Weekly Summary

There has been virtually no change in the value of my portfolio in the past week:


Some of my positions have gone up, others down, and I think the net difference is less than two dollars.

Revlon to meet NYSE price criteria via reverse stock split

Just after the bell on Friday, Revlon announced that ...

[the corporation] plans to regain compliance with the New York Stock Exchange's criteria of $1 a share average closing price over 30 consecutive trading days through its pending reverse stock split. ... the company's board had approved a 1-for-10 reverse split of Revlon's Class A and Class B common stock. Revlon has 6 months from the April 2008 notification to the exchange to bring its share price and 30 trading day average share price to $1.00 or above.

This is unfortunate news, and wholly unexpected in light of recent announcements that company insiders have been loading up on shares, expanding product lines are bringing increased revenue, and there is an ongoing campaign to revitalize the brand.

Especially with the penny stocks, actions speak louder than words - and while press releases may brag about the company's hopes, the start reality is that the executives, the board, and the shareholders do not have much faith that the company can pull out of its slump in the next six months, and that a reverse-split is the only measure that will save them from being delisted.

However, they haven't acted yet: the split was approved, but no date has been announced. When that happens, it's time to cut and run: it's extremely rare that a company reverse-splits only once: they RS, the price falls, they RS again, the price falls, they RS again ... it's a death roll.

Weekly Summary

This week has been up and down, and the net result is not much of a change, overall:


In particular, Petel, Inc. has pretty much established itself as a loser - I keep saying that I'll hang onto the "free" shares I have, but they keep sliding downward, and it might make sense to unload them before their value is less than the commission to get rid of them, and Far East Energy has been doing well overall, though it ended the week with more of a whimper than a bang.

Otherwise, my positions are all either doing "good but not great" to "bad but not rotten."

Miami HipHopSodaShop Grand Opening on May 22

H3 Enterprises will be opening its second "Hip Hop Soda Shop" in Miami this weekend, and has announced that ...

The Miami HipHopSodaShop launch is a celebration of the evolution, flava, and cultural genius of Miami hip-hop. The grand opening will pay tribute to the artistic talent of Miami hip-hop artists Rick Ross, Trina, Trick Daddy, Grind Mode, Flo-Rida, Luther Campbell, Ball Greasy, Gorilla Tech, Brisko, Bizzle, DJ Chipman, DJ Khaled, DJ Entyce, and DJ Ali.

For what it's worth, I have no earthly idea who any of those people are ... but I hope that their target market has.

Weekly Summary

The gains on the big boards have, to some extent, been echoed on the pink sheets this week, with microcaps gaining some of the ground they have lost in recent weeks:


In all, things seem to be going fairly well, though I'm beginning to get the sense that, in this market at least, I may have been better off sticking the money in a muni bond mutual fund and waiting out some of the volatility.

SOYO Inc. Reports First Quarter 2008 Financial Results

In a press release today, SOYO announced significant growth in their net revenues:

The Company reported first quarter net revenues of $24,795,315 for the three months ending March 31, 2008, an increase of 68.8% compared to $14,691,110 in the first quarter fiscal year 2007. Gross margin for the first quarter 2008 was 3,106,104, as compared to 2,608,196 for the first quarter fiscal year 2007. Income from operations for the three months ending March 31, 2008 was 809,567 as compared to 414,437 for the same period in 2007.

Since the company has doubled its revenues and profits, it would stand to reason that he demand for its stock, and the price buyers will be willing to pay, should follow. I don't expect it will quite double, but I'm hopeful there will be a significant bump, possibly enough to get this one out of the red.

Revlon chairman Perelman buys 500,000 shares

A follow-up to a previous post ... Revlon Chairman Ronald Perelman acquired another 500,000 shares of company stock. Combined with the 600,000 shares he purchased last month, this adds up to over million shares.

With micro-cap stocks that trade in the sub-penny range, that's really nothing remarkable - you can suck up a million shares with a small amount of cash - but since revlon is trading around $1 a share, this represents a significant investment.

While I don't have enough funds in this portfolio to justify pumping more cash into this company, I'm giving serious consideration to adding a significant position in Revlon to my main portfolio.

PTEL: All too quiet

Petel, Inc., recently announced ... well ... nothing at all for the past couple of months, which is unusual for a company that has a history of pumping out press releases every fortnight or so to remind stockholders that it's still trying to gain a foothold in the industry.

The company has been uncharacteristically silent while its stock price continues to plunge, and it's fallen below the threshold at which I usually bail out - but since I've already taken profits on this one, its downward spiral isn't costing me any real money.

If corporate insiders were loading up on shares, I'd suspect that there was something big in the works that they wanted to keep out of the public eye - but since there's no evidence of that, and I've no reason to suspect they're doing so covertly, my sense is that this isn't the calm before the storm, but merely the awkward silence of the righteously embarrassed.

Weekly Summary

This week, I've dipped closer to break-even. I'm still ahead of the S&P 500, which is down about 5% for the year, but that's cold comfort given the amount of research that goes into selecting stocks.


I have enough cash at this point to open a position on another company, but the stocks on my watch list aren't showing much promise - had I bought into them, I'd have more to regret than to celebrate - so I'll hang onto my liquid assets until I find something I have a stronger sense about.

BLSH - Cut and Run

Blue Star Health has been dancing on the edge of a 50% loss, the point at which I've learned (the hard way) to cut and run, and so I liquidated my position:


Given the current "crisis" with grain crops, legislators are beginning to question whether it makes sense to subsidize biofuels, and the concept is losing its glamor in the consumer market as well. Since it is estimate that it will take five years to ramp up grain production, it's unlikely this will bounce back in the short run.

I might look into this company again if the situation improves, if it survives - but for now, I see nothing but a downward trend.

H3 Announces Grand Opening in Miami

H3 Enterprises announced today that ...

The Grand Opening of the HipHopSodaShop in Miami, Florida is scheduled to begin on May 21, 2008 and will last until July 21, 2008.

On one hand, it's great that the store will be opening in time for Memorial Day weekend, as I expect that this will boost its performance out of the gate and help them to build a client base at the beginning of the summer holidays.

On the other hand, I do wonder why an "Opening" is going to last for a two-month period. No details were provided on this matter, and it could be that they will open an unfinished restaurant, with a promise of additional features to be added over the next few months. That could do them more harm than good.

Weekly Summary

My portfolio has recovered slightly this week, bouncing back from the general slump that's started my second quarter with a fizzle:

Two of my holdings are dancing on the edge of the abyss - I generally dump a stock that loses more than 50% of its value, as I have never owned one that has come back afterward - and some of the others are doing moderately well.

Revlon reports smaller 1st-quarter loss

In today's headlines:

Revlon Inc. reported that it narrowed its first-quarter loss, as lower expenses offset a sales decline in the U.S. Revlon's quarterly loss shrank to $2.5 million, or break-even per share. … Analysts, on average, predicted a loss of a penny per share.

It's always good news when a company beats predictions, and the share price this week has been on the rise. I don't expect that the difference of a penny is going to send it skyward, but it's a sign that the company is headed in the right direction, faster than expected.