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It's not so tough: "watch the future filings" means "quit bugging me because I have nothing to say to you," plain and simple.
Delving for some cryptic omen of great news out of "watch the future filings" borders on ludicrous.
Let's just hope those filings contain news other than an increase in the OS.
Is there a rough average time frame for an NI 43-101 to be completed?
TIA
DOW up 6% and nothing doing here. DOW down 6% and nothing doing here. We're in purgatory. This stock has nothing to do with the broader market any more. It's a bit troublesome when nobody, except a handful of staunch believers, gives a rat's azz if the company even exists.
Seems like the only action left are the 100k block sales to pay the light and pizza bills.
Tsk, tsk Lowman, what kind of son risks his mama's old age money on investments with "explosive potential?"
I agree about the filings: we gotta' lower the level of expectations for LTC sales. When DR says "early next year" for sales, "IPO in Novermber" (2006) comes to mind.
I expect nothing positive until the end of the year. And I'm happy that DR won't be PR'ing wish lists instead of material facts.
This PPS blows, and while I wouldn't advise my mom to buy any shares (unless she stopped playing the lottery and used that money), the LTC story has progressed considerably. What we need now is to see the technology progressed to those areas that are well and truly beyond existing technologies: organ suturing would be the breakthrough that would set LTC apart. Unfortunately, proving that up in FDA approved clinical trials is so far beyond the financial ken of CTGI that we have no choice but to recruit a sugar daddy. Let's hope Frank and Richard still got the rolodex's working.
Agree fully. All these big rallies in the DOW have been folowed by new lows. And while I wish I had a crystal ball to trade my PM stocks. there's no denying the massive infusion from the treasury printing press.
Long term, it's gotta mean inflation and a high spike up for gold.
I wish they would too...wishes are all we have right now, unfortunately. My biggest wish is that the company survive without significant dilution til the wider economic picture stabilizes a bit.
It's a terrible time to be trying to raise money. Worse still to owe a lot and have the piper come a callin'.
DR is going to have to flash his finest moves to dodge this imperfect storm and come out intact with a share count under 50 million.
Let's be realistic here as well, with regards to the next Q: We're looking to stay afloat. We're hoping to avoid crushing dilution at these terrible prices. we're hoping all the bigwigs on the board are still signed on.
my point exactly.
Ah Lowman, great to see you're back with some new "rumblings" of "something big." Using this as an indicator, the smart money would say we haven't bottomed yet!
And many moons ago this board would have scoffed at the prospect of $1.33 a share. Sigh, it's all come down to "for entertainment purposes" now.
The company and the board have really hit the skids. Nothing worse than nothing happening...makes one long for the days of hyperbole and whacky predictions of riches just around the corner....
I just had another look at the ages of the directors and the board. This is no longer a young crew at the helm, and with the golden ring farther and farther away (at least by PPS metrics), the little guy investor has to wonder what the future might hold for his $$.
I'd like to see a buyout....a sale of the LTC patents and rights for something north of .40 a share, but CTGI owes a lot of money and I'm sure DR wants that debt cleared as a condition of any buyout. That means he's asking for 14 million just to clean the pooh up.
It takes two things (at least) to bring a great idea to fruition: time and $$. And we have very little of both.
GLTA longs still holding the fort.
That wide range of leaders and %s sure makes a strong case for active trading, as opposed to buy and hold, for 2009. wow
Silver: USA.V
GOld: SMC
Joe...just wondering if you asked any of the board's questions when you met with the CEO last week....
A follow on question: How many pieces of gear did the company sell out of?
Also, can you ask about the current number of employees vs the number of employees one year ago?
thanks
Lowman, LaJolla has been taken to court before and found to be guilty of driving the PPS of a company into the dirt.....and the company never recovered....Proving LaJolla culpable of manipulation will not push our share price back to pre-LaJolla levels. It's a lose-lose situation for us, especially given DR's record with court cases and decisions in the past year (Gordon, Banco).
You run with dogs, you're gonna' get fleas.
I am sure that that extra $2M plus has built at least 1 or 2 dozen sets of generators and tools (amongst other things)...more than enough to 'get the ball rolling', and catch the eye of more and bigger medical device investors.
This is pure conjecture, as unfounded as your PPS predictions over the past few years. Given the cascading PPS, it's hard to believe that DR wouldn't PR any good news on the production front.
I recall Frank's one word answer of "production" when asked about CTGI's next step after FDA approval. Shocking as it is, that's the most detailed growth plan the company has publicised in over 6 months.
The market hates the guessing game more than us, as reflected in the current PPS.
Hmmm, never would have made the connection between DR being shrewd and DR losing 300k to La Jolla so he could have them "in the same corner as Banco." I guess that's what makes every poster's perspective unique.....
Most of us here are long Lowman. That's why we post and have posted over the years. Your obstinance in maintaining a messianic support of Don, especially given the large and glaring number of serious blunders, borders on absurd. It's never DR's fault with you Lowman. There's always a blame to be laid- Chicago corruption, shorts, manipulators, etc, and all the while you wax poetic about deals with J&J while the PPS crumbles like a potato chip.
Frustration from this board? You betcha. When the FDA was dragging their feet on approval, that was frustrating, but out of the company's hands. This is different.
We own this company too. We deserve some decent information about its business plan, told in a timely fashion, not 4 days after a horrid PR has been leaked and driven the PPS down by double digit %.
Sigh. Returning to the issue of BK... low and ninja, you're sounding very confident that DR's stake in the company would preclude/prevent BK. What would stop a declaration of BK, followed by an implementation of a new share structure and company name with insiders claiming an equivalent number of shares to the ones they now hold?
"And it's no wonder we all smelled a rat. It's name is La Jolla."
No news there. Couldn't agree more. So why cut a deal with a rat?
And one more thing Lowman: "CTGI has had toxic financing in the past".
In today's world, they can't even get that.
CTGI- from 2.39 to under .10 AFTER FDA approval for tissue welding device last August. Bad timing, financing and lawsuits (not liability) have beat this company silly. There's been a lot of quiet since FDA approval, but a PR or 2 announcing a JV or any sales will easily push this 4-40 bags higher.
This latest news is as bad as could be expected. The Banco judgement predated the La Jolla deal by months, (remember that summary judgement tucked in there with the August CE mark PR?) And even if the banco judgement didn't cause default, CTGI was in default because they couldn't afford the interest payments. This is beyond the realm of business sense. Pay 400k to borrow 125k for 10 weeks. Wow.
We all know the cat was out of the bag before the PR. I wonder how much dumping of shares was done by people associated with the company who aren't technically insiders, and thus don't have to file a Form 4. They were issued shares for their services; I'm sure one of the conditions of that service was a safe distance from any legal association with the company.
All DR had to do was sell ONE effing unit. ONE sale in a PR would have generated enough excitement and interest to stave off this wretched PPS. In truth, he could have staged a dummy sale of a handful of handsets and a generator for so much less than the hole he's dug us into now.
With all due respect Lowman, while the share structure has remained very stable, even with the 10% increase since late 2008, the amount of debt accumulated with not one dime of income has ballooned past the 20 million $$ mark. You paint DR as shrewd, successful wheeler and dealer in the world of finance. He's had AMPLE opportunity to cut a deal to generate some income from LTC. For almost a year we waited for FDA approval. There was plenty of time to cut a deal contingent on that approval being granted. Which mean 2 things:
1. Nobody wanted LTC
2. Nobody wanted LTC at Don's price.
Even if we assume #1 is false, Don has certainly blundered any possible deal. He's broke, he owes 20 + million and one of the most nefarious financing outfits in the country has exposed just how weak his position is. This is not my definition of shrewd.
next topic for discussion: if CTGI declares BK, are we all left holding the bag?
While I'd like a PR, I can wait for something with some substance in it, ie sales, JV, etc.
Selling the approved LTC package won't be easy in this environment: the technology we have now is better than what's out there, but not so much better that hospitals/surgeries can freely tap the budget. Approval of organ welding devices would be a huge upgrade on current technology, but we are years away from FDA approval for those procedures.
Only the most polished salespeople will succeed in this market. I hope we have some of them on the staff.
Frustration? to be sure, but I keep reminding myself that DR has a lot of skin in the game. If we can survive until better financial times, we may still have prosper.
Don HAD to appeal. He can't pay and he needs time. Hopefully with legal fees, interest and penalties, time won't be more costly than CTGI's current assets
Didn't the La Jolla deal state that the money from the convertible had to be used for operations? Even if they can negotiate down a settlement, there's no money to pay out. An appeal may be the only time buyer...... no one wants dilution at these levels.
Then they have to pay out Gordon as well.
Ovidius, there's no PR because there's no news. Fluff updates cost $$ and they don't work like they used to. Contrary to your assertion, we are not supposed to be selling our product now.
If nothing else, by now investors in CTGI know that DR's estimates are often missed by months. It's been a long wait, but we have FDA approval in our pockets. Patience is the only option here except for selling.
Still the waiting game. DR said early Jan after FDA approval, back when the dream of an IPO still had plausibility. "Early 2009" became a financial reality soon after.
Connect the dots: La Jolla deal PR'ed the 3rd week of November, the big infusion happened at the end of the month. That means Decmber 1 before a funded operation could have moved forward. August until December is 4 months. IMHO, we'll be lucky to hear meaningful news in "early 2009".
The sad chapter of the LTC story is that the awesome part of the technology- organ welding, has to wait until DR makes some money on the duct sealer. LTC needs to convince 20 surgical practitioners that they have a tool worth buying. If they're able to do so, word of mouth excitement in the medical community should eliminate the need for MoneyTV and other paid promos.
Hopefully some of the big names on the BOD can earn their options sooner than later.
USA.V
Anyone else holding this beaten down producer? PR'ed the usual cutback in operations until times improve, but they basically broke even on production of about 1/2 million ounces in the last quarter. (up 78%)
If silver gets a leg up, the multiples here look good.
Hi Len
DOW: 7344.44
Oil; 86.44
Gold: 1344.44
At least DR has been straight-up about that: no news til next year.
Hopefully when that news breaks, it will include sales of some of the units, not merely a report on "production". If they can PR the sales of a handfull of units, we'll be up and over a buck.
Long term, the difference maker with LTC is the organ welding appliaction. Based on the 7 million it cost to receive approval for the duct sealer without clinical trails, I'm hoping we make a friend with deep pockets very, very soon.
Thanks bbhuey. Here it is for the rest of the board:
J. Short Selling. So long as the Debenture is outstanding, Holder agrees and covenants on its behalf and on behalf of its
affiliates that neither Holder nor its affiliates shall at any time engage in any short sales with respect to the Company’s Common Stock, or sell put options or similar instruments with respect to the Company’s Common Stock. The parties acknowledge that Holder shall be entitled to sell the Common Stock from each Debenture conversion immediately upon submission of the applicable Debenture Conversion Notice, and payment of the purchase price, to the Company for such Common Stock
I feel much better now about the deal than I did before reading it in its entirety. Given the state of the credit markets, DR has us in the game with the funds to succeed.
Also interesting to note that no options have been exercised and most are out of the money at the current PPS.
Stock Options Date Date exp Shares Exercise Price
Robbins Mar, 2009 100,000 0.33
Mar, 2009 200,000 0.28
Robbins May-13 225,000 0.605
Jones May-13 100,000 0.55
Jones May-13 100,000 0.24
Hanor May-13 50,000 0.55
Stern May-13 50,000 0.55
Hohauser May-13 100,000 0.55
Nemachek 2/7/2007 2/7/2017 50,000 0.625
Scott Shaffer 100,000 0.75
D Robbins 7/21/2008 7/21/2013 200,000 1.1
R Machen 7/21/2008 7/21/2013 200,000 1.1
Bruce Jones 7/21/2008 7/21/2013 200,000 1.1
H Hohauser 7/21/2008 7/21/2013 200,000 1.1
C Derdeyn 7/21/2008 7/21/2013 200,000 1.1
E Robbins 7/21/2008 7/21/2013 200,000 1.1
I called and emailed Don to ask about the financing:
1. Is there a "no short" provision of any kind in the La Jolla deal?
2. Can Don please send me La Jolla's portfolio? La Jolla will only release this information to public companies (I called and asked La Jolla)
3. Did Empire have to "sign off" on the La Jolla deal?
No answer from Don. Similar response to past emails/requests which poised tough questions. Hard to do DD sometimes. Anyone here with any insight into the above questions? TIA
Lowman, I have given thought to Cornell and the last time CTGI entered into a convertible. I guess the important question is, "at what price did DR close the deal with Cornell?" Yes, we all know it hit .04 and recovered, but what impact did Cornell and the debenture have on the share price? Did the convertible debenture drive CTUM's price down significantly?
Like all longs, I have confidence in Don and DR or I wouldn't be here...lol...it's not like we have much more to go on. But I don't agree that CTGI isn't suffering from the credit crunch. DR HAD to cut this deal. There aren't any better offers out there at this point or this deal would not have happened. I take on board your argument that what's hurting CTGI is a lack of faith on the part of shareholders, but let's face it, that's the new paradigm. Faith-based investing is behind us. Faith is what propelled Citigroup to $50 a share and lack of faith is why they're about to go to the wall. Lack of faith, not lack of fairly priced assets.
And the La Jolla convertible certainly is worthy of close inspection. If La Jolla cuts convertible deals and companies lose 90% of their stock price, I want to know about it. It's simply good DD. One could have made a lot of money playing Cornell convertibles a few years back.
While we all want CTGI to fulfull its promise, who here wouldn't have sold their shares at $2.39 if they knew where we would be trading today?
Not sure I understand. Per the financing with MCET, on the date the MCET entered into the convertible, the PPS was over .20 a share. It subsequently rose to 3.35 a share before falling to its current .02 a share.
Hard to draw hard conclusions or links between the convertible and the current PPS as the company had CEO and other issues.
If you look at the La Jolla site, the link to "Portfolio" says "Avaiable upon request".
I've requested their current portfolio. And I've also requested a list of companies with whom they've done convertibles in the past 5 years.
I suggest every long here do the same.
Steve, you've made a claim that we all want to believe:
"shorting on their part would be inconsistent with past behavior."
Please help me out here. I've done some Google work on La Jolla to see the arrangements they have made with other publically traded companies. I cannot find a single company that La Jolla has done business with that's trading over .01 per share.
Many of them don't exist or are sub penny, low volume graveyard dwellers.
I'm scared here folks. Good companies with real potential have been bled/shorted to their death by money-grubbing lenders.
Please link me to something that shows that La Jolla is any different than Cornell was. Forget their website blurb about developing promising companies, etc. Show me ONE company that has merely survived La Jolla. TIA and GLTA
100,000 here. not selling or considering it. In my mind, this one has always been the island-buyer. it's going to be a lot harder now....but hopefully islands will be cheaper too! lol
Terms are terms. And even with the US gov't printing money like baseball cards, banks aren't loosening the purse strings easily. Money is hard to find today, so DR did well to get this deal across the line IMO. La Jolla heard DR's pitch and is convinced we'll be around in 2 years- not a bad endorsement.
And given today's PPS, I'd be happy to see $2.10 by the 30th of Nov 2011.
There's a bit of leverage here: if the PPS stays below below .38 and DR knows of a big event coming, he can pay off the convertible (assuming money gets easier to find) at a mere 18% interest on the premium and then spring the news.
You mean the same Peter Schiff who predicted gold would pass $2000.00 an ounce by 2009?
Even a blind squirrel.......
All the way up, people found the gurus forecasting oil at $200 a barrel, DOW to 17K.
Now that we're heading down, it's the guys calling for DOW 3500 that get the daily ink.
Looks like there a shepard for every market.
That's my point: there is no "factual update" per se, or we would know all about it. Or to be more specific, the facts DR would like to PR and we would like to hear, such as units in production, luminary and hospital host sites, # of training sessions, cost of production......there's nothing to say yet.
Who wants a PR filled with facts like "to date we have produced zero units" or "zero units have been delivered." Or "we have no JV signed yet."
Let's face it: with the outrageous spread between the B and A, especially with the micro-caps, long shareholders here are STUCK. Liquidation of any substantial position at this point could see the price in the pennies.
We're in survival mode, looking beyond the current hemorrhaging of the stock price to better times when capital to fund the expansion/production is available. The problem is that that's more than months away, possibly many years away, and we have no revenue with 20 odd million in debt on the books.
We need to batten down the hatches until then: no $$ for smokestacks, no conferences, no pump PRs.
Yup. Fluff PRs aren't worth the time spent writing them in this market. And if DR had good news, I'm sure he'd be as happy to PR it as we would be to read it.
All the talk of what a great CEO DR is: now we'll see. In this market, with the ennormous challenges he faces to get LTC to market, he'll have to be better than anytime in the past.
It's a long term play. Always has been. The story's still young. Hopefully there's time and $$ to see it through to its conclusion, but at this point, it's a tough, upstream swim.
Lowman, you are about as staunch a suppoter as any company could ever hope for. Guys like you historically make other guys tons of $$.
You're right: I do like CTGI or else I wouldn't be here. That said, I like it more becasue I bought at .04 three years ago. Even at today's PPS, what's not to like?
It does seem a bit of a stretch to think that DR paid for promotion with the thought of using a higher share valuation for buying CCTI. Given the dates of the promos,(especially the ones DR issued shares/options for) and the date of the CCTI purchase, it's voodoo economics to suggest a link.
And as for the statement that DR expected the CO2 Sequestration technology to help finance LTC but thanx to RTC and a low methane producing landfill, such could not happen.
Well, to each his own, but if this technology actually worked as advertised, do you have any doubts that it would be doing just that right now in landfills across America?
I suppose the 2 lawsuits and the $$ tied up in them that CTGI lost this year aren't their fault either.
And maybe you can dismiss the lack of revenue with the casual shrug of, "Sure, LTC hasn't made any $$ yet," but clearly the market can't and won't. The market, like any sensible investor deserves to know:
1. How much will it cost to roll out LTC?
2. What are the time frames involved?
3. What strategies are being used to mitigate costs?
Investors today are asking themselves one question:
Is this company a buy at the current PPS? Looking at the beaten down share prices of low PE, dividend paying stocks with buy-back programs and insider purchases, it's no wonder we're trading a few k shares every day, hoping to tread water.