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I am interested on how the action tomorrow will fare.. being the day before the end of summer 3 day weekend....
Want to take a little off the table.. a pop tomorrow might help in that regard. Thinking a pop tomorrow and a fall on Tuesday. Just based on the holiday.
(Panic? You mean as the blood rushes from my head -- in disbelief - and saying to myself.. this is BKB again.. or PMZ.. or .. or..
........ NAH.. no panicing here... LOL!)
B
What are your thoughts on the action today on CPST?
Hit is high early in the morning bit stayed flat the rest of the day with rather high 14M shares traded.
B
Sad from where I see things. I expect this from places like Bangladesh, Indonesia, India etc but to happen in the US - world superpower? Very sad.
From what I heard before the hurricane "oh yeah we have a plan" and they talked about the levee etc etc. And the storm wasn't as bad as it could have been.
B
Good for certain industries/companies that prosper (like those bastards in CA running a turbine generator shop perhaps)-- but overall it will hit hard on the taxes for a bailout.
Already pegged at the nations worse disaster.
What cheeses me off - when the mighty Mississippi spills its banks and all those poor homeowners (who can't get flood insurance) are bailed out by the government, why are they still allowed to live near those same banks after?
As Kastelco and I discussed, "why would they allow people to move back to New Orleans?"
CNN did a story - "it would cost 2Billion to create a proper system to prevent this" equivalent to a weekend in Iraq (DUH!)
Personally a natural disaster is one thing - but in this case, you have a place with no electrickery and a need to PUMP the water out - UP HILL. I find the whole area questionable - esp. being in a bowl.
But alas heaven forbid if we said "New Orleans will be closed forever". Cripes, they should do what Springfield did - move the bloody town a few miles past this place..
Nothing good indeed!
B
'RealMoney' Radio Recap: Hurricane Hesitation
.. per your initial thoughts FP... rebut from his other show..
Aaron Task warned "RealMoney" radio show listeners not to get too bullish on the hurricane-recovery scenario that's being widely discussed this week.
Task, co-executive editor of TheStreet.com and Wednesday's stand-in host for Jim Cramer, said natural disasters can actually be good for economic growth because of the reconstruction money that pours in afterward. But he warned that any gains from Katrina rebuilding could be muted by the massive scale of the destruction.
Task discussed the rebuilding scenario with Pritchard Capital Partners director of research and RealMoney.com contributor Chris Edmonds. Edmonds wasn't optimistic
.
.
.
A caller asked about Capstone Turbine (CPST:Nasdaq - commentary - research - Cramer's Take), which Cramer mentioned positively on his radio and TV shows earlier this week and which is up about 15% on the week. Task said it is risky to buy any stock simply because Cramer or anyone else recommended it. "Will you hear when he says to sell it?" asked Task. Without doing due diligence, you're just buying hoping someone else will buy it after you, Task said.
Edmonds said Capstone was a decent "speculative" play on high oil prices. But what's right for Cramer may not be right for you. A stock like Capstone should only be in the portion of your portfolio you can afford to lose all your money in, he said.
Full: http://www.thestreet.com/_yahoo/funds/realmoneyradiowrap/10240612_2.html
B
Ed: Ah, no I cannot afford to lose all my money in this one.. thank you very much! LOL!!!!
I want to play it as -- sell a little bit here and there . I was looking at a little around "4% drop" from yesterday - which is where we are now (a little yesterday in the $5.30 would have been a good plan). I sold some at $3 - and happy I have that money in the pocket. Just have to continue that.
Thanks
B
Thanks Frank.. I feel like Fred C Dobbs when Baretta sold him the winning ticket in the Treasure of the Sierra Madre (you know.. before he knocked off the wife!). I am happy with anything north of $4 on this one.
Interesting action yesterday as the volume started to trail off and the price held steady. Not a wild open today. We shall see and take the profits sooner than later.
Cheers!
B
CPST: Hey Frank.. a chuckle-of-the-day..
Seeing as Silicon Investor has their new SI Sentiment rating... someone there posted on the CPST board (who has 155 bookmarks I might add) and stated:
"CPST needs to be monitored so lets bring our collective monitoring skills to this table, and demonstrate why CPST deserves its rank among the 10 best growth opportunities in the remaking of the American economy."
... or is that 10 best pumpers for the day?
http://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=21651046
Cheers!
B
LOL! I loved that $20 call. I can just read it now "Return of the Dot Bombs".. starring Luke Crapstone..
Cramer did say to wait for it to come down - buy around the $4 mark. The $20 call was for those that would hold on or the long haul, assuming they bot lower than it is today. I doubt it will get to $20 - I am sure some company will step in and pay them $10 for a $0.89 stock.
Yahoo had the after hours at $5.06 - up 10%.
I've seen too many of these come crashing down (on me feet!)
Sure they may have signed some nice deals, but like Nortel, I can't see why the price is jumping from $2 to $4 - not like they are rolling tonnes of cash right now.
Shall be fun...
Cheers!
B
CPST: Cramer's 'Mad Money' Recap: A Feather in Capstone's Cap
An energy play whose time has come is Capstone Turbine (CPST:Nasdaq) , Jim Cramer said Monday on his "Mad Money" TV show.
Capstone makes natural gas-powered micro turbine generators for business and home use. Capstone recently signed agreements with KeySpan (KSE:NYSE) and Consolidated Edison (ED:NYSE) to promote its products in the New York area. Capstone's shares have moved from $2 to $4.50 in the past month, but the stock should really take off as the company moves west, Cramer said.
Capstone is poised for "triple-digit revenue growth for the next several years," said Cramer, because it has a cost-effective way to produce energy.
There is one caveat, though, because the stock has already moved up so rapidly in such a short amount of time: Cramer said wait for a pullback before buying the shares.
A caller wanted to know if alternative energy such as solar would ever be a big player in the energy market. No, Cramer said. Germany and France are the only countries really encouraging solar's use, he said. It's simply not an economical alternative under any realistic energy scenario.
Full:
http://www.thestreet.com/pf/funds/madmoneywrap/10240139.html
BOO-YAH!
B
Oil & CPST: Oil stocks rally as storm cuts output
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) - Oil and gas stocks moved higher ahead of the open Monday, as Hurricane Katrina wreaked havoc in the Gulf of Mexico, home to 25% of the U.S. oil and gas production.
October-dated crude futures rose to a record $70.80 a barrel in electronic trading and were last at $69.27, up 4.8%, or $3.14. Natural gas for September delivery jumped 18%, or $1.758, to $11.55 per million British thermal units. See Futures Movers.
Katrina is currently headed toward New Orleans, most of which is under sea level. Output in the Gulf of Mexico, which has been shut in for the storm, could be down for months before it is fully restored.
"Katrina will impact both the production off shore and on shore," said Enercast. "Flooding in low laying areas is expected to shut-in major refining and processing facilities. Due to the strength of this storm and the path over the major producing zones, Katrina is expected to have a greater impact on energy markets than Ivan last year."
Ameko predicted crude oil could rise as high as $75 and natural gas could near $12 on Monday.
"As the shut-ins persist, increasing winter supply concerns, the potential for $80/bbl crude and $15/mmbtu natural gas are realistic," he said. "Hurricane Katrina's long-term impact on supply will make the market more vulnerable to price spikes this winter if colder than average temperatures are experienced."
One stock benefiting from the storm was Capstone Turbine (CPST: news, chart, profile) , which makes generators for on-site power production. Its shares surged 15.3%, or 64 cents to $4.83.
Oil-service stocks were also rallying on the news. Not only will their services be needed to help restore production, the existing scarcity of rigs and equipment, not to mention what could be destroyed in the storm, will lead to higher average daily rates.
Schlumberger (SLB: news, chart, profile) rose 1.7%, or $1.37, to $83.45. Grey Wolf (GW: news, chart, profile) gained 6.3%, or 45 cents, to $7.65, and Halliburton (HAL: news, chart, profile) added 2.9%, or $1.68, to $58.94.
Valero Energy (VLO: news, chart, profile) was up 3.2%, or $2.89, to $92.25. Its St. Charles, La. refinery has been shut down.
And Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM: news, chart, profile) advanced 1.6%, or 92 cents, to $59.33, while U.S.-traded shares of Total (TOT: news, chart, profile) added $1.01 to $126.85.
URL
http://www.marketwatch.com/news/print_story.asp?print=1&guid={3C1742FF-3DCB-44E4-9345-E775A2889D...
B
Katrina.. wicked B...
Saw the eye form nicely this evening.. just perfect now. Gonna be wicked to the Big Easy that's for shure. 6ft below sea level doesn't help either.
Here is where my son and I venture.. been very popular this season:
http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/satellite.shtml
Follow the floaters accordingly. Here is FLOATER 1 - VISIBLE LOOP:
http://www.ssd.noaa.gov/PS/TROP/DATA/RT/float-vis-loop.html
CPST: (Kastelco) "The shit has come in.." HOOT-HOOT!!!!
(Merci Spots..)
Already surpassed volume high from Aug 8.. (in recent memory).
See daddy, stones don't always sink.. some shit floats!
Cheers all!
B!
Or electrocution? Capstone [CPST] rebirth..
Ed: Sold a widdle of this today.. cost is around $2.15 (lost a bunch in another account; felt what the hell with my shares.. and has paid off
Two Energy Plays Take Off
By W.D. Crotty
August 9, 2005
The new energy bill just passed by Congress -- and oil hitting new highs -- may be providing some of the fuel sending old, almost-forgotten energy technology stocks to 52-week highs.
Microturbine manufacturer Capstone Turbine (Nasdaq: CPST) was up almost 30%, and left its old 52-week high well in the distance, yesterday as CEO John Tucker said that the bill "contains a 10% tax incentive for businesses to buy and conserve energy with microturbine generators." But that is not all.
Tucker also said, "It also offers users of advanced microturbine energy systems direct payments from the U.S. Department of Energy for every kilowatt-hour they generate. This policy, and others in the energy bill, will create significant additional economic advantages for customers who invest in microturbines, beyond the everyday savings and energy reliability inherent in microturbine technology."
Capstone is a story stock that has had a nasty fall. Look at this chart and notice that five years ago, the stock was peaking at $98.50 -- and, while yesterday's new 52-week high at $3.45 sounds good, it is certainly not anywhere close to the highest price ever.
But order rates turned around last year, as revenue climbed and the company's net loss declined. Recent order announcements (before the new energy bill) were encouraging. Now, with new incentives in place, orders should be easier to get. Ah, but don't jump to the conclusion that profits are around the corner. Analysts still do not expect the company to turn a profit over the next two years -- and there is big competition from Ingersoll-Rand (NYSE: IR).
Also, Beacon Power (Nasdaq: BCON) was up 50% recently on news that its flywheel technology (with the potential to prevent giant blackouts like the one in North America in 2003) has been successfully tested and is now ready for shipment for "grid-connected performance demonstrations." For perspective, grid reliability has become a high priority given recent events, and the energy bill tries to target this.
While Beacon was never the highflier Capstone was, its stock's five-year performance is equally disappointing. One reason for that can be seen in the company's first-quarter results: Revenue, at $636,000, was less than one-third the reported loss of $2.2 million. How's that for burning cash?
Even worse, the company, though debt-free, has only $3.3 million in cash. While demonstration systems heading for field testing is good news, the one analyst that follows Beacon does not expect it to reach profitability in the next two years. Simply put, the company probably needs to sell equity or borrow money to survive.
Companies with new energy technology have significant potential. But before getting too excited about a company's story, make sure you understand the technology risk and competition before making speculative investments.
The Motley Fool Hidden Gems newsletter offers companies with strong growth prospects that will also generate strong free cash flow growth. Interested? Try a free trial subscription today.
Fool contributor W.D. Crotty does not own shares in any of the companies mentioned. Click here to see The Motley Fool's disclosure policy.
http://www.fool.com/News/mft/2005/mft05080909.htm?source=eptyholnk303100&logvisit=y&npu=y
Not 100%.. buy somewhere in the weeks of Jun 6th-13th .. then hold.
Cheers all!
B
Chuckle.. you are funny FP!! LOL!
Basically spinning my wheels. Summer has been amazing here - every night out with the kids for hours come home and dead. Waiting bated breath for my hydro bill - work shit, the usual stuff. Stopped waiting for rainy days that never come to get things done. (yeah yeah the basement will be cleaned one day..)
As for the markets - everything is basically in MM funds no trading for months. I suppose the next sell will probably be AQI.
Trying to finalize my plans by the end of the summer. Feel great on my new goals - convinced on what I want to do. Little scores over and over is my goal.
Someone recommended the GLD ETF on NBR (instead of buying a gold stock), and I wanted to know where Gold $ was while at the park - so I looked this up and saw that story and found it very interesting. All that glitter's isn't gold.
Anyways.. same old..
Cheers!
B
(PS: Trying to spend more quality time right now in certain places so no time for the boards. I appreciate your advice etc, however, trades going forward have to be 100% what I want to do - and that takes time to plan. You have your ways and I need to develop mine.. tis all! -- Cheers Michael!)
Rest of World: Gold in an ETF
Ed: The best part is the way they pay the expenses. Silver is a huge whammy - treated as a collectible - taxed the highest in the US of A
Are These New ETFs a Good Idea?
StreetTracks Gold Shares (NYSE:GLD - News), the first exchange-traded fund tracking a commodity, was one of the most successful ETF launches in history. Within weeks of its November 2004 launch it amassed more than $1.5 billion in assets. Is it any wonder that other financial firms are scrambling to introduce their own commodity ETFs?
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In fact, ETF purveyors are much like traditional mutual fund companies in that they aren't above launching new funds in asset classes that have enjoyed strong recent performance and have gotten a lot of attention. Not all of the new commodity ETF proposals, which include offerings tracking silver, oil, and the euro, are without merit. In many cases, however, they sacrifice the tax efficiency and transparency of stock ETFs and should be approached with caution.
It'll be a while before these proposed funds see their first trade. (It took the Securities and Exchange Commission nearly two years to approve the first gold ETF.) Nevertheless, here's an early line on some notable new ideas.
Silver Warning Bells
Barclays Global Investors, which was second to market with its gold ETF (iShares Comex Gold Trust (AMEX:IAU - News)), is first in line with a fund that tracks the price of silver. Like the gold ETFs, iShares Silver Trust will hold the actual metal in an account with JP Morgan Chase's London branch. It will allow small investors to share the costs and hassles of owning silver directly (i.e. storage, assaying, and insurance expenses) with other shareholders and will charge a 0.50% management fee, according to SEC filings.
The silver ETF, however, is like its gold counterparts in other, less appealing ways. It will sell silver to pay its expenses, so the amount of the metal represented by the ETF's shares will decline over time. If the price of silver doesn't rise enough to compensate for those sales, the share price will decline. Those silver sales, by the way, will be a big taxable event for U.S. investors. Under current tax law, long-term capital gains on silver are taxed at the maximum rate of 28% because silver is considered a collectible.
The fund will be able to hurt you in other ways, too. One can make an argument for owning gold as an inflation hedge, but it's harder to make a case for silver, which is notoriously volatile. The metal's price fell for seven straight years after 1985. Increased demand from industrial users, as well as investors looking for an alternative to crummy stock market returns over the last five years, has helped propel silver prices from less than $3 per ounce to nearly $7 recently. The best time to discover this metal's virtues as a portfolio diversifier was when it was still in the doldrums, not now when it is coming off a rally. Most investors are better off dodging this silver bullet.
Strange Currencies
Rydex Investments thinks investors should be able use an ETF to speculate on the price of the euro or to hedge the foreign currency exposure. The proposed Rydex Euro Currency Trust will track the price of the European Union's currency versus the dollar. This fund, which will trade on the New York Stock Exchange, could make another market that has been the province of large investors accessible to small fries.
The ETF, however, has many of the same drawbacks as the metals funds. It will tap interest earned on the euros it buys to pay expenses, but if that income isn't sufficient it will have to sell euros. Those sales could erode the ETF's share price if the currency doesn't appreciate enough and would be taxable events for U.S. shareholders.
This fund's biggest bugaboo, however, is the unpredictable nature of foreign exchange rates. Even Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan has likened any attempts to predict the course of currencies to a coin toss. Heck, you just have to look at this year: At its onset, everyone was convinced that the dollar would continue to struggle against the euro, but in fact the opposite has been true so far. And as for currency hedging, most studies show that over the long term it has minimal effect on returns. Small investors would probably do more harm to themselves than good with this fund.
Oil ETF Gusher
A couple of small firms have decided that now is a good time to introduce oil ETFs. We're wary of these, though, and not just because they were conceived as energy prices hit record highs. Macro Securities Depositor LLC of Morristown, N.J. wants to offer two ETFs that would use derivatives to track the price of Brent crude oil. One will allow investors to bet that the price of Brent crude is going up and the other will let them wager it is going down. Such calls are difficult, if not impossible, to get right consistently over the long term with broad stock and bond-market funds and much more so with narrowly focused portfolios, such as one that focuses on oil.
Alameda, Calif.-based Ameristock Funds' New York Oil ETF will try to track the price of light, sweet crude oil by investing in oil futures contracts on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It will charge a fairly reasonable management fee of 0.4% on the first $1 billion in assets and 0.2% thereafter, according to the prospectus.
Manager Nicholas D. Gerber, longtime manager of the Ameristock Fund (Nasdaq:AMSTX - News), has no experience running a commodity pool, though. Gerber also has a history of floating trial balloons that sink. For example, he liquidated his Ameristock Focused Value Fund after a scheme to convert it into a publicly traded holding company flopped. It's hard to get too excited about either of these offerings.
The Basket Approach
Deutsche Bank's proposed DB Commodity Index Tracking Fund is a little more promising. Rather than focusing on one particular commodity, it will use futures to track an index of them: The Deutsche Bank Liquid Commodity Index. The benchmark includes crude oil, heating oil, aluminum, gold, corn, and wheat. That offers investors more diversified commodities exposure in one package.
Still, it's not as diversified as at least one other traditional mutual fund option. The Deutsche ETF would devote more than half its assets to crude and heating oil. PIMCO Commodity Real Return (Nasdaq:PCRIX - News), however, caps energy exposure at a third of assets. Deutsche's index also has no history, so it's anybody's guess how it will behave.
Furthermore, unlike most ETFs it's hard to figure out what you would pay for this fund. The offering estimates total costs (including management fee, operating expenses, and sales charges) of 4.9% for investors who buy it during its initial offering (during which it plans to charge a 3% load) and of 1.9% for those who buy it in the secondary market. The portfolio expects to earn interest income that can be used to offset much or all of those expenses, depending on how you buy it and the performance of the fund. That's not the level of fee transparency to which ETF investors are accustomed, though.
Disclosure: Barclays Global Investors (BGI), which is owned by Barclays, currently licenses Morningstar's 16 style-based indexes for use in BGI's iShares exchange-traded funds. iShares are not sponsored, issued, or sold by Morningstar. Morningstar does not make any representation regarding the advisability of investing in iShares that are based on Morningstar indexes.
Story with pretty ads: http://biz.yahoo.com/ms/050712/138283.html?.v=1
B
Ha ha ha. Frank you are funny!
Who said free? The part I am asking about is "with your PAID subscription and without the PREMIUM ADD-ONS do they show this information?
As France was just asked, they were to answer simply: OUI ou NON.
If I ask a car salesman "does it come with ABS" and he says "yes", then I will look at the car. If in the final negotiations I say "so where does it say ABS is standard?" and he replies "oh that is an extra addon", he was not being straight completely honest with me.
I am asking about a function and you are going on another tangent. Is it a crime to ask a question? If there were 50 people I knew that had IBD, I could ask them - but YOU are the only one on this thing called EARTH that I know that subscribes.
I agree totally that $1000 for a service is nothing, as long as you are making enough to warrant it. I would say by year's end I will probably have a StockChart and IBD (wo/premium add-ons initially) subscription.
You mentioned Valueline - I would assume you already feel IBD is better value than them, or is it too early to tell, or "they are different and both are an asset". Yeah, that is a question too!
From all this, I deduce that in order to get the industry group drill down at IBD, I would need their premium add-ons (either the group drill itself at $349, or the entire ball-o-wax for $1000). Fine. Now I and all others that read here know.
Merci.
B
(Maybe it wasn't deep throat.. maybe it was finding out Albert died.. chuckle.)
Yo Frank.. CHILL! What is with the defensive shit? Something about deep throat made you go ballistic? I am merely asking a question. I am not questioning you and definitely not bad mouthing IBD. (I can't but I am sure those that have paid could scan for IBD and O'NEILL and find plenty of sad sorry SoB posts).
I ain't dropping a dime in anything until I am prepared on paper and in my head on where and what I am doing. Period. And I am happy and satisfied with that right now. I have stated going forward I would like to use their service to help with both building my watch lists and help with the FA - weeding out good and bad stocks, based on their extensive offerings.
I simply asked a question. Yes, I see the list you posted - and YES I have read the newspaper a number of times. Yes I have downloaded the digital version. Yes I see this and more.
But the question is (specific), on Systems/Equip, is there a place on the site that allows you to see ALL stocks related to Systems/Equip. No the report you show is not showing Systems/Equip companies, it is showing "Market-Leading Medical Stocks" - it just so happens that within that list 3/10 are systems/equip companies.
From what I remember, there is a sort by group - and that is helpful. And yes maybe there is value in knowing each stock that makes up the group and maybe not - but that is something else.
All I asked for was "from what you subscribe to, and looking around, is there anything that gives you what I am looking for". Maybe 10m later you come back and "well I can't seem to see it". Fine. I know they offer exactly what I am looking for in their premium service; part of me thinks the premium might be more than I was looking for. Perhaps not.
http://www.investors.com/products/IgHighlights.asp
Minimum $350/year.
I no doubt will subscribe to it shortly and read it all the time. Today I read Business Week - doesn't necessarily give me tips on a stock by stock basis, but it gives me some big picture ideas and I find it informative. I am sure IBD will be likewise valuable to me.
Anyways. Thanks Frank. Get back out there an make mucho money!
B
Ha! I love the new thing on SI:
"Introducing SI Sentiment: A great tool for evaluating investor sentiment. For info, click here".
Wow! A barometer to rank the hot air blowing around there.
Are you asking MOI (France: NON! SOB: OUI!) why I don't trade up here?
Right now, save for unloading junk, I have halted all trading - moved everything into MM and trying to put together my plan. (no trading on any market)
Currency is the only problem; otherwise the amount of information that could be obtained on any stock is vast in the US compared to the offerings in Canada. Fact of life. That doesn't mean there are not opporunities to trade in Canada, just fewer.
I am ridding myself of stocks under $12CDN until I can improve. I will get back in slowly -- first to say $7+ and then to $5 before going lower. Based on this, it really narrows down the field.
Although I care not for the Liberals, the budget was key to get rid of the blasted RSP Foreign limit. That will help me as I move forward.
Anyways nothing in stone. But lets ask you CD, looking at it seriously, is there any one site that you use for Canadian stocks that dumps ALL stocks for a particular industry or sector? Cripes even the TSX is all over the map. Once the list is complete - do the industries/sectors map to anything in the US as on Yahoo? For me unless you pull up a quote on Reuters.com (Canadian Stock) I have found nothing for Canada.
Thanks.
B
I sometimes take Memorial Day off. This year not. Always like the US stations running movies or marathons. Wife gets a kick telling me "A&E was showing Columbo all day!"
Typically the icing on the cake... !!
SIGH.
Cheers all!
B
UNREAL! Eddie Albert - Dead at 99 - Same day as release (nationwide) of the remake of 'The Longest Yard'. He played the warden in the original classic.
Amazingly, I watched that movie a week ago - and then earlier this week watched the episode of Columbo (Dead Weight) with Albert playing a Major General.
Luck be a lady tonight or what?
B
Edit: Grub 96? No fighting please!
Sigh? Sigh? Chuckle.
So I said something wrong?
Mind the fact my hands are covered in scabs from the cuts I have received, from trying to catch falling knives over the years. Well at least I still have my hands.
B
Today whilst working mid-town the power flicked at around 4:45. Apparently provincial wide. The subway was backed up a bit. But I noticed the DSL went down (run by Bell). I get home, and likewise down - and at 7:45, still is.
Interesting Rogers is up. (ha! like Han Solo.. I have both services for just such an emergency, but who would think I would actually have to use Rogers for actual web access - I thought it was mainly for the 60GB/mth of newsgroup d/ling.. chuckle!)..
DSL also went down in Burlington (our office support staff). So something big has gone wrong to hit all DSL clients. Normally I might get to Sympatico or even just Ontario locations if a main pipe had problems.
B
PS: Friendly reminder Frank....
Thanks for that list Chary - yes always good to have multiple sources.
Yahoo offers that too - % gains and volume - US and Canadian (plus every country I am sure).
Of course the criteria may differ.
IBD offers "Stocks on the Move". (up or down).
Definitely something to look at in the future, but now I am trying to come up with my own criteria - which is onside with your second part - I already am doing that now - ripping data from Yahoo and creating my own lists.
A stock that is HOT today, is probably higher than I want to pay - and probably the move that should have triggered the buy based on my buying criteria happened long before. Maybe.
My larger problem is - hunting down a hot sector. But again a sector that is #1-#5 is again "too late" for larger gains. (sake of arguement - perhaps it is too late perhaps not). Perhaps a sector that has slowly moved from 40th and now in 20th is something I want to review.
IBD has some nice fundamental info - they look at all the pieces and perform magic - and basically give you simple and easy to follow rankings. That may not translate to non-IBD data. So (as I stated) stock XYZ could be considered MEDICAL-PRODUCTS on IBD, and on Yahoo sector is Medical Supplies. (Yahoo could have Medical Supplies and Medical Equipment - they happen to be combined but for sake of arguement - under this condition it is a toss up).
So I could see a sector that is rising and want to pinpoint on the group to see which stocks are good bets to review. That is what I want to know - if IBD gives you stock of each group.
My method right now is purely price/volume etc - weeding out thins and junk et al. Sort of a random - "any stock in any sector that is doing what I want". Which may be all I want. But if I want to concentrate on hot sectors, this wouldn't cut it.
Yahoo offers Sectors/Industries for US stocks but not Canadian. To get Canadian rankings I would have to rip Reuters - that has the same data as Yahoo but also shows Canadian.
Sort of leary being tied to a service. ie if I don't like IBD then what? trying to keep my mind open to what there is - even if I choose IBD.
A few years ago I had dreams that are 180degress of what I am thinking today. Today only time that quotes are critical is when I am placing a trade. Sure Yahoo or any other free site might not be accurate from time to time, I don't care. And not going in, blind either. Get a basic list.. and then review charts on Stockcharts (again as you state).
My larger phobia (and no its not mostlyfrankopobia) is that I don't want to concentrate too much on published lists. A list that is mine has a greater chance of being unique to me than any other. That may give me a slight edge over those that rely on these lists to tell them things.
Just trying to come up with my own ways. One task is "what makes up the list" (then I weed); another task is "what charting tools do I use?"; among other things. I do envision different strategies (for difference price levels - say under $1 or different market conditions); and different sources of the lists.
Thanks again Chary!
Hotty Blake..
Frank on IBD: Drill down Groups..
They have their own proprietary industry/sector list where they slot each stock. Proprietary (as they deem) based on the fact that Yahoo's version (derived from Reuters) most likely may not equal IBDs. They have 197 "groups".
Now when I was looking at various IBD offerings, it became apparent to me that, as a base subscriber, you still did not have the ability to drill down.
I did see the DAILY GRAPHS INDUSTRY GROUPS - and that apparently allowed you to drill down - so you chart MEDICAL-PRODUCTS, then you can view what stocks make up that group.
So all I want to know from you is, assuming you have just the basic electronic addition without premium add-ons, can you see somewhere all the stocks that make up a group? ie give me list of all stocks they classify as "MEDICAL-PRODUCTS".
Now I see they have various lists -- and if you wanted the "top" performers, you might see within that, two or three of stocks that are in that group (as they show the groups).
Yahoo gives you Airlines...
http://biz.yahoo.com/ic/airlin.html
..and performers.
But if I click "AIRLINE" within that page I see the companies associated with airline industry (public/private).
http://biz.yahoo.com/ic/airlin_cl_pub.html
(haven't fully explored whether it is 100% accurate or not)
If I click-on a US company for a regular quote and click PROFILE, I see the sector/industry (from reuters). IBD's quote does not seem to show the group.
http://finance.yahoo.com/q/pr?s=AMR
I am suspecting IBD is mostly keeping this stuff to themselves, unless you pay the big premium - which is ok. I just want to know if the full (non-premium) subscription provides a list.
When I bot the newspaper it didn't.
It would talk about top sectors and maybe mention the odd stock, but nothing more.
My bit is - if Medical-Products are on the move, and they are only showing you a handful, then you are sort of tied to those only. Whereas if you knew there were 30 stocks in that group - you could say "Medical-Products" are moving up in the rankings.. lets get a look at each and monitor the 3rd and 4th top companies..
anyways.. thanks
B
BW: Beaming Your Music From Basement To Attic
Apr 21, 2005
by Jay Greene
TECHNOLOGY & YOU
Beaming Your Music From Basement To Attic
The great boon of digital music has been the ability to play what you want when you want it. Thanks to innovations such as Apple Computer's (AAPL ) iPod, which stores your entire music library, there's no need to go rummaging through CD racks to find a particular disk. Now a new wave of innovation allows you to transport that same music to any room in the house.
Devices that beam music from a PC to a stereo system aren't new. But in general, they have been difficult to set up, prone to crash, and not particularly good at searching out specific songs. Then came Sonos. The Digital Music System from this Santa Barbara (Calif.) startup blends the sound quality of a fine stereo system with the elegance of an iPod. In fact, the paperback-book-size wireless controller that manages the system looks a bit like a large iPod, complete with a touch-sensitive scroll wheel to navigate through the music library on your PC.
Sonos can connect to your existing stereo system, but the beauty is that it doesn't need to. The heart of the system is a bread-box-size device called a ZonePlayer, a digital audio receiver that connects to a PC through a router on your home network. Only one ZonePlayer needs to be wired directly to the router. With that one connected, you can beam music files to a collection of identical ZonePlayers in other rooms over a Wi-Fi network that's built right into each box. And since each Sonos player includes a 50-watt amplifier, you can use it as a stereo just by connecting speakers to the box.
IN GEEK-SPEAK, the Sonos approach is known as a peer-to-peer mesh network. Because digital songs bounce from one player to the next, creating a mesh of wireless signals blanketing the house, the tunes heard on the ZonePlayer in the bedroom sound just as clear as those on the one wired to your PC router in the study. You can link up as many as 32 players -- but it won't be cheap. Each ZonePlayer costs $499, and each remote controller is $399. (Sonos also bundles two ZonePlayers and a remote for $1,199.)
I tested three ZonePlayers in my house: one in the living room, one in the kids' playroom, and one in the master bedroom. More often than not, we synchronized the devices so that the same song was playing at the same time in every room. But one night, we invited friends for dinner. The system made it easy to let the kids rock out to the Foo Fighters in the playroom while the grownups listened to Lucinda Williams in the living room.
One of the niftiest parts of the Sonos system is the wireless controller that manages the whole setup. It has a beautiful 3.5-inch color LCD screen that shows the artist, track name, and album art when music is playing. Press the "music" and the "zones" buttons, and you can pick different songs for different rooms or sync up the music in other zones. You can add Net radio stations and navigate among them with the controller.
The system, which works with Windows (MSFT ) and Apple computers, is easy to set up. You connect each ZonePlayer by holding the box's mute and volume buttons down together. Using borrowed Bang & Olufsen BeoLab 5 speakers, which run $16,000 a pair and pump out 2,500 watts of power, I got a whole new sense of the cash register that opens Pink Floyd's Money. (You may not need BeoLabs, but for great sound, don't skimp on speakers.)
Some may gripe that the system is unable to play music that is copy-protected, which includes all songs purchased legally through MSN Music store or iTunes Music Store. But for people who have built up their music libraries by copying CDs they already own, that won't be a big problem. Even Sonos' pricing scheme seems reasonable, when you consider that a high-end, multiroom sound system can easily set you back $2,000. Sonos does so much more than conventional stereo systems -- and does it with style.
By Jay Greene
URL: http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/05_15/b3928035_mz006.htm
Roni: As I have mentioned before I have an ATI All-in-Blunder video card. I also said, that it will be the last combo card from ATI I ever buy. I feel like emailing "careers@ati.com" and asking for a job:
I am an experienced, enthusiastic and hardworking programmer who would love to work for your company. Not because your CEO is a crook, or that your employees have a wonderful underground parking lot, or that your building is right beside the 407 highway. No, I want to work for your company because I want to write shitty buggy code and get paid big money for doing it. I have used your All-in-Blunder products since 1997. You definitely have come a long way in technology improvements in the hardware, but when it comes to the software, for every bug you fix, with each patch, you manage to add a slew more and make us want to (and actually do) go back to the previous version since it at least worked with the bugs it had.
My fear is how much they are getting into the hardware - becoming more like Intel. I see the highend Macs have the same engine as me (ATI 96xx). (Another reason I have problems with Apple - I bot the AIW 9600Pro for C$300 back in Jan 2004, and they had then the 9800 for like C$600. And TODAY Apple has the 9600? They should allow you to upgrade to a new version).
If asked today, I cannot recommend ATI's multimedia system - just not reliable enough. You sit there watching the output on your TV and half way you get a GPF error and have to reboot. Sucks! (and I will not blame Windows or XP.. that is purely ATI junk..). Each upgrade in Video+MMC is like 50MB.. crazy - and you wonder what was fixed and what wasn't.
Anyahoo..
B
Roni.. Kinda? Kinda??
Shoot thought you were gonna drop a short selling bomb.
Good ideas.. lots of options. The Bose system just looked "nice" for something in the living room (accoustic sound and all I am sure). But will look at other things. Yes, if the wife takes the unit upstairs to the bedroom, I need other speakers. C$400 is ok for a nice "stationary" unit, but would like other cheaper options for other rooms.
I still am looking at better answers for the whole home and music/movies/TV is all the same. Business Week reviewed a system that was pretty neat - I will post it - comes with a mini-LCD "remote" (for U$500 it is more than a remote).
You need to wire your home with TV but also each room needs speakers. I am sort of against having to use the "TV" to control the music (ie to turn the TV on and then pick songs). Hence the remote could be used instead. The system they showed basically could control music in any room with satellite units. Only one had to be plugged into the network to grab music off the CPU harddrives ---- and it had built in wireless capabilities. You buy other units and they don't need to be plugged in. But as far as I can tell, that is a "music only" solution. Still dreaming of my own PVR system.
Airtunes sounds interesting.
You had mentioned HP and Walmart in a post on the Apple thread.. so I was wondering if you know more about that? Think that is a no brainer anyways and should have already happened.
Can we all picture Steve Jobs sitting in Bentonville AR -- one of those small supplier rooms being beaten by a red coat for a cheaper iPOD? the WMT version I am sure will only have a single LCD line... chuckle!
(You live in Canada???)
Rumor has it that Apple's first official Canadian store will be in Yorkdale. No idea when; Unconfirmed; multiple sources.
Funny, Futureshit sells the units it appears, the same price of the Apple.ca store (collusion as with Sony I am sure). Except the Apple store offers free engraving/shipping. Whereas you pick up the unit at Futureshit. The headache is when there are problems, but with Apple gear, I figure the quality is a lot higher than most.
I tend to download techno DJ programs (Armin van Burin; DJ Tiesto etc) - love listening to that and can't.. save for sitting at home.. soon though..
Thanks Roni..
B
(CPST & ARQ.. how low can they go? How low can they go... doing the opposite of buying as it rises.. selling as they drop... the battle of "d" BUCK continues..)
Roni: iPOD question.
I suppose I can suggest by reviewing your posts, you must like Apple or something (LOL!).
I have been hit on many sides to start moving on something in this area. I have a computer at home, but have issues with the amp cutting out. Wife wants something and is thinking of "CDs" which of course are not "free" not to mention a unit she needs to buy to play them (we have one in the house but it doesn't play MP3s). Plus I download music like there is no tomorrow, and wouldn't mind playing it in the car or on the bus/subway. Most won't fit on a CD (mp3 format ok but no portable mp3 CD player). To me burning anything but an MP3 is impractical. And cost wise, and simplicity, it is just "easy" to buy an iPOD than worrying about CDs. (Everything I typically play - movies or music, reside on the computer. Having to go and get a DVD out of the cupboard is just a pain in the ass; esp with thought it may get scratched from kids or something).
So my goals are:
(A) Bose standalone speaker system - which I can plop in the iPOD or iPOD mini. That isn't a big deal.. not sure of others. Retails C$400.
(B) Wife will get an iPOD mini or standard. (C$269)
(C) I will get an iPOD or iPOD photo (C$379)
Part of the mini/non-mini depends on the accessories (share and share alike). The C$120 premium to go from 5GB to 20GB isn't that big a deal - she hasn't seen it yet so I might go to Futureshit and see the physical size differences. (besides if she uses 5GB, that gives me 15GB to dump my DVD movies chuckle!). I noticed some car adapters - to have it sit in the coffee cup holder, are meant for the MINI or NON-MINI. If I have to spend $50 for one, and then a second for $50, I would rather toss that $50 for the non-mini (assuming that size is ok).
Fortunately my car has an AUX in so I can easily plug it into the stereo.
I was reading about the iPOD photo. No I have no digital camera but that could be the starting point. I like the idea of going up to a TV and playing pictures. But that isn't huge - I figure the premium for the iPOD PHOTO is still large.
Why I ask you
(1) Excluding 3rd party, are you aware of any new iPODs coming out (say by end of June)?
(2) I read something about HP - are you in the know? What would the differences be beside a partnership? ie is it like "Handspring" and "Palm" where they use the same OS but have a lot of differences in gear and software.
(3) I use my cell sometimes for browsing - yes POS for sure. I was surprised that they don't have a very basic HTML reader on the iPOD photo. Sure a lot of scrolling, but for me being able to take a HTML site (picts too) and dropping it in the iPOD for later reading, would be great. Not to mention if they added a PDF reader. Sure a PocketPC would do all this - but YAG! "yet another gadget". Gets $$ and cumbersome. Even adding a simple ebook reader would have been nice. (sure may only be about 6 lines or so.. but it is wide).
Also has there been much problems with the mini? (ie not as reliable?). (Pssst.. you can tell me.. if there are, I promise not to sell AAPL short...)
TIA!
B
CANSLIM: Is that some sort of Canuck poker game? Ok, I am game.. I see on the table we have a King Belinda and Queen Martin.. now in my hand I have a blue Jackass..
The first book from O'Neill that I saw was "13 ways to make money.." and the chapter "19 mistakes investors make" caught my eye. I bot the landmark "How to Make Money in Stocks". Again a great read. (followed by Tharp and Elder)
Here is Tharp's site: http://www.iitm.com/
And Elder's: http://www.elder.com/
Saddly not there yet. Except for trying to dump the junk, I have made no purchases and everything is on hold as I continuing my planning. As I have started to lay out my plans, the big picture idea I had was to use mostly technicals and augment the fundamentals with IBD's ratings et al.
Trading US stocks is a problem because of the currency swings. I made money on the trade side of PFE, but lost because of the currency - and that was only about a month or so. Hopefully keeping the trades short (following the technicals) will help in that arena. (I sort of liken the problem to owning an option. The stock is going up every day a nickle, but the option price stays steady; as time goes on the stock continues going up a nickle, and the option price falls - as time ticks away - nickles a day end up being not enough).
Good to hear your success with the system. Initially I liked the cup and handle charting patterns, but since reading Elder, prefer his approach. But still had my foot in the IBD door - mostly due to their prop. rankings - but also I have (read a few hard copies too) found their reporting very good.
Today I barely have time at night to do anything, let alone subscribe. But my goals have been to get things straight so I can bank on an hour+/night and many more on the weekend. Close.
One of the blocks for Ameritrade at the time I looked had more to do with the $10K minimum. We were at the time quite fully invested and the thought of moving securities from one broker to another was foolish to say the least. I have since dumped a bunch so I can relook at that. Just my luck it will be "E-Trade America" -- all trades $19.99...
Cheers!
B
Chuckle. Got my Metallica report (MR.TO) Wife says "why do I own this?". But the real joke was they still haven't been able to secure the damn dynamite permits.
If you're on the highway and the road runner goes beep beep..
Yes, this junk too shall pass.
B
Which part? The quote I added to my logo (gotta shrink it a bit - I love MS Photodraw - it appears they no longer have it.. anyone know what they did with it?) or the Free IBD note?
Enquiring minds....
Town of Richmans Hill had a BBQ at the Operations Cent"re" this past weekend. Ended up picking up some new tall blueboxes (holds 40LBs - just the right size and weight to blow the backs of Miller Waste) for $5/piece. I picked up 3. Whether I trust them on the street yet is another question. My dad ended up etching "Stolen from" and his address in black. Considering it.
B
Investors Business Daily: FREE ACCESS TODAY ONLY!
Posted on their site today: http://www.investors.com/
SoB
BW: Verizon's Video Vision
Ed: Bell Canada will be testing out TV over twisted pair (ala DSL?) in the coming months/year(s). However, Verizon is moving to the next step to battle with Cable. I personally think BCE can only play with twisted pair for so long. ExpressVu apparently has topped out on offerings - the satellite is full....
Terry Denson may have the most daunting job in telecom these days. Verizon Communications Inc.'s (VZ ) 39-year-old vice-president for video programming and content marketing was hired last September to build a pay-TV service from scratch to compete with well-established cable and satellite giants. "At first, I didn't think [the job] was a good opportunity," says Denson. But the No. 1 U.S. phone company was prepared to spend a bundle -- $15 billion or more -- in the next decade to lay souped-up fiber-optic lines directly to households. That helped convince the career TV exec that the concept could fly. With an upgrade like that, Verizon would be poised to provide the TV channels and other video services its customers now get through cable or a dish on the roof.
Denson is in the hot seat because Verizon's future hinges on its transformation into a media company. It may appear crazy to shell out billions for the chance to enter a fiercely competitive business, but there's little choice when the traditional phone business has steadily eroded during the past five years. At the same time, cable companies are aggressively moving in on phone customers by offering an alternative service using Internet technology. To fight back, Verizon is madly trying to rewire U.S. homes with its own ultrafast network. About 3 million of the 30 million U.S. households that receive its phone service will be connected directly to fiber-optic lines by the end of 2005, says Verizon. "Verizon needs a competitive response to the cable industry," says John C. Hodulik, an analyst at UBS (UBS ).
Clearly, the war for TV subscribers is intensifying. Cable is battling satellite services, which added 3 million subscribers last year -- 1 million of those defecting from cable, according to Sanford S. Bernstein & Co. And Verizon won't be the only worry. Phone company SBC Communications (SBC ) Inc. says it, too, plans to roll out a video service as part of a $7 billion upgrade to new fiber-optic lines. What's more, cable's stronghold in cities could be challenged as Verizon looks first to urban areas. Arguing that the company should not have to go through the arduous process of applying for the municipal franchise pacts required of cable outfits, CEO Ivan G. Seidenberg pleaded his case before a group of powerful broadcasters on Apr. 18 in Las Vegas: Help us win an exemption from Congress, he urged the TV execs, to lower "the biggest barrier to our entry into video."
(more follows..)
Full article:
http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/05_18/b3931099_mz016.htm
B
BW: Squeezing Out Oil, Gas, And Profits
May 2/05
EnCana's focus on hard-to-get resources and advanced techniques is paying off
Gwyn Morgan was a 31-year-old petroleum engineer for the Alberta Energy Co. when he began supervising the drilling of the Suffield natural-gas field in a rural corner of the western Canadian province, an area used for training exercises by Canada's army. In oil-patch parlance, it was an "unconventional" field -- its gas deposits were tough to gather, trapped in layers of rock, sand, silt, and coal. But the Suffield property is unusual for another reason: Almost 30 years later it is still pumping out steady streams of gas. "Our wells last for decades," says Morgan, who rose from field officer to chief executive of EnCana Corp. (ECA ), formed in the merger of Alberta Energy with PanCanadian Energy in 2002.
Under Morgan's direction, EnCana has bet big on exploiting hard-to-extract natural gas and hard-to-process heavy crude, bitumen, and oil sand. With skyrocketing energy prices, such plays are looking more appealing and economical these days. That's especially true in North America, where most of the easily accessible energy has been siphoned out, leaving pockets of stubborn reserves that usually cost more to get at. "To achieve any kind of growth you have to be focused on unconventional [plays]," says Andrew Potter, an analyst at CIBC World Markets.
Even in the energy biz, where sky-high oil and gas prices mean gushing profits for all, EnCana stands out. It has snapped up thousands of acres of resource-rich land in the past five years, allowing the Calgary-based company last year to pass Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM ) and BP PLC (BP ) to become the largest natural-gas producer in North America. EnCana has played its hand well, designing projects that pay off at a low price point -- $25 per barrel of oil, well below today's $50-plus spot market price. Its revenues have nearly doubled since the 2002 merger, soaring from $5.9 billion that year to $11.8 billion in 2004. Net income jumped more than fourfold, to $3.5 billion. And EnCana's profit margin of 18.7% handily beats those of most energy companies. That record has been rewarding for investors -- and has some speculating that EnCana may make an attractive takeover target.
While the supermajors, by and large, have chased light, sweet crude and easily-captured gas out at sea and in geopolitical hotspots, EnCana has thrived on fields picked over and forgotten that are much closer to home. In a project in the rolling green plains north of Fort Worth, Tex., EnCana is squeezing gas out of a formation that has been giving up energy for a half-century.
"FINDING A WAY"
"We're not discovering new resources, but finding a way to commercially exploit resources that were considered uneconomic," says Roger J. Biemans, president of EnCana Oil & Gas (USA) Inc. In fields like this, the easy-to-get gas has long since been harvested by traditional drilling techniques. What remains are smaller pockets, often in geological formations so dense that the rocks have to be fractured and the gas pressured out.
EnCana turns these tricky conditions into opportunity by bringing together a variety of state-of-the-art techniques. To reach a cluster of smaller gas stashes, for instance, EnCana can drill horizontally. From a single site on the surface, the well can snake down and out sideways at varying depths, like the branches of an upside-down tree. As the drill pushes outward, EnCana relies on high-resolution "micro-seismic" data to guide it along fractures in the rock formation. Once the drill hits the gas pocket, fluids blended to match the geological conditions are pumped in to force out the gas. None of these tricks was invented by EnCana. "We just bring it all together better than anyone else," says Biemans.
With more active wells than any other company in North America -- about 5,000 -- EnCana can achieve unique economies of scale. "They're learning from each individual well that they drill," says Allan Stepa, a Calgary-based analyst at investment firm Salman Partners Inc. EnCana's massive land holdings also have saved on exploration costs, key for an outfit that has capital intensive drilling. PanCanadian brought to the merger huge tracts of land throughout western Canada, thanks to its late-19th century corporate beginnings as a railroad company. Now, EnCana owns 40 million acres of land in North America, in chunks scattered from the Canadian Northwest Territory down into Texas. That makes it the largest owner of oil-and-gas producing land on the continent.
Two things could knock EnCana off course: a precipitous drop in oil and gas prices or a takeover. Most experts believe that with demand from China and other fast-developing nations remaining strong, prices should stay high for a while. Still, Morgan has taken steps to gird for a downturn. EnCana is working with Premcor Inc., an Old Greenwich (Conn.)-based company, to refine sticky bitumen sooner in the production cycle and cut the cost gap with lighter crude.
Takeover speculation played a role in the 60% runup in EnCana's stock price over the past seven months, to about $67 today. EnCana's solid operating performance, its land, and proven reserves, would make for a nice addition to the portfolio of a cash-rich supermajor -- especially Royal Dutch/Shell Group (RD ), which last year embarrassingly had to revise its reserves downward. But Morgan says he wants to go it alone: "We believe our shareholders will do better with us continuing to create the value we've been creating." It's hard to argue with his track record.
By Brian Hindo and Adam Aston in New York
http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/05_18/b3931102_mz017.htm
BW: NG-And You Thought Oil Was A Worry
May 2/05
If natural gas producers form a cartel, they could drive world prices even higher
Oil prices are through the roof. OPEC is sitting pretty. Could things get any worse for energy buyers? You bet. There are troubling signs that natural gas producers are moving toward forming their own version of OPEC. While not an immediate threat, such a move could eventually drive up prices for an indispensable element of the U.S. long-term energy supply: In January, the Energy Dept. predicted that gas imports from outside North America will increase more than 700% and account for a quarter of U.S. consumption by 2025.
The concept of a natural gas OPEC is becoming less far-fetched. On Apr. 25-27, a little-known, four-year-old organization called the Gas Exporting Countries Forum will meet in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago. Although the organization says it wants to promote cooperation with gas-consuming nations and "does not seek to control...pricing and supply," in past meetings members have discussed mutual efforts to capture a bigger share of the wealth generated by their own natural resources. That's exactly the line of inquiry that led to the formation of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries 45 years ago.
Natural gas meets one key requirement for price-fixing: a high degree of market concentration. In the last quarter of 2004 members of the forum accounted for 53% of the natural gas imported by the industrialized nations belonging to the Organization for Economic Cooperation & Development. That's in line with the 52% share of OECD oil imports that OPEC provided in the quarter, according to the International Energy Agency. The Trinidadian hosts list the countries invited as forum members as Algeria, Bolivia, Brunei, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Libya, Malaysia, Nigeria, Oman, Qatar, Russia, Trinidad, United Arab Emirates, and Venezuela. Many are OPEC members and thus know a thing or two about price-fixing. Norway, Argentina, and Equatorial Guinea have been invited to observe.
Why now? For one thing, technology is making it easier to set up a cartel and enforce control over prices. Until recently almost all exported gas was delivered by pipeline under long-term contract. But with advances in natural gas liquefaction, more of the fuel is being delivered in refrigerated ships. That has led to a developing spot market, similar to that of oil. In a unified market with a single spot price, withholding output in one part of the world can affect prices everywhere.
TAPPED OUT
Gas producers also have a strong hand because demand and prices are already high. Their strength could grow as natural gas becomes increasingly tapped out in places like the U.S. and Canada, leaving more reserves and output in the hands of forum members such as Russia, Iran, and Qatar, according to a 2004 study by Rice University economist Ronald Soligo and Amy Myers Jaffe, associate director of Rice's energy program. Although Soligo and Jaffe think "sustained" monopoly power is years away, they say exporters could begin to influence the price of gas sporadically well before then "by manipulating the availability of immediate supplies."
Russia has been boldest about trying to affect gas prices. As far back as 2002, Soligo and Jaffe say, it led the way in trying to get the forum to block European buyers from reselling their gas. A resale ban makes it easier for producers to divide up the market and keep prices high. It's a favorite tactic of Saudi Arabia in the oil market.
Russia's effort ultimately failed because European customers had too many alternative sources of gas. But a similar push could succeed someday if producers such as the U.S. exhaust their reserves. Last year the Russian newspaper Izvestia quoted the deputy chairman of Gazprom, Alexander N. Ryazanov, as saying: "I think that it is in our countries' interests to sell gas at the highest price possible. That is why one has to stick to correct approaches and coordinated policy."
"Coordinated policy" sounds a lot like a euphemism for price-fixing. An OPEC of natural gas is still a remote possibility. But the idea is sure to be floating on the sea breezes in Port of Spain.
By Peter Coy in New York, with Jason Bush in Moscow
http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/05_18/b3931044_mz011.htm
BW: Powering Plug-Ins: Not To Worry
Section: Developments to Watch
May 2/05
The idea of hybrids that can be plugged into an electrical outlet is winning fans among both conservatives and environmentalists (BW -- Apr. 11). Such cars could store enough juice in their batteries to cover most daily commutes and only use their gasoline engines on longer trips. But since most of America's electricity comes from coal-fired power plants, critics worry that any cut in tailpipe emissions would be offset by dirty air from increased coal burning.
A collection of studies, however, makes clear that while power-plant pollution would rise, car emissions would fall by a much larger amount. Total energy use per car would drop by up to 45%, calculates the Electric Power Research Institute. EPRI and the California Air Resources Board also calculate that replacing regular cars with plug-in hybrids would reduce pollution and carbon dioxide emissions up to 50% overall. Emissions would fall even more as the cars become capable of traveling farther on batteries alone and as new, renewable sources of electricity come on line.
Of course, power prices might tick up with a large-scale switchover to hybrid cars. But most recharging would be done at night, and "there's so much off-peak capacity that there's not expected to be an increase in price," says EPRI's Mark Duvall. Plus, electricity would have to get much more expensive to catch up with the cost of gas. At today's average prices, fueling up with electrons would cost about one-fourth what it costs for gas.
By John Carey
(Premium)
http://www.businessweek.com/@@RE*rjmQQxT66IQQA/premium/content/05_18/c3931110_mz019.htm#ZZZ7Z9AIS7E
BW: One Fuel That's Still A Bargain
Apr 18/05
Not all energy prices are surging. Ethanol, which is typically derived from corn and mixed with gasoline, often moves in sync with petroleum. But since the start of the year, the wholesale price of ethanol has fallen more than 20%, to around $1.20 a gallon, while black gold is soaring to record highs. What's going on?
It's simply a case of supply and demand. Fear of an energy crisis has fueled interest in renewable sources such as ethanol. So manufacturers have added huge amounts of capacity for producing ethanol. This year the industry, which includes such big players as Archer Daniels Midland (ADM ), could turn out 4 billion gallons, up from 3.4 billion in 2004.
The customers just haven't come through yet. Politicians in Georgia, which was expected to be a big buyer of ethanol this year, have been fighting a mandate to use reformulated gasoline. Both the Senate and House are floating bills that would institute a renewable-fuel standard, requiring the oil industry to use at least 5 billion gallons by 2012. But so far nothing has passed. If an energy bill does find its way through Congress, though, ethanol may be a hot commodity.
By Adrienne Carter
http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/05_16/c3929012_mz003.htm#ZZZX7ZSM87E
Schtuff + AGI: A few days ago I received the Alamos Gold 2004 annual report. My first reaction was, "Egads I own that much?". Chuckle. Such a balance of junk and winners. Most of that is in the same account as CKG. Both making a nice profit alongside the wannabes of CPT and MR et al.
The front of the report says
building a mine
Silhouette of a giant 90-ton haul truck.
They outline the building of the mine at Mulatos and talk about the leach pad area etc. Interesting nonetheless.
I wonder what Metallica's cover will say.. perhaps this?
the failure of not paying off the government
B
PS: What a week huh? Paula how could you do that? There is no doubt in my mind what-so-ever, that most of Cory Clark's story is true. If the phone records don't get her, the fact she ordered pills for him will. The biggest joke is when he sings a song from a group that Randy Jackson was in. Duh - yeah because she picked it! Go figure! (She never ever ever tells a lie. Like President Clinton right?)
Paula Abdul to appear on Saturday Night Live
http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=televisionNews&storyID=2005-05-07T015739Z_01...
Funny - Chris Rock on his Bigger and Blacker I think. Says something like "What will you do when you get older if you do drugs all the time" "Well, I could be mayor!" (Marion Barry of course!)
Chris Rock asks "How the hell did Marion Barry get his job back [as mayor?]. If you get caught smoking crack at McDonald's you can't get your job back. They're not going to trust you around the Happy Meals."
or
How are you gonna tell kids not to get high when THE MAYOR is on crack!
Missing the ads?
Read this:
http://adserv.stocksite.com/media_kit.html
Yeah, I am male.
Between 30 and 60.
Self-Employed.
Own one home (if mortgage counts).
But that's about it.. chuckle! So how do I move myself into the averages?
B