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I sure wasn't expecting a tooth needed to be pulled out, but suddenly looks like that's what's going to happen!! And it'll hurt even with anestesia!! I better go to sleep right now!
Hopefully some phased-approach PR will come out in the meantime and boost the PPS for Caterham to fully buy into GTE this weekend..
Will wakeup tomorrow and see!!
JapBrat
Yeah, I agree, and if not, Caterham just might walk away on the 26th and leave GTE cash-strapped by 3 mil just before it is to break-even. That would be a sorry story...
And shareholders will pay for it dearly.. with the upcoming A/S they'll try to release as soon as possible, and waterdown the pps... ouch!
Just being realistic.
JapBrat
Well, my mentality begs me to continue to hold, but looking at the past few weeks of trading, it appears that some MMs are accumulating by buying out all the early retail limit sells and then pushing down the pps on weak retail (Fund managers appear to be on hold, mind you), with the exception of last Friday. Wonder if it is Caterham, accumulating and expecting to break even if need be they have to buy at 2+ a piece! While I've tried to figure out the relationship between them and GTE, which appears to be very tight, I am still at a loss in this regard!
I did check out the only other Caterham investment known to the public, which is a Polish telecoms co. PMI, which actually was a triple bagger since November to about a month ago, when seeing it oversold, shorts started jumping into it like hienas and have chopped about 30% off the pps.
As such, I am confused, and don't know what the future holds now, while I was actually quite confident and even certain last Friday.
JapBrat
The SHM has to be made public, particularly during open market hours in the US, and also if the stock is trading on other international markets that are open when the US ones are closed, as occurs with GTE.
JapBrat
I was hoping GTE would come up with a staged series of PR starting last Friday that would up the PPS close enough to what Caterham is expecting by this Friday to further buy into GTE, although some consider the deadline for Caterham's commitment to be Monday 26.
To be true, I am becoming disappointed with this morning's pps and lack of PR. Maybe there isn't that much more under GTE's sleeve...
But truly wish the opposite!
JapBrat
GTE cannot go ahead and provide "insider" information during a closed SHM, I believe that's against the law, especially if the markets are open for business. Either they broadcast it live (sound) or they videocast it Live (Video + sound), as the SHM occurs while the market is open (10 am EDS time, don't know what that means but assume EST). If not, that would give an edge to only those that are present.
So it has to be broadcast live or videocast live, no fumbling around, IMO.
JapBrat
DoctorS, thanks for the link. Had never before seen any TA being done with neural networks!
And I'll be darned, the prediction plays right into the strike price required by Caterham to plunk some more money into GTE. Otherwise, GTE will have to almost immediately dip into the A/S thats up for grabs at the SHM on Wednesday, and that doesn't sound too good.
JapBrat
Reality hurts??
Since when? this world would be a disaster!!
Come'n, wake up and face life in its simplest form... Not that bad if you can handle the average ups and downs...
Saludos, JapBrat
Can you confirm its Ferdinando's son? Or just did a search on the surname? If correct, then GTE, Rubikon and Caterham might just be into something big!
JapBrat
Thanks, I do check out Rocky's board regularly and sincerely hope the pps gets to that point by then. That would be a great turnaround!
JapBrat
Let's wait for the outcomes of the SHM before we jump to any conclusions. While I am not a forest fire expert, I am a forester with a lot of international experience, and all I can think of now is that they are currently window shopping...
I'm sure there's quite a few grants out there for Forestry PHd thesis for this kind of research, but could still take a while for any concrete conclusions though.
JapBrat
Ken W, seems like I've got to sign up for the electronic voting procedure before I can access the proxy, as they are requesting an access code I currently do not have. However, I am not in a rush to vote just yet, and will do so only in the next few days (if lucky, we might get a PR before the SHM!).
JapBrat
Come to think about it, it appears that GTE's cash flow will be in the doldrums if the conditions in the following public statement are not met:
"Under the agreement Caterham must purchase the remaining 1,500,000 shares of GTE common stock before June 25, 2006 unless the GTE common stock price is less than $2.25."
At this moment in time it looks like an unsurmountable challenge - baring an extraordinary PR during the SHM - that could leave GTE without cash for its operations.
Question: How deeply is Malaysian-based Caterham involved with GTE?
Apparently it is common knowledge that former GTE CEO and BOD Przemyslaw L. Kostro is currently a director of Caterham and also possibly of Rubikon Partners (although Rubikons web site has been minimized to a shell without substance at all and cannot confirm this anymore)and therefore cannot confirm who's who there anymore.
Question 2: What is Caterham's % stake in GTE? I might sound nonsensical, but have had no luck in figuring this out! Does anyone of you know? Would be grateful if you could publicly post it!
Question 3: Caterham's only other known public investment - PMI on the Polish stock market - has has an extraordinary run - was a triple bagger from last November - but only to fall approx. 30% in the last few weeks... Its a telecom, so ideally it should have some connection with GTE through its underlying core investors. Can anyone confirm this?
Last but not least, nobody on this board except for one - who only suggested a renegotiation might take place - could provide a scenario where GTE would not receive the additional funding from Caterham due to the underperforming pps compared to the strike price agreed with Caterham.
Think about it, because I believe this is most critical aspect for the survival of GTE in the short term, even though it could make billions in the future!
Would luv to hear from you guys and gals in this respect....
Saludos,
JapBrat
Complained yesterday by e-mail to TD Ameritrade about the proxy and this was their answer:
Thank you for your e-mail. We apologize for the difficulty you have experienced getting your proxy. You may go to www.proxyvote.com, and enter the following control number: XXXXXXXXXXXX in order to either vote online, or print out a proxy card you may then mail in.
Looking forward, if receiving proxies in the mail becomes a repeated issue, you may sign up for electronic delivery at www.icsdelivery.com, select "T" for TD Waterhouse, and enter your account information. Please let us know if we can be of any further assistance. Thank you,
Andrew K.
Client Support, TD AMERITRADE
Division of TD AMERITRADE, Inc.
apparently the competition among e-brokers is getting stiffer. This is the fist time in many years I have not received a proxy by mail!!
JapBrat
looks like some MMs are accumulating... buying out all the low volume retail investor limit sells a few cents above the previous day's closing pps in the early morning then pushing down the pps by large blocks after retailers are out of the way. This pattern seems to have stuck for the last few days. JMHO.
JapBrat
Here, come see if I can change the subject and negative tone on this board...
What will happen with GTE's cash flow if the conditions in the following public statement are not met?
"Under the agreement Caterham must purchase the remaining 1,500,000 shares of GTE common stock before June 25, 2006 unless the GTE common stock price is less than $2.25."
Almost inmediate "forced" dilution of shares?
Could it be a coincidence that the SHM is to be held a few days before the aforementioned deadline?
Thanks,
JapBrat
Not much news out, so everyone's waiting on the sidelines until the SHM...
Don, I first checked out these sites when they where launched and just checked again. While I cannot recall the exact changes, I do remember carefully reading the 2GO page and the equipment page (both of which at launch were very confusing for me and are now relatively clear). Also the availability page (and noticed Iligue is still not available in many of the Brazilian states!) and the rates page (maybe there were rates for other countries - I do not recall - but there certainly wasn't one for Japan, and even less a military one). This due to the fact that that was the first thing I checked out, as I am currently stationed in Japan and also an assiduous user of the Brastel calling card to call home & overseas and am always looking for a cheaper & more flexible way to make overseas calls from here.
Sorry if I couldn't provide any further specifics. Should've saved the sites offline, but didn't and don't know how to use Google to go back in time to view the old sites.
Japbrat
Who was it that predicted a PPS of 1.10 just before SHM? While I don't like it I believe he might just be right!
JapBrat
Just checked out both the VozBrazil and Iligue sites and noticed that during their downtimes they have been enhanced to include the following:
VOZBRAZIL
- 2GO text is much clearer now as regarding NO need for an internet connection (this was not clear before).
- Not only can you call Brazil, but many other countries too.
- Rates are competitive.
- Rates to call Japan include MILITARY (Am extremely curious about this, as I believe other VOIP calling card companies do not include this specific rate).
ILIGUE
- 2GO option has been eliminated from the site, internet access only.
- Not available for cellphones. Fixed phones only, but you can take your "plug" and use the service from any country its available in (I assume from a PC with BB).
- Rates extremely competitive compared to VOIP calling cards. Rates approximately 50% cheaper than other calling cards such as BRASTEL and only disadvantage I see is that you've got to use up your assigned minutes per month or loose them.
- Can also call many other countries, as offered by the competing calling cards.
- includes a rate for Japan-Military (again, strange, huh?).
- Does NOT include the possibility of calling Colombia or Peru (but GTE supposedly has deals in these countries, or am I wrong?).
Now for some speculation on my part - If GTE is offering a cheap line to call military bases in Japan (I suppose these are US bases, not Japanese, as what would be the point in the latter?), then somehow this leads me to believe that GTE DOES have some sort of a tie or an agreement with the US Military.
There are many US military/navy/air force bases throughout Japan and their main task is to keep a close eye on China, Russia and, of course, North Korea.
In comes the SkyDragon. While I am sure both China and Russia have the technology to blow the Strats right out of the sky, I believe this is not the case in North Korea, where it could be easily deployed for military purposes!!
Don't know what the probabilities are of my speculative notion, but I would give it at least 1%!!
Again, this might seem to contradict a previous post of mine, in which Rocky even stated that I appeared to be "a bird in a the nest chirping until its fed!!", where I questioned the involvement of Catherham Financial in GTE. While I have tried all DD, I cannot come up with anything EXCEPT that it is based in MALAYSIA. If this is so, then I would ASSUME the US Military would look into GTE twice before making any deals with them, or am I wrong?
Anyway, if any board member has any additional information about Catherham, I would be exremely grateful if he could post it here, as the lack of information in this regard is feeding my doubts regarding GTE.
Just another long, but getting some cold feet as many others here, and also trying to be as realistic as possible!
JapBrat
P.D. Another test needed on the VOZBRAZIL and ILIGUE systems would be on the quality of the phone lines (crisp clear, I hope!)
Ken W:
I do not believe the info in Brazil is incorrect at all, as it is all over the iligue site. If you open the "tecnologia" page you'll even get a depiction of the system used, and the way I see it, it appears to be a bold copy of the system Vonage touts.
Japbrat
Thanks, MS. I believe I am just beginning to learn how to read the typical GTE PR, LOL! Still, I continue to be uncertain about the novelty of the system Iligue is touting in Brazil.
Japbrat
Just checked out the FAQ page of ILigue and it mentions you definitely need a broadband internet conexion and a phone adapter, in adition to your phone, to use the service. i.e.
"O que precisó para usar o iLigue?
Para que você use o serviço iLiGUE, você precisa de:
• Uma conexão de internet banda larga tipo cabo ou DSL
• Um adaptador de telefone iLiGUE que poderá ser adquirido em vários pontos de vendas.
• Qualquer telefone, com ou sem fio."
http://iligue.stratevoip.com/iligue/perguntas.do;jsessionid=1E7E90D604711744013FB78C51481EB2
However, the press releases in USA mention the following:
"This extraordinarily flexible communications network allows Brazilian residents to obtain a telephone number in Brazil, the US or in any other country without the need for either broadband Internet access or special equipment."
What's going on? Looks Iligue is just another VONAGE or Skype available in Brazil!
Japbrat
Multivalue, I am in there with you and am not challenging you in any way, nor am I challenging GTE, but wish there would be some more transparency as to the "who's who" of the preferred shareholders and their rights. A few days ago Mide mentioned of the possibility of a takeover, and was immediately challenged by Rocky as an impossibility in the inmediate future. Thats when I started delving into Caterhams, as Rocky also mentioned its share options. Furthermore, as all the board is recently focusing on strats to cover the Mexican border due to Bush's speech, and remembering his sensitivities to foreign countries investments in the US, particularly as regards security issues, I started to wonder about GTE's position in this respect. And that's when my doubts struck and I began searching for possible answers on this board.
That's all, and hopefully somebody can provide me with some insight. Thanks.
JapBrat
Thanks, Multivalue,
I did see that post, but it doesn't say much about Caterhams involvement in GTE, nor where they originate from and who they are. All I could find out is that they are a Malaysian-based investors group and have no idea who their directors are. While I continue to be a long on GTE, this does not bode well for me. I would be extremely grateful if you or anybody else could provide me with any further infomation regarding this group that owns a substantial part of GTE. I cannot prove anything as I do not have any info to back it up, but would love a positive response in this regard. And I would sure feel more confident on holding on!!
Long as can be,
JapBrat
Anyway, let's try and get it right!!!
I am sure people out there know what's going on!
JapBrat
Most Latin American goverments have laws agaisnt this, and they are not easily overcome "unobstruvesly"!!
JapBrat
Thanks for the info, Sirius, but you still do not confirm it is a Malaysian enterprise...
Reagards, Japbrat
Sorry guys,
By the way, I'm new at this board...
Anyway, listening to all of you, and being a long for over a year now with a possibility of losing or making a bundle, I would like to seek your opinion regards not only Rubikons involvement in GTE, but Caterhams stake in GTE. To date I cannot find any DD in this respect and all I can be certian of is that CATERHAMS Financial is a MALAYSIAN company who nobody knows sqat of and is currently trying to obtain a government contract (according to this board)for security measures.. sounds very odd, knowing the over-sensitive response of the current goverment to any sort of outside business development in this regard.
Saludos,
JapBrat
Thanks for the wishes and the clarification regarding VozBrasil vs. Brastel. I now see why VozBrasil could have an edge over Brastel. As it looks like one market, it will need any advantage to corner it.
Japbrat
I am concerned regarding all the hype surrounding VozBrasil. While I am not an expert in VOIP telephony I do believe there is plenty of competition around. please check out:
http://www.brastel.com/Pages/eng/Home/
This service has been around for more than five years and caters not only to Brasilian minorities, but South East Asians and others as well, and I believe is much cheaper than the prices touted by VozBrasil.
Japbrat