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June 29, 2006
Stelco and steel reviewed, Thurs., June 29, 2006, 12:45 PM
TD Newcrest has reviewed the steel industry and Canada's Stelco this week. I have a lot of readers (Stelco steelworkers union local 1005, for a few), so I'll reproduce the reports here. TD Newcrest report on Stelco. TD Newcrest report on Steel.
I'll also ask an independent financial analyst to review the latest Stelco financials, but otherwise I could care less.
You see, Stelco is a Brascan/Brookfield deal and has been since the day Courtney Pratt was parachuted into that company by his former employer who just happened to be around to pick up the pieces after Pratt did his best "bull in a china shop" impersonation.
If you look at the new board, you will see the Falconbridge CFO is listed as an independent director. That he is not. Falco is another Brascan/Brookfield deal, which is why I am hoping Xstrata takes it out.
Btw, if Phelps Dodge makes that Inco-Falco deal, I would not be surprised to see old Courtney Pratt parachuted in there too. (Or maybe Alcan?) I'm giving everybody the heads-up now: that PD deal was not arranged overnight by Inco's CEO Scott Hand.
I have to laugh at the modus operandi of this Brascan/Brookfield group. They must take us for idiots.
I see these guys as company killers, and then they return later to pick up the pieces. Meanwhile, Mom & Pop lose their wealth.
I see them as master self-dealers. They just set it all up to make it look like they are independent. Meanwhile, they just get richer. And what bugs me is that there are a few reporters in Toronto (probably on the payroll), who continually point us to the financial performance of that group.
Nothing they do is straight-forward, however, as, for example, Falco's (Brookfield's) take-over of Inco is made to look the other way around. Note, for instance, that Inco's CEO departs after the proposed Phelps-Dodge deal, but the Falco man is left in charge of the future nickel division.
They even gave themselves warrants in the "new" Stelco too, which goes hand in hand with their unconscionable financing terms.
But, I'm just a reporter who has lost his appetite for stealco. Interested readers will now have to get their Stelco info from a Stelco ex-shareholders' committee, which apparently has a website. I'm hoping that group can afford the services of a top notch forensic accountant " one who isn't scared off by people in high places.
And as for Phelps Dodge, I'm taking it off the Cara 100 list. If I even smell Brascan/Brookfield around one of these other Cara 100 companies, they too will be ex-100.
You see, I prefer to trade in markets where all the shareholders have equal access to transparent information, to government for the people, to regulators for the bondholders and shareholders, to independent and objective media, and so forth. Bullies don't want that to happen. They just want your money.
As a matter of fact, since I have just returned from a full annual medical check, and found my blood pressure to be elevated for the first time in my life (well, 135/80 I guess isn't bad, but it has never been above 120/80 before), I commit here to never write in this blog about Brookfield Asset Management again.
If I can't find a single nice thing to write about an organization, then I won't say anything. There are so many positive aspects to the markets to write about, and that's what I intend to do.
Posted by Posted by Bill Cara on June 29, 2006 12:45:04 PM | Category: 15 Materials
Discourse
Bill,
Your health is #1, but maybe, just maybe, someday a journalist with some cajones and a need for a great story will read one of your posts regarding the Brascan/Brookfield "way of doing business" and allow you to pass on the torch. Until then, if you can continue the uncovering in a calm way, please do.
Thanks,
g034 and Mom&Pop
Posted by: g034 ![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.billcara.com/nav-commenters.gif)
at
June 29, 2006 2:09 PM [link]
OT, but the Fed just raised rates 25bp and left door open for future hikes. Nothing unexpected here, but market is taking off as if it expected worse. Maybe a lot of people were taking the 50bp rumors seriously?
Posted by: number2son at
June 29, 2006 2:25 PM [link]
Hehe numbers2on, always buy when others are fearful(I thought there was something wrong with all that worrying), look at gold, FINALLY TAKING OFF. Been wearing on my patience(was long 1/3 of my portfolio in gold, but only 1/10 now)
Posted by: FirstConsul at
June 29, 2006 2:32 PM [link]
It was a setup, pure and simple. They constructed a straw horse and knocked it down. Kudos to Kudlow and The Street gang for pulling it off. Now The Boys have an excuse to do EOQ window dressing and suck in some more retail money. It's not going to change one iota where this market is come October.
It doesn't change my opinion on gold either.
Posted by: MarkM at
June 29, 2006 2:53 PM [link]
All hands to monitors!
All hands to trade stations!
The bulls are stampeding!
Posted by: oratier at
June 29, 2006 2:53 PM [link]
"The bulls are stampeding!"
Do they see the cliff through the cloud of dust? <8)
Posted by: number2son at
June 29, 2006 3:06 PM [link]
Mr. Bull is just about to buy some of my puppyDOGS ;)
Posted by: C.Note at
June 29, 2006 3:16 PM [link]
And I thought the bear had arrived a couple of weeks ago!
Posted by: SiO2 at
June 29, 2006 3:29 PM [link]
1) click Specials
2) 4 year election cycles
3) DJIA mid term election year
Note low last week June normal... test of earlier year's high in August before falling to new lows in September-
Posted by: stockman at
June 29, 2006 3:38 PM [link]
FYI:
Metals trading on NYMEX will close early Friday and will remain closed on both Monday and Tuesday. On Friday, aluminum and palladium will close at 12 noon Eastern, copper and silver at 12:05 p.m., and platinum and gold at 12:10 p.m.
Posted by: C.Note at
June 29, 2006 4:08 PM [link]
If you have access to Rydex data, note bull assets vs bear assets (and cash) at extreme. Similar to other sell offs over the past 4 years. Confirmed by sentiment surveys.
Plenty of fuel there for a summer rally before the fall fall. Given deteriorating economic situation being nimble a key advantage here. But measures of risk aversion appear to have broken downtrend today.
Good luck to all.
Posted by: stockman at
June 29, 2006 4:21 PM [link]
stockman - if the seasonals on the $usd hold true this year, gold will be quite bright from here on out. Which, IMHO, is exactly what will happen.
Better to pump liquidity to prop up housing and the stock market during a mid-term election year than worry about the $usd is my guess. Voters own homes and stocks, they don't understand fx.
Posted by: g034 at
June 29, 2006 4:23 PM [link]
g034-
I have the annual seasonal for cash gold and the dollar on my wall... yes looks good from here and
sentiment at negative extreme at Rydex PM... looks good
COT data... looks good
XAU:SPX ratio looking up; XAU:GLD looking up
ST trend going our way.
Posted by: stockman at
June 29, 2006 7:54 PM [link]
Bill,
I for one hope that you will continue to pull the pants down on Brascan/Brookfield and expose then for what they are. It is interesting that a couple of years ago the primary reason put forth to "justify" CCAA protection was Stelco's unfunded pension liability. It stood at $600M at the time. The same report indicated that several other metals producers were in worse shape - INCO had a $1.2 Billion unfunded liability. I can only wonder what the figure is today, and yet here we see the sell-side making a silk purse out a sow's ear in presenting INCO as an acquisitor's dream deal. The new CEO of Stelco is shamelessly peddling the company in order to provide the Brascan/Brookfield mob with their pay-day. Shareholders got screwed and workers are about to suffer the same fate - both at Stelco and INCO - because these bloodsuckers that are playing this game care nothing about sovereignty, workers, or the integrity of markets.
Posted by: TerryC![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.billcara.com/nav-commenters.gif)
at
June 29, 2006 1:18 PM [link]