Methanex (MEOH) is the world’s largest producer of methanol, supplying about 17% of the global market. Methanex is headquartered in Canada, and has plants in Chile, Trinidad and New Zealand, all utilizing natural gas as feedstock because methanol can be manufactured much more cheaply from natural gas than from coal. Approximately 39% of global methanol [...]
Entries from September 2008
Taking a position in Methanex (MEOH)
September 27th, 2008 · 1 Comment
Tags: Stock reports
FMD : In praise of securitization
September 19th, 2008 · No Comments
In the wake of the credit crisis, many of the recently invented financial products will be found wanting and discarded. Since massive losses in mortgage-backed securities were the immediate cause of the current crisis, many people have suggested that securitization itself is intrinsically flawed, and the entire CDO/ABS/MBS industry will cease to exist in the [...]
Tags: Stock reports
The financial crisis and the stock market
September 17th, 2008 · No Comments
Hank Paulson’s refusal to rescue Lehman has been a rude shock to bond holders. Until last Sunday, the main losers in the financial crisis has been equity holders, while bond holders have seen their assets protected by the government. As a result, Treasury yields plunged to new lows on Monday as bond investors fled bank [...]
Tags: Market news
HIMX liquidation and MKTAY initiation
September 10th, 2008 · 1 Comment
I like to buy when the general market is down, and sell when the general market is up. I took advantage of the down market today to increase my holdings of NVDA and ZINC, and to reduce my holdings of CCIX. However, the declining market also triggered my stop on HIMX, causing the liquidation of [...]
Tags: Stock reports
SEB : An intriguing conglomerate
September 8th, 2008 · 1 Comment
Seaboard Corporation (SEB) is a conglomerate with diverse businesses, including pork production and processing in the US, commodity trading in Bermuda, flour milling operations in 14 countries, a shipping division based in Miami, a newly started biodiesel plant based in Oklahoma, a sugar refining factory in Argentina, a jalapeno pepper plant in Honduras, and two [...]
Tags: Stock reports
ZINC updated rationale
September 7th, 2008 · 2 Comments
I re-established my position in ZINC on Friday, at a cost of $7.62 per share. I had previously written about this company, and had in fact been stopped out of a position in this stock. However, I still feel that the valuation of this stock is very compelling, and decided to take the plunge during [...]
Tags: Stock reports
INTC and DELL updated rationales
September 6th, 2008 · No Comments
The tech sector took a big tumble this past week, touched off by poor quarterly earnings from Dell. This was an irrational price movement, since Dell’s poor profits was caused by its aggressive price cutting in order to gain market share, and does not reflect on the tech sector in general. Yet, I looked on [...]
Tags: Stock reports
TX liquidation
September 4th, 2008 · No Comments
I liquidated Ternium yesterday, at $29.92, for a gain of 5%. This was a steel maker I bought more than a year ago; it first caught my eye when Monish Pabrai bought it, and then I dug deeper and liked what I saw. I once had gains of up to 70% on this position, but [...]
Tags: Stock reports
SMG liquidation
September 2nd, 2008 · No Comments
Took advantage of the early morning rally to liquidate another of my technical plays. Scotts Miracle-Gro took a hit recently when it was revealed that one of its employees failed to file required documents with the EPA, and as a result the company had to mount an expensive recall of one of its fertilizers. At [...]
Tags: Stock reports
Book review : George Soros – The New Paradigm for Financial Markets (Part 1)
September 2nd, 2008 · No Comments
I finally finished reading George Soros : The New Paradigm for Financial Markets over the weekend, and I enjoyed it tremendously. The book is divided into two parts. The first part is about Soros’ philosophy and how it applies to the finance sector, and the second is about Soros’ views about the future of the [...]
Tags: Stock reports · Uncategorized

