issues related to their performance. The tone of past disclosure was almost boastful. Until last, week when nearly forced to deliver some news by the free fall in the stock, the company had gone completely dark.
On February 14th, CPNE announced it had retained Roth Capital Partners as their investment banker.
This happened the day before the company announced as institutional investor has picked up 4.8 million shares from insiders at $1.90 per share.
So, there is what has happened. Now, here's what hasn't happened.
CPNE has given the market no indication their corporate performance has slowed in any way. There is no indication the company won't continue its current 4 quarter streak of increasing sales and earnings. Based on the company's disclosure, there is no reason to believe earnings won't come in at $.10 per share or better.
CPNE has not stopped buying back their shares in the open market.
Here's what's remarkable to me. Consider this headline from December 4, 2006: "Commerce Planet, Inc. Announces Adtech: NY Was a Resounding Success". A resounding success? That's pretty aggressive language for a small public company- especially since the news wasn't quantified by any numbers.
Here's a headline from February 22nd: "Commerce Planet, Inc. Provides Pre-Filing Guidance for 2006 Results". In 2006, the headline might have read something like: "Commerce Planet announced outstanding Pre-Filing Guidance for 2006 Results- Company Expects To Announce Record Revenues and Profits".
It seems like CPNE has completely changed personalities- from a boastful loud mouth to a demure wall flower. This change of personalities has investors wondering why?- Have the fortunes of the company changed? Combined with the poor performance of the stock, this new persona has investors wondering if the streak is over. Wondering, and rightly so.
This leads us to my conspiracy theory. Is the company taking a turn for the worse, or is there some other reason for the schizophrenic personality change?
Consider the following. Until the recent investment from Jeffrey Feinberg of JLF Asset Management, it was business as usual. We had a one/two punch- the 4 million purchase at $1.90 from Feinberg then the announcement of the IB relationship with Roth Capital.
Then they stepped in, and since then there has been a personality change. Why- could it be because they wanted the stock to go down? Because they wanted to create doubt in the minds if individuals- simply stated- because they want to pick investors to dump it so they can accumulate it cheaper.
I don't know exactly where the company stands, but here's what I can surmise. Prior to buying the 4 million shares plus, Feinberg or his analyst signed a non-disclosure agreement to get a hard look at the books. Since the fund was not an open market buyer, this would be perfectly legal.
He wouldn't have invested in 4 million plus shares in mid February without the benefit of some knowledge. Those shares are in registration right now.
My guess- and that's all it is- the company is on track and will deliver north of $.10 in Q1. Feinberg wouldn't be in if the business were turning south.
My SSL at $2.25 has turned out to be a good call, and the recent BLOG suggesting a rebuy at $1.60 has so far turned out for the best. Keep your seat belt tight and eyes on the facts for this one. Mr. Toad's wild ride could continue.
Today's edition was just some musings for a long holiday weekend. Clearly, we won't know for sure until the company releases Q1 numbers. If history repeats itself, this will happen the last week of April.
Pentagon May Send 13,000 More Guardsmen to Iraq, Official Says
By Ken Fireman
This will certainly have an impact on the amount of people (fools) who will sign up for the national guard. They are destroying our military and our country with a continued foolish ego driven war of choice. I can't stand those SOB's. I have no direct personal stake as I don't have any relatives or friends serving, but I grieve for those who are involved. What would happen if someone decided to attack us? We are weak and the world knows it.
April 6 (Bloomberg) -- The Defense Department likely will notify about 13,000 National Guard soldiers that they may be sent to Iraq as early as December to replace U.S. Army units already there, a senior defense official said.
The troops are members of four Guard brigades that have been identified for possible deployment to Iraq during the next two years, said the official, who briefed reporters at the Pentagon on condition of anonymity.
About a third of the Guard troops likely to be alerted for potential deployment have already served in Iraq, the official said. Of those, most will be going back to the conflict earlier than the five-year break between deployments envisioned by Pentagon policy, the official said.
The Guard soldiers aren't part of the U.S. buildup of forces in Iraq currently under way, although they could be used to sustain the higher troop levels into next year if U.S. commanders decide that is necessary, the official said.
The Pentagon will be alerting the affected Guard units well in advance of their potential deployment to Iraq in order to allow for training and give the soldiers, their relatives and employers time to prepare for their departure, the official said.
NBC News reported late yesterday on the plan for the Guard troops.
U.S. defense officials have warned repeatedly that the deployment of about 168,000 active-duty forces to Iraq and Afghanistan has strained the military's resources. The Pentagon in January issued rules allowing for Guard and reserve units to be redeployed sooner than once in five years; Defense Secretary Robert Gates said yesterday it may be necessary to continue that practice for another one to two years.
OT: Inflation: I don't normally buy into your conspiracy stuff HOWEVER the inflation numbers seem to be bogus. Energy, Prescription drugs, healthcare, college tuition, food .. just about everything except imported walmart china crap has gone up a lot more than the governments reported CPI figures would indicate.
Not sure how they get away with it.
More than likely PERT got a market sell order. They are a clearing broker for countless brokerage firms, including Vanguard, etc. This stock does not trade enough for the larger MM's to be playing the games you mention. They can make a lot of $$$$ just trading off the retail order flow of the stocks they trade, they are not investors!
Back in the old days of my brokerage experience our small firm (125 RR's) could have retailed DPDW to $3.00 or higher within our firm in a few days. The dog/pony stuff would follow and if we were lucky then other firms would take it away from us.
At the very least with the dog/pony shows you would get free booze and some crummy little hot dogs (yuck).
Hey FRED: A bolt of light just hit my brain, although I really wanted a Martini. If you have someone on ignore, maybe it won't show up. That post shows up for me.
Other factors can and do change land values. Think Three Mile Island, Love Canal, etc. Uncompleted housing development across the street. I could go on and on.
In addition, I really like this part of your post:
"BTW, I'm stuck wherever my ex goes because we share custody of our child and I couldn't psend a week without him."
Although my kids can drive me nuts sometimes ( a lot of times LOL) I love them dearly. You are a cool dude!
97,000 shares so far today. Would be interesting to know how much of it was from this board. I suspect most of it.
They really do need to dog & pony, hit the retail brokers, etc. Some financial PR would be nice.
CEDA: Tried to buy some. Normally UBSS handles Schwabs orders. In this case the order looked like it went to ETRADE. They have NEVER filled an order for me when routed through Schwab. NEVER NEVER NEVER. They suck.
Don't think so. They would get an E if they did not file the NT. They are in compliance if they file for the extension.
http://www.otcbb.com/DailyList/ you should always be able to check that link for symbol changes prior to the dreaded E or heavens forbid Q.
BTW - A rather light volume sell off for this late filing info. Seems to be rather tightly held.
Calendar days include weekends. You might be confusing that with Business days.