Coffee, Carlsen-IPO, Rausis and Covid_19
October 12, 2020
How are you today? This Monday is not your usual run of the mill Monday! This week is CRITICAL! In a lot of different ways and aspects. Let’s get started…
More Lockdowns. Where is the Science?!
With all due respect to Mr. Chomsky, I think this time around it is different and most PEOPLE have smartened up.
They are beginning to suspect/realize that the government’s use of fear and scare tactics to force populations into military style lockdowns is not stopping the virus from spreading.
And if all of this pain, loss of employment, increased poverty and destruction of lives is obviously not working, then why does the government insist on implementing a failed policy?
Can there not be another agenda at work here? What if all of this is not really about the virus at all, but simply using the virus as a pretext, as an excuse for something?
Tens of thousands of doctors, nurses, lawyers, scientists and other medical specialists from all over the world are beginning to mobilize to stop the madness that has gripped the political class.
Take a look at this video below, sent to me by Sid Belzberg just a few days ago.
Magnus IPO : Dud or Genius Idea?
Anders Brandt, Chairman of Play Magnus Group (PMG), has always been one of Carlsen’s biggest supporters. Recently, Brandt decided to make the long anticipated move to go public with Play Magnus Group, listing it on the stockmarket.
This past Thursday, indeed, the company started trading. As with most IPOs, nothing really goes according to plan. Since the company started trading at 24.90 Nok, it has dropped approximately 1/3 of its value to 16.85 Nok today. (Note: 10 Nok is approximately 1 euro)
Trading started at 24.90 on Thursday , and as is usual, it dropped quickly (selling from insiders) before it hit 17. The day finished at about 18, but when trading started on Friday, within an hour it dipped below 17.
Then some intervention (buying) kicked into place to stabilize the price to 18, where it finished the day. Monday morning things quickly went south again.
What can one say? It is kind of normal for a small IPO. Usually it takes a couple of weeks before things stablize at a price that is comfortable both for the investors and the company. Sometimes an IPO just has bad timing.
I suspect that the value of the share will stabilize at about 12 Nok. Everything will depend on what the company thinks is a reasonable value. If it thinks that 12 Nok is too low, then likely some sort of a buy-back will take place, and a FPO (follow up public offering) will take place when market conditions are more favourable.
The Reader must remember that while a ‘chess’ stock is something of a novelty and may attract initial interest, in the end it is fundamentals that will decide on what the stock is worth.
The Play Magnus Group has been playing its cards close to its chest, and real financial numbers have not been made public. It is stated in a few places that the company does approximately 7 million dollars a year in business, but what if it costs more than that to operate?
Igor Rausis is REBORN?!
Despite having won the Latvian Championship at least one time and having played on the Latvian National Team 3 times, no one suspected anything when the little known Isa Kassimi walked in and sat down to play in a tournament this past weekend in Valka, Latvia.
Only during the 3rd round did suspicions arise. When confronted by Arturs Neiksans (Latvian GM and 4-time champion of Latvia), Isa showed his ID, and everything seemed in order. Igor Rausis had recently legally changed his name to Isa Kassimi. He did not deny this fact. LINK
To make a long story short, Igor (or should I now say Isa?) decided to avoid further embarrassment and scandal and left the tournament voluntarily.
As Alexi Shirov correctly argued, Isa Kassimi (Igor Rausis) — despite having been suspended by FIDE for 6 years and not having the right to participate in FIDE rated tournaments — was fully within his rights to play in the Valka tournament (which was not rated).
I do not want to get involved in the acrimony that followed (this is for Latvian people!) but I fully support Shirov’s sense of outrage at the hypocrisy of many involved (including FIDE) for singling out Rausis for cheating when infact hundreds of players have been caught cheating in recent times and their names are quickly forgotten (or forgiven!). BUT, more on this in another blog article that I am working on…