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It's as good as it gets ...
The real opportunity is to sell your real property in CA as this is as good as it gets.
The dominoes have just begun to fall. Kinda like the June 2007 Bear Stearns sub prime hedge fund that blew up which was the worst but only the first. The CA Conga line is clearly in place and the worst have filed BK and they are only the first. The City of LA will file BK within two years. Severe pain ahead.
There will be OUTMIGRATION occurring where millionaires and billionaires and well to do and not so well to do move OUT of CA.
You do not want to be long REAL ESTATE in CA.
BTW, speaking about opportunities has anyone looked at my long recommendation. It's the only stock I plan to own in the next several years and a 2 bagger is easy and it may just turn into a 3 bagger or home run. I've mentioned the name several times here and highly recommend you take a good hard look at it. The shareholder meeting went extremely well. Up and away it'll go.
Good luck to all!
The Conga Line ...
A California CONGA LINE dance into BK ....
as city after city and school district after school district begin filing BK.
Inglewood school district was taken over two weeks ago by the state with $55 million rescue loan. WTH? California's bank account was overdrawn on August 31, 2012 by $20 BILLION. The state loaned money they didn't have to a BK school district that was the only school district to post LOWER scores on statewide tests. OIC. Only in California. Too friggin ridiculous to even believe...
The city of Atwater will file BK today and fire 25% of city employees and next is Victorville as will as Lyndsay soon thereafter. The City of Los Angeles is dancing in the CONGA line. Believe me when I say it.
Reminds me of when the first subprime loans from Bear Stearns went bad in June 2007. Do you remember that? Low hanging fruit is ripe and falling to the ground rotten to the core.
The state of CA has $617 BILLION in debt which is twice as large as the next largest state NY.
Watch out folks.
Sold more of my dogs today. Yes that would be EVOQ.
Some real dogs .....
Had a nice visit with EI this weekend where we had the chance to talk about some real dogs and yes we discussed MMPI aka EVOQ.
Some dogs don't bark and some dogs become real winners.
IMO EVOQ is a dog that can't bark with little chance of becoming a winner (except for the new insiders as they peel away the assets of evoq).
There is a real possibility the City of Los Angeles will file a formal BK within the next few years and 90% of all municipalities in Cali are technically BK even though currently solvent. Serious issues ahead in Cali with no viable solutions short of chaos.
Shared a name and idea with EI that has the real potential for at least a double or even a triple in the next couple of years as it sits on a pile of cash, is debt free, is growing in double digits, national and international footprint, is profitable and cash flow positive and is buying back shares adding value to every share remaining (anti-dilutive) and no it's not APPL. :)
IMO, the deck is stacked against you with EVOQ. Avoid or sell the shares of EVOQ while you can.
See you in Texas ...
Hope all is well.
I will connect with you when I get to Texas and maybe we can plan on another Sunday breakfast ...
Headed to Texas ....
I'm headed to Texas and would like to connect with Enterprising Investor while I'm there ....
Please pass the word ...
Hope all is well with everyone ...
The meeting ...
Did anyone else make it to the annual stockholder's meeting?
I did and found iti interesting and am glad I went. Iti will be an interesting year ahead .......
Good luck to all ....
The Books are Cooked ....
Anyone going to the EVOQ annual meeting? Take the annual financials with you and see if any of the board members can explain them.
The City of Los Angeles has cooked its books and will need to file it's own BK within the next couple of years. Once Villaraigosa gets out of town the fit will hit the shan and the city will stop repairing the potholes in the streets of L.A. Wait ... they already have stopped the pothole repairs and I have a couple of tires to prove it.
The c(r)ooks will be long gone by the time the fit hits the shan.
Anyways, if you go to the meeting be sure to say hi to the new boys in charge of this fine mess of a company. Wish them Good Luck as they'll need it.
Someone has failed in their fiduciary duties and time is not going to cure the deficiency.
The books that are cooked may just burn someone.
In need of a facelift
No real lift in FB so I'm calling it a trade @ 19.20.
Talking about facelifts, EVOQ will need a few to stem the negative cash flows or they will need to continue their liquidation to simply pay the utility bills.
Book em DANO!
Taking another trading position in FB @ 18.80. Have successully traded this 3 1/2 times. It's good until it's not.
Anyone take a look at the books of EVOQ? There is a material unresolved issue. It's big too.
Has anyone read the Proxy stmt? Who really owns EVOQ?
Faceplant .....
No faceplant here. Am long 4,000 FB @ 20.86 and will look to exit near the close today.
Now that we're talking about a faceplant ..... anyone read the financials of EVOQ yet?
How about the Taylor Fund Investors - how ya feeling with your EVOQ holdings now .... have your read the financials? ... still wanna be long this name ... feels/looks like a disappearing act to me ... with lots of debt ... and a mgmt team thats ??? ...
Not fun to do a faceplant that's for sure ....
Call me crazy ...
Will double down my FB position at $20.91 to add to my $21.65 paid yesterday near the close.
Re EVOQ - did everyone get a copy of the financial statements? Anyone care to share their opinion? .... EVOQ still not investable, imo.
and of course buying more ITI today to add to my long term position .... have put MMPI (EVOQ) proceeds into ITI :)
Playing with fire ....
Did anyone read the annual financial statements for EVOQ and would like to share their analysis .... feel free to do so ..
IMO, EVOQ is still not investable ... insiders will likely burn EVOQ of what remains of its assets ...
not looking to get burned by FB but ...
will likely take a trading position in FB today before the market closes near $21.70 and will hold for a few hours or days but not much longer ... have sucessfully (luckily) traded it three times now ...
IMO, FB is too hot to touch for almost everyone ... will find out shortly
and can't wait for a fire to be lit under ITI as ...
have been a buyer of ITI this week and paid prices > $1.50 ....
IMO, ITI is a hot idea
Who knew and knows ....
Who knew ...
So did I time this shareholder meeting announcement from pure LUCK or is there a leaky ship at EVOQ .....
They probably need to plug the leaks lest they allow others an unfair advantage with information ....
FYI ....
I'm calling my winning FB trade this week LUCKY .....
Bot more ITI today at current levels as they reported a nice quarter yesterday with revs up 17%, $18 million in the bank and no debt and the company has repurchased 882,000 shares for $1.2 million ... looking for a double or triple in the next few years ...
who knows ....
Rumors ....
You must not live in LA as that doesn't even make a good rumor .... Angel fans are not Dodger fans and vice versa ..... Angel fans would never drive to downtown LA and true Dodger fans would not go to Angel games just because they are in downtown LA ... besides the Angel ballpark is very nice ...
BTW, sold my FB trading position @ 29.30 today for a decent one week gain as I do not want be long any stocks other than my favorite sleeper ITI for which I added to my long position yesterday just below current levels.
Here's a good rumor ....
Anyone hear that Richard Meruelo still has someone on the inside of EVOQ (a mole) providing him with detailed info on new management and plans on using the info to his advantage?
IMO, EVOQ is not investable.
Hasn't it been over a year that new mgmt has been in place. I wonder if new mgmt (BOD) will even hold a shareholders mtg.
What's going on with EVOQ
Nuttin. Not investable in my opinion. Big Q's re mgmt. New mgmt may be worse than old. YIKES!
Time for new ideas.
How about this ..... I'm buying FB at $27.40 for a trade into the $30s.
Good time to also take a serious long term look at ITI.
I have a buy order in for more ITI shares near current levels. I'm averaging up on ITI which is very unusual for my trading style. Take it for what it's worth. I really like ITI.
Today is a day I say BANK ...
BANC to pay $9.21 per share in cash for BBBC plus warrants for BANC. BBBC is a nice position I accumulated near $4 in spring and summer of 2009 and made the top LA performers list with MMPI for 2011.
As for any new ideas (other than EVOQ) ..... i guess no one has any or are afraid to share ..... so guess what ... here's one for you to take a serious look at ... with commentary from good ole me ..
ITI - Iteris ....
A traffic management consulting company located right here in So Cal but with offices throughout the US and also establishing international business ....
It does $60 million per year in revenues and has plans to grow in double digits over the coming years. It has $18 million in cash and no debt and is cash flow positive. Read their most recent 10K.
I know the management team at the top and they are simply top notch business executives.
The largest shareholder of ITI owns a lil less than 20% of the company and was the largest shareholder of STMP (another 2011 LA top performer). His name is LLoyd Miller III. Very smart money IMO. Please be sure to review his Form 4 filings for both ITI and STMP over the last 12 to 18 months where he's sold a big piece of his STMP position (smart move) and has been a buyer of ITI (smart move).
ITI has a $3 million stock repurchase plan in place and has repurchased approx $1 million through May.
My personal view is the stock will trade north of $5 within the next three years and with it's strong balance sheet and top notch management it's a sleeper. A sleeper is a company you can own and sleep at night knowing you own it.
Personal disclosure - I own or control a lil more than 2% of ITI and reserve the right to sell or buy shares of ITI at any time
w/o any further disclosure to this board.
Finally - today I am banking my BBBC cash. Nice!
One week to a nice payday ....
It took a lil longer to close the deal but the feds always move slower than usual .....
Deal set to close July 2. All cash plus warrants. A lil shout out to Andy Murray.
As to EVOQ. EVOQ is now essentially a private real estate company embroilded in one legal duel after another located in the City of Angels that will file it's own BK petition soon after Tony Valar leaves town.
Anyone have any other names that look attractive. I'm open to new ideas.
Looks like it may be time for a ....
treasure hunt ... get the P.I. on it right away.
A four bagger on your way when you find it. The only stock I need to own.
Do some work boys and girls.
Not a single one of you could get it. The selling that is.
I referred to 2011 LA's best movers and one was STMP. Do not go near it. Heavy Heavy insider selling.
On another happy note for holders of EVOKE.
EVOKE was an inside job by a crooked lawyer hired by a smart MMPI owner and the lawyer's rumored girlfriend the judge. Jan needs to investigate this lil deed.
Anyone still following or owning EVOKE has got to be an idiot. This is a private company being raided by the new owners.
BTW, the guy selling STMP made a killing and will make another. Do the work and follow his lead in his other holdings is my little advice.
I am not mistaken ....
Selling is taking place by the largest shareholder ... and the company will not be on 2012's best L.A. performer ...
One of the things that has served me very well in the last 15+ years is access to current SEC filings ...
In fact, 5 years ago in Sept 2006 ..... the SEC filings from another holding of mine led me to Meruelo Maddux (2007 IPO) ..... and while I waited until 2009 to buy MMPI it was the SEC filings that were key to me backing up the truck ....
I have made/saved serious money utilizing current SEC information ... I know where to look and it's done on a daily basis for the Companies that I own or follow ...
I am not mistaken ..
Can you spare a dime ....
Looks like the State of California will run out of cash on March 8 ..
http://blogs.sacbee.com/capitolalertlatest/ChiangLetter.pdf
If you see someone that looks like Jerry Brown holding a tin cup on a street corner in downtown L.A. can you flip him a dime as CA is out of cash ....
and that's after the state stole all of the City's redevelopment money ...
Can you spare a dime
More selling per Form 4 ...
Even more selling per the most recent Form 4 filed with SEC ....
After a nice run sales total more than 30% of the position ...
Smart money still selling ....
Wow! ....... glad I'm in a name that's being bought by the insiders and not sold by the insiders ...
The evidence is in ........
The evidence is in the SEC documents ....
Smart money is selling .....
Need to know where to look to see that smart money is currently selling L.A.'s top gainers from 2011 at these levels ....
The largest shareholder is selling ......
MMPI No.1 in L.A. for 2011 ......
According to the LABJ, Meruelo Maddux Properties Inc. was the Top Gainer in 2011 for L.A. based companies ..... up 104% for 2011.
Thankful it "was" a big part of my portfolio during 2011. Will be interested to see where 2012 and beyond takes MMPI .... may be a roundtripper ...
Also have No 4 BBBC ..... in my portfolio ... purchased in July 2009 near $4. You may want to put BANC on your radar screen as it will acquire BBBC for 9+ in January 2012.
Lastly, the largest shareholder of No. 3 STMP is also the largest shareholder of another L.A. based company and that company is my current largest holding and may be the only equity I hold during 2012 ... looking for a double or maybe even a triple ... used my MMPI proceeds to increase my position ...
The season for being thankful ...
I am thankful my portfolio is primarily in cash and I am thankful for my MMPI $$.
IMO were are headed straight towards serious macro economic disruptions that will require you have the maximum amount of $$ on hand. Massive deleveraging is/will result in a serious and continuing deflationary period.
I am thankful I manage and control my investment $$ and didn't entrust my investment $$ with a fund manager.
I am thankful I didn't marry my $$ to stupid cuz I agree with Ron White that you can't fix stupid and stupid is forever.
You can't fix stupid ....
The unintended consequence of forming an OEC in BK ....... it fails to fully understand its fiduciary obligations to protect shareholder value ...... a three-card monte is (un)intentionally put into play ...... or it is simply stupid ...
The court received evidence from the insiders (RM) and CT that the equity in MMPI was approx $1.40 per share and the OEC confirmed the $1.40 value ... then the OEC, with its endorsement and vigorous legal positions in BK, caused the following to occur ...
all MMPI minority shareholders were required to sell at least 55% of their shares for 35 cents .....
so ..... here's the stupid math ....
minority shareholders owned 48% of MMPI or 43 million shares
the minority MMPI shares (in)vountarily sold had an equity value of $33 million ...
the minority MMPI shareholders received $8.3 million
the minority MMPI shareholders suffered a permanent loss in value of $24.7 million ....
the loss of $24.7 million by MMPI minority shareholders has a zero, zilch, nada chance of recovery ...
on top of that, the OEC, without objection, allowed the insider shareholders (RM) to get paid 30% more per share than the minority shareholders ....
and to top that off ... the OEC spent $4 million of MMPI equity for (non) professional fees to achieve that result ....
MMPI now has 55% owners in CT, 25% owners in RM and 11% owners in TIF or 91% owned by three shareholder groups ... in essence MMPI was transformed into a privately owned non publicly trading company ...
at the end of this three-card monte game .... CT et al has received $69 million in equity and paid $18 million .... and the minority shareholders are trapped in MMPI shares that barely publicly trade ... MMPI minority shareholders were losers all the way around based upon the OEC endorsed plan ...
Men with degrees from supposedly prestigious colleges mean nothing
you can't fix stupid ......
A looney tunes MMPI reply ...
oh Louie, Louie .... a previous looney tunes reply has been provided to your prior eh whats up doc post .... got anything new louie ...
please see a looney tunes MMPI reply ...
The minority MMPI investors care ....
The minority MMPI investors care and that would include me and not you 56chevy ..... so im a little puzzled why you even post here ... other than to gripe and moan about my posts ...
You can't fix stupid ..... and if you own MMPI shares ... you need to be concerned if stupid is in charge ....
The minority MMPI investors care ....
A stacked deck .....
Have you ever played in a game of poker or blackjack when the deck was stacked or the cards were marked .... cuz I have ...
you really have no idea and quite frankly when the deck is stacked and you don't have a chance it's best to simply get out of the game to salvage what remains ....
here's what I didn't do ....
I didn't vote my MMPI shares in favor of costing every other minority MMPI shareholder to give away their value ... and I didn't freeze my MMPI shares .... and I didn't stack the deck against the MMPI minority shareholders ....
I acted on the convictions of my MMPI opinion ....
how about you 56chevy ... what did you do ...
The convictions of your opinion .....
IHUB is not a platform for advising the management of a company ... IHUB is not a platform for managing a company .... IHUB is for "investors" and is appropriately named investorshub ... its an opinion platform for investors ...
IMO, a major theft of minority shareholder value occurred, is documented, was done by new current majority owners of MMPI and endorsed by the OEC (you can't fix stupid no matter where they went to college) ....
IMO, it was a con job .... defined as 1. an act or instance of duping or swindling ... 2. an act or instance of lying to convince others to get one's way
If they conned everyone in BK what confidence should minority investors now place with the current majority owners (or the board of directors) that they'll treat minority shareholders with any respect at all in the future ... IMHO, none, none and none ... don't forget RM is now also a minority shareholder and they don't like him .... and ain't gunna do anything to help him ..
on top of that ... the economic environment for real estate is deteriorating quite rapidly and CA is in major financial trouble with all CA municipalities at serious risk of not being able to meet their obligations as they come due in the coming year.... this has huge economic implications ....
So that I'm clear .... IMO, MMPI is a sinking ship and the minority shareholders are essentially trapped on board (not publicly trading) with no upside potential (the new immoral majority will grab the upside to prevent RM from getting a dime) and minority shareholders have all the risk of owning a piece of a sinking ship ....
I have acted on my investor convictions regarding MMPI as the facts and circumstances developed ....
56chevy .... please feel free to use IHUB to express the convictions of your opinion about MMPI in any manner you see fit .... and I'll continue to do the same ....
IMO, the minority shareholders of MMPI should NOT sleep well knowing they own a reorganized MMPI ....
A quarter for a sinking ship .....
Who knew ....
according to a new survey from American Express OPEN Small Business Monitor..............
More than one in four (27%) California small-business owners describe their firms as “a sinking ship”
Some results are significantly more negative than six months ago, the monitor notes .......
For example, the 55% planning to expand is down from 85% six months ago ......
Also, 72% of California respondents see “the glass as half full,” down from 85% last spring. Nationwide, 77% see the glass as half full ......
Other California responses:
51% are having cash flow issues, a sign of a business in trouble,
56% say the economy is still in recession, compared to 38% nationwide while 68% see the risk of a double-dip recession
The anonymous telephone survey of small business owners and managers was done from Aug. 12 to Sept. 8 .......
With the MMPI minority shareholders having been forced to sell their MMPI shares for a quarter ......... minority shareholders are now stuck holding non publicly trading sinking MMPI shares .... git errr dunnn ...
You can't fix stupid (more on this later) ...
Another quarter for a sinking ship ...
A quarter for your dollar ....
here's how it works ....
You own 2,000,000 MMPI shares worth $1.40 in equity which equals $2,800,000
per the OEC endorsed plan you are forced to sell 1,040,000 shares for 35 cents or $364,000 ...
What remains are 192,000 (960,000 reversed 5 times) very thinly traded MMPI shares trading at $3.10 .... or $576,000
snap .. crackle .. pop ... you just suffered a $1,860,000 (66%) decrease in the value of your MMPI holdings ....
and you gave $1,100,000 to the buyer ....
just to breakeven the remaining MMPI shares need to trade at $12.70 ... so it doesn't matter how long you are prepared to wait .... you will never get your money back ...
what kind of business school grad would agree to this ..... Stanford or not .... a really dumb grad ...
what kind of (ir)responsible fiduciary would agree to this ....
A quarter for your dollar ...
Simply apply your education ...
Rainwater and Bass - two really smart Stanford business grads .... turn millions into billions .... very familiar with the names but not the Stanford connection .. thanks for sharing ...
I absolutely agree with .. >>>The successful distressed investor is concerned about making money next month, next year - not tomorrow. We are often viewed as "wrong", "out of touch".<<< ..... but didn't you mean to say .... really stupid investors sell a dollar of assets for a quarter ... cuz they don't want to wait for their dollar ... either way I agree .... better to be the buyer for a quarter than to be the seller separated from your dollar ....
and it doesn't take a friggin Stanford education to get this ...
Simply apply your education ...
(Go Mustangs!)
It's more like ....
Honey I shrunk your Money .....
here's an edited version of your thesis ...
Thieves, crooks and liars (investors) who know the facts as confirmed by a court (story) finally use what ever it takes (an OEC subtrefuge) to force you to take a quarter for your dollar so they can sell your dollar for a dollar and take 75 cents while they do it ......
If disappointed, the minority shareholders can very slowly sell what's left of their shares cuz they ain't gunna be able to do anything else when the ship (float) is sinking.
ready ... set ... go ... git her dunn ....
Honey I shrunk your Money .....
The MMPI subtrefuge ....
Not sure where to begin .... let's see ... I guess I agree with you ...
Anyways .... don't worry be happy ... OEC members used "extra" legal activity to achieve goals and worked hard to git it dun ... snap ... crackle ... pop ... a quarter for your dollar ...
what do you prefer we talk about now ... outlook for CA real estate prices ... the mgmt (or lack thereof) of MMPI real estate ... negative cash flows ... cost of (or lack of) capital ... buy .. sell .. or hold ...
Hey, how about the price of GOLD .... so far so good ...
The MMPI subtrefuge ....
Talk about price decay ......
Here's something a 3.91% 30 yr fixed mortgage isn't going to fix .....
Sales of exisiting homes year over year in the OC .... plus 7%
Prices of exisiting homes year over year in the OC .. minus 11%
Talk about decay ... it looks more like a collapse .. and current listings are all being marked lower .... by a minimum of 5-10% ...
So here's the math .... cost to finance 4% .... price decay 11% .. comissions and other costs to sell ... 7% .... it add's up to 22% to own for one year ..... YIKES! ...real estate prices in CA are going LOWER everyday regardless of loan activity ..... and lenders are less secure everyday .... OUCH!
here's a link ...
http://lansner.ocregister.com/2011/09/25/o-c-home-prices-at-7-month-low/124563/
Talk about price decay ....
Price decay post bk ......
He definetly got that right ....
However, for a stock like MMPI that essentially doesn't even publicly trade ..... C'mon ... the reality is the MMPI minority shareholders were forced to sell for pennies on their dollar and are now essentially trapped in MMPI with the balance of their shares ... and it doesn't take a degree from Stanford to figure this out ...
Look ..... qtr end is nearing .... I'm anticipating a manipulation of MMPI price higher .... by a trader ... can be done easily ... and without any real $$$$ ... I'd be careful as .... apparently some extra eyes are watching ..
The L.A. cost is $8,300 per month ....