musings

I have dumped PNSN after a nice gain. I almost and should have deployed that capital into San gold resources, which i told a friend i would buy below $1.5 if the opportunity rose. Well i am a liar. I watched it touch $1.35 and did nothing. Now its $1.6 ish.

I have also added Aldila to my watch list. It is a unique company which i have used their products and like. I stumbled upon it using some new screens available on google finance. Has good cash flow and a pretty balance sheet. Company has a product with some moatish properties, but this US economy could hurt earnings.

CLCT is almost break even for me after my average down and latest dividend payment. CGS and BVF not so lucky.

As the market volatility continues so does my lack of buying options. Too much volatility premiums for me... but not enough for me to write covered calls and justify the risk involved. While i pondered it with PNSN i am still toying with the idea of writing calls on bvf. I wonder how long they will pay the dividend with their new strategy of growth? I suspect '08 will be the last full year they payout nice dividends if any? Dividend policy is too big a cash burn.

A friend is buying MGM and LEH. While i continue to look for balance sheets and business's i can grasp he continues to speculate. He has more money available to lose than i (he has no mortgage, wife or kids). We both owned shares of CGS (last we talked a few weeks ago) which is my spec asset play.

Some article i read said Canadian western bank was the best of Canadian banks to own now. I don't agree and seeing house price's slide in Alberta adds to my pessimism. Now that i have recently bought a newer house and dramatically increased my mortgage i take notice of these headlines more.

While i have no illusions that my house can't fall in price i was heading into this purchase half expecting it. I was already in the housing market so i was destined to lose anyways. I am not planning to flip and i have 50% equity, at current levels, in my house. Amortized at 15 years its comfortable, but i still dislike debt all the same. I wish my wife had this same disdain for debt?

One last company i am looking at is liquidation world. Its very thinly traded and in a sector which stands to suffer if downturn gets worse. But another value investor i follow, see CKI-T, bought and seems to like the story? I continue to watch with interest.

Seth Klarman is another investor i have been reading about. Interesting stuff.

I have done less market watching than normal since my daughter was born last week and likely will continue this trend for a few more months.