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I heard they are using palm oil to lubricate the roadrunner or header, whatever! LOL! Losts of straw grasping going on here!
Addhominem: I would think as the mine becomes depleted, buyers will turn to a different product to keep their costs down and production going. In fact, if I were a potential customer, I would be concerned about future supplies and prices from a single supplier. Future specs on new "diggings" may also be a customer concern.
God bless the brave folks in Iraq for voting, and our troops that protected them. I think the "January effect" this year has moved to February over concerns for the Iraq election and potential terrorist attacks in and outside of Iraq leading up to the election. I'm hoping for a positive move in the markets in February to set the tone for 2005. Good luck to all!
Waitedg: Just my opinion (I got cautious in my old age! LOL!). I just think if it hasn't happened yet on a major scale, it ain't gonna. Lots of "irons in the fire", but irons in the fire tends to raise overhead. My feeling is, if these guys are taking big bonuses at this stage, how greedy will they get if cash starts coming in, money that should be going to development and sales. Bottom line, FASC isn't the only game in town and the chips keep getting smaller with dilution.
I would like to be proven wrong and see a big payoff for the loyal longs that have hung in here. It's too bad they haven't tried to get another product line or business to help pay the rent.
Waitedg: "To me there is a fine line between wise speculative investing and just gambling."
I think you cossed that fine line about 500 miles back! LOL!
Why I haven't bought yet:
S-8's for 30 million shares over the past year or so.
Big bonuses paid, big slap in the face of loyal longs, IMO, and longs keep buying the newly printed shares.
Few "principals", God forbid, but a bad illness or accident pretty much would shut the company down. These things do happen.
Past history of sales sucks and the design isn't even finalized yet. No one is beating a path to the FASC door for this "better mousetrap".
Irons in the fire, they have had irons in the fire for years. Zeolite was hyped so much by longs, but the fact is, the revenues probably will be so small it will be lucky to break even. Longs were talking about KDS's all over the world to service HAL. What a joke. Other irons, just some money from govenment agents paid to give it away, will just use up personnel time when they should be looking for real customers.
ALMI? Will probably buy conventional processing equipment if sales occur, slim chance there too.
The authorized will probably be used up this year, either authorize more or leave it where it is and reverse split.
Fun to watch though and read how others "think".
ETFs going socially responsible
First clean-energy fund set to launch next week
By John Spence, MarketWatch
BOSTON (MarketWatch) -- Now that they've muscled their way into almost every segment of domestic and international markets, the exchange-traded fund business has its sights set on moving into socially responsible investing.
An ETF based on an index of publicly-traded energy companies that focus on environmentally-friendly sources of energy is set to begin trading on the American Stock Exchange on Feb. 4.
The ETF, which will be managed by PowerShares Capital Management, will track the WilderHill Clean Energy Index, a benchmark calculated by the Amex that was launched in August. The Amex collaborated with index provider WilderShares, LLC in developing the index.
The index contains 37 companies that use greener and renewable energy alternatives such as wind, solar, and hydrogen fuel cells.
As of Jan. 27, the top companies in the index were Distributed Energy (DESC: news, chart, profile) , Evergreen Solar (ESLR: news, chart, profile) and Zoltek Companies (ZOLT: news, chart, profile) , according to the Amex.
Socially responsible investing has been gaining steam in recent years with over $29 billion in such funds, according to investment research firm Lipper.
Privately-held PowerShares has over 20 ETFs currently in registration and is trying to establish itself as a major player in the developing business, competing with heavyweights like State Street Global Advisors, Barclays Global Investors and Vanguard Group.
In December the Wheaton, Ill.-based firm rolled out a duo ETFs tied to two of the market's hottest sectors: the PowerShares Golden Dragon Halter USX China Portfolio (PGJ: news, chart, profile) and the PowerShares High Yield Equity Dividend Achievers Portfolio (PEY: news, chart, profile) .
In 2003 PowerShares introduced its first pair of ETFs that attempt to beat market indexes by incorporating elements of active management such as earnings and trading momentum.
The funds, which have higher turnover and fees than similar indexed ETFs, are PowerShares Dynamic Market Portfolio (PWC: news, chart, profile) and PowerShares Dynamic OTC Portfolio (PWO: news, chart, profile) . PowerShares partnered with ETF pioneer the Amex to develop the proprietary indexes.
Waitedg: You really should join FA.
FASCaholics Anonymous, there may be a chapter near you! LOL!
rodrth: Does it hurt when you laugh?
ALMI is no different than FASC several years ago when the OS was low. All just hype and FASC has too high an OS and a history of so-so performance to attract new investors, IMO. If ALMI starts to dilute or lacks any major sales, it's chart will look like FASC's, IMO. It's been a nice short term play, but I think some bagholders are being created now.
http://finance.yahoo.com/q/bc?s=FASC.OB&t=5y
RBisPoo: This link refers to Halloysite nanotubes. It's quite possible the clay contains a range of tube sizes.
http://64.233.187.104/search?q=cache:VxYB3D1LUtIJ:www.eng.utah.edu/~gale/mems/Lecture%252027%2520Nan...
So they are marketing microtubes as nanotubes? I guess nano is more sexy to investors.
Doubloon: I did a Google for "lipohilic clays", I think the answer is there as applies to Halloysite........somewhere...
LOL!
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&q=lipophilic+clays
"In-vitro release characteristics of tetracycline HCl, khellin and nicotinamide adenine dineculeotide from halloysite; a cylindrical mineral.
Price RR, Gaber BP, Lvov Y.
Laboratory for Molecular Interfacial Interactions, Code 6930, Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, DC 20375, USA. rrp@cbmse.nrl.navy.mil
The use of halloysite clay as a low cost alternative to more traditional microencapsulation systems is reported. Halloysite is an alumino-silicate clay which demonstrates a predominately cylindrical geometry, uniquely characterized by a hollow core or series of voids with diameters ranging from 16-50 nm. These nanoscale-to-mesoscale microcylinders are capable of entrapping active agents within the core lumen as well as within any void spaces contained in the multilayered walls of the cylinder. Some of the active agents associated with the clay are also bound to the external surfaces of the clay. Delivery of the active agent is first by desorption of the active agent from the exterior surfaces and exposed ends of the microcylinders, and is followed by a second more prolonged phase dominated by pore diffusion from the ends of the cylinders. Halloysite is capable of retaining and releasing a range of active ingredients. Both hydrophilic and hydrophobic agents may be entrapped following appropriate pre-treatment of the clay to render it lipophilic. Here, a unique low cost alternative microcylindrical delivery system: the clay mineral halloysite, is investigated."
What is "appropriate pre-treatment of the clay to render it lipophilic."
sambeaux: $50 will buy about 1250 shares of FASC, could be that retirement island purchase in a few years!
TRCPA: Good info on SHO. I agree, could get exciting and will be interesting how it plays out. I haven't seen any "action" on the one stock I have on the SHO list. Maybe the legal buzzards will shake the tree.
OT: ZOLT has been on a tear the past couple of days. I picked it out of the Alternative Energy index. Liked it because it had other business besides the carbon-fiber-for-wind-generator-blade biz. Also announced a fiber for lite-weight concrete. Hey, combine it with Zeolite and make concrete blimps!
http://finance.yahoo.com/q/bc?s=ZOLT&t=5d
beischens: Should I be ordering next X-mas DVD's now?
Boy, Video Movie House doing as much revs as a small Nevada Ho House! Mom and Pop must be real pleased!
KDS/AGES/China?: They have little oil, but lots of poop,
Jan. 17, 2005, 12:34PM
A thirsty China
Desire to ensure energy supply fueling widespread action that could change the balance of power in the world oil away from today's giants
By LYNN COOK
Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle
When the rumor surfaced last week that China National Offshore Oil Co. wanted to buy Unocal, it raised more than a few eyebrows.
At first blush, the idea that a state-controlled company from communist China could buy one of this country's oldest oil companies seems highly improbable.
El Segundo, Calif.-based Unocal has fiercely fended off past takeover attempts, first with a shareholder revolt in the 1920s when Shell bought up a 25 percent stake and, more recently, by assuming gobs of debt in the 1980s to repel an assault by then-corporate raider Boone Pickens.
Two decades after his run at Unocal, Pickens understands why the company finds itself in China's cross hairs. When it comes to oil, China is like a sponge.
Thanks to an economy that just won't quit, the country has doubled its crude oil imports since 2000. That imports are expected to quadruple between now and 2025 has catapulted energy security to the top of the Chinese government's list of priorities.
China's state-controlled oil companies have fanned out across the globe in the hunt for more fossil fuels, and the country's seemingly unslakable thirst for oil is provoking some hysteria about how they are forging deals in every corner of the world. The big fear: The playing field will shift to favor China's oil company model over Big Oil companies such as ChevronTexaco and ConocoPhillips.
"I'd be surprised if it actually happens,"
Pickens says of the proposed China National-Unocal deal.
"But it's obvious why they are doing it. They've scattered like Oklahoma bank robbers. They're everywhere."
Chinese oil companies are even trying to hammer out deals in the Canadian oil sands, where Pickens is heavily invested through Suncor.
Unexpected flow of capital
This isn't how people expected capital to flow.
Jay Cuclis, head of Vinson & Elkins' international practice, says the firm opened in Beijing in 1997 to help Westerners place money in China and ended up taking an increasing amount of work on behalf of Chinese firms investing in energy abroad. All three of China's major oil companies — China Offshore Oil, China National Petroleum Co. and Sinopec — have been clients.
"As a group, these companies have accumulated lots of cash and are now powerful bidders," Cuclis says. "Investment bankers setting up auctions have the Chinese at the top of their lists because they have a voracious appetite for energy and the money to buy it."
China's mad dash for oil is spurred on by its status as the low-cost manufacturer for the world. As such, the country's standard of living is on the rise, and fueling all that growth takes a lot of energy.
In the past, China's oil outfits have played second string to Big Oil, but they are increasingly winning oil and natural gas concessions in Central Asia, the Middle East and Latin America.
Kang Wu, an analyst with the East-West Center, says two factors have collided to embolden Chinese oil companies. First, they have a monopoly on markets at home and enjoy fairly high prices. Second, they are getting low-cost financing through China's state-owned banks.
"With 1.3 billion people in China, even small margins add up to big dollars," he says. "The powers that be are encouraging them to go overseas. The government's energy security policy coincides with the companies' self-interest."
But Kang thinks much of the talk about Chinese oil companies' new status is overblown. Western companies have a lock on many of the world's most prolific fields. Many promising prospects are under countries where national oil companies control reserves.
"The Chinese have been aggressive when majors are tired of an investment or their stock value can't take the risk. Then they can move in and make all kinds of deals," Kang says. "They're becoming bigger and bigger — you could even say impressive — but I wouldn't say they're becoming better and better."
Long memories
Failures of the past are still fresh in their minds.
In the 1970s, Japan National Oil Co. poured too much money into high-risk wildcatting for new oil reserves. Billions of dollars later, it was forced to retrench. Chinese companies are trying to avoid those kinds of costly mistakes by taking equity positions in established projects and fields where they feel they can't lose.
Because these companies are not beholden to shareholders, they can settle for lower returns and venture into politically unsavory regions.
Forty percent of China's oil imports come from Iran, where U.S. sanctions keep American companies from participating. An additional 7 percent comes from civil-war ravaged Sudan.
Human Rights Watch has observed Chinese operations in Sudan, but they are notoriously opaque. Rumors have long swirled that many of the 10,000 Chinese laborers shipped over to build a pipeline were prisoners.
"They have their own human rights record that we are upset with," activist Jemera Rone says.
While China's oil companies have traditionally made their biggest forays into the Middle East on deals too marginal for major oil companies, such as small-scale exploration in Syria, now they are going head to head with Big Oil in Saudi Arabia.
One Persian Gulf source says companies from across Asia are getting deals because Western oil companies are focused on stock buybacks.
"When we opened for natural gas, their bids were good, but others were more aggressive," he says, referring to Saudi Arabia. "The Asians are coming. We are getting our terms."
Western expertise
Catherine Hunter, Middle East analyst for World Markets Research Center, says Saudi Arabia and other Persian Gulf nations still prefer Western oil companies on big projects for their technical expertise.
"It's only when they are struggling to find Westerners on their terms" that they
curry favor, she says. "As they gain more expertise and financial leverage, this could change."
Sinopec inked a deal for an 80 percent stake in natural gas exploration in Saudi Arabia's Empty Quarter, a risky position most independent oil companies can't stomach. Hunter says Shell and Total also have Empty Quarter agreements, but those stakes are in the 30 percent to 40 percent range.
Politicized deals often involve governments hashing out a deal that encompasses a variety of projects. China will often throw in food exports, such as rice, or grant access to its mobile phone market.
''These are complex deals where you see a mixture of upstream, downstream, LNG and non-energy all bundled up in one massive deal.
"It's really something they can't achieve," Hunter says of the majors.
China's government appears to be wooing Venezuela, the world's fifth-largest oil producer, in just this way.
While U.S. politicians wring their hands over dependence on Middle Eastern oil, President Hugo Chavez is trying to find other outlets for his oil.
Kang says if there's any country that holds more promise for export than the United States, it's China, the world's second-largest consumer of oil.
"Their politics are very similar, and China's a huge market," Kang says.
"There aren't a whole lot of socialist countries that actually have markets. Most of the time it's just an ideology."
ljcook@chron.com
OT: This is interesting, those guys were pretty smart way back then!
"The year 1860 marks a turning point when Etienne Lenoir (1822-1900) builds his remarkable gas engine. His engine introduces one of those key innovations which defines subsequent designs, for a long time. (Lenoir's 1-Cylinder engine was a horizontal arrangement and his 'car' was termed the "Hippomobil" because it generated it's fuel - hydrogen - via the electrolysis of water. This engine was later adopted to use various other gases, such as the one derived from coal etc. This coal-gas burning engine variety is the one which ultimately found commercial acceptance - auth.)"
beischens: LOL! I should have known! No DD stone or potential has been left unturned by FASC longs!
"Sam, Could you Please KDS Jag? ;)"
Sounds like a good step prior to cremation! Save on fuel costs! You may have found a new market for the KDS, beischens!
Hey, remember, someone told Ben Franklin to go fly a kite! New business ideas can pop up anywhere! LOL!
rodrth: I was hoping for some answers! A few here have the "inside track" I think! I guess nothing wrong with a government grant business plan, if you get enough of them! LOL! They should open that USA "office" and go for the big give-a-ways!
Is the naked shorting over? What a non-event and waste of lawyer fees that was, IMO. I smell desperation and no word on Mitsui, does FASC ever complete anything? Not even any production report on Zeolite. Can't believe Haliburton sees that much potential in Zeolite or they are getting all they need elsewhere. Government handouts seems to be the business plan.
Any info on Mitsui? That agreement was good through November 2004?
Is it dead?
gooddoc: If you have a chance, could you ask about their debt load. The last 10Q still shows quite a bit of liability for debt, and has me concerned about a long term hold here. It certainly has not hurt the pps so far and they may have a good plan in place to take care of it, just hope "dilution" isn't the "plan". Thanks.
"If we are unable to reduce our debts or if we do not renegotiate any of this debt, we would be obligated to pay an average of $54,214 per month or $650,568 for the next fiscal year."
Any guesses on the sales price? Probably have to wait for the next filing to try to figure it out. I wonder if is a new unit or do they still have one in Ireland?
Waitedg: Looks like you got a good deal the other day. PR should make your buy look good! Nice to see the MM's "lose" once in a while!
TA looks good, go to site for full analysis:
http://www.stockta.com/cgi-bin/analysis.pl?symb=ALMI&num1=21&cobrand=&mode=stock
Bottom for Wilderhill Clean Energy Index?
RE: SHO, FWIW, I hold AATK that is on the "list". It had a couple of spikes the past month or so, naked short covering? But isn't doing much now.
Waitedg: I hope it was an MM mistake, why would they let shares go "cheap"? The MM that sold them expects the price to drop and wants to get rid of shares "at any cost"? The few times I got such a "deal" on a limit buy, a few days later it wasn't such a deal. Will be interesting to see if you really did get them "cheap", a good PR would be nice now! Good luck!
rodrth: I don't post over there. Really don't post much anywhere, use Yahoo quite a bit for information. Have had FASC on a watch list for a couple of years and can't remember why, it may have been from a news release. This board may have been mentioned on another IHUB board, Swing Traders? I check that board and the ALMI board since FASC did a sale to them.
Actually rodrth, I would be more inclined to buy on a steady trend up on some repeatable revenue news (Zeolite?), if it looked like they could (would) stop the dilution. The bonuses paid last year makes me wonder if they really care about the dilution or shareholder value. A buy at 3 cents could mean dead money tied up a long time and it could drop futher. ALMI looks like FASC years ago, sexy news and "potential", but no real revenue after promising sales last year. Great story though, ie., not selling clay cheap now because big nano money coming (wink, wink). Has been a good momo play, but dilution is starting there too.
Dilution starting? Will CD's be next? They did a good job this year keeping the OS steady, but the pps rise may too much temptation to dump some shares. Close watch required, IMO.
http://biz.yahoo.com/e/050106/almi.ob8-k.html
rodrth: It held pretty good to the closing, but I think 3 cents is coming unless the PR's start flowing.
Nice move with volume! I think there may be a share dump at the close, Christmas bills coming soon! LOL!
Golf balls??? NanoDynamics is also a start-up company that makes golf balls and now will find uses for ALMI clay??? Great pump PR, but lots of luck with any results! What happened to the customers ALMI had lined up ready to buy last spring? This has been a great play for investors, but I'm not so sure about a long term hold here.
Some more SHO regulation info:
This list seems to be "test" companies.
http://www.nasdaqtrader.com/aspx/regsho.aspx
"The Clean Energy Fund", good one to track the industry.
http://finance.yahoo.com/q/bc?t=6m&s=%5EECO&l=on&z=m&q=l&c=zolt