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Strategies & Market Trends : Roger's 1998 Short Picks -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Dr. Seuss who wrote (5191)	3/18/1998 2:14:00 PM
From: Ploni	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 18691

Why is it when I follow Asensio, as with WDRY, nothing happens; and when I don't follow Asensio, as with KRY, the stock collapses within a couple of weeks? I could have been a contender! * * * VENEZUELA OFFICIAL SAYS CRYSTALLEX CLAIMS FALES MIAMI, March 18 (Reuters) - The Venezuelan government said on Wednesday that Vancouver-based Crystallex International Corp's <KRY.TO> claims to the disputed Las Cristinas gold mine deep in the Venezuelan jungle were false. Both Crystallex and Toronto-based Placer Dome Inc <PDG.TO> have claimed title to the mine, which some analysts said could be one of Latin America's richest gold mines. Last year, Crystallex filed an appeal of Placer's rights in the Venezuela Supreme Court, touching off speculation that the Placer could lose its rights to the concession. "We want to tell you that, despite numerous published claims in the Canadian press made by Crystallex International Corp and its promoters that a pending court challenge in Venezuela could give it the rights to gold concessions on these parcels, the claims are not true," Rafael Rodriguez Acosta, president of Venezuela's congressional commission on mining, told a news conference. "That is all plain and simple. Crystallex does not have the rights it is claiming and which it is telling its investors it has," Acosta said. Acosta also said the Venezuelan government had asked the country's supreme court to render a speedy decision on the pending court case and added that it was unlikely that Crystallex would win its appeal. "We must reassure all potential investors in Venezuela that the rule of law prevails in Venezuela and that claims like those made by Crystallex cannot and will not be tolerated," Acosta said. Acosta's sudden announcement sent Crystallex shares tumbling down 2.65 to 4.50 a share in heavy trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange. The company's shares traded as high as 11.85 last month.

To: Dr. Seuss who wrote (5191)	3/18/1998 2:19:00 PM
From: Mama Bear	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 18691

I'm happy I covered my KRY short the other day at 4 5/8. I wouldn't hold up well being in a position that's halted. There is speculation on the KRY thread that this could be an extended halt. Barb

To: Dr. Seuss who wrote (5191)	3/19/1998 9:00:00 PM
From: Lazlo Pierce	Respond to of 18691

From thestreet.com Herb on the street re:KRY Herb on TheStreet: The 'Son of Bre-X' and the Cousin of Solv-Ex? By Herb Greenberg Senior Columnist 3/19/98 9:24 AM ET thestreet.com Crystallex International (KRY:AMEX) is probably below the radar screen of most investors, and if Manuel Asensio is right, it's probably a good thing. Crystallex is a Vancouver gold mining company (uh-oh) that claims to hold title to several mineral-rich gold concessions in Venezuela. Asensio says it doesn't (he calls it "son of Bre-X''), and therein lies today's Tale from the Crypt: Asensio runs Asensio & Co., a small New York investment bank/brokerage/research firm. It's best known for publishing reports on what it claims are fraudulent companies. Among its best-known early "sell'' recommendations were Solv-Ex and Diana Corp., both of which are classic stock blow-ups. The difference between Asensio and most other short-sellers is that he publishes his blunt research on the Internet at www.asensio.com. Over the past month, he has been relentless on Crystallex, which he first heard touted by a money manager being interviewed on CNBC. Asensio says that at first Crystallex sounded like a stock he might want to own. However, the more research he did, the more he doubted the Crystallex story -- especially its claims about holding title to the Venezuelan gold properties, near Las Cristinas. Asensio insists Crystallex has no claim to any of the Las Cristinas property. "Crystallex lacks any factual basis or legal standing to state it is presently pursuing such a claim,'' he wrote in one recent report. "Information to the contrary is necessarily false and misleading. We believe that Crystallex has purposely disseminated such false and misleading information in order to defraud investors.'' Crystallex shot back with several press releases denouncing Asensio and said it had hired attorneys to sue Asensio. At the time, CEO Marc Oppenheimer said, "Asensio is creating and exploiting a market disruption that benefits short-sellers, of which he is one.'' Crystallex also said it planned to "pursue the matter" with securities regulators in the U.S. and Canada. Flashback to Solv-Ex: It also said it planned to turn Asensio over to the SEC. At the time, according to Asensio, Solv-Ex was represented by the law firm of Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton; irony of ironies, it's the same firm representing Crystallex. Cleary Gottlieb officials couldn't be reached. Interestingly, Solv-Ex also issued a press release denouncing Asensio. It quoted Solv-Ex Senior Vice President Herb Campbell as saying that court-ordered documents produced by Asensio in court failed to support his claims. "Either he is a total sham or has acted in willful contempt of a court order,'' Campbell said. That was in May 1997, when the stock was at 13 (down from a high of around 32). Two months later trading in Solv-Ex's stock was halted for 65 days. On Sept. 17, it was delisted from the Nasdaq. Crystallex, which traded as high as around 8 less than a month ago, tumbled 1 3/8, or 29%, yesterday to close at 3 1/4 after a representative of the Venezuelan government said Crystallex's claims were false. Or so said newswire reports. Crystallex said those reports were false. Asensio says that's simply another false statement by Crystallex, whose stock, he says, should trade for much less than $1. "It's management is unfit to run a public company." Crystallex officials couldn't be reached. Their phone (a toll-free number) kept ringing busy.