Member Info for cynic

SG .... You are right; ZOO is potentially interesting and, contrary to my usual firm practice, I have decided to ride the tiger(!) ...... Do you have any target in mind?

Thanks for the input ..... The price is actualluy holding quite steady and i am fortunate that i can monitor throughout the day

GedW ... If you want to stay in touch easier, use ranciduk@aol.com .... I will then direct you to my office e-mail

GedW ..... Copper may well be a good bet for this year, though the whole ;icture has been skewed by the rogue dealer acting for the Chinese Govt. I think he was heavily short and all the commodity dealers knew it. There was then a concerted and very successful squeeze. I recommend that you check whether or not this position has now unwound as the metal price must surely affect relevant share prices.

Go to the finance section of yahoo and read the long article on the perils of trying to do biz in China ...... If you got it right today, I am delighted for you, but if I want adrenalin shares, I'll stick to the likes of Google which at least have some sort of proper form and logic.

About 3.5x usual trading volume today ...... A large number of 50k blocks sold on automated trade just before 16.00 ..... It would be good to hear from someone who has better insight into this company.

ELP's web site shows that they abandoned a well as dry on 20/12/05. Obviously no company will drill without high expectation, but perhaps it throws into relief the hype abou the new drilling at Jaguar in mid/late January. Shareguru is almost certainly right about ELP being (one of the largest movers in the next month", but will it be upwards or downwards? IMO this share is for hardened gamblers only who are quite as happy to lose their money as to make it ...... however much that may prove to be.

Good spec maybe, but sure "strong buy" is over-egging it a bit given that the drilling result is totally unknown.

BFC .... I was short of this stock and took a profit before Christmas. Are we now seeing a technical bounce, and thus an opportunity to short again in the near future, or is there something more fundamental afoot? ..... I am inclined towards the former, not least because the rise looks to be on pretty low volumes.

At the current price of 283p, it is just about spot on the 50 day moving average with the 200 day rising close behind. Due to the various and well press-documented actions taken by Rank, the income-focussed funds have had to sell as the share now moves more towards growth orientation. In the background, there is also the very reasonable chance of a takeover.

Have made a comment on HPE (I think) re trading with China. judging by the wild swings, I should imagine there is very little liquidity ...... As for upwards moves, I suspect it just for the unwary believing that China is a market place paved with gold ..... Trust me, it isn't!

Far be it from me to advise where people should put their money - place their bets might be more accurate. In this particular instance, having just looked at HPE's lifetime chart, I have seen downhill racers on less precipitous drops, and certainly there is the old stockmarket adage of "Don't try to catch the falling knife" ....... Even if the shares are due for some sort of recovery, short-lived or not, they will need to rise around 50% for any sort of respectable profit by the time the spread and other dealing costs are taken into account.

So is death and taxes!!

The above is another reason I steer clear of penny stocks ..... For sure, every once in a while one comes up trumps - from far distant memory, I think Helical Bar was one such - but IMO there are so many better plays to be made, and of course you can still lose your shirt!

DEANO .... You seem to have your ear close to this one ..... What's the latest? ...... Any post-Christmas rumblings at all of this hoped-for bid?

GedW ..... You don't half seem to like these flakey companies ..... And now you reckon they are going to invest in China???? ...... I am sure I could put your money to better use just running my car ... lol!

Our business here works worldwide and we have seen so many cases where the "wily oriental" has proved far too clever for the "round eye" with badly singed fingers and worse ...... It happens that i don't like penny shares anyway, but I personally shall stay well clear of this company for fundamental reasons.

Today sees some good buying, though that could lawys be bear postions being closed! ..... However, the trading statement is pretty positive, though the results will have to live up to that hype ...... Google is perhaps a better bet and certainly much more of a known quantity, though it is scary to deal in.

great if they find viable reserves, but serious doom and gloom if it proves to be a dud ..... See BLVN! ..... Am quite surprised that they are drilling in mid-winter, but that is merely an aside.

VITS .... the sellers are looking at the fact that DOO very quickly pulled out of t/o talks, that back in Novermber, the following quote "The group said its future viability is dependent on the successful conclusion of these discussions (with Barclays)" and that, as far as I can see, they are months behind schedule on even starting up production.