misterkrusty

the VIC is definitely worth it. If at first you don't get in, try, try again. many ideas (probably most) are still actionable by the time the 45 day delay is up, and I would argue that immediate access to new ideas is not the main benefit of being a member. rather, I'd say the most valuable benefit is the ability to post questions and comments, because the collective knowledge of the club is really deep and people are usually happy to share their insights. second biggest benefit is being able to read messages that only members can view (you can choose to make any message you post visible only to members ... for example, if you want to say something less than flattering about a CEO but don't want the CEO to see it ... perhaps something you say would allow the company to figure out who you are and try to sue you, or more likely, cut you off from information.)

I wanted to post Trump Steaks, but opted for this one instead....

this bank was written up on VIC many years ago. I took a look and concluded they were most likely laundering drug money.

How to reduce withholding taxes on your Canadian dividends (like from preferred shares such as these): This info applies only to those of us non-Canadians who live in countries that have tax treaties with Canada (which is almost every developed country). If you hold your shares in a retirement account, Canada will probably not withhold any tax on your dividends (this is certainly true for IRAs in the US). If you hold your shares in a normally taxable account, Canada should give you a reduced rate if you send in a form NR301. For U.S. citizens, this will lower the rate from 25% to 15%. Many brokers have their own NR301 form ... you fill it out, send it to your broker, and they take care of the rest. Interactive Brokers told me that they don't collect NR301 forms, and supposedly apply the treaty rate automatically if you buy your shares via IB on a Canadian exchange. But they don't! My september dividends from Aimia were taxed at the full 25%. Grrrr Thus I recently sent in a NR301 directly to the Canadian Revenue Agency. Here's a link to the form: http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/E/pbg/tf/nr301/README.html I faxed it to: 1-613-941-6905 (found here: http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/cntct/ntrntnlnqrs-eng.html ) Or you can mail to: Canada Revenue Agency Post Office Box 9769, Station T Ottawa ON K1G 3Y4 CANADA Hope this works!

After fraud case with SEC, former Allied Capital head Bill Walton makes a comeback with Trump role http://www.stltoday.com/business/local/after-fraud-case-with-sec-former-allied-capital-head-bill/article_563286bc-ebcc-5770-b37e-ed6a3279b6e4.html also, http://blogs.wsj.com/moneybeat/2016/11/29/trumps-interesting-taxman-candidate/ http://www.vanityfair.com/news/2016/11/guy-associated-with-a-cornucopia-of-corporate-fraud-currently-advising-donald-trump

agree! the tax losses have a lot of value to an acquirer - more so to someone who bought the entire Zargon C-corp, less so if the assets are sold off piecemeal tax losses at Canadian E&Ps come in about 4 or 5 different flavors. long story short, past M&A suggests these are worth between 5-12 cents on the dollar (of losses) depending on type. Taking the low-end, Zargon's should be worth at least $21M ... pretty significant in relation to anything else at this company

I just don't see any risk to the converts (full disclosure: I own them) equitization of the converts would be a huge win for holders, as Cardboard points out. but it's extremely unlikely to happen ... would need sustained plunge (from current levels) in oil & gas prices. Otherwise, Hansen has ever reason (fiduciary obligation and personal financial interest) to avoid such a fate. IMO, most likely scenarios are a) pay off debs in cash at maturity, or b) exchange offer to extend maturity in return for a higher coupon and/or lower conversion price. the latter requires 2/3 approval (measured by $ value of debs). keep in mind that the remaining assets are basically 4 main properties, 2 that are generating solid cash flow at $48 WTI and 2 that are just about breakeven.

and on a day with WTI and natgas up 4%!

could somebody please explain to me what exactly are the interests in Cline for MHY.UN and MAR? do they both hold equity? if so, what is the % ownership of each? if either of them hold debt, what exactly do they own? does MHY.UN still own anything aside from its interest in Cline? thx

here you go Aimia_Series_2_preferred_prospectus.pdf

anybody care to opine on the PV-10 value of Zargon's $4M asset sale? thx

these aren't preferreds, they're debentures. IB does allow you to trade Canadian preferreds, but not Canadian debentures.

it never ceases to amaze me that there are seemingly intelligent people who would hand the nuclear launch codes to Donald Trump - a man who clearly lacks any emotional self-control ... and/or let him default on our government debt, allow the spread of nuclear weapons to places like Saudi Arabia, turn a blind-eye to Russian military aggression, etc. Good Lord - think, think, think about what you are saying. Here's a mental model that might help some people on this thread: remember Buffett saying there is no payoff that could entice him into a game of Russian roulette? It makes sense: even a small chance of a catastrophic outcome is not worth the risk. Despite Hillary's flaws, there simply is no rational argument that she is less qualified to be President than Donald Trump. This American has not lost his mind and will not be voting for the race-baiting Oompaloompa...

FYI, there is a good writeup on PAA as a short on the VIC. should be available on 45-day delay at this point

Thanks everyone for the comments so far. FYI, the stock that piqued my interest recently is Orbcomm (ORBC). There's a good writeup on VIC, which is old but the discussion thread is fairly up to date. I noticed that GSAT has been a disaster and IRDM looks really challenged to get its new constellation in the sky before the old one is required to go out of service http://bit.ly/1XcjX5H IRDM competes with ORBC in M2M (machine to machine) communications, but the bulk of its business is voice. All 3 use LEO satellites. ORBC's satellites are apparently much cheaper and they recently replaced their original constellation without much trouble, or added debt. Can anyone think of other LEO-related names?

Every once in a while I come across a satellite-based business that sounds interesting. But then I think, geez, do I really want to own a business with huge upfront costs (buy satellite and launch it into orbit) and all the technology risk that telecom entails? (If Charlie Ergen isn't running it, that is.) The price charts for Globalstar (GSAT), Iridium (IRDM), Asia Sat (1135.HK) don't give me much confidence either. Discuss...

wow - thanks! didn't realize this existed

anybody know a way to request the powers-that-be to list new LEAP options? For example, i'd love it if I could buy Jan 2018 puts on Dean Foods, but currently the options only go out to Jan 2017. Like WEB has said, it's usually easier to know what's going to happen than when it's going to happen, so I like plenty of time for these short stories to crack. And LEAPs also make it possible to have a 15% tax rate on your gains.

They're not meeting with investors because Tack wants to buy more shares and thus they want to discourage investor interest, at least for now

Thanks Haasje! if you ever come to New York City, let me know. i owe you a fine Belgian beer.

I own a Belgian stock (Picanol) with insider ownership of around 90%. While I doubt the CEO ever takes it private, I would still like to know what the rules are in Belgium regarding this. For example, are there any circumstances under which an insider could force a squeeze-out? what % of the shares have to vote in favor for a squeeze-out to happen? could the squeeze-out price ever be lower than the current price? Also, do Belgian public companies ever go dark (i.e. stop reporting financials)?

Picanol and Tessenderlo see Tessenderlo thread on this site

Has anyone here monitored traffic on a website(s) related to an investment they owned? For example, I own Schibsted ASA which operates a lot of online consumer-to-consumer marketplaces in Norway, Sweden, France, Spain, Italy, etc. I'd like to keep track of the growth in traffic on their sites vs competitors' websites, as well as the quality of that traffic (i.e. low bounce rates, etc.) I've looked at Google Trends, Alexa, and Similarweb. Does anyone have an opinion as to which of these is best? (they all require a subscription, so I'm trying to figure out where to spend my money) Are there other resources I should check out? thanks

yitech, can you please tell me where I can find a recording of Li Lu pitching korea preferreds? thanks!