Roundtable Discussion; The Future of Mineral Sands. Watch the video here.
Unlike most broke western economies, China has plenty of stash and whilst its exports have not been immune to global recession, nor its share prices to capital retrenchment by overseas investors (us?), it seems to know what it's doing on its home front and overall seems pretty well placed for the future. I took partial profits on my investment position in WCC last July and re-entered that stake a bit prematurely on the upward dynamic in November, staying with it as technical analysis favoured base formation despite further weakness in the SP. A strong technical buy signal was subsequently given at the beginning of January this year, since when it's up 20% and looking good to me.
Yesterday's huge £324k purchase (if correctly logged) raises an eyebrow. Technically, the SP has now triple-bottomed and having last sold at £16.8 in June, my buy finger is twitching. One story is that the global slowdown will dampen activity in carbon credits - so not good for CLE. Another is the company's developing involvement in China - massive prospects? Then there's what they say is the Green Obama tendency. I like persistent chart base formations and will buy if it doesn't break below it soon.
(From WSJ Nov 4th): "The American depositary shares of ReneSola (NYSE) rallied 1.29, or 20%, to 7.57, after the Chinese manufacturer of solar wafers said its principal operating subsidiary, Zhejiang Yuhui Solar Energy Source, has secured additional banking facilities with two of China's largest banks, Industrial & Commercial Bank of China and Agricultural Bank of China". From a dispassionate long-term chartist's viewpoint, SOLA has traded roughly in the 200 - 600 band for the past 2 years, proving a nice little earner from 6 trades for me, marred only by an over-enthusiastic buy in Feb. 07 (immediately corrected). If one thinks this one has a future reasonably uncorrelated to world politico-economic events, entry on breakouts around 250, exit on any reversal over 500 could continue to provide relatively stress-free profits,with luck. Despite today's dip and the recent test of the 200p support , I'm long.
Relative to its capitalisation, there's some pretty heavy trading going on in this one, isn't there? Yes, actual and potential changes to Chinese traditional attitudes to the rest of the world can excite interest or fear, which is intriguing if one considers that speculation in publicly traded instruments is influenced by perceptions, in the absence of divine knowledge of the future. Time for some contrary thinking, perhaps? Personally, I work top down, which means trying to get the main global influences right more often than not, then markets, which sectors, and lastly find an instrument which looks healthy in its price action - which guides my involvement thereafter, as a plan of when to get out is set before entering a position. Emotion kills most failed speculators.
The new Aukang 1.8m tonnes p.a. plant, completion of which is said to be funded from the $60m loan announced on 30 May, seems to confirm that getting infrastructural things to happen in China nowadays works. There will be ups & downs no doubt as this hugely motivated ancient civilisation re-awakes and flexes its muscles, and finding ways for "foreigners" to bet profitably on developments there may not always be easy or straighforward by our rules & customs, warranting some caution. On Fri. 6 June I took profits on one-third of my holding, then replaced it yesterday on technical analysis of the share price action.
The Chairman's 10k top-up apparently giving him a total of 60k shares looks a bit little & late, if an OK token of confidence. The CEO recently passed 2.83m shares to a (presumed) relative, leaving him with a rather more serious 34.8m interest. SP has now chalked up a textbook-perfect Elliot 5-wave up-move and could now perhaps pause or react from the chart resistance level around 170. Anyway, I like the flavour of their website and find the whole China story fascinating. This little company looks well-placed, so hopefully an investment worth holding & adding to on reactions.
IFRS-rated EPS given as 15.92p on 31/12/07, up from 13.08p in 06, & 6.9p in 05. Operating margin ranks very high in the market overall, virtually top in its sector. To a technical analyst, the chart is a bottom buy classic: a clear MACD upward divegence in mid-April (when I bought); now a higher low, higher high from which it reacted yesterday to support around 120p (I bought again). If it continues in this textbook "chartist" vein, it could dip some more to gather strength for a minor Elliott 5 up-move in the shorter term. Some fairly hefty traders in recently (1.2m traded on 29/4) - I'm in now, hopefully, for the longer term on trailing stops. With China's growth story, the dip since last Oct looks to have offered us an opportunity to jump aboard this one.
A nice one? Good sector: Chinese construction is a phenomenon; rated a confirmed Buy in Investors Chronicle on 7/4/08 & gave (me) a technical Buy signal this tuesday. Bottom fishers awake!
Technically, DGRE double-bottomed and gave me a (proprietory) buy signal on 27/3/08. It goes ex-div on Wednesday so may correct for that. Otherwise, it looks good in a dubious sector. Capitalisation is quite beefy at £242m and a recent press report quite likes it. I didn't spot it till the weekend and bought today, which is not clever. Fingers crossed!
Lookers actually topped in mid-94 at around 55p, then trended down for the remainder of that profitable decade, bottoming at a (corrected) price of 11.8p on 17/4/2000, since when the main trend was up, at a rate of 43% p.a. until it topped at 218 in late April 07. That long-term up-trend channel was decisively broken at the end of November, at around 120p. The "reasons why" prices do what they do usually only get sorted with hindsight, in my experience! If you want to back your hunches on short-term moves, based on what is revealed of "fundamentals", or whatever, some swing trading systems can be useful, not least because they impose some discipline? I confess to having bought back in in mid-Oct. (on a "balance of probability" punt) and now look as stupid as anyone...