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Interesting.
I know there has been much speculation around whether or not we actually have an investors' relation group. Do any of you know a phone number for this group... if it exists?
For the folks that owned stock last year, were you notified about an annual shareholder's meeting or sent a ballot to vote on members of the board and other items? I didn't buy into this stock until the first of the year (2010).
It appears one was held on 12/28/09. The 2010 meeting may be an opportunity to address some of our concerns.
http://www.artfestinternational.com/index.php/news-releases/2-news-releases/118-pr2009-1228
Reading back through the 10k, it appears our board is a bit incestuous. It would be nice to break up this group and get a few business savvy individuals to represent our best interests.
Current board:
Edward Vasker (President, CEO)
Anzhelika Tassan (Ed's sister, CMO, Secretary
Larry Ditto (involved with company since 2005, was once the CEO but now just a board member)
Interesting to note the VP of production is the brother in-law of Ed (J. Scott Tassan).
Sadly, I believe this is all EV needs to do. Hold a formal quarterly earnings release every quarter so that they can explain their financial results and add some color to current projects. I don't think a Q&A session would be held, since i can't believe there would be any analysts looking to invest in any penny stocks.
I do think all of this dead air is starting to choke out all of the potential believers... myself included.
These are consolidated financial statements of all subsidiaries that roll up to Artfest International. These disclosures would pertain to the entire company. Reporting segments consolidated within these financial statements are as follows (per the Q): "The Company, through its wholly owned subsidiaries, Art Channel Galleries, Inc. (“ACG” or “Art Channel”), Artfest Direct (“Artfest Direct”) and Charity Sports Distributors, Inc. (“CSD”)."
I assume the SEC does not know about this discrepancy.
They are not coming... or they have been screwing up their disclosures. Either way not good.
http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1168738/000121478210000177/artfest10q063010.htm
Directly from the Q2 2010 filing (Financial Notes page F-8): “The Company has not yet adopted any policy regarding payment of dividends. No dividends have been paid or declared since inception.”
I combed through the 2009 K and the June 2010 Q (post 32187). These are the items I will be looking at once they file the September 2010 Q.
I couldn’t wait for the Q3 filing, so I read through the 2009 K and the June 2010 Q. Below are the items I thought were worth noting. I am also interested to see how these items change in the September 2010 Q.
June 2010 Q Filing: http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1168738/000121478210000177/artfest10q063010.htm
Picasso
1. If we truly “acquired” this piece of art, then there would have been a subsequent event disclosure within the March 2010 Q or a purchase commitment disclosure within the June 2010 Q.
Dividends
1. It doesn't sound like we are going to get our dividends anytime soon.
a. Directly from the Q2 2010 filing (Financial Notes page F-8): “The Company has not yet adopted any policy regarding payment of dividends. No dividends have been paid or declared since inception.”
Balance Sheet
1. Stockholder’s Equity – Shares Authorized versus Issued and Outstanding Shares, 9,995,000,000 and 2,462,953,303 respectively as of June 30.
a. The interesting thing about the increases in authorized shares is that apparently (per the Q page F-7) “the Board of Directors, upon the consent of the shareholders owning a majority of the shares then issued and outstanding, approved a resolution to amend the Articles of Incorporation of the Company to increase the number of authorized shares”
b. It would be interesting to know who the “majority” shareholders were. I could not find the amended Articles of Incorporation on the SEC EDGARS site. Here is the original Articles of Incorporation: http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1168738/000121478208000137/ex3-1.htm
Income Statement
1. MD&A explanations for increase in revenues of 748% and decrease in Net Income of 232% are very vague. Appears to all be attributed to its Charity Sports Distributors, Inc. (“CSD”) subsidiary. Nothing else was provided.
Cash Flows
1. It will be interesting to see if the current trend of using cash inflows from financing activities (primarily our hard earned money) to support our net cash outflows by operating activities continues. During Q2, we had $2.6M cash inflow from financing offset by cash outflows from operations of ($2.4M).
2009 K Filing: http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1168738/000121478210000071/artfest10k123109.htm
This is also worth a good look over.
It was interesting to note their change in independent auditors from Thomas Bauman, CPA to Eugene M. Egeberg, CPA in February of 2008 (Item 8, page 19 and 20). Bauman resigned as their independent auditor due to a financial statement qualification as to the Registrant’s (ARTS) ability to continue as a going concern (i.e.- bankruptcy). Apparently, the financial statements for the fiscal years ended December 31, 2005 and December 31, 2006, and thereafter through January 16, 2008, did not contain an adverse opinion or a disclaimer of opinion, and was not qualified as to audit scope or accounting principles.
As of the June 2010 Q, there were no going concerns noted. These SEC letters and ARTS responses don’t exactly make me warm and fuzzy:
http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1168738/000000000009064499/filename1.pdf
http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1168738/000000000010000468/filename1.pdf
http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1168738/000121478210000020/filename1.htm
http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1168738/000000000010008806/filename1.pdf
http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1168738/000143209310000096/filename1.htm
http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1168738/000000000010015939/filename1.pdf
http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1168738/000000000010024467/filename1.pdf
http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1168738/000000000010037178/filename1.pdf
I looked as well... No dice.
I almost choked on my McRib from laughing so hard. The idea of CNBC covering a no bid penny stock is hilarious.
Based on this track record, not likely. Look at all of the amendments and NT filings.
http://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/browse-edgar?company=artfest&match=&CIK=&filenum=&State=&Country=&SIC=&owner=exclude&Find=Find+Companies&action=getcompany
I agree.
Kais’ posts were nonsensical. I have attached a few of his infamous posts below. In no way were these helpful and he equated to nothing more than a wanna-be soothsayer… that never delivered. If these gave anyone warm and fuzzies, then they should start a board together and leave this board alone.
This guy had close to 500 posts, of which, only 300 posts stuck. This was SPAM at best.
30692 (no support): Set your sell price at $0.1 or higher.
30403 (no support): Guys, the wind of change is coming. ARTS will start moving up soon.
29518 (no support and dangerous speculation): There is no dillution, EV is a great CEO and possibilities of merger/acquisition is in the way. ARTS going up.
29245 (plenty of these examples, no support): $0.0005 is ARTS price by next friday.
29227 (again): $0.0005 BY NEXT FRIDAY.
I respectfully disagree. I am long ARTs and don’t dabble in day trading activities.
We got “trapped” into believing in something that apparently doesn’t exist. I bought into this stock as one of my speculative “set it and forget it” stocks. Then as news came out about the Picasso piece, dividends for shareholders on record as of the first quarter of the year, Artfest TV’s fall line-up, Rhuppert, etc., I, like many others on this board, invested even more money in hopes of better things to come.
Our thanks for supporting this POS… no bid toilet paper and the lack of execution on the above promises. Then to add insult to injury, versus addressing these items head on, this company performs a head fake and comes out with BS PRs such as the acquisition of Pat Summerall’s library and the UWFL???
How do these two items make any sense and what money was used to acquire these items? This quarter’s Q cannot come soon enough.
I can't agree more... I want to laugh, but I think I am going to cry!! The UWFL??? Seriously??? I guess this will be right up there with other success stories such as Art Channel TV's fall lineup and Rhupert TV. April 2011 UWFL kickoff will be here before we know it.
A company at no bid that has yet to deliver on any of its core business promises... abysmal!!! I know the sale of an "asset" such as a Picasso takes time to sell, but coming out with this type of news is laughable.
How about holding a formal earnings call... releasing the Q's on time... addressing the excessive dilution to date...delivering dividends... fundamentals!!!
This Q should be very interesting and inquiring minds want to know how the Cash Flow statement looks at the end of the September reporting period. I am also very interested in how all of these items will be disclosed in the financial statements/footnotes.
All of the back and forth on this board reminds me of a little fable called "the emporer's new clothes". The only thing I can say people, is that you have to perform your own due diligence and go with your gut. Often, we refuse to see reality even though it is right in front of our faces.
As in the fable, we will be presented with various opinions and be told what to think. Only time will tell who the swindlers are and who was the child that called out the truth.
Until the Q is filed, it is only speculation as to the current condition of the company and the status of previously promised items. I have a feeling this quarter's Q will be the child in the fable that calls out the truth...good or bad.
For what its worth, I have taken a few excerpts from the fable that I find similarities with ARTS:
"One day two swindlers came to the emperor's city. They said that they were weavers, claiming that they knew how to make the finest cloth imaginable. Not only were the colors and the patterns extraordinarily beautiful, but in addition, this material had the amazing property that it was to be invisible to anyone who was incompetent or stupid.
They set up their looms and pretended to go to work, although there was nothing at all on the looms. They asked for the finest silk and the purest gold, all of which they hid away, continuing to work on the empty looms, often late into the night.
The swindlers now asked for more money, more silk, and more gold, all of which they hid away. Then they continued to weave away as before on the empty looms.
"But he doesn't have anything on!" said a small child.
"Good Lord, let us hear the voice of an innocent child!" said the father, and whispered to another what the child had said.
"A small child said that he doesn't have anything on!"
Finally everyone was saying, "He doesn't have anything on!"
The emperor shuddered, for he knew that they were right, but he thought, "The procession must go on!" He carried himself even more proudly, and the chamberlains walked along behind carrying the train that wasn't there."
What say you Supreme?
I am very interested to see how the 10Q is presented and what disclosures are provided.
Proof is in the pudding my friend.
I would say about a snowball's chance of surviving in H-E-double hockey sticks.
I would read through post 24755 "The Good, the Bad, the Ugly". This used to be a sticky, but appears to have been removed. So far, this is one of the most objective DD I have found on this board, IMO.
I can’t agree more. At this point, we need execution folks. All the promissory PRs in the world couldn’t help this fat bird fly. The continuous dilution and ever increasing authorized shares needs to be addressed.
The only way this stock will “gap up, increase to $0.50, etc” is either favorably by acting on a combination of previous promises (delivery of dividends, Picasso, stock buyback, etc) or unfavorably via a reverse stock split.
I can’t believe anyone would speculate that this stock can possibly reach $0.50 under our current share structure. Assuming outstanding shares of somewhere between 13 and 20 billion, if our stock price moved to $0.50, ARTS market cap would rival companies such as CEG ($6.7B – Utility) and Sirius ($5.4B – Satelite Radio). These companies have actual operational assets and favorable company metrics (favorable cashflow, Revenues earned from operations and not financing, reducing debt from cash on hand, etc). I understand the sale of the Picasso is a critical piece to our potential success, but in no way will this transaction alone propel us to where we want to be.
Also, the devil is in the details folks. Posts such as lkg_legend52 (30652), stervc (24755) highlight items that must be addressed. Unfortunately, these posts are lost in the sauce when this board is bombarded by unsupported “IMHO” speculation.
In regards to the dividends, I contacted TD Ameritrade to see if they have been contacted by ARTS. I have put the email string below. As suspected, nothing has been communicated to date.
Reorganization and Dividends
From: xxxxxx | Date: 10/13/10 5:24 PM
Back in March, Artfest International issued a PR stating that all ARTS shareholders of record as of April 15th would receive Artfest Direct dividends valued at $10 per share. I would assume these shares would be delivered to TD Ameritrade and then would eventually be posted to my account upon receipt.
http://ca.us.biz.yahoo.com/iw/100315/0596427.html?.v=1
Has TD Ameritrade been contacted by ARTS regarding Artfest Direct dividends?
I contacted the company and have copied their response below. There has been much speculation regarding whether or not we will ever see these dividends. Any insight TD might have would be helpful.
Regards,
xxxxx
Reorganization and Dividends
From: Message Center Client Services | Date: 10/14/10 11:13 AM
xxxxxx,
Thank you for your inquiry. Whenever a company makes a distribution in cash or additional shares, accounts are credited once payment has been received from the company. At this time, the depository we use has not yet received the ARTS shares. Distributions from non-US based companies or OTC/BB listed securities tend to take longer to complete, but we should receive the shares soon. Please contact us again if you have any additional questions.
Sincerely,
xxxxxxx
Apex Corporate Actions and Dividends, TDA
Division of TD Ameritrade, Inc.
Re: Reorganization and Dividends
From: xxxxxxx | Date: 10/18/10 5:06 PM
Thank you xxxxxx.
When you stated we should receive these shares soon, was that a direct confirmation from Artfest International or a general statement (given the type of transaction, as you stated below. i.e.- OTC/BB listed securities and the lag time these type of securities have).
Regards,
Xxxxxx
Re: Reorganization and Dividends
From: Message Center Client Services | Date: 10/19/10 9:23 AM
xxxxxx,
Thank you for your reply. That is a general statement regarding the timeframe of delivery. We have not been given a swing date from the company but we are hoping to get paid out soon. Please contact us with any further questions or concerns.
Sincerely,
xxxxxxx
Apex Corporate Actions and Dividends, TDA
Division of TD Ameritrade, Inc.
I also agree. I read back through stervc "ARTS***The Good, The Bad, The Ugly..." last night to see if I could find some sort of hope to hang on to. This is an outstanding post and boxes us in pretty well. If you ever question why we are where we are, refer back to this post (24755)… and often.
Unfortunately, it only threw me into a greater tailspin than the one I am already in. There are a lot of the good items that have yet to come to fruition and it is quite disconcerting.
We need action at this point. Without it, we are on life support and the prognosis doesn’t look good.
"It is no use saying, "We are doing our best." You have got to succeed in doing what is necessary." Sir Winston Churchill
In all fairness, the expectation for EV or anyone inside of ARTs to directly contact any of us is a little aggressive. My inquiry into how our dividends would be delivered was addressed as “To Whom It May Concern”. I didn’t even make the connection that it was going directly to the CEO of ARTs (even though the email address was to EVasker). If I had known that, I wouldn’t have even bothered. I have not emailed him since then.
Does anyone think that any of us would get a response from Warren Buffet, Steve Jobs, Mel Karmazin (Sirius), etc? The fact that ARTS management is responding to folks is more shocking to me, rather than them not responding.
Venting is therapeutic, but I think we are on life support for the foreseeable future (for all the various reasons that have been addressed on this board) until we start seeing some execution by ARTs management.
“Do not waste a minute — not a second — in trying to demonstrate to others the merits of your performance. If your work does not vindicate itself, you cannot vindicate it. -Thomas Wentworth Higginson”
I sadly have to agree with you guys...
In my honest opinion, it looks like this purchase/sale agreement is about as useful as a one legged cat trying to bury a turd on a frozen lake.
http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1168738/000143209310000299/ex2-1.htm
In all seriousness, I believe it has been said numerous times before...ARTS can’t possibly own the Picasso statue since it is not reflected in any of their quarterly financial statements. Further, from the 8k filed in May, everything is contingent upon the owner obtaining funds ($2.5M and fifty million shares at $1 per share).
Essentially, these warrants are worthless unless ARTs gets above a $1… either through a R/S or share buyback. Wicker would never exercise these warrants unless the stock is above $1 (if they had actually been issued). Am I missing something here?
Also, does anyone know anything about their independent auditing firm? It is puzzling that the “statue purchase” is not disclosed as a subsequent event in the 3/31 10Q nor as a purchase commitment in the most recent 10Q. I wonder how they pay these guys since they can’t pay them in stock to remain independent.
apparently this is what "khazouk" means...
The "khazouk" was an Ottoman way of executing a man by making him sit on a sharp stake (the shaft). Said when you are stuck in a bad situation, get cheated or suffer a big loss. (informal)
GIG IS UP FOLKS!!
Well said microwave... I stated the same in a couple of posts over the weekend that were ultimately deleted. I was a bit more angry with my reply and called out EV's poster boy... i assume that is why they were deleted from the board.
The false prophecies need to stop... they are simply adding insult to injury.
Interesting… I must have missed this helpful tidbit amongst all the “follow me, ARTs is going to $0.10… take your girlfriend/wife out to dinner” posts.
Just another thing to make me madder than H-E- double hockey sticks!!! I will have to follow up with my broker to see if they have received any info.
Here is fast Eddy’s response to my April inquiry regarding the status of our “dividends for loyal ARTs shareholders”. Very misleading…
From: evakser@artfestinternational.com [mailto:evakser@artfestinternational.com]
Sent: Friday, April 16, 2010 3:44 PM
To: mustache_rider
Subject: RE: Status: Dividend for Loyal ARTS Shareholders
Yes, we will run a report with our TA, and confirm the ownership status as of April 16, 2010. Then we will have the TA send certificates to the shareholders.
Best regards,
-----------------------------------
Edward Vakser
Artfest International, Inc.
Chairman & CEO
Artfest Expo Center
13342 Midway Road, Suite 250
Dallas, TX 75244 USA
(877) 278-6672 Office
(214) 274-2420 Direct
(866) 534-2847 FAX
EVakser@ArtfestInternational.com
http://artinterviews.blogspot.com/
WWW.ARTFESTINTERNATIONAL.COM
Stock Symbol : ARTS
From: mustache_rider
Sent: Friday, April 16, 2010 1:46 PM
To: 'evakser@artfestinternational.com'
Subject: Status: Dividend for Loyal ARTS Shareholders
To Whom it May Concern:
http://www.stockhouse.com/News/USReleasesDetail.aspx?n=7663124
According to this press release, all shareholders that were on record as of COB April 15th will receive $10 par value stock for every 10k ARTS shares.
When can we expect to see these shares and what will be the method of delivery? I currently have a TD Ameritrade account that holds my ARTS shares. Will the shares be deposited within my TD Ameritrade account?
Thanks,
mustache_rider
Momma always said, an ounce of performance is better than a pound of promises...Eddie where is our divy you POS?
I fortunately or unfortunately road this donkey down to an average of .0007 and decided to stop. I still have skin in the game and still breathin' and beleavin', but things don't look like they are on the up and up.
I am with you seabreezing... This is the type of ricockulous BS that gets my mustache in a bunch!!
"Going up to $0.10...hide your wife, hide your kids-ARTs is going to $2 so take them out to sizzler!!"
Followed by "in my honest opinion"!!! What does that even mean?
I really wish this board would return back to well thought out and supportable spitballing.
I am a long time reader, first time poster. I wish I could bend ART's ASK over and smack it at .0002, but I have lost all hope. Is there any recourse any of us have??? Right now I reek of fear and cheap cologne!