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Gold/Mining/Energy : Strictly: Drilling and oil-field services -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: drsvelte who wrote (23563)	6/6/1998 3:53:00 PM
From: waverider	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 95453

Back to stocks, does anyone want to answer a dumb question? How exactly do shorts drive the price of a stock down? I keep hearing this but have NO idea what kind of mechanism would cause this. Is it just the vile rumors some of them spread or what? Shorty

To: drsvelte who wrote (23563)	6/6/1998 3:55:00 PM
From: waverider	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 95453

Anybody want to comment on this? Seems interesting: Helmerich & Payne Is there a major oil driller that has never experienced a losing year? How about one that acts as a mini sector fund of energy stocks? Robert Howard, Editor of Positive Patterns, says Helmerich & Payne (NYSE - HP, 255/16) can answer "yes" to both questions. "Helmerich & Payne is a player all across the globe and it has the usual clients . . . the big oils. The company believes the most promising future is in two places: overseas and offshore. During all the bad years in the drilling business, Helmerich & Payne has never had a losing year! This is especially impressive if you consider what the drilling business has been through the last 15 years. They have been terrible times. We are excited about the future of Helmerich & Payne. This company also owns some very handsome stock positions. At current market prices, the Helmerich & Payne portfolio is worth around $500 million, giving the company $10 per share worth of value in stock positions. This portfolio has almost doubled in value in the last 16 months, beating the S&P averages handily. When you buy Helmerich & Payne, it is like buying a mutual fund; a sector fund of energy stocks. We have solid evidence that management is very good at picking stocks in a field it knows very well. With the debt-free balance sheet, it adds to the muscle and attraction. Helmerich & Payne owns significant amounts of real estate in downtown Tulsa, eighteen different buildings, and over 500 acres of prime land. The properties are 96% rented, and the Tulsa real estate market is strong. We would guess that the real estate is worth about $100 million. This is a value of $2 a share. So, with stock holdings of $10 a share, and real estate estimated at $2 a share, you are actually paying about $13 a share for the operations of Helmerich & Payne. We think that is dirt cheap for such a quality company. We see this as a stock that will give you a very good performance over the next three-to-five-year period. Energy stocks are not very market sensitive right now. If the market swoons, we doubt if the oils will follow. Cash flow is strong. You can buy the shares for about eight times this year's cash flow. We would suggest aggressive buying in the $28 area. We believe Helmerich & Payne has the right stuff to be a major player in the energy markets all over the globe. There is support in the $23-to-$28 area. Once clear of the $33 area, we expect the shares to move much higher and not look back."

To: drsvelte who wrote (23563)	6/6/1998 10:49:00 PM
From: drsvelte	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 95453

[OT] Concrete as a hedge for Oil??!! This morning was rainy and gave me an opportunity to catch up with the WSJs that I missed while on vacation. In the Wednesday Texas edition there was an article on the shortage of concrete in Texas. Seems as if a boom in road building, home construction, etc. have placed an enormous strain on the concrete industry in Texas to provide adequate supply. Concrete is being "allocated" and prices are rising (up 40% since 1990). Apparently contractors/construction companies are even looking to alternate materials (ie, asphalt -- Aside to Wedgie:go AIPN!) or other construction methods than the traditional concrete slab (ie, posts and pilings). Could it be true that concrete's demand is up and price is up (just like Oil -- ha ha ha barf!) I recall that one, if not both, of this thread's Masters of Financial Discourse -- Chuzzy and jbe -- once indicated that they had holdings in the concrete industry. At the time, I thought "concrete, how bizarre" -- but maybe if there is a real shortage it will be stodgy commodity like a stealth F-117. Our economy continues to expand. At least in Louisiana and in my unscientific opinion, along the Gulf Coast, the building boom continues unabated. Is there a national shortage of concrete? -- good grief, that sounds weird! The barriers to entry, IMO, could not be very high, could they? Would this be a good play?? If anyone is interested, I'll pursue this.