Archive for October, 2007

by Randy Zlobec-12666
The warm sand, cool breeze, and peaceful sounds of the surf are often thought to be the perfect combination for relaxation and enjoyment. America’s beaches are more popular than any other vacation destinations and the joys of beach living appeal to many. In recent years, America’s most beautiful beaches have begun to cater to the beach side living dream with luxurious condo constructions designed for a relaxing, oceanside lifestyle.

Myrtle Beach, SC is one of the most popular beaches on the east coast, voted fifth in the nation by the travel channel in 2003. Not only does Myrtle Beach offer a gorgeous beach with miles of pristine white sand meeting the rolling waves, the area attractions are endless. Golfers can enjoy more than 100 world class golf courses in the Myrtle Beach area, while cultural enthusiasts can take in a musical, visit one of the numerous art galleries and museums, or dine with entertainment at the famous Myrtle Beach dinner theaters. Myrtle Beach is a shopper’s paradise, with a variety of outlet stores, bargain flea market venues, oceanfront boutiques on the scenic boardwalk, and open air malls with activities for all ages and the dining options in the area offer just as much variety, from local seafood to elegant dining and international cuisine.

With so much to offer, it is no wonder that Myrtle Beach is one of the most popular retirement locations and a sought after market for new home buyers of all ages. Each summer, the sparkling sands and lively entertainment of Myrtle Beach draws more than 10 million visitors. The metropolitan area has a year round population of more than 217,000 and that number continues to increase. Those looking for the ideal year round retirement home, individuals craving a relaxing vacation condo overlooking the glistening beach, and even families wanting a vacation home in the center of the best beach attractions find Myrtle Beach to be the perfect location.

In the past, beach front condos and resort style vacation homes were only available to affluent buyers because of the astronomical prices on these desirable structures. The recent increase in demand for beach condos, coupled with an increase in construction, has made many beach condos much more affordable, especially in Myrtle Beach. The average price of a Myrtle Beach vacation condo is about $214,000, nearly $20,000 less than the national average for standard new homes.

With the interest in new Myrtle Beach vacation condos continuing to steadily increase, there are now thousands of developers planning new constructions throughout the area. Preconstruction sales give everyone the opportunity to own their own piece of beach living paradise with drastically reduced prices and tremendous options on luxurious condos. Myrtle Beach preconstruction condos are available with various amenities in prices to fit every budget.

Why Buy Myrtle Beach Preconstruction Condos

When plans for a new condominium structure are first made, the developer is faced with the task of obtaining financing for the project. In most cases, this requires proving that the project is worthwhile. Before the bank will provide the developer with the funds to erect the structure, the developer must convince them that there is an interest in the building and that the condos will sell after completion. The easiest way to do this is typically with presales.

Once a developer has their plans in place, the condos are promoted to the public and a portion of the units are offered to early buyers. Those interested in purchasing a preconstruction condo typically provide the developer with a down payment, or deposit, on the property, which is placed in escrow while the construction takes place. Myrtle Beach preconstruction condos can generally be secured for a minimal deposit, typically no more than $10,000.

To generate interest in the project and to guarantee plenty of initial buyers, preconstruction condos are sold for a fraction of the final selling price. With preconstruction condos, vacation home buyers can enjoy their dream beach home at an affordable price. Preconstruction condos can be found as low as $120,000, making the beach living dream a reality for almost anyone.

Myrtle Beach preconstruction condos are also terrific investment opportunities. Real estate is known to be one of the most lucrative investments available and beach front or water view property is the most sought after. In recent years, resort properties, especially those in waterfront communities, have experienced increases in value of as much as 20% per year. In many cases, preconstruction condos can be resold as soon as construction nears completion for a quite attractive profit.

Whether you’re planning a peaceful retirement relaxing by the sparkling sea or wanting a family vacation condo with all the amenities, Myrtle Beach preconstruction condos offer luxurious living at an affordable price. Preconstruction condos are the best way to find a terrific deal on Myrtle Beach real estate for homeowners, retirees, and investors, from living the oceanside dream to profiting from your own Myrtle Beach vacation rental.

The Hoffman Group of South Carolina offers Myrtle Beach Condos For Sale & Preconstruction oceanfront condo investment opportunities. Visit http://www.oceaninvestments.com for more details

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by Andrew Stratton
In real estate, there are the usual professionals and there are the highly successful professionals. They work hard, but they also work smart. If you are a real estate professional who wants a career boost or market change, then investment property software can help. In the digital age, why not let technology work for you?

Expanding your work from the single family to the commercial market, or leaving the single family properties altogether, should be both lucrative and hassle free. By incorporating investment property software into your working style, you can invest more effectively on higher yielding deals.

Once you take your real estate investing high-tech, you can expect a turn around in your fortunes. The software makes your paperwork more manageable and easier to access. You can shift to larger properties in the commercial arena, get back a greater income on them and deal with knowledgeable sellers, lenders and brokers to expedite the process. No more depending on sellers that do not understand the process.

Do not be concerned about the complications of managing commercial real estate. There is a variety of software applications available to make it easy to know what you are doing. In a market that is strong and healthy, you can take advantage of those conditions to boost your bottom line.

Any investment property software you choose should include blank PDF forms that you simply fill in as you need to. The forms should include the necessary worksheets for loan comparisons, broker submissions, loan quotes and insurance quotes as well as initial set up and marketing packages. And these are all doable on your computer or laptop.

Most investment property software packages start you off with an agent set up that is an easy to read and smart sales document so you can put your best foot forward. You also get a comparative market analysis that will allow you to hit the ground running. It is an easy way to jumpstart your commercial property investment career.

Remember, with commercial real estate, every second counts. The single family market is in a slump and housing prices are continuing to fall. Making the switch is a sound career move. With the prices of traditional homes threatening to continue their fall, the better, more lucrative market is clearly the commercial property market.

Using technology in your real estate endeavors should enhance the returns on your investments. Ideally, going digital will give you back your missed weekends and evenings, and eliminate the necessity of wading through tons of paperwork and red tape. Investment property software gives you the inside line so you can be a competitive agent or investor.

Preparing yourself for the commercial market is fast and simple. The forms show you all the information you need to create an attractive package that will impress sellers, lenders and brokers. Plus, you can create your own investment scenarios and determine just how lucrative they will be before you decide to invest.

Including investment property software into your real estate process can benefit you enormously. With less paperwork to fill out and fewer low yielding opportunities, you can maximize how you spend your time searching for and acquiring profitable properties.

Going blindly into the commercial property market is not the way to turn a profit. Working smarter uses your time and money to your advantage. Using investment property software can help make life easy. Visit KISCL to register now. http://www.kiscl.com

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by Katherine Guilford
Many people dream about the money they could make by investing in real estate. Maybe they’ve read books or even attended seminars. Yet something still holds these would-be investors back. It could be fear — fear of trying something new, fear of failure, fear of losing money. Unfortunately, the doors to new possibilities will never open for these people until they learn to move past their natural fear. As the old saying goes, at the end of your life you’ll regret more the things you didn’t do than the things you did. Here are some tips for getting started in real estate investment, so you won’t have to look back regretfully on those missed opportunities.

Fire up your motivation

You’re not going to do anything until you’re sufficiently motivated. Right now, fear is motivating you more than the chance of financial freedom. You want to become a real estate investor, but why? Yes, you want to make money, enough money to quit your job and be free from financial worries. But what would that mean to you and your family? Create a picture in your mind of all the positive changes that would come about if you were a successful real estate investor. Write down what life would be like, in as much detail as you can. Keep this description of your wonderful future life and reread it often.

Set goals

You need to set small, manageable goals with specific deadlines. These goals should be written in a way that moves you forward. It’s okay to take baby steps, as long as you are making progress. Review your list of goals often, and picture yourself accomplishing each one with ease.

Educate yourself

There are many useful resources available to help you learn about real estate investment. Books, magazines, websites, and seminars are all good ways to educate yourself. Your real estate education will be an ongoing process, so set aside a little time each week for study. But don’t mistake learning for action. You really don’t need to understand everything right away. Once you know the basics, you can learn much more by doing.

Network with other investors

Many investors say that joining a real estate investment club or association was the catalyst that moved them from thinking to doing. Most associations are open to anyone with an interest, regardless of experience. At meetings, you’ll absorb practical advice from successful investors. You’ll also get inspiration and encouragement from other investors who, like yourself, are just starting out. Talk to as many people as you can - don’t be a wallflower. Remember, buying and selling real estate is all about making connections with people.

Take risk-free action

Take actions that don’t involve financial risk. For example, go to as many open houses as you can. Go through the classifed ads and make phone calls to get more information. Practise evaluating investment properties. Find a property that you want to buy. Talk to a mortgage broker to see if you’ll be able to get a loan.

By the time you’ve gone through these steps you should be feeling much more comfortable. You may even be chomping at the bit for some real life action. Congratulations! You’ve conquered your fear and you are well on your way to becoming a successful real estate investor.

Real estate investing is a proven way to generate wealth - if you know what you’re doing. Find out how to invest in real estate without losing your shirt or your sanity. Visit http://new-real-estate-investor.blogspot.com for more useful information.

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by Robert Britt
What are you looking for in your stock picks? First of all maybe we should establish where you are getting your selections from? Do you subscribe to a newsletter from some guru who has a fail-proof system? Or do you look at the Wall Street Journal everyday or Money magazine to try to find picks? All of these are legitimate sources of information, but the truth of the matter is that all of them are going to be somewhat dated, unless you are getting real time on-line information.

How does real time information impact your stock selection? It can be huge. Think about most magazines you look at. The date on the magazine might be for the current month (often it is even for the next month) but the articles are at least a few weeks old, if not older. How accurate does that make the articles? Often they are factual and accurate, especially if they are giving an overview of a subject, but not current. The way the world works now is with information only moments old. If a mine has a collapse, you don’t want to hear about it a week after it happens, you need same day information.

So you need to determine how much faith you are going to place in the provider of your picks. Do you depend on their due diligence or do you research their picks and judge them against your own set of criteria? If that is the case, then what are you looking at? What are the factors that make up your litmus test? Here are just a few that I have found. Pick and choose, and don’t limit yourself to any one source.

Criteria#1 - Does the company have a long history? This does not have to be a make or break, but if it is a newer company, there is more chance for failure statistically speaking. How can you overcome that? Look at

Criteria#2 - Management Team — Is the leadership of the company worth their salt (and your trust)? What have they done, where do they come from? Do they embrace change? They better.

Criteria#3 — Industry Category — What industry is the company in? Is the product or service on an upswing, downswing or is demand constant? An example of an upswing is almost anything involving the internet or on-line commerce, downswing might be something like the vinyl record industry, constant demand — oil or gasoline sales.

Criteria#4 — Asset to liability balance — What do the books look like? Is the stock price supported by a strong asset base, or is the company mostly intellectual property, vulnerable to new technology or trends?

These are just four factors I selected pretty much at random. They may or may not be on your list. Could your list use an update? Most market analysts and stock market prestidigitators have a system, not a crystal ball (although some may). Some other factors that people look at are: 52 week high/low, market cap, price/book value, book value per share, debt to equity ratio, return on equity, return on assets, the list can go on and on. So…How do you evaluate stocks?

Please visit my web sites and contact me with any questions you have. www.RobertBritt.comwww.ProsperityModel.com

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by Ganesh_SEO
Man has been looking since ages to find newer cures and bring about a marked advancement in the filed of medical applications. In the last few years, biotechnology has contributed significantly towards this field.

There have been significant developments in biotechnology making it one of the most lucrative investment options. Yes, biotechnology investing is considered to be the future by many investment experts.

Most venture capitalists today are looking at biotechnology companies in a different light. The opportunities for investors to generate impressive revenue growth are one of the prime reasons why this has happened.

Also the trend to spend till we get the best in health care is another reason. Man does not like to compromise when it comes to good health and biotechnology has been one of the chief gainers of this principle.

Why Biotech?

There are many small biotech companies who are waiting for that golden opportunity. Some of these companies have displayed their flair and skill in just a few years of their existence.

With the right investors these companies can work wonders. Who knows, the drug for Alzheimer’s or cancer might just be underway in some of these companies.

From a business point of view, such a drug can be the single factor that will power you from rags to riches.

But biotechnology investing is not that easy. It is a task that requires a set of special skills so that you can spot the best company instantly.

Finding the right company to invest

There are many companies who will make the job of biotechnology investing easier for you, the investor.

These companies have the scientific, medical and financial experts who will analyze most biotech companies giving you comprehensive advice on which company to invest in.

With just a clinical trial, these analysts will help you determine what future prospects the company holds.

For more Information on bio technology investing Visit bio technology investing .

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by Doug Hadfield
To look at Golden Reign’s (TSXV: GRR) stock chart, the company looks like either a bargain or a wash out: It was trading at $0.40 at the end of 2006. Since that time, shares in GRR have taken a hammering down to $0.15 per share. To me, this usually indicates a company mismanaged, but occasionally it indicates something much juicier — an overlooked, value-priced junior. After some thorough due diligence, including speaking to the company officers and reading two NI43-101 reports on the company’s two 50% JV deals, I bought in on a respectable position.

Why? It’s a bit of a no brainer, to me. The company is trading at $0.15 with two properties, both of which have proven widely disseminated gold mineralization in an area with resources of over 120 million ounces gold, nearby infrastructure, with excellent roads and transportation and the protection of an operator on the project that is a prominent Russian bank — Status LLC. What else do you want from a value-priced junior? It’s going no place but up.

Let’s go over the details. First, why has the company been sinking on the TSX Venture? Simply put, they were shafted by local politics. After pouring $300,000 into exploration last year, the government sniffed gold on the property and handed it to a local company in the next land auction.

The temporal aspect of the land auction process in Russia ensures mineral properties are actually explored, which is a good thing. There are two types of permit available at auction: A 5-year exploration license and a comprehensive 20-year mining license. Golden Reign had the former, which left it vulnerable because, when it came time to auction off the 20-year mining permit for the property, Golden Reign’s application to take part was rejected.

This time around, they have a solid high-level partner and a 20-year mining permit already in place.

I spoke with both CFO Kim Evans and Larry Myles, who runs the corporate communications department for Golden Reign. They were exuberant that the company’s slide down the TSX charts now poses a value opportunity for investors — I obviously agree.

“It’s entirely different this time,” Myles told me. “When we started in Russia, we were going from the ground up. In Russia, if you’re working with a bank or a governmental agency, you’re working from the roof down. You’re protected.”

Golden Reign’s partner, Status LLC, is the mining division of CentroCredit Joint Stock Commercial Bank, which is headquartered in Moscow, with another branch office in London. CentroCredit is a member of the Association of Russian Banks, the Moscow Banking Union and National Stock Association participating in the Russian Trading System (RTS), the Moscow Stock Exchange (MSE) and the Saint-Petersburg Stock Exchange. As of January, 2006, it was ranked the 38th largest in equity capital amongst the top Russian banks. In other words, it is the real deal.

To earn its 50% of the new company, simply called Gold Mining Company LLC (GMC), Golden Reign must pay $6 million in expenditures over the next three years — the company raised $4 million last year in its IPO, so another small private placement (PP) or debt financing is in the offing.

Both of the two properties Gold Mining Company has in its portfolio have favourable NI43-101 reports; and both are posted on Golden Reign’s website: Goldenreignresources.com.

The Dorozhni property covers 8.8 square kilometers in the centre of Magadan Province. The property lies along an all-weather road approximately 17 kilometres west of the community of Susuman — the nearest service centre.

According to the 43-101 technical report, previous exploration work and mining of the Dorozhni gold deposit was focused on shallow dipping sub parallel gold-bearing quartz veins. The veins have been traced for lengths of 450 metres along strike and 380 metres down dip with veins ranging from 0.4 metres to 2.4 metres in width, occasionally expanding up to 17 metres (such as the Burovoya vein).

To date, gold mineralization has been reported in five separate quartz veins. Historical reports state that placer mines from Dorozhni Creek produced approximately 95,000 oz of gold.

In spite of the placer mining and high-grade vein hunting in the area, the qualified person and author of the technical report believes that the Dorozhni property contains features suggesting the potential for large tonnage gold deposit. “The high gold numbers in the quartz veins suggests that average grade for this mineralization could be much higher than the norm for other large tonnage, low-grade deposits, developed in remote northern regions, such as Alaska,” he wrote.

“The deposit type envisioned for this project is intrusive hosted gold mineralization similar to many intrusive hosted deposits located in North America, particularly the Fort Knox deposit in Alaska. A series of sub parallel veins and veinlets carry high grade gold mineralization.”

Since much of the gold found at Dorozhni is alluvial in nature, grains are often easily found on the property’s streams and riverbeds. “Grains range in size from 0.5-3 mm although, along vein selvages, gold grains occasionally grow up to few centimeters in size. One such grain weighed 800 grams,” the report states. “The distribution of gold mineralization is extremely irregular, with a highest reported grade of 6,322.2 g/t gold.”

The situation is similar at the Butarni Licence, which covers 9.3 square kilometres, approximately 310 kilometres north of Magadan (the capital). While major veins are between 0.1 and 1.5 metres in width, the author of the Butarni technical report believes that “the broad extent of the mineralized zones and the proximity to surface provides the opportunity for the development of a large tonnage, open pittable deposit. This style of mineralization, consisting of sheeted quartz veins and veinlets, and minor wall rock alteration in a granite host rock, is similar to known intrusive hosted gold mineralization in North America, particularly the Fort Knox gold deposit in Alaska.”

Historical grab and channel sampling returned values from 1 g/t to 334.4 g/t, with an average grade of 21.3 g/t gold from 45 samples and 29.6 g/t gold from 22 channel samples. As well, there are number of placer gold operations within 20 kilometres of Butarni, including placer tailings within four kilometres of the project site.

Magadan Region is known as Russia’s most important gold mining territory. The region boasts some of the largest gold and silver reserves in Russia. Also, there are nearly 2000 placer gold deposits, 100 gold ore deposits, and 48 silver ore deposits in the territory. Total probable gold reserves in Magadan Region are estimated at 128 million ounces.

So, in Golden Reign, we’ve got a rosy picture for a junior trading at $0.15 with only 26 million shares on the market:

• two properties with extensive trenching and drilling carried out
• located in Russia’s most prolific gold mining region
• the potential for large tonnage, open pit gold mines
• a well-funded, respected JV partner
• a 20-year mining license

And did I mention she was trading at $0.15?

This article is intended for information purposes only, and is not a recommendation to buy or sell the equities of any company mentioned herein. It is based on sources believed to be reliable, but no warranty as to accuracy is expressed or implied. The opinions expressed in the article are those of the author except where statements are attributed to individuals other than the author, in which case the opinions are those of the individual to whom they are attributed.

The author and ResourcexInvestor.com are not shareholders in the companies herein mentioned, and the author, as an employee of Resourcex Publishing Corp is expressly prohibited for owning any securities about which they may write for a period of 30 days prior to and 30 days after initial publication of the article in which the securities of any company are mentioned.

Resourcex Investor is an internationally distributed newsletter about emerging junior resource companies. Sign up for a free 1-month trial to our newsletter and get instant access to news and investing tips that have helped many of our readers make more money. http://www.resourcex.com

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by Armand Glans
Fed and Ben Bernanke did cut interest with 50 points which helping the US economy to stay out of a recession. Though critics is not impressed by the FED:s decision to move interest as much as 50 points. The slowdown of the US economy is according to critics not as steep that an interest cut is necessary, but Fed seems to be terrified that the US consumer should stop spending money cause the problems in the housing sector.

What is worth to comment is the fact that the situation in the US caused by the subprime mortgage is that the US stockmarket and the emerging markets not been taking off guard. The broad European markets on the other hand have really coming off and not been finding it way back the last couple of months as the US and emerging markets.

As an example the broad European markets is down around 10 % the last three month when the broad Asian markets is up approximate 30%. This is something that historical speaking is very rare and an indication that emerging markets more and more driving the growth independent of the US consumers. Instead the growth comes from consumers within the domestic market of emerging regions worldwide.

In the end of the twenty century the driving force of the bull market was that a specific sector should change the future of global growth world wide. At this stage we see regions that never had any domestic growth from consumers. For the first time domestic consumers within these countries coming up to a level where the consumers themselves can spend money on more than just food on a daily basis, and reach a level where people are able to lend money, buy there own homes and build future wealth.

Today around 80% of the world’s population lives in emerging markets. As stated before this is for the first time in the history of mankind that the impact of the global economic growth have had a direct impact of the daily life of the population in the emerging markets. What exactly that will lead to is hard to know but what we see in China today is something that will follow in country by country world wide. China is first out of the big emerging markets moving in to the world of an open market where supply and demand rules and dictate the trading on a daily basis. Russia is close to get there and India will follow as soon as India infrastructure is improving.

The tremendous move we see in China today is probably the beginning of a bubble and the consequences when that bubble burst will have a great negative impact of the world economy. When this bubble is getting out of hand is as always hard to predict but an prediction is that a significant move in India will follow and move the emerging markets before it in the end getting out of hand.

Until then is an alternative going long emerging markets and holding back on some of the investments in developed countries and regions.

Armand is writing about the stockmarket, trading and investing - using finance and mortgage affiliate program on his blog.

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by Doug Hadfield
As I’ve noted for some time, you can tell a lot about Bayfield Ventures (TSXV: BYV) by having a look at Rainy River Resources’ work next door. Bayfield owns some important concessions, including Blocks A, B and C, in and around Rainy River’s major gold discovery zone. That discovery zone brought Rainy River to the forefront of the junior exploration scene last January, when step-out drilling from an area with no previous drilling assayed 5.42 grams per tonne gold over 43 metres with a core interval of 17.67 g/t Au over 9.5 metres. When Rainy River announced the results in November last year, the company’s stock rocked from $2.87 to $4.85 in less than a week.

Now Bayfield is hoping that its own drill results, which are expected sometime before December this year, will tap into some of the same mineralized trend.

Don Myers, who is a director at Bayfield with 20-years experience in pubco management and corporate communications, says both Bayfield and its investors are pleased with progress on the ground at Rainy River.

“We’re constantly sending off assays to the labs, but because we make it our policy to release all our results together we haven’t been able to release any yet. It’s obvious we’re more than satisfied — we’re still aggressively seeking land in the area, we’re planning more drill holes.”

If and when Bayfield does pick up new land in the area, they won’t be the only ones doing so. In August, Rainy River reported an option agreement for a 100% interest in an additional 1,570 acres of farmland in the Sifton, Richardson and Tait townships in the Rainy River district in Northwestern Ontario.

Myers told me, “Rainy River Resources is on a major land acquisition — their last six or so news releases show that they’re acquiring more land, they’re surrounding more of our properties than just the B Block — after their Canaccord Capital financing they’ve been acquiring much more land in the area. This means they’ve got lots of money to continue drilling and purchasing.”

I have a feeling Bayfield has something similar coming up in the near future: With all the drilling activity going on, the incredible results coming out of RR.V, land purchasing, this Rainy River area is really on fire. As well, Bayfield has been drilling all summer and has finished ten drill holes of the present drill program.

“Now’s a great time for us,” Myers says. “We’re still awaiting assay results, but we’ve got three blocks of land to drill. On the B Block we’ve drilled five holes. We’ve drilled five holes on the A Block. Now we’re going back to the B Block and do two more holes there, then the C Block for two or three more. That’ll wrap up the drill program, and then you’re looking at typically four to six weeks for results.”

Myers says that Bayfield has a policy of announcing results of drill programs en masse, rather than in spurts, which tend to give investors a skewed idea of progress.

“Our policy has always been to announce all the results together, not partial results. So you’re looking at another two months for results.”

Bayfield’s proximity to Rainy River is most significant. Bayfield’s properties are like numerous puzzle pieces in a newly discovered high-grade gold puzzle. RR’s new high-grade gold zones are called the 433 zone, the 17 zone and the ODM zone. Bayfield’s Block B, which is 100% owned, adjoins Rainy River’s property to the east. Blocks A, which is 50% owned and C, which is 100% owned, adjoin the RR properties to the west and also along perceived strike.

Both companies’ properties are just north of the Canada-US border and 80 km south of Kenora, Ontario, within the Rainy River Greenstone Belt. In a previous interview with ResourcexInvestor.com, Bayfield’s President Don Huston described the favorable proximity to RR properties’ geology, “We’re in the same major volcanics, greenstone belt. We are following up on what we think are very similar geological and geophysical structures that Rainy River Resources and their precursor, Nuinsco has seen. We think that we have as much opportunity as they do.”

I spoke with Huston again this week and he was unequivocally upbeat about Bayfield’s progress on the Rainy River project.

“We’ve got ten holes drilled, ten more to go. We’re anticipating having twenty drilled before the fall season ends. We continue to be aggressive on acquisitions of new properties in the immediate area. We’ve got assays in, and we’re waiting for more results to give us a crystal clear picture of where to drill next. You know, we’re just pleased with the whole Rainy River project at this time.”

Bayfield’s nuts and bolts due diligence:
Shares out: +/- 19,000,000
12 month high-low: $0.80 - $0.35
Cash on hand: $250,000
No debt

This article is intended for information purposes only, and is not a recommendation to buy or sell the equities of any company mentioned herein. It is based on sources believed to be reliable, but no warranty as to accuracy is expressed or implied. The opinions expressed in the article are those of the author except where statements are attributed to individuals other than the author, in which case the opinions are those of the individual to whom they are attributed.

The author and ResourcexInvestor.com are not shareholders in the companies herein mentioned, and the author, as an employee of Resourcex Publishing Corp is expressly prohibited for owning any securities about which they may write for a period of 30 days prior to and 30 days after initial publication of the article in which the securities of any company are mentioned.

Resourcex Investor is an internationally distributed newsletter about emerging junior resource companies. Sign up for a free 1-month trial to our newsletter and get instant access to news and investing tips that have helped many of our readers make more money. http://www.resourcex.com

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by Sam Vaknin
Conducted: September 2007

Until recently and for four years, Aleksandar Dimishkovski worked as a business and finance correspondent in Macedonia’s best-selling daily newspaper, “Dnevnik”. In the past year, he also served as a personal advisor to the general manager of a foreign-owned company that has established its network in Macedonia. He is known as a market analyst and a business consultant and has recently founded “BID Consulting”.

Q: Has the electricity grid throughout the Balkans and in Macedonia in particular improved or deteriorated in the last ten years? How did privatization and restructuring influence each of the components in the chain from electricity generation to the end consumer?

AD: The electricity grid throughout the Balkans at this point doesn’t differ a lot from the time when socialistic regimes ruled this part of the world. Considering the time frame, surely it is not correct to say that the investments done to increase the quality of the electricity grids and especially in the cross-country transmission grids were satisfactory. There was some increase of inter-transmission capacity, but not enough to ensure the transmission of the demanded quantities of electricity. The quality of the national electric grids varies from country to country but is commonly low. Macedonia for instance, has network losses of more than 30 percent annually, which is around five times the average in the European Union (EU) countries.

On the other hand, the investments in electricity generation pretty much changed the picture in the Balkans regarding which country now has enough quantities of electricity from domestic production, which country is able to export and which country is an electricity importer.

What is common to the majority of the countries in the Balkans now is the fact that they all are importers of electricity, with the exceptions of Romania and Bulgaria. These two countries have done a lot to ensure their position in the Balkans energy market, even through a privatization process, although at this point it may not seem so evident, especially in the case of Bulgaria, because of the shut down of two reactors in the nuclear power plant Kozloduy. Nevertheless, both countries - now EU members - are still investing billions in new electricity generation facilities and they will likely secure the lead on the electricity export side.

However, this is not the case with the countries of the former Yugoslavia. Most of them managed to finish the necessary privatization and reforms, but they all seem to have forgotten about the importance of investments in production. That contributed to the current state of things where the majority of the countries in the Balkans are importers.

Albania and Greece followed the same tendency not to invest, and after 15 years they are still lacking investments in electricity generation, which is demonstrated by the increase in the imported quantities of electricity.

The biggest paradox is that in most countries there are still incredibly low prices of electricity, which are a by-product of omnipresent subsidies. These prices can’t be supported by any economic or commercial reason, the social aspect notwithstanding.

3. You are predicting a crisis in electricity generation and provision in Macedonia this coming winter 2007. Can you explain what is this gloomy scenario based on?

AD: It is based mainly on the dearth of electricity in the whole region. At this point, Macedonia imports around 30 percent of the quantities needed to satisfy consumption. And with the present level of expected domestic production, there surely will be a gap between demand and supply. This is especially so because of the fact that in Macedonia, during the winter months, the level of consumption is almost twice as big as in the summer months.

In fact, because of draught and other summer-related problems, the water potential for generation of electricity via hydro power plants at the moment is at very low level, lower than 20 percent.

Another problem is the steady growth in consumption. Macedonia has one of the highest rates of growth of electricity consumption in the whole region. And the predictions are that in the medium term, growth will constantly and drastically accelerate.

What adds fuel to the fire is the present situation in the entire region. Albania faced and faces a major energy crisis. Greece is constantly increasing the its imported quantities of electricity. In the wake of the closure of two reactors Kozloduy in January 2006, there simply isn’t enough electricity to go round. The whole region is facing an energy crisis. Bulgaria, which was one of the biggest exporters of electricity in Europe, has recently started to import it!

The Balkans lacks electricity generation facilities. In such a constellation it is normal for electricity prices to increase. Bearing in mind the fact that in many countries electricity prices are still heavily subsidized, it is normal to expect problems, even from the macroeconomic point of view.

Macedonia is maybe in the worst position at the moment. Its market is too small to be interesting for the big European energy “players” and it is not financially powerful, compared to the other countries in the region. So, Macedonia is unable either to invest in the expansion of its electricity generation or to buy and import electricity.

4. Is hydroelectric power the solution? What about alternative sources (wind, solar, nuclear)? Will the construction of additional plants solve the problem in the short term? Is microgeneration a viable option?

AD: Hydroelectric power is a definite possibility but only in the long term. It takes a while for a hydro power plant to be built and become operational, at least three to five years, depending on its size. In fact it may be the best solution, because Macedonia now uses around 30 percent of its hydro potential for electricity generation.

Unfortunately, it can’t be used as core energy. It is too dependant on external influences and factors, such as the weather. If a dry season occurs, than the whole system is at risk. But it can and it must be used more than the present level of usage. Wind and the solar energy are good options as well. Nevertheless, they are also merely supplements to the basic energy market.

Nuclear energy on the other hand, is out of the question for many reasons, even from a legal point of view. The Macedonian parliament has passed a declaration that forbids the use of a nuclear energy for electricity generation on Macedonian territory. Besides that, the geographic conditions are very inappropriate for building a nuclear power plant. Even the cooling of a nuclear reactor could be a problem, because it requires a lot of water.

The best solution is to have combined production. As a base or core energy, we could use thermal power plants as the situation is now. They run on coal extracted from Macedonian territory. This, in conjunction with the use of natural gas for electricity production could secure Macedonia’s energy needs in the next 50 years. Understandably, this has to be combined with the deployment of renewable sources of energy on both the micro and on macro level.

In any case, the construction of additional plants can’t be a short term solution, because it takes time for a power plant to be built. For instance: LNG (natural gas) power plants require the shortest construction time, yet even this process usually takes at least two years.

5. Electricity in Macedonia and throughout the region is heavily subsidized. Do you foresee a reduction in this state support?

AD: Unfortunately, subsidies are one of the biggest reasons for the upcoming energy crisis. Because of the low price, there simply wasn’t any money for investments in electricity generation, although in the price structure there is a part that supposedly should be spent on investments. Even now, the price that households pay for electricity and even the price for industry are lower than they should be.

Nevertheless, with the signing of the Athens Memorandum, and the creation of the Energy Community, Macedonia is obliged to liberalize the energy market, with a view towards achieving the market conditions present in the EU zone. So, subsidies will very soon be out. The qualified consumers - industrial facilities - will be forced to secure their own deals for electricity supply in the open market, starting from January 2008.

It is predicted that the total liberalization of the electricity market will be in place at the beginning of 2015, at which time even households will choose from whom to buy their electricity.

At this point, the organizational structure of the electricity market in the country is not well prepared for these processes, and this could contribute towards some delay in the liberalization process. But it is inescapable and with the aspirations of Macedonia to become a member of the EU, the sooner they are implemented, the better it is for the integration process as well.

6. Can you describe the structure of the electricity export market in the region? Who is exporting, who is importing, and who are likely to become net exporters and net importers in the foreseeable future?

AD: That’s an easy one. Almost all the countries of the Balkans are net importers, except Romania and Bulgaria. Recently, even Bulgaria started to import small quantities. But, these two countries had invested enough to secure their future as exporters of electricity. For instance, Bulgaria is rushing to build a second nuclear power plant in Belene, near the border with Romania, which should be finished in around five years. Romania too, started the construction of another nuclear power plant.

As to the rest of the Balkan countries, there are some signs of positive change, but it is still unclear, who, when and if some of the countries would be able to become net exporters of electricity. If we exclude Albania whose system is pretty much based on hydroelectric power, the other countries are quite similar. The majority have coal-fuelled electricity production as core energy. This is made possible by their sizes- most of these countries have small territories - and by the unused potential in many of them.

Still, at this point, it seems like in the near future, we shouldn’t expect any drastic changes in the electricity production field in the Balkans. And even if something does change, it is likely to be negligible, both from the energetic point of view, as well as the financial one.

Sam Vaknin ( http://samvak.tripod.com ) is the author of Malignant Self Love - Narcissism Revisited and After the Rain - How the West Lost the East.He served as a columnist for Central Europe Review, Global Politician, PopMatters, eBookWeb , and Bellaonline, and as a United Press International (UPI) Senior Business Correspondent. He was the editor of mental health and Central East Europe categories in The Open Directory and Suite101.Visit Sam’s Web site at http://samvak.tripod.com

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by Andrew Chan
Pre-retirement and financial planning are two things that go hand in hand. In order to have a comfortable retirement, it is crucial to have good financial planning before your retirement period rolls around. If you neglect to save properly for your retirement years, you will find that you will not be able to have the standard of living that you would like to enjoy. Here are some things to keep in mind in regards to pre-retirement and financial planning.

It is wise to think about pre-retirement and financial planning well before you plan to actually retire. Meet with a financial planner at your financial institution to help you identify your goals. They can help you set up a plan to reach those goals as quickly as possible. Remember, it is never too late or too early to develop a retirement plan.

One of the first things you should do for your preretirement and financial planning is to begin to contribute to your employer’s 401(k) program as soon as you get your first job with this available. Most employers offer this and it is truly a nearly painless way to invest your money, since employers match your contributions to a certain percentage or dollar amount. This means that for every dollar you contribute up to a certain amount, your employer contribute the dollar. You effectively double your savings versus any savings you could do on your own. This is in addition to any interest or dividends your account accrues while you have it.

Another thing you should consider for preretirement and financial planning is an IRA. The maximum amount one person can contribute is $4000 a year, plus an equal amount for a spouse as applicable. If you’re over 50, you can contribute $5,000 a year each for you and your and an over-50 spouse. When you contribute to an IRA, that money is not taxed until you begin to withdraw it. However, you are penalized if you withdraw from discount before the age of 55 1/2.

Another necessary element to saving for retirement is to have a realistic budget and to make sure you stick to it. Of course, you don’t want to go without, but especially if your salary is adequate, you can easily save between 10 and 15% of your income for retirement and still have enough left over to live on very comfortably. This is a relatively small percentage of your income to save; make sure as well that you live within your means, as this is equally important.

Next, get rid of any debt other than your mortgage or a student loan. Carrying balances on credit cards is a sure way to negate any savings or retirement goals you have. Set up a plan to pay them off as quickly as possible. Don’t carry balances month-to-month. Instead, pay your credit cards off every month and treat your credit card just as you would your checking account. In other words, whenever you make a purchase with your credit card, enter that exact amount into your checking account register with the designation “credit card purchase” or something similar, as though you had spent cash on your purchase. Then when your credit card bill comes due, you should already have the money for the bill put aside under this designation in your checking account, so you simply have to pay the bill with that money.

Finally, check your insurance and make sure your plans don’t overlap. It’s a waste of money to have duplicate coverage. If you need help, talk to your insurance agent and/or financial planner and make sure that you only have the exact insurance policies you need, with no overlap and in the correct amounts.

When you are thinking about pre-retirement and financial planning, remember to begin your plan as soon as you can. Even if you are nearing retirement age, you should consider all of the options available to you to maximize your assets. Pre-retirement and financial planning can be a daunting subject, but if you tackle it head on you will be glad that you did.

Looking for good resources on preretirement financial planning? Hop over to our site on personal financial planning for tips and resources you need. Download the free gift while your are there!

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