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Pat I sure hope that QBID does not do a RS. That would take away my only million share stock. Makes me feel like a big shot. LOL
Jim/Findit
Zeev I sold all in mid May at 2.07. At the time it looked like a good move as the price dipped to the 1.70's for a few days after that. As you know, I ended up leaving a lot on the table, but a profit is a profit. My average was 1.60. I will be watching to re-enter for another trip. With the low volume trading, it usually takes a while to make a round-trip. I will start building a position around 1.90. Appreciate your input here on HAUP. It has been a very profitable trade for me on every trip. I think I have 4 trips on it now. These trips average 2 to 4 months. Longer than my normal swing trades, but sometimes one has be stretch the boundies. LOL
Jim
Surprised AMEP has not got a bounce yet on Greenspan's chat with congress today. Went from .05 to .08 last time.
Findit
Can't get into Silicon Investor now. Anyone else having problems?
Thanks.
Findit
girlfriend time to get back in CCUR??? Now at 2.31.
Findit
ikay I wish the letter were true, but I saw it a week ago and forwarded it to friends with the warning that it was not validated. A day later I found out on an 'urban legend' thread that the letter was not based on fact. This does not change my current opinion of the French actions regarding IRAQ.
Findit
Osur fundaments are not good. They do not make a profit, but they sure to have the inside track on getting the HIV test business in Africa as the administration pushes its AIDS program over the next few years. OSUR shareholders might want to look at TRIB too and play both. TRIB has a HIV test that is marketed in Africa now and it produces faster test results than OSUR. It has been held down due to not 'working' the FDA professionally over the years. This has delayed their HIV test approval here. But they are selling it worldwide and unlike OSUR they are profitable. It has moved up some to the 1.50 area lately, but is still way undervalued. They think they will get HIV test approval here by summer. Since the Africa aid push is to begin in 2004, they should have FDA approval in hand and be quite competitive with OSUR here and in Africa by then. In the long run, price appreciation for TRIB may be greater than OSUR. What do you OSUR holder's think?
OT - surely not me and I am a Buc fan.
Findit
OT - Go get em UB -
By Darren Rovell
ESPN.com
SAN DIEGO -- The face value of a Super Bowl XXXVII ticket is $400, but Oakland Raiders and Tampa Bay Buccaneers fans scouring the market for tickets hours after the Jon Gruden Bowl matchup was determined were staring at a minimum price tag of $1,600 each for upper-level end-zone seats.
"The fact is that the real ticket prices depend on what cities the teams come from," said Jeff Brewer, a 25-year-old diehard Raiders fan from Ramona, Calif., who was in San Diego on Sunday at the NFL Experience. "The Raiders' fan base is obviously in California, so tickets aren't going to be that easy to come by."
Fans of each team get 17.5 percent of the tickets, about 12,000 at Qualcomm Stadium, but the Raiders haven't been to the Super Bowl in 19 years. Add to that the number of cheap flights from Oakland or Los Angeles to San Diego still available -- or at worst an eight- and two-hour drive, respectively -- and demand figures to be drastically up from Super Bowl XXXVI.
Last year, brokers and scalpers in New Orleans started selling tickets at $1,100. But many factors -- including the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, the tough economy and the lack of hotel rooms due to the game's coinciding with Mardi Gras -- caused prices to steadily decline by about $100 per day. By game day, scalpers were hoping to save face by selling for face value. An hour before the game, tickets could be found for $200 or less.
Although brokers say an Eagles-Raiders matchup would have been the ultimate for their business, many ticket sellers had to feel fortunate that the Tennessee Titans didn't win the AFC championship.
"We already know we're going to receive tickets back from Eagles fans," said Andy Mendoza, a sales representative from TicketCity.com, which was selling upper-level end-zone seats for $1,600 on Sunday. "We'll probably keep them at $1,600 (Monday) unless we starting blowing them out and then it will go up."
If the Titans had won, Mendoza said, he believed ticket prices would drop because their fans don't travel as well as Raiders fans would. Now that the silver and black are in, Mendoza said ticket prices will probably not drop much, if at all. Great location tickets on the lower level were selling for $4,000 to $6,000 and up depending on field location at various ticket brokers around town.
Sandy I think Bush has set his goal on a tough enough nut to crack. Hopefully he will have success, but going for loser pays is not attainable at this point. It would be the way to go if it could be passed but the trial lawyer lobby is just too powerful.
Findit
I will go with both.
Findit
I would imagine that the Bush Admin would agree with you and prefer to have the dividend benefits go to the corporations. That makes a lot of sense. In the end, that would help both corporations and receiptiants more. Unfortunately, the class warfare card would be played even more adroitly by the democrats and nothing would be passed. The admin went for what was possible.
Findit
No problems here with StreetSmartPro.
Findit
girlfriend you barge (CCUR)is looking good. AH trade just went through at 2.98 for 248K shares. You still holding that barge?
Findit
Zeev you said >>That OMG (at $6.41) is now being stuck away into the "Orphan Value" folio, loking for a 50% gain in six months or so,<<
You should see my Orphan Value folio. It has just about put me in the poor house. LOL
Those Orphans seem so nice and safe, but buyer beware. Or should I say holder beware.
Jim
You would think he would of, at least, waited until after the election.
Findit
OT - Port Lockout story from CNN is offbase. This strike(lockout) is conveniently timed to hurt the ecomony and get it back on the the front page for the democates this election season. Unreal the amount of money those guys make. Anyone know how I can get in that union?
Findit
Zeev you said >>since I have shot my last wad... just a little left in case VTSS swoon hard down.<<
Surprised VTSS is still on your radar. How far down must it go to hit your number?
TIA
Findit
Thank God it is almost 2:22 and some relief. LOL
Findit
girlfriend did you exit AKLM before the crash? Are you buying now?
TIA
Findit
>>Added a chunk of AKLM to my basket at 2.38 for the holiday season. New games a HIT so far. Flying off the shelves is Turok.
Well positioned in my long mutual fund now are PCS, CCUR, AKLM, NETE.
Oh oh....have to make a long distance call
Jane<<
you are right it was a closing price SL. OAKT now at $3.05 and falling. Bet if Zeev was here he may have dumped it by now.
Findit
Zeev OAKT breaking down. Now at your SL of $3.10. Where would you consider buying in again?
Thanks.
Jim
ZEEV what is you SL on OAKT?
TIA
Findit
Zeev got some HAUP at 1.40 a few minutes ago. Now at 1.30 on typical low volume day. May get more if it goes to 1.20. What is your current opinion of HAUP? Are you holding a position?
TIA
Findit
Train I salute you for passing on TV. Wish I had the sense to do the same. Unfortunately, I am addicted to political talking head shows and sports coverage.
Findit
Zeev thanks for the input on GTW. Have you noticed the comeback in RDRT? It has been moving up nicely the last couple of weeks and is trading up to .85 in AH.
Findit
Zeev GTW continues to fall on a good market day. Now at 3.08. Is it worth a trade here?
TIA
Findit
The New Warren Buffett Way - From Slate
From value investor to vulture investor.
By Daniel Gross
Posted Wednesday, September 4, 2002, at 2:29 PM PT
On Sunday, Sept. 16, 2001, the night before the stock market was set to reopen following 9/11, Warren Buffett appeared on 60 Minutes to reassure American stockholders. Now was not the time to flee the market, the legendary long-term investor declared. "I won't be selling anything," he said. "If prices would fall significantly, there's some things I might buy. … It's not a different country economically than it was a week ago."
Buffett's plea to sit tight carried particular weight because there has always been a sense among investors that his motives and actions are always purely aligned with those of the most humble holders of common stock. Over the years, the unassuming billionaire has demonstrated a principled consistency and a high regard for his fellow shareholders. Buffett, who long eschewed options, has never sought to elevate himself above other shareholders in Berkshire Hathaway or in the companies in which he invested, or to profit as they suffer. He pays himself a paltry (by CEO standards) $100,000 salary, and his wealth rises and falls in direct relation to that of Berkshire's smallest shareholder.
Of course, Buffett, whose assets are intensely concentrated in the publicly traded stock of Berkshire Hathaway, which in turn has significant holdings in insurance, had a lot more to lose from a September 2001 market meltdown than the rest of us. (Read a recent Moneybox about how Buffett's insurance holdings may have influenced his post-9/11 predictions of more terror attacks.) So, in the charged days after 9/11, he may have had his best interests at heart, rather than ours. In fact, those who followed his advice to sit tight saw their portfolios fall 7 percent on Sept. 17. And those who followed his advice and bought more as prices fell significantly in the following weeks have suffered further losses. The stock of Berkshire Hathaway, conversely, has risen more than 10 percent since Sept. 17.
What's most surprising about post-9/11 Buffett is that, while it may not be "a different country economically than it was," he is certainly acting like it is. As promised, Buffett has been doing some buying in the past 12 months. But he's not buying stocks in sound, undervalued companies the way he used to, and the way you and I still do. In making several highly publicized investments in struggling public companies, Buffett has departed significantly from his traditional modus operandi—and departed in ways that are potentially hazardous to common shareholders. This classic value investor is behaving more like a vulture investor.
Vulture investors are individuals and institutions that come to the aid of, or prey upon, troubled companies. Smart vultures don't simply buy common shares in a company that is trending toward bankruptcy. Instead, they'll lend money at extraordinarily high interest rates, or demand a chunk of equity in return for the loan, or demand to buy stock at a discount to the current market price. Frequently, such transactions cause a dilution of the value of the shares held by existing shareholders and create a situation in which the new investors have better claims on a company's assets and income than do existing common shareholders.
There's nothing inherently predatory about vulture investing. It's one of the iron rules of the marketplace that companies with poor financial prospects wishing to obtain capital simply have to meet more onerous terms than those with sterling balance sheets. But vulture investors, and others who specialize in distressed situations like Carl Icahn, tend to have sharp elbows, which means that common shareholders can get hurt when they move on a company.
In July, Buffett and two other investors bought $500 million in convertible notes from Level 3 Communications, Inc., one of the largest remaining fiber-optics network companies. (Buffett's share totaled $100 million.) The deal boosted Level 3's cash position by 50 percent and bolstered its status. But it came at a stiff price. The notes pay 9 percent annual interest, and the holders can convert the notes, at any time, into common stock at $3.41. The stock now trades at $5.
Buffett's transaction with the Williams Companies, the established energy concern that got into trouble with misplaced bets on energy trading and telecommunications, is more problematic. Williams staved off bankruptcy in July by striking a $900 million loan deal with Lehman Brothers and a unit of Berkshire Hathaway. But you have to dig deep into Williams' 10-Q filing to find the extraordinary terms of the transaction.
The one-year loan carries an interest rate of 19.824 percent. In addition, Williams committed to pay a "deferred set up fee"—a charge that the company must pay if the company assets underlying the loan are sold, or even if they are not—of at least 15 percent of the loan, or $135 million. Add it up, and Williams will be paying nearly 35 percent in interest and charges for a one-year loan.
While beneficial to Buffett's bottom line, the Williams deal isn't particularly good for Buffett's well-tended image. Karl Miller, an energy investor, told theStreet.com that the transaction, on "loan shark" terms, was a "deal with the devil." Those are probably two epithets that have never been hurled at Saint Warren the Beneficent. And you certainly won't find any mention of lending money to troubled borrowers at 35 percent per annum in the many books extolling Buffett's virtues.
Although the stocks of Level 3 and Williams rose after the announcement of Buffett's investments, neither of these deals represents a vote of confidence in the companies' stock. In the case of Level 3, Buffett essentially said he'd only be willing to buy the stock at $3.41 a share (a 30 percent discount today)—no matter what price the stock is trading at—and demanded that the company pay him 9 percent a year for the privilege of holding that right. In the case of Williams, Buffett's move is a vote of no confidence in the stock.
Is Buffett rethinking his style and fundamental investing precepts at the age of 73? After all, lending to distressed companies is an entirely different prospect than buying stock in sound companies. We may have to wait until his celebrated annual shareholders meeting in Omaha next May to find out.
Perhaps the deals say something more profound about the post-9/11 market than about Buffett. With so many stocks having plummeted, so many companies beset by scandal, so much money fleeing the market, and such a crisis of investor confidence, one might expect that the classic value situations that are Buffett's hallmark would be everywhere. Buffett should be grabbing an underpriced company every few days. The fact that Buffett, who has oodles of cash to put to work, hasn't found many—and has instead been nibbling on distressed properties—shows just how overvalued stocks still are.
************************************************************
Also in today's Slate:
Zeev TTIL slide may be due to this article -
JERUSALEM (Globes)--The chances of TTI Team Telecom International (TTIL) meeting its third quarter revenue target of $20 million are fading. In fact, after consistent revenue growth quarter after quarter, the communications network management software company is liable to report a decline in revenue for the first time in years. Revenue in the second quarter was $19.2 million.
The company's results depend upon the closure of six new deals, but despite the optimism projected by the company's management about the chances of winning, there is no certainty about when the deals will be signed. "We have still not reached the closure stage with these six customers," company CFO Israel Ofer said today, "but we still believe that, in the end, we will close these deals. If the deals are signed by the end of the third quarter, the revenue will be recognized in that same quarter, because we have in fact already begun to work on these contracts."
However, with every day that passes, the chances of this happening naturally fall. "Its a tough market, but on the other hand our sales people are working outstandingly well and we are getting more expressions of interest than in the past. For example, in recent months there has been greater activity in East Asia," Ofer adds, and concludes, "Its hard to say what will happen with the third quarter, but the annual forecast is still achievable."
This article was reported and written by Globes Ltd., an Israeli business publisher of newspapers and Web sites. Globes Ltd. is responsible for its content.
Newspaper Web site: http://www.globes.co.il
(END) DOW JONES NEWS 09-04-02
04:24 AM
Zeev see you took the BIO Q off the table. My little Q ISIS continued its volatility today. With a swing from 8.37 to 9.89 on 560K shares. It has had this type of volatility for a long time now. Yesterday you indicated there just was not enough volume to warrant ISIS fitting your Q criteria. How much volume are you looking for?
BTW I have traded it once so far and did well. Think I will start trading it more as long as this volatility continues.
Findit
D2 I ditto your comments on Schwab and the StreetSmart trading system. Quite often, when buying, they get me my shares at the bid. This can add up and more than compensate for the higher trade cost.
Findit
Zeev thanks for the input on selecting Q stocks.
Findit
Zeev speaking of volatility and selecting Q representation, how about ISIS? I seem to remember your discussing ISIS over at SI. That was back when it was around $18. It is now around $9. Is ISIS market cap too small to fit your Q requiements? Just looking at the last 3 weeks, ISIS has a daily average volatility of 7.75 percent with a range of 2.4 to 12.7 percent.
Your input is appreciate as always.
Findit
girlfriend are you adding some CCUR? Down another 8% today.
TIA
Findit
Yes VTSS was downgraded, but they still have a 12 month target of $3.00. More than a double from current prices.
findit
Zeev I took another stab at HAUP today at 1.65. It has worked out well for me in the past. What is your current take and are you still holding a position?
TIA
Findit
ZEEV would you mind if I copy your post to the SI board? I think it is an important recap of where you stand as of today.
Thanks.
Findit
>>I am not bailing, in essence I have taken the horns off, but not donned any bear suit. That is a loss of 57 Naz points (I put the horns on at 1403 after the close July 1st). I am at 30% cash and my strategy is to allow cash to frow via selective sales of some positions either through stops or sometimes for other reasons. That does not mean that I will not play the lunch tactics, but most likely will close such positions before 2:00PM. I think that we are within 50 to 100 Naz points from a bottom. If we develop real capitulation, then the bounce could be of the 30% type, if we have a repeat of the February adventure, I think the bounce will be stopped under the major resistance at 1550.
Zeev<<