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Guys, saw this and had to post it. It does have some relationship to the current market:
Sorry about your Rockies. As one pundit said, they did win 21 of their last 26 games! Thought I might try to ease your pain with a little original baseball/financial humor.
In a last ditch effort to keep ARod in New York, Merrill Lynch announced this morning that they have offered him the newly vacated roles of chairman and CEO at an annual salary of $40 million. Reporters immediately contacted superagent Scott Boras to verify the story. "It's true" Scott said, "and this offer combined with the $27 million per his Yankees contract finally has us in a salary range that we feel is appropriate for Alex's talents and statistics." When asked by reporters how ARod would make the transition from thrid baseman to CEO of a global financial services company, Boras replied "It's no tougher a transition than moving from shortstop to third base. You just get a good coach and take some extra grounders!"
Shortly after this press conference, Hank Steinbrenner announced that the Yankees have reached a tentative three year deal with beloved former manager Joe Torre to be the Yankees back-up third baseman next season. Hank told reporters that Joe will fill in for ARod when he can't play due to board meetings, analyst calls, shareholder meetings, etc. When reached at home, Torre confirmed the deal saying "This contract gives my family and me the financial security we were looking for. I can play until I'm 70 1/2, thereby deferring my need to collect social security until I reach the maximum age at which I have to draw benefits. And, by cementing this deal so early in the post season, I can start working with a personal trainer to get back into playing shape. I am optimistic that by the start of spring training, I'll be able to bed over!"
In other news, Steinbrenner also announced that Don Zimmer agreed to a five year deal to manage the Yankees. Hank was quoted as saying "Don gives us an important link to our history as we prepare to play our last season in Yankee Stadium and prepare to move into our new digs in 2009 as Don was born in 1923, the same year that Yankee Stadium was built."
Kipp, some may not want to post all of that info here, but some won't mind at all. I sent the following to Bobwins last week when he asked what we are going to talk about. During and after dinner, I suggest each individual have an opportunity to address one or more of the following topics:
1. Investment style.
2. Value of the VMC Board
3. Portfolio size/performance
4. How introduced to VMC Board
5. Why at Meet & Greet
6. Investment Expectations for the next year.
7. Favorite VMC story/joke
8. Suggestions for next VMC get together. (Frequency/Location)
9. Favorite football and basket ball team.
10.Whatever is on their mind.
Tmcal6
We are actually planning on having a dinner/get together both nights, just have not tied down plans for the second night (Saturday). Kipps idea is a good one if we can identify a good location close to Mandalay Bay.
OK, attendees, I have made a reservation for Friday night (Nov 16th) at Tinoco's Bistro which is a reasonably priced "local Italian restaurant" with great food located at 103 East Charleston Blvd., probably about 4 blocks toward downtown from the Stratosphere. The restaurant phone number is 702-464-5008. I made the reservation for 12 to 14, assuming some will bring a spouse/guest, but I would like to confirm a number eventually. If we have more people commit to attend, I can easily increase the reservation.
It does not have a full bar, but they are able to provide some mixed drinks for a group like ours. Obviously, they have a good beer and wine selection. We will have a quasi-private room; basically, it will be a large part of a larger private room that they will divide off for us. I made the reservation for 6:30, but said we probably would not have dinner until 7 or 7:30 and we will order from the menu. I will have some type of name cards to be individually filled out at the restaurant.
If anyone has another idea to explore for this night or the followingt night, post a message or send me a PM. I plan to go to the Trader Expo sometime Friday and/or Saturday
ALY
Ari, Aly was first brought to the board around 18 months ago by your "nemesis" 10 Bagger. I have been in and out twice with decent gains each time, and although I am not a technical or chart investor, I will probably be back in early this week.
Tmcal6
SSK, what % of the VMI Rebalanced market value is Chinese s
tocks? That may answer the question on performance.
Tmcal
Ari, I agree on ALY, without knowing anything about charts and candles, I was thinking the same thing.
Tmcal
10 bagger
Any thoughts on ALY? It has been moving in the opposite direction of other oil service stocks.
Tmcal
ari - I believe CNRD has been a widely held stock on this Board and most folks are looking for an eventual price of $30+, but it may be tough going if it does not move back to an exchange.
Tmcal
VMC Meet & Greet
All right everyone, you are all doing a little better in your individual portfolios and it is time to decide on whether you are going to the VMC Meet & Greet in Las VEGAS November 16-18. We need to get some commitments in order to plan some dinners, etc. It is hard to arrange dinners not knowing for sure who is coming and whether they will attend the dinner(s). The following 5 seem firm: Bobwins, myself, Digitech cl001 and timhyma. The following 13 indicated some time ago that they would probably attend or might attend or will be at the Traders Conference and will attend, but that is not a commitment to particpate in a dinner or two. Those 13 are: Just for Fun, Kipp440, echos, swb173, lentinman, 10 bagger, littlefish nsomniak, RMIWA, cliffvb, roguedolphin, tr8dervic and steeledge. Some are bringing wives and wives/guests are invited to the dinner(s). If we are going to pull this off, we need to get some numbers and commitments since it is only 6 weeks away. So go to the VMC Meet & Greet board and start making a commitment if you can make it. Thanks.
Tmcal6
VMC Meet & Greet
All right everyone, you are all doing a little better in your individual portfolios and it is time to decide on whether you are going to the VMC Meet & Greet in Las VEGAS November 16-18. We need to get some commitments in order to plan some dinners, etc. It is hard to arrange dinners not knowing for sure who is coming and whether they will attend the dinner(s). The following 5 seem firm: Bobwins, myself, Digitech cl001 and timhyma. The following 13 indicated some time ago that they would probably attend or might attend or will be at the Traders Conference and will attend, but that is not a commitment to particpate in a dinner or two. Those 13 are: Just for Fun, Kipp440, echos, swb173, lentinman, 10 bagger, littlefish nsomniak, RMIWA, cliffvb, roguedolphin, tr8dervic and steeledge. Some are bringing wives and wives/guests are invited to the dinner(s). If we are going to pull this off, we need to get some numbers and commitments since it is only 6 weeks away. So go to the VMC Meet & Greet board and start making a commitment if you can make it. Thanks.
Tmcal6
Well Len, I won your tournament in PSL 6 through the luck of the draw, and in this early round I have been knocked out by STIFFLER68's great 33+% return in the second week of the two week round. What can I say, luck averages out over time.
Tmcal
Len,
You are right, it is obscure and I am not sure of the significance, but you continue to amaze me with your ability to observe, analyze and present a unique perspective of things. And I appreciate your work even more in all the areas beyond the obscure on the VMC Boards.
Tmcal
Meet& Greet
For those who missed Bobwins post #81436 on Sunday, the VMC Meet & Greet board is open again to establish interest and plan the get together in Las Vegas in mid November. Check it out and let us know your interest and plans.
Tmcal6
I will be there and will help with the planning and coordination. Look forward to meeting other members of the VMC community. I hope we have 20-30 interested. So far I count 3.
tmcal
Dang, I forgot about UVE since I ran out of time and tried to pick stocks from my current holdings. I seriously considered ZYNX, but passed. Then noticed at the close someone who probably picked it painted the tape with a 100 share sale at the bid of 1.15. Smart.
Tmcal
WOW, I won something by accident again. First it was the March Madness, now the PSL 6 individual bracket contest. I would rather be Niles. Congrates Niles, I am upset I did not even make the top 10. Anyway, maybe I should go by a Lotto ticket. Thanks, Len, as always for your hard work on many fronts.
Tmcal
Len, I just noticed a week or so ago that I was in the semi-finals on the individual contest. And now I am in the finals and slightly ahead for week 1 of 2. All I can say is that I must really have been in a weak bracket, or when I had a "tough" opponent, I did well when the opponent did not do well. Anyway, if I win and don't make it into the top 10 in the overall PSL6, that will show some really random results. I was hoping to make it into the finals of the team competition, which I was following, but our team 5 got shut out this past week. Oh well. Take care.
I am trying to get a list of Israeli VMC stocks on this Board that may be interesting. Any feedback would be appreciated.
tmcal6
QUA.to
Saw a headline that Raymond James increased price target from C$18 to C$25. I wish I had not lightened up so much over the last few weeks.
Tmcal6
INRB
I believe 80-90% of the volume came from this board. I think you would be surprised at the asset base of some of the investors on this board. That 3900 share trade could have been less than 1% of someone's portfolio. Also, some investors on this Board concentrate their investments in 5-15 stocks and are not very diversified. It was not my trade, but I had the follow-on trade for 1400 shares. I only had cash to buy 1500 shares, and I was not getting filled at $12, so after the 3900 share trade, I chased. If the stock price falls back, I will buy more if I have cash at the time.
Tmcal6
Nacl01--I agree with your comments to Stanu and believe they are correct.
Stanu--while I believe interest rates may move a little lower over the next 6-12 months, i.e., Fed Funds rate and treasury yield curve, I believe the long-term trend will be for higher rates.
Intermediate term bonds are usually maturities of 3 to 5 or 7 years. I don't think I would buy anything longer than 3 to 4 years because you are not being compensated in yield for taking the longer term risk.
Stagflation is a combination of rising interest rates and high inflation with a "stagnant" economy. We last experienced this in the late 70s and early 80s. I believe it is in our future and we will see much higher interest rates. If you buy a long term treasury now that yields under 5%, if other long term treaurys in 2 years are yielding 7%, the value of your 5% treasury will be much lower.
Muncipal bonds have a history of very low defaults, under 1%, and most munis are insured today.
Frankly, I would stick with money market funds for any cash not invested in stocks.
Tmcal6
Muni Bonds
There are taxable muni bonds issued by local governments, and these are what you often see in retirement plans. Local governments issue taxable bonds when they need to finance something and the use of the proceeds is not permitted by IRS regulations to be financed with tax exempt debt. About 5-10% of the muni bond market is taxable debt. Those bonds are subject to federal tax, but exempt from state tax.
Buy new issues whenever possible, because you buy the market price on that day, and the underwriting commission is paid by the bond issuing local agency.
I am negative on interest rates going forward, so buy short to intermediate bonds unless you want to get killed if we enter a period of stagflation, which I would not be surprised to see.
I have worked in the bond industry many years.
Tmcal6
My WAG is 4:30 pm on may 26
LIM
I am tempted to sell my last shares. If Russians come in with higher offer, it may not be higher than current price. Xstrata would maybe then walk away with the C$300M. If Russians don't counter, Xstrata wins at lower price. Again, I am tempted to sell remaining shares.
RNO--This is the one that I can't figure out. I was hoping for a competing bid, but nothing so far. Opinions?
Tmcal6
TGB and RNO
TGB in with $.08 and RNO in with $.16 per diluted share.
Tmcal6
LIM.to
Up 2.5% to new all-time high. Must be another offer coming. Wonder if RNO will follow?
Tmcal6
OPBL
Stinkeye, I agree with your characterization that the disclosed NYMEX action is another "huge" problem for OPBL. I only diagree with your statement that the news item is "buried" in the 8K filing. It is the 2nd paragraph, the first being the announcement by BMO last night. I would not call that buried. I no longer own shares and I don't think I would be interested in reestablishing a position any time soon.
Tmcal6
OPBL has been a geat trading stock if you were really smart or lucky. I don't think I am either, but I don't think I have lost money overall. That said, under $4 may be a bottom based on the little PR after the close, the potential for a listing, the NYSE warrant or option strike price (I believe $4.30), the lack of any insinuation that the BOM problems were caused by or attributable to OPBL and the fact that continued growth may be in the companies future. I may decide to own more tomorrow.
Tmcal6
MVCO
Company announced $47.5 million of new contract awards, bringing total to $61.8 million in past month.
Tmcal6
Len:
If we are not then in a secular bear market, would that mean that we did not leave the secular bull market? And how long then would the secular bull market be, from when it started before this questionable bear market supposedly began? Do these questions make sense?
Tmcal6
DNO.ol
Up over 16% in last few minutes. Must be a buyout offer, but I can't find news.
Tmcal6
Bob
Seems like some good interest so far in VMC Vegas. I agree with some comments that we don't necessarily need a survey or vote to get this going. If Board moderators can suggest a date, even if one or more don't desire to attend, that may be the easiest solution.
I think some VMCers may not have seen the original note you posted on Sunday if they don't read the weekend posts. I might suggest a repost of the NEWS alert on VMC Vegas.
Again, I will try to attend wherever or whenever it is, and have already volunteered to help plan/coordinate.
Back to work. Tmcal6
LIM.to
You would think that if LIM gets a higher offer, RNO will follow in short order.
Tmcal6
cl001
RNO and LMC: I think it is interesting that RNO is up only about 4.5% and LMC is up 10% on the news. Market sees it as a good deal for LMC if it goes through. I will be disappointed if there are no other offers within 10 days.
Tmcal6
cl001
LIM and RNO: I would not be surprised to still see higher bids that have hedge fund or private equity involvement. Both friendly takeovers, at what I think are relatively low prices, represent opportunity to take positions and push for higher prices. I am holding sizable positions.
Bought more HBM this a.m.
Tmcal6
Thanks for running the contest. It was fun and a surprise to win. This is the first bracket "contest" I have ever entered and I was almost late with my entry.
I have been considering for some time whether to become a "premium" I-hub member, and this gives me the opportunity to really test drive it.
Thanks again for your work on this and I hope to enter again next year. And thanks to I'hub for the prizes. I guess I just have to wait to see if I receive a PM from I-hub.
Good luck
Tmcal6
LIM.to
Agree, I think there will be another bid, but the reference to a "breakup" fee could be a problem. I think breakup fees should be illegal, or able to be challenged in court if boards are not doing there job. I held on to all of my shares today.
Set a new high for the year for my overall portfolios. It was not hard to do with LIM.to being a large #2 holding and RNO a large #3 holding.
Tmcal
Len, Team 4 beat Team 5 in Week 10 in the Gold Standard Conf even though they had the same gain of 2.11%. I know you carried it out more places, but a tie would have moved team 5 into sole possession of first place. I think there should have been a one day overtime. LOL
Tmcal
Hope I am not too late.
Sweet 16: Florida, Butler, Oregon, Wisconsin, Kansas, Southern Illinois, Pittsburgh, UCLA, North Carolina, USC, Washington State, Georgetown, Ohios State, Virginia, Texas A&M, Memphis.
Next 8: Florida, Wisconsin, Kansas, UCLA, Usc, Georgetown, Ohio State, Memphis
Final 4: Florida, UCLA, USC, Ohio State
Finals: Florida and Ohio State
Winner, Florida.
Tmcal6
PS: I don't know yet if I copied someone. I will check again. Thanks.