IR Blog

WaterCooler Confessions - Betting on Horses and Climate Change?

....is a weekly update through the eyes of 2 Managing Partners as they weave their way through the Investor Relations business...
 
Mediated by Stew Cowans
 

 

She Says (Tracy Weslosky):

"Horse sense is the thing a horse has which keeps it from betting on people." - W.C. Fields

Last Wednesday night I attended the Mines and Money award show in London.  Enjoying myself completely as the Lydian International (TSX: LYD) management and Board is comprised of talented over achievers that are both charming and intelligent, this year's black tie event had a rumoured 43-1 male to female ratio, with the women in question serving the food.

Of course, being compared to a horse that evening and then being told that this was a compliment truly did make me wish I was surfing (anywhere) and out of the drizzly crap weather I had endured for 5 days. The unwitting victim and source of this compliment attempted to be gracious and in noting the clear displeasure on my face, added promptly that most British men treat their horses better than their women. For those of you who prefer all male audiences, I received an invitation to attend Mena-X 2010 event in Saudi Arabia this week, looks like a good one. 

The evening culminated when Anil Agarwal, Executive Chairman of Vedanta Resources, received the Lifetime Achievement award for building an 11B market cap company. The applause was lukewarm and frankly in these economic times, perhaps this might have been a time for a standing ovation? After fighting with organizers for a table for the dozen expensive tickets we had purchased and being graciously seated by the exit, it behoved me to start this tidal wave of professional respect from the backend of the room. Of course, everything was better when the host thanked the young lady who presented the awards and the room broke into the wildest applause of the evening. On her behalf she executed the delivery of all 7 statues seamlessly.

On Thursday I flew back from London to Toronto, relieved to be departing from the Hilton Islington; which unlike the Hilton's featured in the George Clooney film 'Up in the Air' I watched this weekend - looked more like the Holiday Inn at the recent gold conference in Chicago. While the hair in the tub in room 1 could be explained away, the hair in room 2...so let's just say this particular Hilton and the one in Manhattan Beach that I stayed in for the Longevity Summit 2+ weeks ago, are both 'thumbs down'.

I'd like to thank everyone for the warm birthday wishes, the phone calls and the lies. "You don't look a day over 29..." read more than one email. One guest of my party at Rodney's by Bay commented "what's up with the hair theme?" Yes, it was true; the attendees at my party did appear to have large hair and it was amusing to see people attempt to squeeze between the vast displays of manes as I attempt to maintain the horse theme. At the end of the day, we work in the public markets and representing, picking or investing in the right "horse" is always the goal.

PS. Please check out www.ir-blog.com for other issues of WaterCooler Confessions or my www.dealflowblog.com's entry where I debate with Fred on how maybe Tiger Should Have Driven a Buick.

He Says (Fred Cowans):

I will confess to not often agreeing with Conrad Black. Conrad (if I may be so familiar) has been doing some good research on climate change. In the National Post article he scribed dated November 28, 2009 (Click Here) points to questions about  "evidence' that has been counted on by policy makers in arriving at commitments that will be discussed in Copenhagen. He also calls "the Al Gore-David Suzuki conventional-wisdom hysteria is an insane scam". I love it!

More has come to light or at least more public awareness has been raised in recent days. The resignation of the head of the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) due to leaked e-mails suggesting some of the data had been tampered with and more coverage of work by Messrs McIntyre and McKitrick that show some "cherry picking" of data to prove a point are examples. Graeme Irvine in his LIR dated December 7, 2009 mentions the article in The Telegraph. Senior advisors to the leaders who will be meeting in Denmark sweating. It is the cost of all the programmes that Conrad wrote about.

Long term weather patterns seem obvious to me; consider the Ice Age for one example. The notion that the pollution that is generated causes a phenomenon dubbed Global Warming just sounds true. To champion Global Warming is like championing apple pie or motherhood. When told that so many tonnes of CO2 are pumped out by industry, we are never told how many tonnes into what capacity. Still, polluting is bad, who will dispute that? 

Well, not me but there is no way that I am going to dump garbage outside my front door or toss it in the lake. This is a matter to understand lest we spend trillions on something that is caused by and going to be resolved for other reasons. I suspect others will feel the same about polluting, including those who are considered heavy polluters right now. The Chinese come to mind.

I am reading an excellent novel by Michael Crichton, The Great Train Robbery. The story, based on historic fact, is set in London circa 1850. At that time, London was the largest city in the world and home to 2.5 million people. Transportation was largely by horse or horse drawn vehicles. There were a lot of horses in London. According to my Google research a horse produces ten tons of manure a year and some six to ten gallons of urine a day. They are not neat about it, some is left on the fly, so to speak. Crichton describes street urchins dashing about in the traffic sweeping up. The smell must have been considerable; now that's pollution!

In 1850 the population was still migrating from the country to the city and city dwellers out-numbered the rural populace. A generation before 1850, pollution from horses would have been laughable. Today, the mere wiff of a police horse leaving its "calling card" causes wrinkled noses. Chinese migration has just gone through a similar urban migration. Realities change, technologies advance, and we adapt.

China and other significant polluters will adopt new technologies. Electric cars in China are a strong possibility and carbon capture and sequestration or some other solution will be conceived for the Canadian oil sands. Making politically motivated schemes that will require spending vast amounts of money to achieve goals that may or may not be effective are not smart and that is where I agree with Conrad.

Directors Cut (Kevin Fox):
 
Kevin is in France this week sipping wine and speaking at an event on Tourism and Media. We anticipate his return to DealFlowBlog and WaterCooler Confessions next week.

BlogLights:

To follow up on the Buffalo Bills game from last week, I thought it was a success. The Rogers Centre was full, with a loud crowd of 51,567, and by the sound of it there was an impressive showing of Bills fans. The first half was great, the second quite slow, with impressive defense dominating the game, leaving little room for pass completion. The Jets won 19-13, and I was pleased to see a fighting last chance for the Bills, that to no ones surprise ended in a pick. As for the Bills in Toronto, I will continue to enjoy this series. It's important that they host a high profile team next year, as Toronto is in need of seeing some real talent. Bring in a playoff team, and I think that this will be a hit in Toronto. 

www.DealFlowBlog.com -- Blogs, debates and comments from the CNBC World series DealFlow team --www.dealflowblog.com
www.IR-Blog.com - Read the latest WaterCooler Confessions and gain a "behind the scenes" perspective of an Investor Relations firm -- www.ir-blog.com
www.RareMetalBlog.com -- The one stop for all your information on rare metals, rare earth elements and specialty metals -- www.raremetalblog.com

WaterCooler Confessions - The Booth, the Beach, and the Price of Admission

....is a weekly update through the eyes of 2 Managing Partners as they weave their way through the Investor Relations business...

Mediated by Stew Cowans
 

She Says (Tracy Weslosky):

Let's start with the good news: Pro-edge IR clients up, up, up and up...

 

Have to keep this short as I am in London this week at the Mines and Money 2009 show for Lydian International (TSX: LYD) and need to get back to the floor. Plus it's my birthday on Friday so I am taking a long weekend off, so forgive the turnaround time on emails this week. It's been so crazy here; but I am certainly looking out for stories and information on the markets - and of course, enjoying meeting new shareholders.

I had 2 PhDs debating the future economic forecast over the next 10 years last night. The one with the 2 PhDs says to the other "in 10 words or less what is your prediction?" (and yes, the individual he asked to shorten his answer does postulate endlessly) "Prosperity Driven Inflation." - he answers. The one asking the question replies with "brilliant" and walks away.

This week I asked a couple of people about whether or not we were heading towards another oil bull run, here were the answers:

Candidate 1 (Australian): "Dollar and bonds continue to deteriorate...pushing oil higher after oil stays in $85 range until post holidays, then heading north again..."

Candidate 2 (American): "Oil sells on the fundamentals but buys on the new inflation-in 2010...its slow but rally in February? For spring summer- refinery changeover in April to gasoline-coal looks good when the markets open up in a few weeks..."

Candidate 3 (British): "Oil. The next move here depends on two things. The Dubai fallout globally. Iran, what happens after the end of the year? There are reports that special envoys have briefed Russia, China and India that the US will let Israel bomb the Iranian enrichment sites if Iran doesn't respond to the last ultimatum.  The likely timetable would be to use Christmas - New Year as cover.  Last week I recommended putting on synthetic double option plays on oil, stocks, the dollar and gold. If a flight to the dollar started, a massive reversal of commodities will ensue as the dollar carry trade reversed similar to mid 08. There is extra dollar demand at year end anyway, so the next few weeks are edgy to say the least." He adds - "...Producing PM stocks are a good long term buy and hold, no matter what happens in any short term action. The world is moving back towards some form of gold settlement system, there is just way too much global currency creation underway for it not to all go terribly wrong in the decade ahead."

Alright back to the booth. In this photo, I am doing what we all do at the events: pay through the nose. In this scene, I am paying yet another 180 pounds for a last minute poster run for a temporary booth that Fabian from the Lydian team has managed to secure. Apparently, when you send your booths to Europe now, you need more than a tax identification number - you need an EORI #.

Excerpt: "As a measure to enhance the effectiveness of its security program, the European Commission has proposed the introduction of a unique identification number for each economic operator within the EU, the so-called 'Economic Operators Registration and Identification' (EORI) number. Having to use this unique identification number in all the electronic communication with Customs and other government departments and agencies, will enable the EU authorities to recognise and identify economic operators and their activities throughout the EU..."

Let me translate this for you - don't ever send a company booth to London or Europe, just do a virtual booth; otherwise, note that your booth needs a visa application and it takes 2-3 days to process...this legislation was enacted in September 2009 and if FedEx does not provide you with this information...oh yes, if you have an immigration problem due to needing a visa that no one tells you about - you can kiss your $1500+ in transportation fees goodbye and thank you to our new brilliant office manager Jeannette who has just joined our team for spending all day yesterday negotiating the safe return of "the booth".

He Says (Fred Cowans):

Life on the Beach

Never having been to Miami, a meeting there to pitch WESCOW services gave me the opportunity to spend the weekend on South Beach. "SoBe" is quite something with its Art Deco architecture and Miami Vice feel. English is spoken but you are better off with Spanish although I heard plenty of Italian, German, Russian and other European and Central European languages. All manner of flora and fauna were evident. The photo attached was shot mid afternoon on Saturday.....

Ocean Drive is home to Casa Casurina the Gianni Versace residence where he was murdered. It has an Adams family feel with lights on in third floor rooms and the occasional shadow, real or imagined visible at night. Actually, it is a club and special events venue that trades on its history but the locked gate is just a tease as the front doors are wide open for all to look through.

This was the week for peering into the private lives of public people with the Tiger Woods story making the news big time in Florida. Whether to guy is having an affair or not, it is hard to believe he could sustain injuries while driving an Escalade in his own neighbourhood and ending up lying on the ground next to it. Another bad knock for General Motors if it was not a golf wound. Perhaps this was the final straw for Fritz Hernderson.
 
And then we have the Secret Service debacle of society notables, Mr. And Mrs. Salahi who apparently only want to win that coveted spot on a reality show. A former White House employee assured channel 7 News in Miami that this showed a breakdown of several important aspects of Presidential security and that the couple absolutely would be made an example of. No mention of the Secret Service.

So that was my weekend in SoBe. I did buy the NY Times on Sunday. It cost $6.50 at the place where I am told Gianni used to have brunch as I did. There was a leggy beauty in thigh high boots with an older bald guy. I think the beauty was a woman but I didn't get that close a look.....

Director's Cut (Kevin Fox):

The Price of Admission

Brazil recently announced they would contribute 14 billion USD to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), up from the 10 billion dollars originally planned, for the fund's new credit arrangement. According to requests from the IMF's other players (read the US, EU and Japan - all fiscal basket cases right now) Brazilian Finance Minister Guido Mantega said his country would increase their contribution.

The money is intended for the IMF's New Arrangements to Borrow (NAB) program that is designed to provide aid to poor countries that have suffered economic setbacks due to the current global financial crisis. Comprising funds from 28 countries, the IMF's new credit line will total 600 billion dollars.

But that's not the story, the story is that the share of funds contributed by the BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India and China) has now risen to 15 percent.  This means that the bloc would be granted veto power on decisions. Normally bail out, support or investment intervention requires the approval of at least 85 percent of IMF members and previously only the European Union, Japan and the United States had veto power in the NAB, but now the BRIC countries join this elite club. 

This is yet another example of how policy decisions, political power and international clout follows the money. As the EU, US and Japan can no longer afford the privilege of funding the IMF and utilizing its' facilities for their purposes, other countries have happily stepped up to the breach.  The IMF have served most Western countries well over the years, but this will change.  With the BRIC countries increasingly willing to spend money to influence policy decisions, their power, their clout and their wishes will be heard.

Whether you agree with the IMF's philosophy or programs, it has had a tremendous impact on global economies and when the G7 juggernaut ends this will have significant repercussions. If you are globalist, left wing or right wing, your take on the changes will be quite different, but make certain you realize one thing, there will be significant changes. The BRIC countries have paid their price of admission and now they will want value for their investment.

BlogLights (Stew Cowans):

The NFL in Toronto: Tomorrow marks the 2nd game in Bills history that a regular season game is played in Toronto. The struggling Bills will take on the equally troubled New York Jets, and the Rogers Centre will play host. Last years game in Toronto was highly controversial, with ticket prices starting at $99 dollars and rising, not to mention the conflict between the CFL. To go and see two medium/poor teams play for this price is ridiculous, and would not happen in any other NFL venue. Tomorrow however, I have been graciously offered a ticket by my friend Ron, and could not be happier to accept. Hopefully, the Rogers Centre will be packed, and if anything we can put some pressure on the Toronto Argonauts by taking a slice of the football market. I hear they are seriously considering BMO field for next year, which would be a very wise decision. I look forward to TO in TO (worst season Terrell Owens has had), and hopefully Rogers can drop the Trent Edwards commercials, as thankfully its Ryan Fitzpatrick starting tomorrow. Thanks for the ticket Ron!

DealFlowBlog: Read up on the teams updates... check out the latest post on www.dealflowblog.com
IR-Blog: Here is the place to read the WaterCooler Confessions you missed at www.ir-blog.com - a behind the scenes look at an Investor Relations firm.
RareMetalBlog: The forum for Rare Metals, Rare Earth Elements and Specialty Metals www.raremetalblog.com 
 

WaterCooler Confessions - Infinity, Punta Mita, and a Trillion Dollars?

   ....is a weekly update through the eyes of 2 Managing Partners as they weave their way through the Investor Relations business...
 
Mediated by Stew Cowans

 

 

She Says (Tracy Weslosky):
 
This is my view outside of my room at 7 AM this morning. A guest of the Four Seasons resort in Punta Mita, they have provided the DealFlow 'dream team' with such a large villa that it takes me 10 minutes to get to the kitchen.

Ok, it's not quite that bad, it's quite good! At what is at least 6,000 sq feet, everyone needs an infinity pool in your living room!

Roughing it with dealflow team in punta mita. The infinity pool in their four seasons villa living room.
 
With this said, I am not here with my boyfriend or my daughter or a best friend: I am here instead, yes you guessed right -- with Fred (insert large and long eye roll). To manage this pain, I scored the master bedroom which has a bathroom larger than my office, and the rest of the team has the servant's quarters.

With this said, having not missed a San Francisco Hard Asset conference in what seems like a decade, I feel like I have dropped off of the edge of the earth. Still checking in the market, watching client stocks and trying to coordinate meetings with Premium Exploration's (TSX.V: PEM) Wilf Struck who is receiving a fabulous response, wish that I had not replaced my blackberry last week as this new BB keypad is slowing me down.

Yes, I did attend the Longevity Summit in Manhattan Beach, CA this last weekend. Meeting Dr. Bill Andrews of Sierra Science Systems (check out www.cure-aging-or-die-trying.com) was the highlight as my interest in telomeres and the impact on aging is of great interest with my birthday in less than 2.5 weeks and counting. I also met the CEO for Greendaq.com and anticipate more on this in the upcoming weeks.
 
Above: Tracy secures the coveted Master Bath at Punta Mita Four Seasons Villa.

He Says (Fred Cowans):

The Night of the Iguana

In 1964 John Huston directed "The Night of the Iguana", a movie based on the Tennessee Williams play about a defrocked Episcopal clergyman with a bus-load of middle-aged Baptist women on a tour of the Mexican coast. The cast included Richard Burton and Ava Gardner and put Puerto Vallarta on the map as a destination resort.

Tracy and I, along with Gary Busse our cameraman for this shoot are heading to Mexico this week to show the world a new stretch of beautiful coast line just north of Puerto Vallarta known as the Riviera Nayarit. There will be no bus, no Baptist women and I hope, no iguanas.

On my last trip to Puerto Vallarta I was suckered into posing on the beach for a photo with a five foot long iguana draped around my neck. There may have been tequila involved; I don't  remember. At that size, iguanas are pretty slow, spending most of the time basking in the sun when not eating or defecating. To me it was one of those silly holiday moments captured on film that could be captioned "Idiot on Vacay". Gross!

The upshot of this was the family acquisition of a five inch long iguana named Igor. The damned thing was so well looked after (not by me) that it too grew to a length of about five feet. Before Igor got older and into basking all day he could be quite active; he ruined a leather jacket a guest left where it was an attractive place for Igor to leap onto.

So we are off to Mexico. There will definitely be no Iguanas but then a tequila tasting has been arranged, so who knows?

Director's Cut (Kevin Fox):
 
Barack Obama to Chinese leaders, "Respect human rights and can we borrow another trillion dollars?"

That's not an exact quote but it does underscore the precarious relationship between the US and China. As Obama works through his Asian charm offensive it is apparent that Sino-American relations are changing; partly by design and partly out of necessity. China is now viewed as both an economic rival and a potential partner to help drag the US out of recession.
 
To underscore China's new prowess as an economic superpower it is important to consider a few facts. Firstly, China holds about $ 2.3 trillion dollars in foreign currency reserves, by comparison the US holds under $ 50 billion. To be fair the USD is still the world's go to currency but for how long? A little hedging program never hurt anyone (well perhaps Barrick but that's a whole other topic).
 
Continuing on with China's place in today's economy, it is important to note that they should surpass the US as the world's leading car consuming nation this year with 15 million units sold. That compares to just 600,00 in 2000. And they have the world's largest community of web surfers, over 350 million and growing.
 
In contrast to this rise is the United States' decline. The US trade deficit in 2008 was $ 850 billion compared to China's surplus of nearly $ 300 billion (though that is probably undervalued for optics sake).  In 2009 there have been about $ 14 billion dollars in IPO on American capital markets while Chinese markets have launched IPOs worth nearly $ 35 billion.  I guess owning stakes in Morgan Stanley and Blackstone Group hasn't hurt the Chinese.
 
In 2000, 29 of the top 50 companies on the Fortune 500 list were American with just one Chinese firm making the grade. As of Friday there were 21 US companies still on the list versus 9 Chinese firms. And as a final kicker, the largest company in the world is no longer GE or GM, but rather PetroChina. As Bob Dylan would say, the times they are a changin'.
 
So what does this all mean?  Well for one the US is no longer the only economic superpower and the west will no longer dominate capital markets. For two - well go back and reread number one, that's big enough. We are witnessing a truly historic shift and those of us that are lucky enough to have front row seats should do more than eat popcorn. Stay tuned and buckle up.

BlogLights (By Stew Cowans):
 
Another loss for the Toronto Maple Leafs last night - this one went to rivals Ottawa Senators. The game started with a goal for each and three fights.

This is what was missing in the office this morning, with Fred and Tracy in Punta Mita, there is no office brawling, and little competition between the walls. 3 fights on Wednesday morning would be a standard, and today I find myself far more relaxed. Not bad!

An update will follow with who is winning the fight in Mexico, pictures of the hotel damage may be included...

DealFlowBlog: Read up on the teams updates... check out the latest post on www.dealflowblog.com
IR-Blog: Here is the place to read the WaterCooler Confessions you missed at www.ir-blog.com - a behind the scenes look at an Investor Relations firm.
RareMetalBlog: The forum for Rare Metals, Rare Earth Elements and Specialty Metals www.raremetalblog.com 

Lydian Intersects 229m at 1.0 g/t Gold (Including 32m at 2.0 g/t GOLD) at Erato, 1.5km North of 1M Ounce Resource Shell at its Amulsar Gold Discovery in Armenia

Step-out diamond drill hole transects wide interval of oxide gold mineralization from surface and adds significantly to resource potential of new prospect area

Toronto, Ontario -- November 11th, 2009 -- Lydian International Ltd. (TSX:LYD) ("Lydian" or "the Company"), a diversified mineral exploration and development company, today announced further results from its 2009 step-out drill program at its Amulsar gold discovery in Armenia.

A further nine reverse circulation drill holes and one diamond drill hole were drilled in the Erato and Erato north prospect areas to further test previously identified gold potential (see press release September 8th, 2009). The Erato prospect is located just 1.5km along the mineralized ridge top to the northwest of Lydian's current 1M ounce inferred resource (see photograph and map in Appendix). Previous drilling had intersected up to 56m at 1.2g/t gold in reverse circulation drilling. These new diamond drilling results suggest that oxide gold mineralization is controlled principally by steep to moderately dipping fractures and faults extending to at-least 250m vertical depth with higher grades (including 32m at 2.0/t gold) hosted in more densely fractured stratabound zones. Gold mineralization remains open and untested to the west and along strike to the north and south (see map and section in Appendix). Best results include;

WaterCooler Confessions - Gold, Aliens, and Living Forever

 

....is a weekly update through the eyes of 2 Managing Partners as they weave their way through the Investor Relations business...
 
Mediated by Stew Cowans
 

 

She Says (Tracy Weslosky):

Just ran into a friend from BNN at 7:30 AM on the street. "I can't believe you!" I said. Have left 3 messages, you don't return my call and then - you start featuring my competitors!" Taken aback he says "what are you talking about?" "Sorry man, just stirring it up; I'm all juiced up on WaterCooler Confessions this morning...I have stories of gold, aliens, sex, and a cure to aging to discuss and I'm not sure what to prioritize..." Laughing, he comments that he reads WC every week and adds: "Definitely write about alien sex". On that note, let's hit Wednesday with the energy that I catapulted out of bed this morning.

For starters, good work on everyone smart enough to actually read and digest the news release from Lydian International (TSX: LYD) last Wednesday. At $0.58 when we sent out WC*, the stock closed at $0.64 yesterday (up 10.34%). Today we have more and e-v-e-n better news: Lydian Intersects 229m at 1.0 g/t Gold (Including 32m at 2.0 g/t Gold) At Erato, 1.5km North of 1m Ounce Resource Shell at its Amulsar Gold Discovery in Armenia

Have you read this morning's headlines: Gold hits record highs near $1,120? Then you may want to investigate gold uptick potentials including gold-play-near-production Trelawney Resources (TSX.V: TRR) - they were $0.40 last Wednesday and closed at $0.46 yesterday (up 15%)...and of course, Premium Exploration (TSX.V: PEM) $0.205 and closed at $0.24 (up 17%).

If you had followed our lead with AVALON (TSX: AVL) at the beginning of the year at $0.50, they closed at $2.70 yesterday and did you catch the article yesterday: Rare Earth Elements: Mineral wealth with the potential to replace diamonds? President and CEO Don Bubar is preparing for the 5th International Rare Earths Conference in Hong Kong next week. (*All stock prices are in Canadian dollars and the prices quoted were at distribution of WC on Wednesday, November 4th).

Other highlights this week include realizing that I had definitely fallen in love as evidenced by wearing shoes (heels if you can imagine) on the wrong foot on the way to date and discovering that men (c/o Dr. Life from Cenogenics) benefit from Kegel exercises. If you recall, I just returned from the Age Management Medicine Group (AMMG) Clinical Applications for Age Management Medicine conference in Vegas this last weekend. Included another shot of Pam this week as many women, including me are terrified that we may age in a similarly downward trend. All joking aside, I am now paranoid that my testosterone is low, my body is full of toxins and someone get me a botox shot before these darn crows feet deepen! Seriously, I could not believe the onslaught of information and data on many wellness and health challenges that were brought up in this 4-day intensive event targeting primarily physicians.

Did you know that the Pittsburgh Steelers coach used Regenerexx's adult stem cell treatment instead of knee replacement surgery (estimated cost: $9k)? Or what about toxicity, a cure for alcoholism by simply taking a pill 1 hour before you drink that reduces the endorphin responses, or better yet; the latest Nobel Prize for medicine for the discovery of telomerase (chromosome tips)? Reading the Scientific American article "Could the secret to anti-aging be at the tips of our chromosomes?", I was told that for $8,000 a year I could TA-65 and maintain longer telomerase's.

Their last year their clients were paying $25000 for this Mongolian extracted chemical compound!

Let me ask you -- would you pay $8k annually for a treatment that would provide you with stronger bones increase your cognitive skills/clarity of thinking, increase your immune system, more energy and better sex? Write me immediately as I am considering investing...or better yet, getting on a plane, heading to Mongolia and securing this herb directly. For $8k a year, maybe I can hire someone to extract the chemical compound I need...(smile).

In speaking with a brilliant telomerase speaker and one of the clocks principal discovers -- Dr. William H. Andrews, the President of Sierra Sciences: he says that the discovery of this clock has provided us with the first opportunity ever to control the aging process. Did you hear what I heard???

I asked Dr. Andrews to define the cure for aging. "For me, this is a 130 year old man that can run a 7-minute mile". This weekend I will be attending a Longevity Summit sponsored by the Manhattan Beach Project in California. Dr. Andrews will be speaking along with a strong line up of world leaders on this topic including Mike Rose, PhD. Rose is a world renown speaker on stem cells and who has "...focused on the transition from aging to late life, or biological immortality.: David Kekich created the Longevity Summit in 1999 for the sole purpose of "curing aging or die trying". Turning 41 in less than a month and counting, it seems that the cure for aging is a timely endeavour...but who the hell got me started on this? Better yet, will these people with more money than time, become shareholders???

He Says: (FredCowans):

Living Forever and Ever

Tracy came back from an anti-aging conference full of enthusiasm for living forever. Research has shown some indicators that it will be possible to extend life indefinitely. While it may take the rest of my natural life to see this through the FDA, in case it does I have given some thought to what living forever would mean to me.

Please don't think I am about to get into ethical issues; I am already accused of being too dry in these missives. I just want to share the top six benefits that came to mind.

Eventually I will have seen enough investment cycles to intelligently amass sufficient wealth to also perpetuate my chosen lifestyle.
By purchasing some really great stuff, say every 50 years, I will always have an enviable collection of antiques replenished as required, millennium over millennium.
Managing a wine cellar will require increasing amounts of my time and attention.
Eventually more people will understand (if not appreciate) my sense of humour or I will be able to wait 50 years and have a new audience.
Come as You Were Parties will become extremely popular.
Tracy and I can be on television or its technology successor(s) together with fresh content forever and ever......
 
Bloglights (Stew Cowans):
 
With the World Series behind us and the New York Yankees 'World' Champions once again, I will let you know what this means to me:

The Toronto Blue Jays need to re-evaluate their team, once again.
The NFL is at its midpoint of the season (Thank god for Thursday Night's Football return!)
The Toronto Maple Leafs appear on my radar again briefly as they have 3-16 games (2nd last in the NHL)...
While Tracy and Fred are debating the cure for aging, let us not forget that today is Remembrance Day.

DealFlowBlog: Read up on the teams updates... check out the latest post on www.dealflowblog.com
IR-Blog: Here is the place to read the WaterCooler Confessions you missed at www.ir-blog.com - a behind the scenes look at an Investor Relations firm.
RareMetalBlog: The forum for Rare Metals, Rare Earth Elements and Specialty Metals www.raremetalblog.com 

WaterCooler Confessions - Gold, Aliens, and Living Forever

 

....is a weekly update through the eyes of 2 Managing Partners as they weave their way through the Investor Relations business...
 
Mediated by Stew Cowans
 

 

She Says (Tracy Weslosky):

Just ran into a friend from BNN at 7:30 AM on the street. "I can't believe you!" I said. Have left 3 messages, you don't return my call and then - you start featuring my competitors!" Taken aback he says "what are you talking about?" "Sorry man, just stirring it up; I'm all juiced up on WaterCooler Confessions this morning...I have stories of gold, aliens, sex, and a cure to aging to discuss and I'm not sure what to prioritize..." Laughing, he comments that he reads WC every week and adds: "Definitely write about alien sex". On that note, let's hit Wednesday with the energy that I catapulted out of bed this morning.

For starters, good work on everyone smart enough to actually read and digest the news release from Lydian International (TSX: LYD) last Wednesday. At $0.58 when we sent out WC*, the stock closed at $0.64 yesterday (up 10.34%). Today we have more and e-v-e-n better news: Lydian Intersects 229m at 1.0 g/t Gold (Including 32m at 2.0 g/t Gold) At Erato, 1.5km North of 1m Ounce Resource Shell at its Amulsar Gold Discovery in Armenia

Have you read this morning's headlines: Gold hits record highs near $1,120? Then you may want to investigate gold uptick potentials including gold-play-near-production Trelawney Resources (TSX.V: TRR) - they were $0.40 last Wednesday and closed at $0.46 yesterday (up 15%)...and of course, Premium Exploration (TSX.V: PEM) $0.205 and closed at $0.24 (up 17%).

If you had followed our lead with AVALON (TSX: AVL) at the beginning of the year at $0.50, they closed at $2.70 yesterday and did you catch the article yesterday: Rare Earth Elements: Mineral wealth with the potential to replace diamonds? President and CEO Don Bubar is preparing for the 5th International Rare Earths Conference in Hong Kong next week. (*All stock prices are in Canadian dollars and the prices quoted were at distribution of WC on Wednesday, November 4th).

Other highlights this week include realizing that I had definitely fallen in love as evidenced by wearing shoes (heels if you can imagine) on the wrong foot on the way to date and discovering that men (c/o Dr. Life from Cenogenics) benefit from Kegel exercises. If you recall, I just returned from the Age Management Medicine Group (AMMG) Clinical Applications for Age Management Medicine conference in Vegas this last weekend. Included another shot of Pam this week as many women, including me are terrified that we may age in a similarly downward trend. All joking aside, I am now paranoid that my testosterone is low, my body is full of toxins and someone get me a botox shot before these darn crows feet deepen! Seriously, I could not believe the onslaught of information and data on many wellness and health challenges that were brought up in this 4-day intensive event targeting primarily physicians.

Did you know that the Pittsburgh Steelers coach used Regenerexx's adult stem cell treatment instead of knee replacement surgery (estimated cost: $9k)? Or what about toxicity, a cure for alcoholism by simply taking a pill 1 hour before you drink that reduces the endorphin responses, or better yet; the latest Nobel Prize for medicine for the discovery of telomerase (chromosome tips)? Reading the Scientific American article "Could the secret to anti-aging be at the tips of our chromosomes?", I was told that for $8,000 a year I could TA-65 and maintain longer telomerase's.

Their last year their clients were paying $25000 for this Mongolian extracted chemical compound!

Let me ask you -- would you pay $8k annually for a treatment that would provide you with stronger bones increase your cognitive skills/clarity of thinking, increase your immune system, more energy and better sex? Write me immediately as I am considering investing...or better yet, getting on a plane, heading to Mongolia and securing this herb directly. For $8k a year, maybe I can hire someone to extract the chemical compound I need...(smile).

In speaking with a brilliant telomerase speaker and one of the clocks principal discovers -- Dr. William H. Andrews, the President of Sierra Sciences: he says that the discovery of this clock has provided us with the first opportunity ever to control the aging process. Did you hear what I heard???

I asked Dr. Andrews to define the cure for aging. "For me, this is a 130 year old man that can run a 7-minute mile". This weekend I will be attending a Longevity Summit sponsored by the Manhattan Beach Project in California. Dr. Andrews will be speaking along with a strong line up of world leaders on this topic including Mike Rose, PhD. Rose is a world renown speaker on stem cells and who has "...focused on the transition from aging to late life, or biological immortality.: David Kekich created the Longevity Summit in 1999 for the sole purpose of "curing aging or die trying". Turning 41 in less than a month and counting, it seems that the cure for aging is a timely endeavour...but who the hell got me started on this? Better yet, will these people with more money than time, become shareholders???

He Says: (FredCowans):

Living Forever and Ever

Tracy came back from an anti-aging conference full of enthusiasm for living forever. Research has shown some indicators that it will be possible to extend life indefinitely. While it may take the rest of my natural life to see this through the FDA, in case it does I have given some thought to what living forever would mean to me.

Please don't think I am about to get into ethical issues; I am already accused of being too dry in these missives. I just want to share the top six benefits that came to mind.

Eventually I will have seen enough investment cycles to intelligently amass sufficient wealth to also perpetuate my chosen lifestyle.
By purchasing some really great stuff, say every 50 years, I will always have an enviable collection of antiques replenished as required, millennium over millennium.
Managing a wine cellar will require increasing amounts of my time and attention.
Eventually more people will understand (if not appreciate) my sense of humour or I will be able to wait 50 years and have a new audience.
Come as You Were Parties will become extremely popular.
Tracy and I can be on television or its technology successor(s) together with fresh content forever and ever......
 
Bloglights (Stew Cowans):
 
With the World Series behind us and the New York Yankees 'World' Champions once again, I will let you know what this means to me:

The Toronto Blue Jays need to re-evaluate their team, once again.
The NFL is at its midpoint of the season (Thank god for Thursday Night's Football return!)
The Toronto Maple Leafs appear on my radar again briefly as they have 3-16 games (2nd last in the NHL)...
While Tracy and Fred are debating the cure for aging, let us not forget that today is Remembrance Day.

DealFlowBlog: Read up on the teams updates... check out the latest post on www.dealflowblog.com
IR-Blog: Here is the place to read the WaterCooler Confessions you missed at www.ir-blog.com - a behind the scenes look at an Investor Relations firm.
RareMetalBlog: The forum for Rare Metals, Rare Earth Elements and Specialty Metals www.raremetalblog.com 

WaterCooler Confessions - November 4, 2009

 

....is a weekly update through the eyes of 2 Managing Partners as they weave their way through the Investor Relations business...
 
Mediated by Stew Cowans
 

 

She Says (Tracy Weslosky):

I am on on my way to Vegas today for the Age Management Medicine Group, but before we get into some juicy WaterCooler Confessions, may I start with what the heck happened here?

"Lydian International, das Junge Goldexplorationsunternehmen, berichtet mehr gute Nachrichten für Aktionäre." -- went live in Deutschland this morning. Um excuse me; we had 3 clients experiencing positive energy yesterday, and with gold at record high, our IR client LYDIAN INTERNATIONAL (TSX: LYD) had excellent news and one would assume that we would have seen the stock move north?

 
Fred and I were debating why we did not see market movement consistent with the results. In speaking with at least 1 retail broker who was picking away at $0.65 it was his opinion that these were iceberg orders on the sell side related to the 31p exercising. If you didn't get a chance to review, check out the English version of the news release, click here:  Favorable Heap Leach Amenability Tests Reconfirmed with 89% to 95% Gold Extraction at Lydian's Amulsar Discovery in Armenia -- November 03, 2009 08:30 ET

On the juicier side, one of the last times I stayed in Vegas I stayed at the Hard Rock hotel during the MTV awards. The point of this confession is that Tommy Lee and Kid Rock got into quite a fist fight in the hotel lobby over Pamela Anderson. The point of this walk down memory lane is that it occurred to me that we would have more WaterCooler Confession (WC) readers if I had a fight with someone...so this morning while getting ready, I started considering who I could start a fight with for the sole purpose of shameless PR...

Then it occurred to me...how about Mickey? After all he calls himself the "Mercenary Geologist". And while I have singlehandedly made more money from this talented rock collector, we recently got into it over the upcoming Chicago show in New Orleans. The Mercenary Geologist will be there...I won't.

Here's a quote from Mickey's Musings this week: "The semi-annual Chicago Resource Expo is a special venue for me and I am forever indebted to its founder and host, Rich Radez. This is a boutique show for investors in junior resource companies and is now in its 32nd year. It is the second longest running conference in the business next to Brien Lundin's New Orleans Investment Conference at 35 years..."

FACT: This conference is NOT in Chicago, which we LOVE - but a suburb! Worse yet, it is in a Holiday Inn o-u-t in a suburb! "The Expo is held at the Rolling Meadows Holiday Inn and Convention Center in Rolling Meadows, IL." While many of my friends and top-notch industry players like Thom Calandra, Dr. Michael Berry and some endlessly savvy investors will be there...not to mention client AVALON RARE METALS (TSX: AVL) (Booth #2, come by and say hello to CEO and President Don Bubar), this is simply the kind of destination that anyone with a decent wardrobe will want to say PASS to. Knowing that the Mercenary Man will be infuriated by my "PASS" commentary due to location, anticipate juicy shots of me and the Mercenary in a tequila drink-off at an upcoming event...date TBD.

He Says (Fred Cowans):

Skip If Bored Easily

It has been written that my modest additions to this weekly missive are "too dry" for some. For those looking for evidence of life, and a marginal sense of humour, you were directed to something I wrote to amuse the WESCOW team. This was posted by members of said "team" to www.dealflowblog.com under Fred's Balloon Girl.

Written quickly and intended just for the short list of "team members" (we seem huge but really the "team" is less than most corporations) having now received more attention on the net, some have raised questions about my meaning in one paragraph.

The story follows the Balloon Boy in the US whose family wanted so badly to have their own reality TV Series with Tracy substituted for the kid to get similar publicity. The troubling paragraph described Tracy's re-appearance after the debris from the balloon is located. Here is what I wrote and please remember it was in haste....

"Bottom line when all is said and done and the debris has been recovered, Tracy will "reappear" wearing something fabulous and safe. We will not make the mistake of leaving the balloon intact and Tracy will have a great story to tell the Toronto Star and CP24 when they come begging for interviews."

So now to clarify, my intent was to say that Tracy is found to be safe and sound and not to suggest, as some have accused me, that Tracy was wearing something "safe". Ever fashion forward, T does not do safe.

I apologize for any misunderstandings.

Directors Cut (Kevin Fox):

There is no recession in Hong Kong.  You don't need an economist to declare the economy in the "world's most business-friendly" city is booming again . All you have to do is look at the packed restaurants, the full luxury hotels and the dizzying number of brand new Rolls Royces, Aston Martins and Ferraris that dot the streets. Yes this is anecdotal not analytical, but the energy and optimism in the city is palpable.  A combination of progressive government policy, the influx of mainland Chinese money, and Hong Kong's regional position, means the city's economy is surging.

And in a densely packed city this ensures that high-end real-estate prices are already soaring. Housing prices have surpassed previous highs and are again setting records.  I read earlier in the week that a luxury flat in the tony Midlevels district recently sold for US$55.6 million, or $9,200 a square foot. The Developer Henderson Land Development Co. claims to have more record deals in the pipeline as well.

In fact there has been such an influx of new deals at unprecedented levels that Hong Kong has been seeking to rein in home prices. The government has said they are concerned about values rising too quickly. Records show that median re-sale rates have risen 28 percent from the start of the year through late October.

All this stands in stark contrast to Europe and the US. Where our news is consumed with worries about the past, Hong Kong's newspapers are filled with stories about optimism for the future. According to a Brit Investment Banker we had drinks with, "people are racing to live where things work and escape the places in decline, like the United States and Europe."  I have to say, it is nice being in a place where people are making money again and smile when they talk about business.

BlogLights (Stew Cowans):

Welcome to Game 6 of the World Series - Yankees 3, Phillies 2. Game 6 holds a sentimental place for me as it is the number of games it took the Toronto Blue Jays to beat the Phillies in 1993, the last World Series that came to Toronto. As mentioned in my last WaterCooler Confession, I thought the Yankees would run away with this one. I am impressed with the Phillies, and the pitching of Cliff Lee for Game 1 was outstanding.

Pitching is a crucial part of Playoff baseball, and it is a true test of a team if they make it to the playoffs. The depth of the roster, and the ability to play on minimal rest, is generally the deciding factor of the game. With that being said Andy Petitte will be heading off against veteran Pedro Martinez, Petitte on 3 days rest, and Martinez on 4. I will have to side with Petitte on this one, as Martinez will be drowned out by the chanting 'Who's Your Daddy' in Yankee stadium -regardless it should be a good game, and the bats will be out.

It's been a great World Series and I have thoroughly enjoyed it. I don't think the Phillies will be able to take 2 at Yankee stadium, but lets see. I assume the same fate they fell to in 1993 (the glory days!). Hope you have all been enjoying the Fall Classic.

Favorable Heap Leach Amenability Tests Reconfirmed With 89% to 95% Gold Extraction at Lydian's Amulsar Discovery in Armenia

Column leach tests to investigate gold recoveries on coarse fraction ore and minimal or no crushing currently underway

Toronto, Ontario -- November 3rd, 2009 -- Lydian International Ltd. (TSX:LYD) ("Lydian" or "the Company"), a diversified mineral exploration and development company, today announced first results from its 2009 heap leach amenability test work at its Amulsar gold discovery in Armenia.

An initial gold recovery test program was conducted at SGS Lakefield in 2008 (release August 13, 2008).  Heap leach simulations (performed using coarse ore bottle roll tests) indicated that the ore is highly amenable to heap leaching.  Whole ore cyanidation gold recoveries on half and quarter inch crush bulk samples were reported to be 95-97%.

This year's testing, currently being conducted by SGS Minerals Services UK Ltd, has focused on coarser fractions and lower cyanide solution concentrations than previous test work and includes column leach tests which are being conducted on very large fraction half-drill core to simulate minimal or no crushing.

WaterCooler Confessions - October 28, 2009

....is a weekly update through the eyes of 2 Managing Partners as they weave their way through the Investor Relations business...
 
Mediated by Stew Cowans
 

She Says (Tracy Weslosky):

Yesterday, an associate commented -- "I love WaterCooler Confessions but I don't read Fred's section because it's dry...it's like he tries too hard." While I laughed last night, now I can't write: in fact, I'm feeling performance anxiety and to my knowledge, there are no enhancement pills for writers. With stories from last week that range from my confession in a Mexican diner, the psychic in the Fairmont who had a message she needed to communicate to me or my bonding with the NWT delegation at the critical metals event in DC; this should've been back of my hand?

Having been on the road a lot again, today I am experiencing an unusual sensation that is compromising my competitive nature with Fred - I like him. Stew pointed out that this confession is not a constant and may compromise his marketing efforts with DealFlow. Perhaps it's because I haven't seen him in 3 weeks and he is in Vancouver today with client Trelawney Mining and Exploration (TSX.V: TRR). He is there again today on a road show with President, CEO and Director Greg Gibson. Yesterday the Trelawney presentations were received positively, with TRR closing up 15.63%. Another day like yesterday and everyone will like Fred.

While Fred's writing is rarely amusing to me, when Fred really let's his hair down he is startlingly entertaining and endears himself to just about everyone except the .... In fact, he is so entertaining that our team circulates his emails with great vim and actually do what we don't do with WC - we read them. So today if you go to www.dealflowblog.com, Stew posted one of Fred's emails that he wrote to try and cheer me up after I received some heartbreaking news titled "Balloon Girl". Heck, we all know Fred is a nice guy; so since he is out of the office this week we have decided to change his office around as a special gift and post one of his confidential and amusing emails. As an aside, I love the Director's Cut written by our business partner Kevin Fox whose trivial is usually enlightening and fun and I am sucking up since he scored me a surfing lesson in Punta Mita last night.

On another note, I spent last week in DC, speaking Thursday morning on a panel titled: "Investment Opportunities in Critical and Strategic Metals" moderated by Dudley Kingsworth, who was by far the best dresser at this event. I wrote a blog on our panel titled Bubble Debate on Investment Opportunities in Critical and Strategic Metals Panel Debate in DC (click here) that reflected my belief that the bubble is rising and that valuation tools are critical and misunderstood in this sector. Allow me to thank writer Ian London for his ongoing contributions on the tools for valuation debate in this complicated sector and in particular, his analysis that "content vs. form" is not the best way to apply a valuation on these companies.

Also, must applaud Jack Lifton who did a superlative job on chairing this event and I specifically revelled in his quote: "Canada is China with resources, less 1.27 billion people than us (Americans) -- fortunately for us. We need to recognize Canada's resources."

We would like to welcome Premium Exploration Inc. (TSX.V: PEM) and team to the Pro-edge fold and while it's too late to share the story of me and Wilf at "Mom's Diner" in New Orleans, just know that we do not represent clients we do not like: life is simply too short.

He Says (Fred Cowans):

Looking at Recent EPS Data

There is, to me, almost a suspension of reality mood out there in which higher earnings per share on lower revenue achieved by reducing costs and staff are greeted enthusiastically. Particularly in the US, stocks that have exceeded analysts' expectations have performed well in spite of what looks to me to be an obvious source of concern for the future of both demand for goods and services.

I was looking today at the recent Kimberley Clarke (NYSE: KMB) Q3 EPS release to learn why this is. The transcript of the analyst conference call was intriguing. Apart from a smile about "softness in the training pants category" (even corporate execs have a sense of humour) it was noted to that KMB results were good in spite of generally lower top line sales revenues. Well, no surprise there; expenses and overheads, including staff are on the decline.

But markets in developing nations performed well. "In developing in emerging market, personal care organic sales rose above 13%. Net selling prices increased 10% and sales volumes were up 4% while product mix was off slightly. Volume highlights included double-digit growth in the fast growing BRICIT countries and also in South Africa."

While KMB still has some way to go to recover the levels of share price seen in mid 2007, it does appear that a number of the largest US based public companies like KMB enjoy internationally diversified revenues. It may be that the US government debt levels and the currency pressure that will in my mind come from that will be a boon to some of these well run companies.

The market seems to focus on the data relative to expectations. It is important obviously to look beyond that and more important to understand the nature of the business and the risk management strategy.

Directors Cut (Kevin Fox):

Q. How can you tell the economy is still hurting? 
A. McDonald's Closes!
 
This weekend the McDonald's 3 Icelandic restaurants, all located in the capital city of Reykjavik will close. Citing the falling cost of the Krona (local currency) and rising import costs the owner of the country's franchises, Magnus Ogmundsson, said the stores were hopelessly unprofitable.
 
McDonald's first opened in Reykjavik in 1993 when the country was in a growth mode with increasing wealth and personal incomes.

In an ironic twist of fate, the first person to sample a Big Mac was the Prime Minister David Oddsson. Oddsson went on to become governor of the country's central bank, until he was fired by lawmakers earlier this year over a public outcry over his poor governance.  I'd make a bad pun about just deserts but that's too obvious.

In the end, McDonald's relentless march toward global domination suffers a set back and Icelanders go back to eating salted eel. Oh yeah and still have to reconcile one of the worst economies in the world. It seems no one is Lovin' it!

Bloglights (by Stew Cowans):

To follow up on last week's WaterCooler Confession, my picks for baseball were wrong. My dream of LA vs. LA will have to wait. The Yankees won their 40th American League (AL) Pennant (most in the MLB) Sunday, and they will be playing last years 2008 World Series Champions the Philadelphia Phillies.

Being a fan of the AL East (particularly the Toronto Blue Jays), I will be cheering for the Yankees. I believe the team that wins this division is sure to make a debut in the World Series. The AL East has been speculated to be the most difficult division in sports, and I could not agree more. Please send all complaints to stew@pro-edge.com. With the most World Series titles in the entire league, I am willing to go all in on another world series for the Yankees. That would be #27, and the 1st in the new Yankee Stadium (and the 1st year they played in it). So let's go Yankees, and continue the dominance of the AL East.

And yes, I am aware the Phillies beat the AL East Champs last year, the Tampa Bay Rays, but in their defense, the whole team's salary did not even make up for 1 year of Alex Rodriguez's pay...the Fall Classic is finally here! 

DealFlowBlog: Read up on the teams updates... check out the latest post on www.dealflowblog.com
IR-Blog: Here is the place to read the WaterCooler Confessions you missed at www.ir-blog.com - a behind the scenes look at an Investor Relations firm.
RareMetalBlog: The forum for Rare Metals, Rare Earth Elements and Specialty Metals www.raremetalblog.com 

Premium Exploration Closes First Tranche of Private Placement

October 26, 2009 (Source: Marketwire) - Premium Exploration Inc. (TSX VENTURE:PEM) ("Premium") is pleased to announce that it has completed the first tranche of a non-brokered private placement previously announced on October 20, 2009. As a result, the Company has issued 7,145,000 units at a price of $0.20 per unit for gross total proceeds of $1,429,000. Each unit consists of one common share and one common share purchase warrant entitling the holder to acquire an additional share at $0.30 for an eighteen month period.

The Warrants are subject to an acceleration clause which comes into effect once the shares trade above a weighted average price of 200% or more from the exercise price, for any fifteen consecutive trading-day period subsequent to four months from the Closing Date. In this event, Premium may accelerate the expiry of the Warrants upon providing 60 days notice to the Warrantholders.

The Company has issued 402,500 shares in finder's fees in relation to this placement. The securities issued are subject to a four-month hold period from the date of issuance. The Company expects to complete the balance of the private placement in the near future. Completion of the private placement is subject to final acceptance of the TSX Venture Exchange.