MikeCooper

Why I'm Bullish on Small Caps Oilsands and Energy XXI

david,

I agree the author seems to be trying to damn BQI with praise. But do your own DD. BQI is an exploration company with leases on some very promising (confirmed in testing) properties. They are working to perfect their method for extracting the bitumen (the geology of the region precludes traditional SAGD methods). Management has stated they are not even trying to enter into a joint venture until this is done to ensure maximum leverage. So the lack of profits at this point is as much a strategic decision as anything else. With oil prices rising, and BQI sitting on such valuable assets, the interest is there.
A risky stock to be sure, but a far more intriguing bet than the author suggests. And that line about "pumped by stock promoters"? I have no idea who he's talking about unless he means the usual blog rats and Yahoo message boarders. Throwing a accusation like that out without naming sources is unethical.

On Oct 20 06:23 AM davidbdc wrote:

> No revenues nor profits? And the primary "good" part of the story
> is that its being "pumped" by stock promoters?
>
> No thanks on BQI

Canadian Oil Sands Stocks: A Long Term Hedge on Oil Prices

Canadian Oil Sands Trust is NOT the only pure oil sands play. Oilsands Quest (BQI) has leased vast amounts of Saskatchewan oil fields. It has some technical challenges to overcome, and will require a JV to fully exploit its resources. But if you're looking for a long term oil sand play BQI is much more attractively priced then COSWF.PK.

Nintendo DS: Getting Killed Off by Game Theft

This is an argument from the Napster days. Unfortunately statistics and experience have proven that consumers are not this rational. Most game and music sales are impulse buys based off of current fashion and social trends, i.e. what's hot/what's not. Advertisers and PR experts get paid very well to predict and influence these trends. Remember beanie babies? Remember how many BILLIONS in profits were made before consumers realized they were just stuffed animals? When a consumer can download a game for free you lose those sales.

The profits made off of genuine appreciation of a product, which you are highlighting, are real but they cannot compare with the more superficial and more lucrative sales built off of niche advertising, and mass-marketing.


On Jul 29 02:19 PM Gaucho420 wrote:

> I copy games all the time and I have a boatload of copied DS games.
> HOwever, Nintendo and the publisher aren't missing a dime, as I wouldn't
> have bought them at any price.
>
> I however, do not copy 360 or Wii games, although I easily could...but
> I like them, so I pay for them outright. The DS? Nope, I rarely play
> it and therefore, no money is lost on me getting it for free as I
> would've never spent a dime on most games.
>
> So there's a point to be made about this...if anything, copying DS
> games has had me recommend certain games to my father and little
> brother, who do have a DSi and went out and bougth the games I recommended
> as they don't have time to mess with those downloads or getting the
> chip required to play tem. So without me getting them for free (and
> again, I would never had laid out a dime to buy them, so no loss
> of sales on my account), my dad would never have bought certain DS
> games.
>
> And I loved GTA: Chinatown so much, I went out and bought the real
> thing.
>
> Same with music...I have copied MP3s of a billion tunes that I never
> would've bought normally, at any price. But after having free MP3s
> of certain artists that I really liked, I went out and bought actual
> albums and that's happened quite a bit on the music side.
>
> So its not truly lost sales on every account, as again, I wouldn't
> have bougth any of the DS games or those MP3s at any price...for
> free, I'll give them a shot and if I like them, I'll recommend them
> or buy them next time myself.
>
> I'm not sure how often this happens, but for sure...free things lead
> to money made at least for some customers.
>
> Just because we take something for free, doesn't mean we would've
> spent any money on it if we couldn't get it for free.

Google Must Be 'Terrified' Right Now

Others here aren't giving Microsoft enough credit. I've tried Bing. It's not as good as Google yet, but it is close and that should definitely scare Google. The Google search engine that we know and love is a solid set of core algorithms combined with usage data from years of of use and millions of searches. Eventually Bing will have that advantage as well. The deal with Yahoo gives them sole access to that data. I suspect that was the real reason Microsoft wanted the deal in the first. place. Over the next several years. it will pay off.

Why Oracle Bought Sun: It's Not About Hardware

Java's ubiquity is well known. But if leveraging that ubiquity was so easy Sun would have been the one buying Oracle. My guess is that in Sun, Larry simply saw a lot of state-of-the-art research, a diverse product portfolio ,and a patent library almost as big as IBMs on sale at a bargain price.

Larry likes a conquest. Developing business strategies are specific products (remember "unbreakable linux" ??!!) is not his forte.

Good News from Japan for Alvarion, Orckit

OK... tell me again how this is good for Alvarion?

Palm Pre: Assessing the Risks

I bought a small position in PALM just before Pre was unveiled, thinking the stock would show a little bump at the end of the presentation, and I would sell and make a quick profit. I bought at $3.30 and sold at $5.15, doing much better then I thought. Anyone who has been watching this stock knows what I missed out on.

But I don't regret it. There is nothing but air and enthusiasm propping this stock up. Yet that appears to be enough. I won't be putting money back in it anytime soon. But I also won't believe any analyst who predicts dark clouds ahead for PALM. Financial analysis does not seem to apply to it. Gravity does not seem to apply to it! PALM is the ultimate "watch from a distance and marvel" stock right now.

Segway's Personal Electronic Vehicle: Nothing Says Success Like Teaming Up with GM

As much as I love to see GM finally trying to think out of the box, I just don't see the market for this at all. PUMAs will not be allowed on sidewalks for many good reasons. That means it will share the road with the big vehicles Americans still love to buy.

It's hard to predict what transportation would look like if oil prices hovered up around $100 for a year or more. Perhaps this is it. But there is no money in solving tomorrow's problems today. GM should be partnering with any of the small plug-in hybrid firms to green-up their line of SUVs. That's where the market is now.

Six Cars That Represent the Future of Driving

I don't understand why everyone thinks the future of driving in America involves small cars. America wants SUVs and pickup trucks! It is only gas prices and environmental concerns that make us consider anything smaller.

A large vehicle would have a lot more room under the hold to store those huge lithium batteries. And once we're all "fueling up" from the electrical grid, the added weight would not translate to much added cost. After spending so much time and money gearing its factories to produce and market big vehicles it astounds me that the big 3 (or the big 2 1/2 at this point) would be throwing that advantage away to copy Toyota and Honda's model.

With a little vision those SUVs, trucks and even Hummers could prove to be GM's greatest strength rather than its greatest liability.

Is Geothermal the Next Hot Energy Source?

Promising technology is not the same thing as a promising investment. I notice you didn't recommend any stocks, that might benefit from these trends (and benefit us). This is an investment blog right?

Tar Sands: How Much Is Out There and Can Nuclear Help?

Interesting article, but not really relevant from an investment point of view. It sound like you're one of the saps (I'm one too) that invested in tar sand companies at the height of oil prices and then watched that money fly away when oil plummeted. I would like see a light at the end of that tunnel too. But nuclear powered steam generators? If the technology was proven ready TODAY, regulatory considerations would keep it out of the field before 2014! I'm a long, but not that long!

Four Dying Silicon Valley Companies

I absolutely disagree with your assessment of PALM. Just because they are not likely to be the trend makers again anytime soon does not mean they are dead. Are Samsung, Ericcson and HTC going to fail in the smart phone market just because there products are considered second tier?

This is an absolute virgin market. Mobile broadband and web 2.0 will usher in the post-laptop world with a vengeance. PALM has made all sorts of ridiculous mistakes in the past but their managment has since changed and their development team is highly credible. They are about to deploy a new OS, they are a primary vendor of Windows Mobile (not great, but alright and not going anywhere) in the enterprise market, and their Centro line dominates the low end. Add to that the ridiculously loyal following they have for their legacy PDAs (including me), and it is clear they have a shot.

Its a risky stock certainly. But they have a good plan and they are executing on it. That is the bottom line that separates them other companies you mentioned like Sun or Yahoo, who are still searching for a business strategy.

Why Does Loral Continue to Shoot Up?

Allow me to venture another theory: Space Cadets! There is a large segment of investor out there that believes the space industry is the next computer revolution in 10-15 years. These investors are desperate to invest in this. Unfortunately nearly all of the startup firms on the cutting edge of the effort are private. Until recently space fans flocked to SpaceDev (SPDV.ob), most known for building the rockets that power Virgin Galactic's spaceships.

Recently however, the founder of SpaceDev, Jim Benson died and his family is selling the company to a private company. Absent this investment avenue Loral probably represents the more affordable publicly traded space company out there. I've seen Loral mentioned on several SPDV message boards.

Palm's Time May Have Passed

Let me be the contrarian and say I believe this is a good time to invest in Palm. Three reasons:

1. Despite the disasters you name Palm still owns 10-13% of the market. It continues to have strong brand and a following so loyal they will wait almost a decade for a product that promises to barely match what's out there now. Never count a company like that out.

2. Palm is absolutely winning the price battle. The centro is the ONLY smart phone out there affordable purely on its merits. What I mean by that is that it sets a reasonable price for a phone that delivers voice, email and internet services. With RIM or Apple you are paying $200-$300.00 extra for a bit more elegance and big heap of vanity (oooh you have an IPhone, you're a player aren't you?).

This point is important because the smart phone market continues to be a virgin one. Right now it is largely a vanity market. But as internet access becomes more a necessity, and WiMax or LTE becomes ubiquitous, you're going to see a second wave of consumers looking for these services for their own sake. For these consumers, Palm is well-positioned.

3. Buyout possibilities. Palm has always been the subject of buyout speculation. However there large market capitalization and declining market share has traditionally made Palm an expensive and risky proposition. The present financial crisis as largely solved that problem. Palm today would be a reasonable if still large takeover target for a company still looking to jumpstart itself as a player in the post-laptop, broadband world that is upon us. Recall how much Microsoft was prepared to pay for Yahoo. Yahoo's share of the search market and Palm present share of the smart phone business is roughly equivalent.

Reconsidering Penny Stocks

You've done good. But I think you could do better if you find a way to address the pent up demand for information on penny stocks. Just as there will always be schmucks that find losing >$1,000 on roulette at Vegas to be a relaxing family vacation, there will always be investors in penny stocks. Blanket policies like yours leave the door wide open to the boileroom charlatans you are trying to discourage. I speak as one of the schmucks! There is one PK penny stock I have my eye on (I won't mention it here to avoid being accused of pumping), which I know to be a legitimate, if highly speculative business in its development phase. I know there would be larger interest in the stock if there was an impartial source of information on it. Other than company press releases and pumpn' dump message boards there isn't one.

Is there no way you can separate the penny stock wheat from chaff? Perhaps solicit reviewers the way you presently solicit writers? There have to be ways. This is more than just a convenience issue for amateur investors like me. Properly managed the OTC and PK could be a viable means for small, SMALL new businesses to become and stay liquid during their developement phase. The rampant presense of thieves and con men has largely prevented that from happening so far. We should not leave this potentially lucrative and productive investment avenue to them.