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Call Poken
United States
poken inc.
pier 38 - suite 5
the embarcadero
san francisco, ca 94107
phone: +1 415 357 0555
fax: +1 415 520 5178
"Beware of Greeks Bearing Gifts"
ibeready, thanks for the deeply thoughtful piece of advise!
"For what it is worth, and in my opinion, I would not consider selling at this time because I believe that we are close to resolution of our investment purpose"...
Question: Where Does the Expression "Beware of Greeks Bearing Gifts" Come From?
Answer: The Trojan War had gone on for 10 years. Since both sides had gods on their sides, and Achilles, the greatest of the Greeks, and Hector, the greatest of the Trojans, were dead, the two sides were pretty evenly matched. One thing the Greeks had that the Trojans lacked was the cunning of an Odysseus. Odysseus devised the idea of a Trojan Horse. When the "Trojan Horse" was left at the gates of Troy, the Trojans thought the Greeks had left it as a parting gift because they had given up and sailed home. The Trojans welcomed the gift and took it within their walls, little knowing the belly of the beast was filled with armed soldiers who would destroy their city.
Relative to the rants of spp, he may or may not be sincere in his beliefs. My advice would be "beware of Greeks bearing gifts" This of course is my humble opinion GLTA
Rawnoc, New EGMI $8.88 target
I'm quickly figuring out my original $7.50 target which was based on best-case potential then may be too conservative now.
wmthecommoner,I like your EGMI convictions
So with the China LotSynergy news and Poken news announced at the ROTH conference and funds and smart money that are heavily buying our shares...the PPS prediction is raised to high single digits (i.e. $8-$9) instead $3-$4 which was according to the Merriman Curhan Ford coverage of EGMI... believed that EGMI should be valued at $3-4 before this week's two 8,000 pound GORILLAS were added! Thanks you my friend for your interpretation.
Best Regards,
CS
MikeDDKing and EGMI investors
With the China LotSynergy news and Poken news announced at the ROTH Conference and Funds that are heavily buying...what kind of appreciation do you believe they will take EGMI during the next 3-6 months? All the best...CS
Add POKEN AG board of directors
Upon completing the investment, EGC would have one of six seats on the POKEN AG board of directors.
What about THE "POKEN" BOMBSHELL
Posted by:gurupup
Date:Wednesday, October 14, 2009 8:44:34 PM
In reply to: Rawnoc who wrote msg# 6711
Post # of 6861
Memorandum of Understanding for Investment
in Poken Holding AG and Agreement to Form Joint
Game Card, Inc. (OTCBB: EGMI) ("EGC" or the "Company"), announced on October 12, 2009, that it has signed a memorandum of understanding ("MOU") to form a strategic partnership with Poken Holding AG ("POKEN AG"), a privately held company based in Kilssnacht, Switzerland that owns the POKEN product and related intellectual property ("POKEN").
POKEN is a next-generation RF technology-based social networking platform.
Under the terms of the MOU, EGC and POKEN AG plan to form a joint venture that is intended to have the exclusive rights to market, sell and distribute POKENs in North America. EGC would own sixty percent (60%) of the joint venture and POKEN AG would own the remaining 40%.
In addition under the MOU, EGC would become a strategic partner of POKEN AG by investing approximately $500,000 in POKEN AG in exchange for approximately 3.45 percent ownership of POKEN AG. Upon completing the investment, EGC would have one of six seats on the POKEN AG board of directors.
POKEN IS MY FAVORITE......The reason being is that every kid in the USA is a customer, every traveling businessman, every college student, every convention, every retail group, every corporation, every anybody that uses FACEBOOK, TWITTER, MY SPACE.
A stocking stuffer, a give away, a cute gift,etc... and that is not all of it, but you know what we have a outstanding management team, and a great PR, IR initiative team that has many more ideas in their quiver I can assure you.
This product could make EGMI a home run on its own, and it will, but there is much more to come. We had to see some new deals and we got two monsters, and there are many more in the pipeline.
EGMI dropped two bombshells this week with more to come.
Posted by:gurupup Date:Wednesday, October 14, 2009 8:44:34 PM
In reply to: Rawnoc who wrote msg# 6711
Post # of 6857
CHINA.......http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Electronic-Game-Card-Inc-prnews-2457877703.html?x=0&.v=1
When China takes a back seat to anything it is news. This is strictly my opinion about order of magnitude, but who cares??? The Chinese want us as their partner, they have mandated building their lottery internally, making it illegal for the $150 BILLION market to exist anymore, where is that going to go?
The regular lottery sold 9 BILLION scratch offs, before this mandate.
WHAT IF EGMI GOT 1% of 9 BILLION and each 4 million tickets equals $.01 per share?
What if they got 2%-3%?
What if 10% of the illegal market goes legit?
Next year in Shanghai there is going to be a World Expo with 70-100 million people and the government is going to be pushing the lottery. Are they like a good partner?
What if funds that invest in China pick this up, what happens if the hundreds of people at the conference pick it up? This is going to be a teenager by the end of next year.
Sales and earning will be growing by 200-300% and the P/E will be 30x-40x.
9 billion scratchoffs sold in China per year?
China sold 9 billion lottery tickets in 2008, which is government mandated to double by 2010.
That's 18 billion by 2010!
Houston, we have a liftoff...
I think that EGMI expects to beat the 2010 guidance from Roth.
I think we can expect PR's next week, a China deal, maybe another?
9B Lottery scratch cards sold in China per year & 5% of the market will hopefully become EGMI's...
Do the math & have a good weekend everyone.
tryoty, The big picture with lots of dots...
Do you recall this post? GLTY
Posted by: tryoty
Date: Friday, July 11, 2008 10:15:03
Post # of 181131
We all want to see ERHC Energy hit big. But we have that damn thing called reality slapping us in the face. Whether we like it or not, ERHE is a 36 cent stock. No matter how much we feel it should be much higher, it isn't. An honest assessment of why is this:
ERHC Energy only has 5 employee's, no products, zero revenues, and its only asset is the right to let someone else drill a hole in the ocean floor where the water is over a mile deep just to see if there is any oil down there!
Not scared yet? You will be. But that too shall pass.
The company is totally controlled by a Nigerian businessman that the tabloid's love to crucify as corrupt and fancies himself as "Sir" Emeka Chuka Offor.
Getting nervous?
Investors see a chance to place a bet on a company effectively owned by a businessman storied to be corrupt in the land of corruption itself, Nigeria. Political instability, corruption, MEND attacks, etc all make the headlines daily. Yet here is an opportunity to put money at risk in the area... oh yea, just so someone not under the control of the company can climb the technical mountain of drilling through 2 miles of Earth in water a mile deep, just to see if there is oil there.
Good lord, why would anyone put their money at risk in this venture!
Wait, I'm not done. It gets better!
This terrifying proposition had its headquarters raided by the Dept of Justice under a search warrant granted via a sealed affidavit. Nobody knows, even 27 months later, what the DOJ was looking for. It is assumed, and probably correctly, that the DOJ is investigating the company for FCPA violations. The penalties, if any violations are found, are just as unknown as the amount of oil in the ground, again, if any. If the U.S. Government's goal is to destroy a 5 man company, it will be destroyed, period.
Are you running for the exits yet? Sane people would be!
The SEC subsequently opened an investigation into ERHC looking for who knows what, but the results of SEC investigations are never positive. They either fine you or close the probe and move on without so much as an apology.
What idiot would invest in this nightmare? Bear with me...
Some 24 months ago the U.S. Department of Homeland Security also initiated a probe into the company's dealings. What?! Homeland Security??? It's a 5 man company with no friggen revenue for gods sake. What threat is this company to the security of the United States?
Okay, so maybe I'm crazy, maybe I still feel like dipping a toe in the waters of ERHC Energy. Bam! Here comes the latest company report and now the IRS is auditing the company's books. And while all this is being digested, the delivery date of the rig contracted to perform this feat of technology is slipping, and it's really not clear when drilling will actually start.
Let me see if I have this all correctly:
ERHC is a company listed on the lowly OTC:BB that is under investigation by every investigative body other than the LAPD that has the right to drill for oil in a part of the world that would scare Rambo and must accomplish this task via the expertise of someone else and do it all in the middle of the ocean.
It's true, REALLY. I can't make this sh|t up! So where do I send my check?
Disclaimer: I own shares in ERHC Energy, a damn lot of them. Let me explain why that makes sense for me.
It's simple. Follow the money and power. Below is a list of those associated with ERHC Energy:
Sir Emeka Chuka Offor
Self made Billionaire. Political power broker.
Unless they are very smart at what they do, corrupt people wear stripes, not Rolex's. Offor is either a clean businessman or extremely smart to attain what he has.
President Obasanjo
Former two term Nigerian President.
Obasanjo is a friend of Emeka Offor. He was president of Nigeria for most of the last decade when Nigeria signed a treaty with Sao Tome and ERHC was awarded its rights. Rights that were challenged and subsequently upheld in the World Court.
Yar'Adua
Current President of Nigeria.
Yar'Adua is an acquaintance of Emeka Offor and is the head of the PDP Party where Offor is puppetmaster.
Sinopec
Chinese Oil Exploration and Production Company
Sinopec is a leading OE&P company and has embarked on an aggressive acquisition campaign. Ask yourself if a World leader in the oil industry would partner with anything but a respected entity.
Anadarko Petroleum
Anadarko is a leading OE&P company
Anadarko has more rigs under contract than most oilco's exploring deep water. Ask yourself if a World leader in the oil industry would partner with anything but a respected entity.
Addax Petroleum
Up and coming mid-tier OE&P company
Addax is very aggressive in its time to production and has one of the lowest production costs in its market. Addax and ERHC have a strong relationship and intend to continue working together (Read: STPEEZ). Gandur has pre-announced his desire to retire in less than two years and owns a truckload of Addax stock.
Akin Gump
ERHC's legal counsel
World renowned law firm specializing in literally everything. Truly the best available. Representing ERHC with the alphabet soup gang. Ask yourself if such a firm would risk tainting its name with a company that wasn't legit or with a case that couldn't be won.
Duane Morris
Securities Law
One of the best Securities law firms in the country. Once again Offor chose to surround himself by the best of the best. Responsible for ERHC corporate filings. Recently replaced as a cost savings measure after cleaning up ERHC's SEC filings.
Howard Jeter
Former Ambassador to Nigeria and current ERHC Director
Ask yourself why a man that held title of International Ambassador would join the board of directors of what was a 3 man company.
Richard Matzke
Former Vice President and BOD member, Chevron Corporation
Matzke was a consultant to ERHC. Ask yourself why a high up Chevron guy would poke around in the minnows offices.
Walter Brandhuber
Former CEO, ERHC Energy. Currently with Millenium Investments as Head of their Energy Fund.
Brandhuber's involvement with Millenium goes back to before he was ERHC's CEO. A little covert DD?
James Ledbetter
Vice President - Technical, ERHC Energy.
Ledbetter joined ERHC after a long and successful career with Saudi Aramco, the largest oil company in the world. Now you tell me, why would a guy leave his job working for #1 and join a company with ERHC's resume? He could've went to any major or mid-tier he want, but chose ERHC. Chose being the important word. Did ERHC choose him, or did he (or his bosses) choose ERHC?
Sam Bass
Okay, this is admittedly weak. The Bass family was involved in ERHC eons ago. To what extend and for what will be an ERHC secret for all time. It's in the filings.
I saved the best for last. ERHC is now acquainted with the DOJ, SEC, HLS, and IRS!
If you discount all of the above and focus on just that fact you have to come to the question... just how much oil are we talking about here?
In summary:
The connections ERHC has and the attention it is getting are not insignificant. The people and entities discussed above have control over tens of billions, yes, tens of billions of dollars. This much time and energy is not wasted on an insignificant and microscopic company.
The only conclusions that make sense, and yes, there are two... ERHC will not be an insignificant microscopic company much longer. Or... I am completely out of my mind and need to be committed to an asylum!
ERHC's share of JDZ oil; 1 billion barrels. Once proven, ERHE will be $10+. All we need is time and patience.
Nuf said.
Yale_MBA,
Have a great one in Europe...China continues to be the EGMI juggernaut for 2010. Management stated it would be closed in the next few weeks. Something like that could add substantially to the 2010 estimates. I believe that when the China LotSynergy deal is finalized the stock moves north and never returns to these levels again. Take care & All the Best.
CS
wmthecommoner,
Thank you for your astute posting...I agree that based on the potential upside of Oct 14th EGMI updated guidance regarding 2010 EPS etc. based upon a signed definitive agreement with China Lot Synergy to produce electronic lottery tickets for the Chinese Market will probably blow away ROTH expectations!
Best of Success to ALL shareholders.
NEW CHINA Guidance for 2010
"....will review the Company's operations and discuss its strategic positioning in China and other developing areas, as well as establish the milestone expectations for the coming year...."
China: We have a MOU with China LotSynergy which Kevin stated he hoped to have closed by Tuesday’s shareholder meeting. He said that it would likely be closed in the next few weeks. China LotSynergy is the ONLY player in the China Welfare Lottery system. 9 billion scratch/win lottery tickets are sold annually in China. Half are welfare lottery tickets (4.5 billion) and the other half are Sports lottery tickets. IGT/GTECH a couple years back invested in China LotSynergy (own 15-20% I believe) so they would have an avenue to market their gaming products in China. However, only recently (July 1, 2009) has the China government cracked down on illegal lotteries which are 10x larger than the legal lottery system. The illegal lotteries were making it very hard for the legal lottery system to run profitably. In fact, the Chinese government has mandated that the legal lottery system DOUBLE in size over the next 12 months. Kevin stated that China LotSynergy would like to have our product ready by the World Fair 2010 (April 2010) where over 100 million tourists are anticipated to visit Beijing. China LotSynergy feels that our electronic game cards will have a material effect on expanding the lottery system in China. So what does material mean? Do we penetrate 10-20-30%. All I know is this. We are teaming up with the ONLY player in the Chinese Welfare Lottery System so our chances of penetrating the market are very good. Let’s say that the Chinese Welfare Lottery market grows to 6 billion cards/annually by the time our product is launched by April of next year. Let’s say we penetrate 5% of the market or 300 Million cards. I don’t know how much we will get per card, but let’s say we just get 10c per card. That is $30 Million in additional revenue and who knows how much of that could hit the bottom line. The point is that the potential for China to completely blow out EGMI’s 2010 expectations is very real.
RAW, EGMI to go red on news of a credible analyst massive with a target as high as 142% higher?
Markets are forward looking and the value of a stock is set by market participants.
Financial statements and material events published by a company are part of the equation.
Investors must also look at the business plan, it's execution and management's ability to govern.
With that said, "target price" is just something cooked up by analysts and Wall Street firms to justify their services.
In the end, good investing is about people and trends, not analysts and Wall Street firms.
However, you need the numbers to gauge how the people and trends are doing relative to one another. Best continued success to ALL.
There are a LOT of good posts on this board today.
You'll never see a stock run BEFORE it posts great results!
Thanksgiving is approaching!
lovethatgreen, thanks for your commentary
"managements number one goal is to sell lasers at this point"
I hope to see a large order materialised too!
Just wondering where did the funding come from?
Best Regards,
CS
superstartup, Thanks for the clarification
Regarding SHARE STRUCTURE
The elements of a share structure that I pay careful attention to are outstanding shares (OS), fully diluted outstanding shares (FD OS) which include options and warrants (in and out of money), insider ownership, and convertible preferred shares.
These two terms are highly important to me because they are the key component in deriving a company’s market cap.
The OS can always be found in quarterly and annual reports...
10Q’s and 10K’s or by calling the company’s transfer agent.
BUT there are no 10K's or 10Q's filings regarding learning the share structure of LNGT?
I am still patiently waiting for LNGT's audited financials.
LNGT's CEO’s #1 goal should be to get off the OTC Bulletin Board and quite honestly it won’t happen with a high FD OS companies...jmho
Best of luck to all of us in our pinkyland company
CS
superstartup, SHARE STRUCTURE
The most important thing outside of a company’s business itself is their share structure.
A company’s share structure is a complete reflection of management’s ability to create shareholder value.
Management’s #1 goal should be to get off the OTC bulletin board, and a company’s share structure is usually the main deterrent or facilitator.
ChinaStockPicker, Not sure why the price is low?
MYST is worth much more than $.103 based on profitability.
MYST is expected to earn $.03 per share this quarter which would be more than $.10 cents annually.
A p/e ratio of 20 based on prospective earnings per share this quarter would result in a pps for MYST above $2.00.
6 months from now we will be rewarded imo.
Best Regards,
CS
MYST Sell Off despite Justin Kuepper
The OTC article MyStarU.com’s Future Looks Bright
By Justin Kuepper • on June 12, 2009
MyStarU.com, Inc. (MYST) is connecting its customers with each other and its shareholders with profits. The diversified Chinese software provider saw its net income jump 115% last quarter, and the stock still trades at a bargain compared to most.
MyStarU.com, Inc. (MYST.OB: 0.103 -16.94%), a diversified Chinese software provider, may be one of the best deals in the market, according to some experts. The company posted a 115% increase in net income last quarter and continues to trade at just 3.96x earnings, even after a rapid 54% run-up in its share price over the past week. So, is now the time to get in this stock?
Last quarter, MyStarU.com recorded net income of $3.26 million, or $0.02 per share, on revenues of $23.74 million. The company’s balance sheet also remains healthy with $523,548 in cash, a high current ratio of 3.77 and no long-term debt. Finally, the company generated a positive cash flow from operations of $216,175 compared to a loss a year ago.
The largest growth area for MyStarU.com is in online membership services, including its corporate online video business Subaye.com. Members of this service are charged a monthly fee of approximately $100 with 39,822 members last quarter sharing 80,025 corporate video showcases. Moreover, the company expects this growth to continue through next year.
Despite the positive results, there are a few concerns with MyStarU.com. The company drove its higher revenues through an extensive advertising campaign costing $4.7 million compared to just $1.3 million a year earlier. However, the company did manage to substantially boost its net income, which means that these costs could be justified in terms of return on investment.
In the end, MyStarU.com is a growing company in a hot sector that is extremely undervalued relative to its peers. The company has posted a 115% increase in net income, but still trades for less than 4x earnings with a healthy balance sheet. Prudent investors may want to consider taking position after the stock takes a breather from its recent run-up.
Dadd, Filling a gap
http://www.investopedia.com/articles/trading/05/playinggaps.asp
Best Regards,
CS
contractor10940, Clarification of LNGT
Posted by: Dazzler Date: Wednesday, May 27, 2009 12:10:04 PM
In reply to: superstartup
It is easy to be frustrated with the progress...especially given the financing promises...but I keep returning to the fact that this is a start up company that has protected products (advanced technology, patents,development expertise and a Military contract it the background that is advancing). Just got to be careful not to over invest into a development stage company or I may find myself frustrated from slow progress.
Also this is a high margin product, so say $40M of the $200M proposals become a sale. How much of the $40M will be profits to be used for financing the growth of the company? $10M...$20M... more? Maybe the outside financing (and dilution) will not be needed. Maybe he will be able to talk about debt financing (without dilution). If a sale happens then this stock will immediately be worth more to us and financiers.
Again development stage company and pinksheet, so I need maintain size of my investment appropriately.
Best Regardss,
CS
joenatural regarding Jim Crane,
"Sounds to me like MYST wants the investing public to know about their rapid success. They just don't want to waste big bucks having the story told."
Great News! I strongly suggest not to listen to investor relations personnel, as they are paid to bolster a company.
Best Regards,
CS
contractor10940, Not all non reporting pinkies are useless
You believe that LNGT is past its developmental/start up stage heading towards contracts with viable products for sale?
Well, it still appears like a startup to me.
As you posted, There's alot of missed deadlines with these guys.
What happened to Beryl?
I believe that DD starts with studying 10K and 10Q filings and learning the share structure of the company and watching for increases (dilution) is ALWAYS highly adviseable imo.
I am still patiently waiting for LNGT's audited financials.
Good luck to ALL of us...
It's still the pinkyland casino imo..
Best Regards,
CS
Futhermore my first post was a not negative but a reply to Dazzler who wrote about the lack of financials...
"That is the problem with Pinksheets. No access to financials, wish i did have them."
Best Regards,
CS
irondog, A guy who calls himself varok recommended LNGT in his StockmarketReport
He teaches that investing and trading in the pennies is based on one's ability to fully understand what he/she has and when to sell.
Penny companies and the arena they trade in are the most unpredictable and have left investors/traders with losses that with a smart strategy, could have been avoided.
Emotion,Anxiety and Greed,three of the prevailing sentiments that always seem to be the guiding force on investors as when to buy and sell,only to acknowledge it is discipline that will pave your road to a successful ROI.
I'm only discussing the unpredictable and unregulated market,known as the pinksheets...Here the Market Makers and not the investor have the total control and you as the investor must learn to either stay one step ahead or fall victim as most usually do.
That was my intro to LNGT & I am still here & learing.
Best Regards,
CS
it's me again, Agreed!
The greatest profits of all tradable issues can be made in Pinksheets.
In the stock market, the greater the risk, the potentially greater the gain.
No place is that more true than in Pinksheet stocks. Those that have made bundles on them.
irondog, a reply to Dazzler
"That is the problem with Pinksheets. No access to financials, wish i did have them."
Though some may disagree with me, the most experienced will agree that pinksheet issues are now a waste of time (and money) and are practically pointless to play.
I cannot emphasize enough to you that what "appears", is not always what "IS".
Dazzler, Grey/Pinksheets LOL
Pinksheet stocks are without a doubt, the highest risk stocks tradable. So risky are they, the newcomer might as well just hand his money over to a mugger.
Pinksheets are, first and foremost, the domain of MMs, where Master Manipulation is rule of the day. If/when starting out in pinkies, plan to lose your money, first. NEVER NEVER NEVER invest more than you can afford to entirely lose.
I think it means that 5 offshore wells are going to be drilled!
"So Sinopec is going to drill Bomu with the deepwater pathfinder...What happened to the 702 drilling it? If this is the case does this mean we have only 1 rig?"
***Upstream News ERHC ***
Sinopec prepares wildcat
Chinese giant Sinopec is set to spud a high-profile wildcat "Within Weeks" in Block 2 of the Nigeria-Sao Tome Joint Development Zone (JDZ).
Peter Ntephe, chief operating officer of minority partner Houston-based ERHC Energy, which also has interests in JDZ blocks 3 and 4, said an exploration well on the Bomu prospect is "less than six weeks away".
Bomu lies in deep water and has a pre-drill resource estimate of about 275 million barrels.
As part of a rig-sharing agreement with fellow JDZ partner Addax Petroleum, Sinopec will used Transocean's Deepwater Pathfinder to drill Bomu.
***JDA UPDATE***
Posted by markgovols
Just got this from JDA. I had asked if any updates.
From JDA:
The SEDCO rig is coming to block 2 around the 1 july while the Deepwater pathfinder is coming to Block 4 around the 15 july 2009. As soon as I have the latest information I will let you know.Have a great weekend.
On completion of this well, the drillship will mobilise to Addax-operated Block 4 to begin a three well campaign starting with the 350-million barrel Kina prospect.
ERHC Energy Inc OTC Bulletin Board Market:ERHE
Volume 3,007,234 (Heavy)
Share Price $.72
Wooooooooooohooooooooooo!
Oil Rises to Seven-Month High on China Manufacturing Expansion
By Grant Smith
June 1 (Bloomberg) -- Crude oil rose to the highest since November as China’s manufacturing expanded for a third month, signaling that fuel demand in the world’s second-biggest energy consumer may increase.
Oil climbed as much as 1.8 percent after the U.S. dollar fell to its lowest against the euro since December, heightening the need for commodities to hedge against inflation. China increased prices of gasoline and diesel by as much as 8 percent, a move that may prompt refiners to boost crude purchases.
“Recovery optimism is on a roll with green shoots erupting everywhere,” said David Hufton, managing director of PVM Oil Associates Ltd. in London. The “stock overhang and the prospects of permanent damage and change to oil demand elasticity are being swamped by the macro factors.”
Crude oil for July delivery rose as much as $1.98, or 3 percent, to $68.29 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. That’s the highest since Nov. 10. The contract traded at $67.85 at 12:32 p.m. London time.
Crude had its biggest monthly gain in a decade in May, surging 30 percent, after OPEC left output unchanged on signs the global economy is recovering and fuel demand will increase.
“All the attention is on the weaker dollar and macroeconomic sentiment,” said Christopher Bellew, senior broker at Bache Commodities Ltd. in London. “The market has advanced a long way on flimsy fundamentals and may pause for breath or see a setback now.”
Manufacturers preparing for an economic rebound are rebuilding inventories of everything from benzene to plywood, sparking a commodities rally that Goldman Sachs Group Inc. says will produce 19 percent returns in a year.
Journal Index
The Journal of Commerce index that tracks prices of 18 industrial materials gained 9.5 percent in May, the most in a month since the measure began in 1985.
Oil climbed last week as the dollar fell beyond $1.41 against the euro for the first time this year, making raw materials such as oil and gold attractive alternative investments.
China is raising prices for the second time this year, allowing the nation’s refiners to pass on climbing crude oil costs. China Petroleum & Chemical Corp., the nation’s biggest refiner, said on May 22 it will lose money turning oil into fuels should crude trade above $60 a barrel and the government prevent it from increasing prices.
‘Energy Overshot’
“Energy has overshot the current bottoming phase, because we all know that demand is not turning around in the spot market, which is where consumption commodities are priced,” Stephen Schork of the Pennsylvania-based Schork Group Inc. said in a report today.
The dollar last traded at $1.423 per euro, having weakened 6.3 percent in May, the biggest drop since December’s 9.2 percent decline.
Saudi Arabian Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi said last week that the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries opted not to alter its output targets because “prices are good, the market is in good shape.”
Hedge-fund managers and other large speculators increased their net-long position in New York crude-oil futures in the week ended May 26, according to U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission data.
Speculative long positions, or bets prices will rise, outnumbered short positions by 40,122 contracts on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the Washington-based commission said in its Commitments of Traders report on May 29. Net-long positions gained by 4,885 contracts, or 14 percent, from a week earlier.
Brent crude for July settlement rose as much as $2.17, or 3.3 percent, to $67.69 a barrel on London’s ICE Futures Europe exchange, and traded at $67.20 a barrel at 12:32 p.m. London time.
To contact the reporters on this story: Grant Smith in London at gsmith52@bloomberg.net; Ben Sharples in Melbourne bsharples@bloomberg.net.
Last Updated: June 1, 2009 07:34 EDT
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601100&sid=aNYAqxMyGGus&refer=germany
Hello, Joe!
IR Companys & how to run an OTC company...
OTC companies seldom get a lot of coverage.
OTC companies are not in the mouths of CNBC reporters.
OTC companies are hardly known by the investing public (hence their illiquidity)....
Therefore, OTC management needs to MARKET the company.
I'm not talking fluff PR's, I'm talking reaching out to investors vis. a vis. shareholders like you.
Any coverage they have to pay for (Redchip) is good...if they MARKET themselves.OPAI Management needs to MARKET the company.
Thanks JOE for your fantastic DD.
tothe,Employee Stock Ownership Plans(ESOPs)
Thanks for the clarification. So every employee has a share in the company.
Do we know how many shareholders there are who aren't employees?
And do you know what is the float?
Thank you tothe,
CS
Concerning OPAI's Dilution?
Hello Joe,
As always, thanks for your extra-ordinary DD on LPIH & OPAI. Regarding OPAI, you posted that "I'm very very happy with the quarterly earnings. Quite a few China small-caps came in with disappointments on very high expectations this quarter, but OPAI passed with flying colors...People need to read OPAI's SEC filings and see how this company funds operations, as it's traditional financing through several banks in China and not through dilutive measures."
Are you concerned about OPAI's Form S-8 dilution according to the 2008 ("Equity Incentive Plan")...of up to 5,000,000 shares?
"On April 2, 2008, we established a 2008 Equity Incentive Plan ("Equity Incentive Plan") for the issuance of up to 5,000,000 shares of common stock to employees, officers, directors, consultants, independent contractors and advisors of Orient Paper or any parent or subsidiary of Orient Paper, provided such consultants, contractors and advisors rendered bona fide services not in connection with the offer and sale of securities in a capital-raising transaction. As part of this Equity Incentive Plan, under a Registration Statement on Form S-8 as filed with the SEC on April 23, 2008, we registered 5,000,000 shares of our common stock, proposing a maximum offering price of $0.75.
Whitney: Bank Stocks Way Overvalued
Thursday, May 14, 2009 2:43 PM
By: Dan Weil Article Font Size
Superstar bank analyst Meredith Whitney says bank stocks are overvalued, thanks to lax government rules that allow banks to overstate earnings.
“I absolutely would not own these stocks," Whitney told CNBC. "Some of these business models are never going to come back."
As for the strong rally by bank shares since March, she said, “I couldn’t believe it with my own eyes, because the underlying … earnings power of these banks is negligible.”
"I call this the great government momentum trade. The government enabled the banks to have better than expected — better than even the banks could organically deliver — first quarter earnings.”
And Whitney says that could continue into the third quarter.
But eventually, banks will come back to earth, she says. That’s because consumers remain under water.
“The consumer’s not going to spend,” she says. “You’ll still see a massive retraction in consumer liquidity."
Whitney says the government’s intervention in the financial system makes trading bank shares very dicey.
"For fundamental investors, you invest on what you know to be the rules of the market," she explains. "With the government involved, no rules of the market apply."
Or, she said, they’re being changed in “the middle of the game.”
Richard Bove, another star bank analyst, disagrees with Whitney.
"The world has changed dramatically in the past two months,” he wrote in a note to investors.
“April was a substantial improvement for financial companies compared to a very dismal March. May is better than April."
Results Friday May,15th
Net income $20 million plus-3 X earnings for the three months ending March 31, 2009...