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Gold/Mining/Energy : Canadian-under $3.00 Stock-Picking Challenge -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Al Collard who wrote (5296)	12/5/2001 8:50:32 PM
From: CIMA	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 11802

A Sailor's life A young woman was so depressed that she decided to end her life by throwing herself into the ocean. She went down to the docks and was about to leap into the frigid water when a handsome young sailor saw her tottering on the edge of the pier crying. He took pity on her and said, "Look, you've got a lot to live for. I'm off to Europe in the morning, and if you like, I can stow you away on my ship. I'll take good care of you and bring you food every day." Moving closer he slipped his arm around her shoulder and added, "I'll keep you happy, and you'll keep me happy". The girl nodded yes. After all, what did she have to lose? That night, the sailor brought her aboard and hid her in a lifeboat. From then on every night he brought her three sandwiches and a piece of fruit, and they made passionate love until dawn. Three weeks later, during a routine inspection, she was discovered by the Captain. "What are you doing here?" the Captain asked. "I have an arrangement with one of the sailors," she explained. "I get food and a trip to Europe, and he's screwing me." "He sure is, lady," the Captain said. "This is the Tsawwassen/Swartz Bay Ferry."

To: Al Collard who wrote (5296)	12/5/2001 9:00:27 PM
From: Rocket Red	Respond to of 11802

CDNX of troubles: weak trading, turmoil at the top afflict junior market Updated: Wed, Dec 05 8:05 PM EST CALGARY (CP) - Dwindling trading volumes and liquidity, the resignation of its president and ongoing regulatory troubles all spell disaster for the Canadian Venture Exchange, critics say. "I think the CDNX, because of bad regulation, is very close to being a dead issue," Canaccord Capital chairman Peter Brown said Wednesday. "I don't believe, unless somebody does something, that we will have a viable market for small-cap securities in Canada - which will be hugely to our detriment," Brown said from his Vancouver office. The last year has indeed been troublesome for the two-year-old junior stock market created in the consolidation of small-capitalization equity listings from the old Vancouver, Alberta, Winnipeg and Montreal exchanges and the Canadian Dealing Network. In the first 10 months of the year, there were only half as many transactions as last year - averaging about 5,000 a day. The average share price of companies on the CDNX is 33 cents - again less than half of last year. Daily volumes are down 30 per cent. To be fair, the slumping global economy has been harsh on all stock markets, and junior exchanges have suffered most as frightened investors fled from risk. "Economic cycles come and go and venture markets, frankly, are going to be the ones that swing most widely," said Kevan Cowan, Toronto-based vice-president of the CDNX. "As people enter into and exit out of the junior markets, where there's often very big returns, they're also subject to the volatility of economic cycles probably to a greater degree than senior markets." Cowan added that even in the depressed market CDNX companies have raised almost $1 billion in capital this year and the exchange provides a vital incubator for small public companies. The woes of the CDNX come as Canada's senior equities market, the Toronto Stock Exchange, attempts to merge operations after taking over the CDNX in May for $50 million. Since then, almost half of the 260 CDNX employees have been let go, including many senior officers. Last week, CDNX president Bill Hess resigned, saying there was a need for only one chief executive in the merged exchanges, and that job was occupied by TSE president Barbara Stymiest. More serious than a down market and takeover hiccups are issues such as the dwindling number of independent brokerage houses that finance small businesses, says Brown at Canaccord. "I think there may be now too few participants on the finance and trading side to provide the critical mass needed for a viable small-cap market," he said. The other issue, Brown said, is regulation in Canada, where independent dealers have to report to 15 separate regulators. Canaccord, he said, spends $10 million a year on compliance and handling mountains of paperwork. "I don't think Hess . . . understood any of these issues," he said. "And I'm not sure that the TSE board understands either - I don't think there's any advocates for small-business finance in the country." Dave Linder, executive director of the Alberta Securities Commission, says it's premature to suggest that the CDNX is in serious danger. But the Alberta securities watchdog says he is keen to get a sense of future direction when he meets with TSE management early in the new year. "Right now, we're sort of eager to find out from Ms. Stymiest who she's going to bring in to run the CDNX." Brian Pow, a Calgary-based analyst with Acumen Capital, says the CDNX has "obviously had its ride with the technology bubble" but is diversified enough to attract quality listings. And he isn't worried about the current difficulties. "I think there's a potential for companies to lose their listings," he said. "It's a natural evolution . . . and there's nothing wrong with it - it just means where we are in the economic cycle more than anything."