Company comment

06/09/2012 19:06

The Motley Fool UK Discussion Boards

Previous Page

Shares A / Aminex plc URL: http://boards.fool.co.uk/egm-11624240.aspx Subject: EGM Author: HaiderAli

Date: 23/07/2009 14:20 Number: 5689 of 7783

I've just got back. The hotel was quite small, but just the right size for the attendees, about 15. I didn't see any Fools, so I'll offer up a 'back of the class' view on things.

I thought a reasonable place to start before the meeting itself, when BH seemed to be free, was to ask the 'questions' that H flagged in his Mello report. So as regards the Kiliwani north seismic analysis, H wondered whether it would be 6-9 months. BH said that it would be a matter of weeks from now. In terms of the time running out on the Nyuni licence he said that they would need to be quick. He said that he could come back to this after the formal presentation, but there wasn't time in the Q&A. We had the formal bit of the agenda first. The resolution was carried with millions for and 21,000 against (Isaac?).

And then BH asked if there were any questions relating to the placing. I asked about this statement on the placing doc (p.5), The timing of a second well, which does not form part of the Company's immediate exploration and development programme, will depend on the results of Mikidani-1. I have emphasised what drew my eye, because it suggested that the current placing will not generate the funds needed to drill the second well, if that becomes necessary. BH agreed that this was the case. He said that if the first well is successful they will have farmed out, but they do not have enough to pay for 50% of both wells.

We then had the presentation itself.

At one point in the presentation BH or MR mentioned that TLW thought that Ruvuma was similar to Uganda. I asked later if they could elaborate. Apparently TLW's Energy Africa team is based in Cape Town and it deals with TLW's East African interests including Uganda and Tanz. The Ruvuma data has been processed by their team in Dublin and they have found it to be 'interesting'. TLW (seismic interpretation team) think that it is beginning to look like Uganda, but not in terms of size. BH mentioned that TLW's business presentations don't mention Ruvuma, it is their interpretation team who are excited at this stage.

Looking at page 5 of the presentation, MR fairly raced through this. I think he was pointing at the dotted line that runs from top to bottom when he said that there is a strong fault. He also said that it was good to be on the crest of a trap, there is a good reservoir and stacked pay. It is the same geological (?) story as Madagascar. Geologically and geophysically it is a plausible story. Also mentioned that the geology is complex. He would not say whereabouts in the licence the reprocessed seismic line is from.

Also as regards the provisional forward activity chart, BH mentioned that it was actually unlikely that they would drill 13 wells in the next couple of years, but they have the potential to do so.

http://boards.fool.co.uk/MessagePrint.aspx?mid=11624240

Page 1 of 2

06/09/2012 19:06

There was a question about the political climate in Kenya and Madagascar. BH replied that they were out of Madagascar but volunteered that this was more by luck than design. Mike Rego also pointed out that one of the reasons why Tanz is better than some other African countries is that they have managed to deal with tribal issues and Tanz citizens regard themselves as belonging to the country first and then any tribe, the opposite is the case for most other countries.

Someone asked about NK and BH said that they had recently met the NK ambassador and there was still NK interest in AEX involvement there. I got the personal impression that the NKs would not mind at all if AEX were to keep spending more money there, but AEX realise that it could just soak money without anything to show for it. I asked about being able to get partners (I've long since given up on NK, but did remember seeing something about the company talking to the NKs about getting in partners). BH said that NK would not mind at all, would be very happy. So I assume that the lack of progress on this front is due to say the Chinese companies not being willing. Š Copyright 1998-2012

http://boards.fool.co.uk/MessagePrint.aspx?mid=11624240

Page 2 of 2

06/09/2012 19:13

The Motley Fool UK Discussion Boards

Previous Page

Sectors & General Shares / Oil & Gas - Companies URL: http://boards.fool.co.uk/oilbarrel-cux-9566780.aspx Subject: OilBarrel CUX Author: HaiderAli

Date: 28/09/2005 17:04 Number: 29218 of 81392

I'll leave it to better informed Fools to talk about the presentation and the rest of the conference.

This is the view from the circumscribed competence circle seats in the theatre. Happy to be corrected on any of what follows.

If anyone is desperate to know the guru view seemed to be that Cardinal were good (people phoning brokers after the presentation, if you see what I mean) and Caspian iffy.

I'll just mention the chat I had with Said Arrata over lunch. It was in a public forum, so I guess it's ok to be posted, but if anyone has a problem, 'problem post' this, I won't mind.

There was another Fool who asked important questions about infrastructure (given their extensive exploration plans), so I'll leave him to deal with that as well as inaccuracies in this post, I was not taking notes.

Apparently Libya is very competitive and there are lots of national/state oil companies willing to have a pop without much regard for economic factors. I got the impression that the next round will be as tough as the last one. The north is attracting more/better(?) bids than the south.

Firms' interest in Libya is more strategic than economic. SIA experts probably know much of this anyway.

I asked why he was interested and apparently it's for 'strategic' reasons and he wasn't willing to go into those for fear of compromising them. He said that the consortium that CUX is a part of is a strong one and his team have a good geological background in Libya (that's what I heard).

I asked whether CUX could be hit in the same way that BUR was in Congo and apparently CUX will have to be doing 100k bopd before the production sharing terms become more favourable to the Egyptians. His view seemed to be that if production reaches that level CUX will have done so well that the change of terms will not be a big deal.

I also asked about his exit strategy and he did not seem to be too interested into going into any detail. It seemed to be too early and though there were big gas firms in the region, as I heard it, a sale had not been discussed. FWIW the Cardinal chap had been explicit about his interest in a bought out exit.

He was adamant that CUX would not be looking to get more for its gas - the Egyptian govt already subsidises sales to consumers, so a price hike would not be good for the relationship, it would have to go through parliament etc.

International pricing/sales for the gas seems to be 2 years away. He felt that the higher prices for gas that some firms get in other countries are the exception rather than the rule. http://boards.fool.co.uk/MessagePrint.aspx?mid=9566780

Page 1 of 2

06/09/2012 19:13

In the Q&A I had asked how he reconciled his sale of shares acquired through options exercising with the bullish near/medium term outlook he was presenting. The answer was to do with having a family to support. I had hoped he might say that it was due to the limited windows of opportunity etc.

Nice to see so many different Fools. The apres conference chats were very illuminating.

Š Copyright 1998-2012

http://boards.fool.co.uk/MessagePrint.aspx?mid=9566780

Page 2 of 2

06/09/2012 19:11

The Motley Fool UK Discussion Boards

Previous Page

Sectors & General Shares / Oil & Gas - Companies URL: http://boards.fool.co.uk/hi-darron-from-the-back-of-the-class-literally-11327846.aspx Subject: Re: Encore AGM RNS Author: HaiderAli

Date: 21/11/2008 17:57 Number: 55181 of 81392

Hi Darron From the back of the class, literally, what I can report back (without having taken notes) is as follows.

They expect Star to have made a decision(?) about Esmond in 'a couple of months'.

AB was er 'disparaging' about Tristone's view that 2/3 of Esmond is accounted for the lower repressurised section.

They expect to monetise various assets (in the coming year). There was a slide highlighting which assets they expect to monetise and there did not appear to be any caveats (IIRC) in terms of wider market conditions. AB was emphatic that the company is gas focused and 'the UK needs gas to keep the lights on'. He used that phrase more than a couple of times.

They did not appear to be worried by wider market conditions in terms of their ability to monetise, but did seem to agree with a questioner that the availability of assets at distressed prices from other companies could be a 'dampener' on what could be achieved (hope I got that right). Similarly while they did not see a linear relationship between the prices that could be achieved for assets and the POO being a third of what it was, they did seem to agree that what could be achieved would be softer. They did seem to stress that there is a difference between what the trade will pay for assets and what the market will pay for shares (ee would probably have been happy to hear that).

There did seem to be some stress on their being able to return funds to shareholders (from monetising assets other than just GS) and AB made the point on a number of occasions that the management are large shareholders themselves, though it did seem as if there were assets going on the cheap they would consider acquiring those. IIRC AB did not rule out a merger with another company if there were mutual gains. But more widely in terms of the industry he did not see any advantages of small distressed co's getting together, since that would just be a larger version of the same problem.

As for cash AB was absolutely adamant that they have enough to fund their ongoing needs and in answer to a question about cashcalls AB said an emphatic NO. As a shareholder I can't really say we could have asked for more. Manzanilla, H, Was and Carmensfella asked a number of questions and will probably provide a lot more info in due course.

If this is all really off-beam I guess I shall hear from EO's solicitors ;) Š Copyright 1998-2012

http://boards.fool.co.uk/MessagePrint.aspx?mid=11327846

Page 1 of 1

06/09/2012 19:10

The Motley Fool UK Discussion Boards

Previous Page

Sectors & General Shares / Oil & Gas - Companies URL: http://boards.fool.co.uk/here-are-some-of-the-notes-that-i-took-at-the-agm-11680463.aspx Subject: Re: EO. AGM Author: HaiderAli

Date: 17/09/2009 16:47 Number: 61010 of 81391

Here are some of the notes that I took at the AGM. The slides (that should be on the website) have a fair amount of text and AB covered the same issues in his speech. People did try and get information out of him about possible values etc. but he said he was not going to talk up the share price.

1. They'll buy back shares when the share price is less than the amount of cash they have per share. The shares will be cancelled and not held in treasury.

2. They are looking around for opportunities. But they will not invest in companies that have good assets, but also a lot of debt. They want good assets and little/no debt, so that they can use the cash they have to develop resources. AB made the observation that sometimes distressed companies don't realise they are in that situation, unless it is too late.

3. They know of institutions who may want to sell, hence the buyback will help the latter and also smaller PIs who won't have the SP trashed. There is also one director (Finance) who wants to sell and take advantage of the support offered by the buyback.

4. Strategy has always been to move from exploration to appraisal and don’t want to be full cycle, also know the importance of cash. May or may not spend all that cash.

5. Part of mission statement is to distribute cash and all on table are committed to that. Not full cycle company. They explore and appraise and sell or trade. We won’t produce oil/gas and not about to change minds now. Want to return value to shareholders efficiently and the way at present is buyback and there are other methods, but does not plan to use those at the moment.

6. He then went through the different types of assets that they have. These are outlined in the slides and quite explanatory is one of the last ones which classifies the different assets in terms of riskiness and investment required etc.

7. In terms of gas storage, between the time Star gave up to the time they come to market it, they'll have spent £100k. They'll start marketing by early next year.

8. Getting in farminees at at right price is proving to be very difficult.

9. The cheap, quick wins will be known about by the middle of next year. GS, Cladhan and Catcher. © Copyright 1998-2012

http://boards.fool.co.uk/MessagePrint.aspx?mid=11680463

Page 1 of 1

06/09/2012 19:24

The Motley Fool UK Discussion Boards

Previous Page

Sectors & General Shares / Oil & Gas - Companies URL: http://boards.fool.co.uk/hi-shareshopper-missed-you-judging-by-the-10422848.aspx Subject: Re: Oilbarrel tomorrow Author: HaiderAli

Date: 22/02/2007 17:37 Number: 40824 of 81392

Hi shareshopper Missed you. Judging by the unclaimed name badges a few other people did not make it either.

H, TGG, JPGH, som100, and brusselslad were there.

The HOC presentation came across as follows: He emphasised the involvement of TISE as the 50/50 partner, to overcome any fears of HOC being stiffed. Also said that the size of HOC projects was small enough to be below the radar (at a political level).

Lots of emphasis on Kingfisher/Pelican (latter would be targetted over the next two years) and how two companies Tullow/Heritage have sewn it up. He was explicit about majors who want to replace reserves would find this attractive. Perhaps a signal that they'd be willing to sell out at an appropriate stage.

There was a little bit about Kurdistan and southern Iraq. Former seems to be further along the line than the latter and he also emphasised that the security situation in K was a lot better than in other parts of the country and that they have been able to do work on the ground. K is very prospective, but exploration is needed. Possible agreement between the K authorties and Baghdad.

I was a little unnerved with his bigging up of Uganda, it's size and potential impact on HOC, given what analysts have said could be the impact on TLW (a much larger co.). I did not expect him to emphasise the latter as forcefully as he did.

In answer to a question he mentioned a European listing and I later asked him about it.

Apparently it was more likely to be Oslo than London because the former was on the cards due to the K aspect of the business, but given the importance of Uganda (and TLW's presence in the London market) London could be more likely now.

Depending on the share price the company could also be looking to raise funds in London as well, and management may look to reduce their 55% stake - but still keep a significant share.

The motivation is also that the non NA interests of HOC may make it less well understood over there.

Some did not like his staccato style and I thought that he came across too hard as trying to ramp HOC. I hear that others also talked to him afterwards and maybe they can fill in the details. Š Copyright 1998-2012 http://boards.fool.co.uk/MessagePrint.aspx?mid=10422848

Page 1 of 2

06/09/2012 19:24

http://boards.fool.co.uk/MessagePrint.aspx?mid=10422848

Page 2 of 2

06/09/2012 19:18

The Motley Fool UK Discussion Boards

Previous Page

Shares M / Medisys plc URL: http://boards.fool.co.uk/getting-to-grips-with-hypoguard-6053877.aspx Subject: Getting to grips with Hypoguard Author: HaiderAli

Date: 10/07/2000 17:19 Number: 2782 of 10273

According to the interim report the reflectance technology used for the Supreme Strip is maturing. They anticipate future sales coming from biosensor based products, specifically DART is planned to be launched in early 2001. DART uses biosensor technology and this post is supposed to get to grips with what that technology is all about.

I collected this material because the syringe was easy to understand but I am not so sure about what DART and the Hypoguard business are about. Where I have taken material off web-sites I have given the relevant URL's.

I am not medically/technically qualified, so along the way I have some questions about this material.

The traditional way of measuring blood glucose (invasive methods-painful) A way of controlling diabetes is to regularly monitor your blood sugar levels. Research has shown that tightly controlling blood sugar can prevent or slow down the development of problems that can happen from diabetes.

Current methods of self-blood-glucose-monitoring require a blood sample. This can be painful and difficult for people with diabetes, who may need to take blood samples up to four times or more per day. Furthermore, the accuracy of some blood glucose analyzers is poor. Therefore, scientists have been trying to find new ways for people with diabetes to measure their blood sugar without needing a skin puncture to get a blood sample (noninvasive method).

Possible new non-invasive methods (not so painful).

Some of the noninvasive ways being studied to measure glucose levels include 1. Shining infrared light through a person's forearm or finger.

2. Drawing glucose from the blood up through the skin using a low-level electrical current.

3. Measuring glucose levels in saliva or tears.

DART uses a biosensor and here I look into what they are. However I am not sure whether they fall into the invasive or non-invasive category.

What is a biosensor? It is an analytical device that incorporates a biological material‌ (the definition rapidly becomes very technical so for more details go to http://www.gl.umbc.edu/~jshull1/ench772/intro) Another feature is that they combine the selectivity of biology with the processing power of modern microelectronics.

In blood glucose monitoring biosensors are electonically based and rely on enzymes that recognise and catalyse reactions of glucose with a generation of redox-active species that are detected electro-chemically.

(The last two paragraphs are taken from: http://www.cranfield.ac.uk/biotech/biosen_1.htm) http://boards.fool.co.uk/MessagePrint.aspx?mid=6053877

Page 1 of 4

06/09/2012 19:18

The reason why firms are moving towards the use of biosensors is because they have the following advantages over existing technology.

1. They can distinguish between the analyte of interest and similar substances and it is possible to measure specific analytes with greater accuracy than using other methods, such as immunoassays and enzyme assays.

2. Biosensors are also faster than other bioanalytical methods and they are also more simple.

So glucose in a blood sample can be measured directly by the biosensor. In the more traditional assay approach there would be a number of different steps and each would require a reagent to be used to treat the sample.

3. Biosensor can also regenerate and be reused, immunoassays can only be used once and then have to be discarded.

Market size More than 16 million people, approximately half undiagnosed, are estimated to suffer from diabetes in the US. Between 600,000 and 700,000 new cases are diagnosed each year. About 800,000 diabetics are insulin-dependent. Mortality from diabetes and its associated complications is high; it is the seventh leading cause of death in the US. Competitors I am on unsure ground here, whether or not these people really are competitors will depend on their performance characteristics/price levels and whether customers see them as alternatives to Hypoguard's offerings.

SYBD SYBD has developed an implantable glucose biosensor to monitor blood glucose without the need for finger sticks. Termed a biosensor because it utilizes an enzyme specific for glucose, it provides glucose measurement significantly more accurate than possible from current portable measuring devices. Once implanted in subcutaneous tissue during a simple outpatient procedure, the biosensor, which is about the size of a cardiac pacemaker, provides continuous, accurate monitoring of blood glucose which is displayed as a digital readout in a wearable beeper-sized device. Ultimately, the biosensor will be linked to an implanted insulin pump, creating a closed-loop mechanical pancreas. It is anticipated the implant life of the biosensor will exceed one year. http://www.sybd.com/GB.html Minimed (Note, I am not sure if these people are using biosensors or some other technology) Also note that there are some performance disadvantages with their product compared to the type of product that MDY will expect to sell.

[June, 1999] The government has approved MiniMed Inc.'s "continuous glucose monitoring system" for doctors to use occasionally to help adjust patients' treatment Ă? but the product will not replace finger prick blood tests that patients perform regularly to monitor their blood sugars.

Positive results for clinical trials studying another non-invasive product, the GlucoWatch, were reported this summer at the American Diabetes Association Scientific Sessions in San Diego.

The MiniMed product, available early in the year 2000, but only by prescription, uses a sensor implanted just under a diabetes patient's skin on the abdomen for up to three days. The sensor will record glucose levels every five minutes. A computer program then downloads the records to the doctor, so that the doctor can analyze the three days of daily blood sugar fluctuations and http://boards.fool.co.uk/MessagePrint.aspx?mid=6053877

Page 2 of 4

06/09/2012 19:18

make recommendations for improving the patients pattern of eating, medication administration and exercise to improve blood sugar control.

The product is an important first step toward the development of a continous glucose monitor that people with diabetes could wear and refer to whenever necessary to get an accurate reading of what their blood sugar is at any given minute. The MiniMed product, however, does not provide on-demand blood sugar level results, but instead provides the data to be downloaded into a computer in a doctor's office after several days.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA), in approving the MiniMed technology, notes that "continuous tissue glucose monitoring is a breakthrough technology that could revolutionize the care of diabetics. This new system is a first step in that direction."

Another device, still in clinical trials and not yet approved by the FDA, enables users to check their glucose levels at about 20-minute intervals throughout the day - without doing anything once they put it on and without feeling anything other than a tingling sensation, reported Satish K. Garg, MD, director of the adult diabetes program at the University of Colorado Health Science Center in Denver at this year's American Diabetes Association scientific meetings in June in San Diego.

This device, called a GlucoWatch速, uses a process that involves applying a small electric current to the skin - using a AAA battery - whenever glucose levels are to be measured.

The Colorado study of the GlucoWatch involved 39 individuals with diabetes (average age 31) who had had diabetes for an average of 18 years. All had extensive experience with selfmonitoring of blood glucose. Each wore two of the devices on their forearm. (They must be placed with the sensor on the middle of the inner arm, at least three inches away from the wrist or elbow joint, to avoid excess hair or movement). Participants compared results of the GlucoWatch with test results they got using conventional blood glucose monitoring equipment tests.

"This study confirmed the utility of the GlucoWatch," said Dr. Garg. "Results showed that it gave glucose values that were nearly identical to those obtained using the two blood glucose monitors."

The GlucoWatch product still must be approved by the Food and Drug Administration and is not likely to be commercially available for a year or more. http://www.joslin.harvard.edu/news/minimed.html TD Glucose Note that patent applications for this product were made in 1997, so MDY should be well aware of how their offering relates to this product.

The TD Glucose TM Monitoring System is completely non-invasive, non-toxic and safe. A small skin patch provides diabetics with a painless, bloodless, easy to use and rapid method to monitor their glucose levels.

After the patch has been placed on the forearm for about five minutes, a small electronic meter is held up to the patch and produces an instant glucose reading. The single-use patch is then removed and easily disposed of.

The TD Glucose Monitoring System combines proprietary and patent-pending transdermal technology with TCPI's patented membrane-based diagnostic technology. The alliance of these technologies permits dermal glucose to be drawn and transported into the patch where it causes an end-point chemical reaction and color change in the membrane. Special optics in an electronic meter detect the color change and provide a glucose reading.

The retail price of the TD Glucose Monitoring System is expected to be competitive with currently available finger-stick blood glucose monitoring systems. http://www.techchem.com/nonevasi.html

http://boards.fool.co.uk/MessagePrint.aspx?mid=6053877

Page 3 of 4

06/09/2012 19:18

Other sources of information The National Diabetes Information Clearinghouse collects resource information on diabetes for Combined Health Information Database (CHID). CHID is a database produced by healthrelated agencies of the Federal Government. This database provides titles, abstracts, and availability information for health information and health education resources.

Publications produced by the clearinghouse are reviewed carefully for scientific accuracy, content, and readability. This e-text is not copyrighted. The clearinghouse encourages users of this e-pub to duplicate and distribute as many copies as desired. http://chid.nih.gov/ Š Copyright 1998-2012

http://boards.fool.co.uk/MessagePrint.aspx?mid=6053877

Page 4 of 4

06/09/2012 19:10

The Motley Fool UK Discussion Boards

Previous Page

Shares M / Medisys plc URL: http://boards.fool.co.uk/conversation-with-michael-barry-6602303.aspx Subject: Conversation with Michael Barry Author: HaiderAli

Date: 01/06/2001 12:20 Number: 5316 of 10273

Firstly, this is my recollection, interpretation and understanding of points made by Michael Barry in a phone conversation that I have just had with him. Please regard what I am saying as being my personal (fallible) opinion and no more.

Secondly, what Michael Barry has told me is information that is either in the public domain or is information that the company would tell to anyone who would ask, none of it is privileged or inside information.

He also mentioned that people often ask the company questions, whose answers are already contained in announcements made by the company. I hope too many of my questions did not fall into this category.

When I asked if I could send further questions he did point out that the management can only devote a limited amount of time to answering shareholders' questions. I am pointing this out because if there is a delay in their responding to our queries then there is a good reason. Finally he also pointed out that people did not believe that management would phone callers back (as they had done in January) he did say that the management had in fact done this.

I think the message in this is that people should not call hoping to get inside information - they won't get it.

The conversation centred around issues raised by Hayocks1, although I did ask some additional questions.

Production targets The company expects to be producing 200-300 million syringes by the end of the year, in total.

This figure is based on the company having 2 production plants operating, which will make 100-150m syringes each by the end of the year when the company will have the high volume launch. He did point out that once a plant is making 100m-150m syringes per year it is possible to move to higher levels of production, using more cells (that each have a similar capacity i.e.

100-150m syringes). I regard that as being bullish i.e. adding more cells seems to be relatively straightforward.

I pointed out to him that Fututech seems to consider that it will start with production levels of 4 million syringes per month. This would mean that Medisys' estimates of production capacity are an underestimate. As regards production estimates by Fututech, MDY cannot comment on those since Fututech is an independent company.

In Hayocks1 post 5294 he asks about downtime. If the company believe that they can make 200-300 million syringes (per year) by the end of the year, that includes downtime.

Latex http://boards.fool.co.uk/MessagePrint.aspx?mid=6602303

Page 1 of 2

06/09/2012 19:10

Hayocks1 had made the point that the O ring could be made of latex and there have been health concerns raised with this material. I have previously said that it would be a bit daft to sort out one problem by creating another. I now under stand that Futura is totally latex free.

Barrel shape Initially the barrel had an ellipitical shape (this information is contained in the original patents for the Futura), this was to prevent it from rolling around. However it has been eliminated from the design specifications. So Hayocks1 charge does not hold.

Changes to the Futura Over the past one and a half years there have been continuous developments to the Futura.

However the only significant change has been the O ring and we have been made aware of that and the consequent delays. As I have said before all companies change and develop their products, the fact that they do this is not a cause for concern.

These were the concerns raised by Hayocks1 and I do not think that any of them have any merit. If that was the best he can come up with, then I feel more positive about the company.

OMI I also asked him about this company. See www.omiltd.com for more information about it. It is listed on the Australian Stock Exchange. They appear to have developed a low cost safety syringe that uses vacuum in order to retract the needle. The product is supposed to be lower cost than other automatic syringes. I understand that MDY are aware of this product and indeed this technology and do not consider it to be a threat to Futura. I understand that MDY had looked at vacuum technology a couple of years ago and discounted its potential.

WHO I asked whether the company had applied for 'validation' with WHO. I had read somewhere that WHO has a seperate validation procedure for equipment that it uses (I may be wrong here). Michael Barry was not aware of the WHO angle, and said that MDY will initially focus on the U.S. market and will apply for WHO if and when it considers that to be an appropriate market.

Delay in DART FDA filing I raised my concern that there seemed to be an on-going delay with this. I understand that the delay has been caused by MDY working with a large partner and it is the development of a product that is suited to the partner's needs that is causing the delay – rather than any technical problems. I have a positive interpretation of this.

Finally I'd like to thank Michael Barry for taking the time to answer my questions. The company do read these boards! Š Copyright 1998-2012

http://boards.fool.co.uk/MessagePrint.aspx?mid=6602303

Page 2 of 2

06/09/2012 19:22

The Motley Fool UK Discussion Boards

Previous Page

Shares M / Medisys plc URL: http://boards.fool.co.uk/welcome-to-new-visitors-6615242.aspx Subject: Welcome to new visitors Author: HaiderAli

Date: 09/06/2001 20:59 Number: 5388 of 10273

I notice that my responses to Hayocks1's posts have hit the 'best of' TMF board (well it has been a quiet day generally).

As a result if people wander over here wondering what MDY is about, here's a very brief intro.

MDY have developed a passive safety syringe that should eliminate needlestick injuries. The launch of the syringe (sending out samples)will take place in the U.S. at the end of this month.

Syringes are not sexy and in MDY's case they are decidedly not high tech either - but they sell by the billions and new US law requires the health sector to use safer syringes, such as MDY's.

Also if there is a downturn in the world economy people will still have to consume syringes.

Notwithstanding that MDY's share price is not immune to gyrations on the NASDAQ. MDY's unique selling point is its low cost. Probably the lowest in the market - and since every healthcare system in the world is short of money - that seems like quite an important point (pun realised as I was previewing this message and I thought I would draw your attention to it).

Bulls are also heartened by an experienced management that seems to have kept the ship on course so far and also by the company having experienced firms undertake the manufacture and distribution of the product.

Over the next few months we should get to hear as to whether the market likes the product. By the end of December the company will actually be in large scale production and will start selling the product.

For more info read the FAQ. Also hit the Recs button and you'll find the most highly recc'd posts useful.

There is more to MDY than syringes, there's a diagnostics business called Hypoguard as well.

Read post 2782 for more details of that.

These posts are relatively bullish, if you would like a more level headed assessment of the company read anything posted by Hallucigenia.

In fact if you want to read well informed posts, read anything posted by Hallucigenia anywhere on TMF. If you want some TA analysis on MDY see the posts by The Blind Squirrel on this board.

You should note that even the bulls here accept that this is a relatively risky play - the http://boards.fool.co.uk/MessagePrint.aspx?mid=6615242

Page 1 of 2

06/09/2012 19:22

company is entering a very competitive market and making hundreds of millions of syringes is not a trivial challenge. Last year the price went from about 80p to 160p, this year it went down to 60p and is now 100p.

If you would like a decidedly bearish stance on MDY please go to the NMT board, which is here: http://boards.fool.co.uk/Messages.asp?mid=6615195&bid=50614 NMT are a (sort of) competitor to MDY. Hayocks1 is an ardent supporter of theirs and since his posts helped me get my recs, I thought I should plug them too.

Finally the person who brought us to this promised land was Paulypilot and he has his own hostelry on TMF, to which we go for off topic discussions. http://boards.fool.co.uk/Messages.asp?mid=6615101&bid=51144 Š Copyright 1998-2012

http://boards.fool.co.uk/MessagePrint.aspx?mid=6615242

Page 2 of 2

06/09/2012 19:16

The Motley Fool UK Discussion Boards

Previous Page

Shares M / Medisys plc URL: http://boards.fool.co.uk/conversation-ii-with-michael-barry-6779223.aspx Subject: Conversation II with Michael Barry Author: HaiderAli

Date: 27/09/2001 13:30 Number: 5951 of 10273

I was quite concerned with NMT's announcements yesterday and called MDY today, (the first time I have done this since the last call I posted about).

Michael Barry kindly called back and here is what we talked about.

First of all, as before, he only told me what was in the public domain or available to any shareholders should they ask.

I pointed out that NMT have said that evaluation of their products has been hindered by their lack of a full product range and that they are not producing some products in commercial quantities. Also they complain that there has been slow adoption of legislation by hospitals.

They have also had problems in scaling up production.

Clearly these are problems that could affect MDY as well. So basically my question was whether MDY had also faced them. My understanding is that they have not. MDY appreciate the need to have a full product range, but they do not seem to have had problems in having hospitals evaluate the product.

MB did say that in the immediate future demand would not be a problem. As regards the slow adoption of legislation, he felt that perhaps this was an historical issue and again MDY do not appear to have been faced with this problem.

Moving onto production I asked whether the estimates he had given me last time still held and I believe that this is still the case. There are two important additional points here. The figure he gave me for production capacity at the end of December 2001 may rise over the course of subsequent months.

At this point I pointed out that it has been said (hayocks1) that ordering equipment, installing it etc can take up to a year. MB's response was that MDY do not have this constraint. As I understand it, Hayocks1 could have made this point based on NMT's approach to production.

MDY's is different and I believe that they can raise production more easily than NMT. I also asked him about some points that have recently been made on the iii board. An RTI shareholder has said that NMT's syringe cannot take oil based medication and if it does it has to be used in five minutes. I understand that Futura does not suffer from this problem. But MB did also say that he is not technically minded.

I also asked about the amount of pressure that the healthcare worker needs to put on the syringe to activate the safety mechanism. There have been concerns with other products as to how much or how little pressure needs to be applied. I understand that MDY are happy with the amount of pressure that needs to be applied.

http://boards.fool.co.uk/MessagePrint.aspx?mid=6779223

Page 1 of 2

06/09/2012 19:16

I also double-checked to ask if the recent fall in the share price was due to any company specific issue and he pointed out that it was not.

Finally I should point out that MB said that the company has a lot of respect for NMT, the product and its management. He does not want anything that he said to me to be construed as a criticism of NMT. Now based on what has happened with NMT, I would like to make the following very clear.

With the best of intentions some NMT shareholders even went to the extent of visiting the factory and then reported back what they had been told. This does not appear to have been borne out by recent news.

I have posted above what I understand from my phone conversation with MB. I trust what he has to say. However there may be nuances of meaning etc that I may not have picked up, I may have misheard etc. I try to keep such calls brief, clearly the management have better things to do, as a result I don't ask for clarification on every answer that I am given.

So please don't attach as much importance to this as you would to an RNS or formal announcement. If people have any concerns, they can approach the company.

Hope this helps. Š Copyright 1998-2012

http://boards.fool.co.uk/MessagePrint.aspx?mid=6779223

Page 2 of 2

06/09/2012 19:23

The Motley Fool UK Discussion Boards

Previous Page

Shares M / Medisys plc URL: http://boards.fool.co.uk/agm-7857941.aspx Subject: AGM Author: HaiderAli

Date: 23/04/2003 17:10 Number: 7920 of 10273

I had to go into another meeting after the AGM, hence the delay.

Overall it was quite upbeat (what else do we expect) and David Conn came across very well.

Products were also available to see and play with and Flight looks quite nifty. PaulKGBUK mentioned that the scalpel is quite useful to have around the office, so I made sure I took one of those.

I missed the very early bits of the meeting and arrived as David Conn was going through his slide presentation, I'd imagine that it'll be on the website and that was pretty much as expected.

Here's what I think should be news to people who know the basics.

Dart This was not actually launched to retail last year and has only been sold via GEMCO. Apparently the retail economics were not very good, pots of strips to meters ratios and for that reason they did not go down that route.

To be honest my estimation of the possible success of this was totally misplaced and that does lead me to be cautious about how well the management have read the retail market potential for the rest of their products.

The memory for this is being improved from 100 tests to 250.

Flight Looks, feels good. Apparently they gave models to pyad and emptyend for their handbag fight recently and the product stands up to daily use. Seriously, it has been put through its paces in home settings by employees. I had concerns about this because it is not a traditional meter, it has moving parts and strips that pop out and I was worried about how robust the product would be. I am sure (can't be more certain) that the Flight meters I saw today were bigger and looked more robust than the ones I had seen previously.

Apparently the retailer's staff will be trained up for this product and it will be in 10% of its stores and then will be nationally rolled out. It will be branded under the retailers own brand and as T22 has previously said, MDY will not be paying slotting fees.

I was not sure whether the infrequent testers who it is aimed at would find the automatic nature of the product a benefit, since I assumed they would not have dexterity problems, but I was told that they can. Having said that the screen is smaller than what I see around at the moment.

Futura syringe Apparently the tests that flagged up the problem related to the most recent delay was beyond http://boards.fool.co.uk/MessagePrint.aspx?mid=7857941

Page 1 of 2

06/09/2012 19:23

the scope of the testing protocols that Medisys and Smiths had previously agreed upon.

Anyway the change has also allowed the company to make another change that makes the product more attractive for customers. They would not elaborate but did say that the marketing literature would flag up the features, so we should know in due course. Also they said that the problem identified in the final tests last year actually applies to one of the safety syringes that is currently on the market, but they would not be drawn on the identity of the company.

They said that there will be one line that will be producing at 50m units annually to begin with and more capacity will be brought on-line depending on demand, they have 3 lines at the moment, but I do not think the last one has been commissioned. Also we should not assume that 50m capacity relates to what they will be selling initially. I did ask that on previous occasions the capacity per line had been touted at 100m and higher, apparently it can increase.

I am assuming that no sales of the syringe take place this financial year.

Also initial profit margins on the syringe will be 15-20% and once production scales up they should be around 30-40%.

Safety valve This hardly gets a mention these days. Apparently it was ready to market etc, but then the company felt that it was not strong enough commercially and as far as I can see it's going nowhere for the time being.

Overall it all seemed ok. But there are question marks everywhere, e.g. will Flight really take off? And how quickly will Futura penetrate the market?

I mentioned sometime back that I had bought more at around 7p, I've let half of those go today.

It was below my breakeven, so obviously I am hoping for the price to carry on rising.

I am sure we'll see progress, but it will take time, the markets are uncertain and I am not sure whether the people who are buying at 14p will make the quick buck that some of them will be expecting. Š Copyright 1998-2012

http://boards.fool.co.uk/MessagePrint.aspx?mid=7857941

Page 2 of 2

06/09/2012 19:26

The Motley Fool UK Discussion Boards

Previous Page

Shares M / Medisys plc URL: http://boards.fool.co.uk/update-8238410.aspx Subject: Update Author: HaiderAli

Date: 12/12/2003 12:36 Number: 8544 of 10273

Had a word with the co. and here are some of the clarifications that I was after.

QuickTek In the first three months of its launch (according to the 2002 AR) it had sales of £700k or £233 p/m. In Oct/Nov 2002 sales were £350k p/m. In the 2003 prelims the product had sales of £4m or £333k p/month. Seems to me that sales have plateaued. Speaking to the co. I understand that they are undertaking initiatives that will raise these sales.

Flight I mentioned in a previous post the problem I had with using it - apparently that's just me and the testing the co. has done has not found similar complaints. It will be rolled out regionally initially.

There is one other issue regarding the purchase cycle that I have previously mentioned. I understand that the units will be time constrained to 6 months, i.e. they won't last for ever - so sufferers will have to buy a minimum of 2 per year. That makes the proposition more attractive for MDY IMHO. Futura I had some concerns about this and asked for clarification. Firstly the company will be running one production line to meet initial sales. This will have capacity of 50-60m syringes annually (3 shifts a day).

However to meet initial sales it will only be running at one shift per day.

At that level of production, unit costs will obviously not be minimised, but MDY will be making a margin based on target sales price. So AFAIK MDY will be in a different position to NMT. They will not be running at a loss - with these initial sales.

So perhaps they won't be as time constrained as NMT were in terms of how quickly they have to get additional sales.

OTOH this whole process of using Hypoguard to generate initial sales has to be to do with validating the product in the market place. If deals are not forthcoming AIUI the plug could be pulled on Futura.

Other MDY do not hedge their fx position - so further declines in the dollar will have an impact on its financial position.

Am I tempted to get back in? Yes.

http://boards.fool.co.uk/MessagePrint.aspx?mid=8238410

Page 1 of 2

06/09/2012 19:26

But bearing in mind how close I came to disaster the last time I was in - I am cautious.

A combination of a weak market and problems with both products could mean the price falling substantially from current levels.

On the other hand if the syringe really is ok and it's just a matter of time, then there's a good upside.

It really is a tough call. Š Copyright 1998-2012

http://boards.fool.co.uk/MessagePrint.aspx?mid=8238410

Page 2 of 2

06/09/2012 19:21

The Motley Fool UK Discussion Boards

Previous Page

Shares M / Medisys plc URL: http://boards.fool.co.uk/chat-with-michael-barry-8837818.aspx Subject: Chat with Michael Barry Author: HaiderAli

Date: 08/10/2004 16:36 Number: 9134 of 10273

It'd been a long time and I was beginning to miss them, so I gave it a go.

Despite my being cautious towards MDY for a number of months now he took the call and helpfully answered my questions.

First off there has been speculation elsewhere about a 'trading statement'. From what I understand from the conversation the company issued an update on trading in the share offer prospectus and there has been no material change in trading since then. So AFAICT there is no need for a trading statement and none will be forthcoming. Unless there is a material change but as of the conversation a few minutes ago there has been none.

I asked specifically about different products. As regards Futura, production capacity at the moment is 2 lines capable of 50m syringes per year. There is a third line waiting to be commissioned, but there are no plans to do this as yet. Production, as I have previously mentioned is loss making and the company are willing to sustain this. However they are looking at a range of strategic options, ranging from something along the lines of a Smiths deal to a royalty based arrangement etc. I had felt that if he had said that, for example, the 3rd line would shortly be commissioned, or new lines were on order this would be a massive development - worthy of seriously considering topping up. But that does not seem to be the case.

As for the diabetes monitoring products NewTek has only been nationally launched for a few weeks and it is too early to say how well it has been doing. AFAIR instore promotion has only been done once the product was nationally launched. I've previously said what would be most interesting to know would be how frequently people come back to buy NewTek (the purchase cycle) but again it is too early to have any information about that.

They are working on a disposable version of Advance Microdraw and this should be out in the next 18 months and is NOT part of the Liberty deal ($38m over 3 years). They are also working on enhancements to existing products, but I did not get the impression that there were totally new products that they were working on.

Perhaps I did not get the answers that others have who are far more excited, because I did not ask the right questions. But personally I did not get the impression that there has been a recent step-change in the company's prospects.

I think DM previously pointed out that sub-10p it was undervalued and maybe it will get back to around that figure, but I think hopes of a few bagger from here before the prelims are premature.

It does seem that news could come out of the blue at some stage (e.g. Futura deal) but that would be what I think H referred to as a 'flip-flop' situation many months ago. http://boards.fool.co.uk/MessagePrint.aspx?mid=8837818

Page 1 of 2

06/09/2012 19:21

Given the current situation I have not and will not commit a meaningful amount of capital to MDY. Good luck to those who do.

DYOR etc Š Copyright 1998-2012

http://boards.fool.co.uk/MessagePrint.aspx?mid=8837818

Page 2 of 2

06/09/2012 19:19

The Motley Fool UK Discussion Boards

Previous Page

Shares M / Medisys plc URL: http://boards.fool.co.uk/my-take-on-the-agm-7047406.aspx Subject: My take on the AGM Author: HaiderAli

Date: 22/03/2002 17:22 Number: 6779 of 10273

My first ever Medisys AGM – glad I went.

I would recommend the experience to other shareholders and must say that there is a lot that that be read into smiles, other aspects of body language, silences etc that is valuable – but there is no way that I would go so far as to report those things here.

As ever the following comments are not necessarily what the company representatives said – but are what I claim to have heard. Apologies if I overlap with what has been said before – but if I were to check for overlap – this post would take longer than has already been the case.

HYPOGUARD They expect to have a summer 2002 launch for DART. MB demonstrated DART at the end of the meeting. I asked him, if I were a diabetic and I came to his pharmacy inside a large retailer and I were confronted by DART and testing devices made by better known companies, why would I go for DART? This was his response.

DART would be about 30% cheaper than existing products. It would also offer the retailer better margins than existing products. I later took this up with DW and asked him, that given these benefits to the customer and the intermediary – what were margins to Hypoguard like? I understand that DART will allow Hypoguard to keep its existing gross profit margins.

However, what also concerned me was the potential market that Hypoguard could reach via this channel. I understand that by going through the retailers that Medisys has in mind, they will be able to reach 35% of the total market.

Flight is on target for FDA filing in the summer. Based on feedback from focus groups, they like the convenience of the product, which has an advantage over strip and meter systems.

Clinicians and other medical professionals feel that Flight is a significant step forward. They identified a number of advantages that Flight has, for example, people lose strips, they drop them when trying to insert etc and Flight will overcome all these problems.

Apparently, at the moment 100 test strips cost about US$60 to US$80. Flight will cost about that much for the testing machine and the enclosed 100 strips.

Quicktek – this is aimed at the retail private label market, it is aimed at the value segment.

Marathon - This is anticipated to have a 2004 launch. I asked what the prospects for this could be, given the launch by Cygnus of the Glucowatch. According to DW, the Glucowatch is a first generation device. It will help sell to customers the idea of non-invasive monitoring. Marathon will be a second generation product which will offer substantial benefits over Glucowatch. http://boards.fool.co.uk/MessagePrint.aspx?mid=7047406

Page 1 of 3

06/09/2012 19:19

Therasense – I mentioned that I had felt that Medisys was undervalued given the market capitalisation vs. sales of Therasense. However when I had raised this issue on this board there had been a polite silence. I asked whether I was being totally stupid in drawing the analogy. I understand that Therasense does not have a substantial advantage over Hypoguard and in some respects (Flight) Hypoguard has an advantage.

FUTURAMEDICAL Marketing Partner Aspects of the co-branding deal have been covered by thetacman. Here's what I can add.

As I understand it, such a deal will mean that the packaging will say, for example, 'Big HealthCo's Futura safety syringe'. The syringes will be sold by this BigCo using contracts that they already have with hospitals for the supply of medical products. This in my opinion will help overcome some of the problems that other small companies have had, in that entering the market has been difficult because of the existing contracts that suppliers have.

Apparently the deal that Medisys are looking to conclude will mean that the margins that Medisys will make on the sale of syringes will be as good as if they were marketing the syringes themselves. This was quite an important issue for me and I am happy if the benefits of the marketing partner do not mean the loss of margin. The marketing partner will also carry the cost of marketing.

They would not elaborate on whether the contract would be for the US alone or worldwide.

Production and II generation Target production for the first line is 100m annual production by the middle of the year. The other lines are progressing as planned. I asked whether 100m was a theoretical maximum or whether production could be higher. I understand that this is about the maximum.

My concern was that the often quoted less than 10c figure for production could be compromised by this lower production figure. According to DW however production is optimised at 65m annual production. Also a higher annual rate could mean that the machines would have to be configured in such a way that they take a lot of space. In the current configuration he said that they could get two lines in the space of the room where the AGM was held. He also said that other companies production takes place in much larger premises.

The argument being that the Medisys operation is more cost efficient.

He praised the manufacturing companies efficiency and speed of response. I understand that the Nypro plant will come on stream as and when the company needs more capacity, but the cost efficiency of the Singapore plants means that they are running first. Also I asked whether there were any financial penalties the company had to pay Nypro for not making immediate use of their facilities and I understand that there are none.

The second generation is on track. I asked about the implications for production if machines had to be switched off for the transition from the first generation to the second. He said that they would sell the first and second syringes alongside each other i.e. that production of the first syringe would continue.

http://boards.fool.co.uk/MessagePrint.aspx?mid=7047406

Page 2 of 3

06/09/2012 19:19

I did not get an answer to this question, but I would not be surprised if more production lines had been ordered for production of the second generation. This would mean that by sometime next year the company in my opinion/guessing should have annual capacity of 500m or more syringes.

Existing production My understanding is this. At the moment the machines have a theoretical production capacity.

However the machines are NOT producing at these levels. This is because discussions with a marketing partner are at such an advanced stage that it makes no sense to build up sales/inventory of a Medisys brand of syringes when in fact, ultimately, another brand will be marketed. However they acknowledged the cost to the company in terms of lost production/sales and would assess how much longer they could continue to carry on discussions.

I understand that they had been talking to a number of different potential partners and that was the reason for the delay. When people asked why the firm had not released information about market interest in the syringe – the company response was (as I recollect) that the delay was due to the number of companies showing an interest in Futura.

Š Copyright 1998-2012

http://boards.fool.co.uk/MessagePrint.aspx?mid=7047406

Page 3 of 3

06/09/2012 19:15

The Motley Fool UK Discussion Boards

Previous Page

Shares E / Eidos plc URL: http://boards.fool.co.uk/egm-6801316.aspx Subject: EGM Author: HaiderAli

Date: 12/10/2001 12:04 Number: 2769 of 6422

This is based on the notes I made during the meeting. I am not an expert on the industry and may have misunderstood what was said etc, so take it all with a pinch of salt.

I also arrived just as the meeting was beginning, so I missed any initial comments. Also I should say how approachable I found the management.

I am sure that other shareholders who were there will be happy to correct any mistakes and I won't take offence if they do that.

GEM The vote for the deal was passed unanimously. I think they'd already had 98% agreement from proxies. Talking later JC mentioned that GEM had offered SCi far more than the ÂŁ5m and that the company had gone for the lower figure, because they did not need the large amounts that GEM were offering.

Also this was a facility that could be used, if necessary, but the company will try and limit the extent to which it is used.

Titus According to JC they are 'aggressively' chasing the company for the money. They are also earning interest on a daily basis. More to the point it seems that Titus do have the assets/resources to pay up. In fact Sci know that GEM offered Titus a financing deal, which has not been taken up.

Overall my assessment is that there is a better than 60% chance that Sci should get the money.

CDS BE's enthusiasm for this was palpable. I think the company has strong hopes for it and the following information encourages me as well. They pointed out that MS have product managers allocated to companies who are developing product for the Xbox and theirs has said that there will be no other game like this one at the time of launch (squad based action).

I asked that given the small installed base at time of launch whether Sci would have any compensating benefits for releasing the product. The answer was encouraging. As I understand it, MS will feature CDS in their promotion/publicity. What is more at about the same time Sci will launch CDS on other platforms – which DO have a bigger installed base than Xbox, so basically Sci's sales on all platforms should benefit from MS's promotion.

There seems to be a technical benefit as well and I hope I understood this correctly. Apparently the graphics card made by Nvidia (probably spelt it wrong) for Xbox makes development for the PC easier. Sci will not have to spend a substantial additional amount for the Xbox.

http://boards.fool.co.uk/MessagePrint.aspx?mid=6801316

Page 1 of 3

06/09/2012 19:15

They have also had focus groups with people from the US and they have liked what they have seen. BE did also mention that the company was making far more extensive use of focus groups than had hitherto been the case and this had helped the company to find problems that they had not been aware of and also to tweak games to make them more attractive to customers.

I also asked about CEF (Conflict: Enduring Freedom) and was told that the company has been asked about this by other people in the trade and they may develop CDS into a franchise.

In terms of the political angle, the company is not averse to some controversy.

TIJ I asked about the US launch, and whether the company would announce a distributor.

Previously when I did a P&L for Sci on this board, GF had flagged up that I had not taken into account US sales.

BE said the following. At the moment TIJ is retailing in the UK for ÂŁ29.99, however the price points in the US for PS1 are quite different and it would probably retail for $19,99 or $9.99 at budget prices. Now given the ease with which parallel imports could take place, the company were keen not to mess up the UK/European markets with a US launch.

I told BE about my disappointment with this later. He pointed out that it was well known in the trade. He did also point out the size of the US market as a counterbalance to the low margins.

BE was also happy with the press reception that TIJ has had in Germany and he said that they were a group of critics who can be hard to please. I recall him mentioning a score of 86% in some German magazine.

Titanium Angels Someone asked about the launch of this and I must say that I was disappointed with the answer. Bill Ennis seemed to say that the company regularly reviews its products and decides whether or not to carry on. TA is subject to the same process. So instead of saying 'yeah no problems' he says this, pretty negative in my view. Later when I spoke to BE personally he said that he admired Codemasters ruthlessness in getting rid of cack games. I think he is right, because as he also said, it costs as much to launch a bad game as a good one.

I also understand that the way that Sci now works with developers makes it less likely that products are developed for a long time before the company decides to can them.

I will not be surprised if TA is ultimately canned, having said that I think it is too early to say that canning is definitely on the cards.

I asked whether Sci would have to pay any money to the developers if TA were canned and BE said no.

2003 They were asked about launches for 2003 they did not announce any new licences, but if these are acquired they will announce them. They expect to have for 2003, the Great Escape, more versions of Rally, and other sequels to products we already know about. Also Carma may make a come back. PS2 version of Rally should be quite good. http://boards.fool.co.uk/MessagePrint.aspx?mid=6801316

Page 2 of 3

06/09/2012 19:15

Thunderbirds WAP I asked who the target market were and I think it is the 6-10 age group. I then asked whether the payment mechanism would be the same as GenieStriker (i.e. subs paid with a credit card).

Apparently Thunderbirds will be pay per play and the money will come off the phone bill.

That's good, didn't see many kids paying via credit cards.

Also Digital Bridges seem to be happy with feedback on the game.

GenieStriker Apparently the number of initial subscribers was more than Genie had anticipated and Sci were encouraging them to roll out the product into other territories. They were also looking at sponsorship deals etc in view of the world cup next year. As I understand it the success of this product is not a foregone conclusion and the company will assess the extent to which this product format takes off.

Celoxica I asked whether my estimate of their investment in this being about £200k was in the right ballpark and RM said that it was (see my post where I did the calculation). Š Copyright 1998-2012

http://boards.fool.co.uk/MessagePrint.aspx?mid=6801316

Page 3 of 3

06/09/2012 19:09

The Motley Fool UK Discussion Boards

Previous Page

Investors' Roundtable / Economic Markets & Trends URL: http://boards.fool.co.uk/undercover-boss-11990770.aspx Subject: Undercover Boss Author: HaiderAli

Date: 25/07/2010 21:40 Number: 11891 of 17102

Just caught up with a couple of episodes of this (a quick search doesn't seem to show it have been covered on Fool, apols if it has).

One episode was about Best Western hotels. The filming seemed to have been done once the recession was under way and the recurrent theme in the hotels visited by the Boss was how staff had been laid off and those who were already on minimum wage were being expected to work longer hours (for free). Their motivation was that there were so few jobs available.

The second episode covered the Chief Exec of Tower Hamlets council. Although the boss is undercover, the filming is not covert, so maybe they all put on a show and actually did some work. But the meals on wheels lady clearly had a good relationship with the people she serves and there's a minimum number of meals she has to deliver in a set time - so little chance to skive here I think.

But both her work and that of the rat-catcher showed the value of having work done by the Council itself, rather than being sub-contracted out. The meals on wheels lady has a relationship with the people she delivers meals to, often she's the only person they see on a regular basis (family not being interested even at Christmas). So if her work is sub-contracted and the contracts moved every time they are tendered - what relationship will the old people have? And I'm sure seeing these people regularly she'll be in a position to raise the alarm, if something does not seem quite right.

The rat-catcher would lay down bait but would also check to see if there was any underlying cause for an infestation. As he mentioned this would not really be something that a private contractor would have the incentive to do.

What really struck me though was the difference in the working environment of the two groups of workers (private sector vs. public sector). The private sector group appeared to be working in a climate best described as 'fear' - Dickensian comes to mind.

The 'community support officers' were obviously quite arbitrary in their delivery of justice. An unlicensed trader was let off while the smoker who had thrown a stub in a drain(!) got an on the spot fine. The CEO was quite firm about this, he'd need to get a committee together to better establish how they should handle different situations. Mention of the word committee may draw some sniggers at the back - but given these CSOs save money by having more basic policing work done by lower paid people, surely a new way of working needs time/thinking to bed down.

There's a culture of bashing the public sector on TMF - there may well be shortcomings, but sometimes I think we fail to consider the private businesses where fat cat bosses enjoy bonuses off the back of minimum wage+unpaid overtime employees. Š Copyright 1998-2012 http://boards.fool.co.uk/MessagePrint.aspx?mid=11990770

Page 1 of 2

06/09/2012 19:09

http://boards.fool.co.uk/MessagePrint.aspx?mid=11990770

Page 2 of 2

The Motley Fool UK Discussion Boards

Previous Page

Personal Shares Boards / Paulypilot's Pub - Share Ideas URL: http://boards.fool.co.uk/thanks-for-all-your-help-guys-this-is-how-it-11799195.aspx Subject: Re: GM Bonds - A Real Lemon?

Author: HaiderAli

Date: 08/01/2010 16:37 Number: 125666 of 138677

Thanks for all your help guys. This is how it panned out.

First of all when BSL claimed the stock was suspended, I sent them Was link to FINRA, showing it was trading, also told them that other Fools had been able to trade. They said that FINRA may just been reporting interbroker deals.

Not good enough.

They wanted to know who the brokers were.

I sent them details given by Was and others about their brokers and expected them to contact them to find out who the market maker was.

No good. They wanted the name of the marketmaker. Also if I could not find a marketmaker, then they were willing to send me the certificate and leave me to my own devices!

I phoned FINRA, but they only advise PIs about whether or not brokers are any good, they don't know the identities of marketmakers for a particular stock.

So I ended up phoning one of the brokers and spoke to a very helpful lady (no numbers to press, no muzak, no putting on hold for 20 minutes, I could get used to this). Initially I asked if I could just do one deal with them, but when it became clear that setting up a new account could take some time, I said it was obviously of no commercial benefit to them, but could they just tell me the market maker for General Motors bonds? She called back 20 mins later with a name.

Sent this to Barclays.

They said that they'd try, but no guarantees. Later a BSL dealer called and seemed a bit put off that I did not have a contact name at the marketmaker. She seemed to be under the impression that I had arranged everything and they'd pick up the ÂŁ100+ commission.

Deals today seemed to be going for around US$6, I got 5.75, but am really glad to be shot of them. May have made some sense to hold, at least some, but given BSL's incompetence, it wasn't worth it.

OK I know that I should not expect more from these discount brokers, but their charges for this deal were not discount by any means, IMHO. Log paid $35 compared to my ÂŁ100+. The upshot is that they're obviously geared to a certain type of business and if you're trying to do anything out of the ordinary, it throws them.

For people like me who may want to do this once or twice a year, the question would be whether setting up a new account would be worth it, I've already moved some of my accounts to another broker, because BSL used to have problems with certain shares in ISAs. But now I'd never do a foreign trade with BSL again.

Anyway thanks a lot to Was and everyone else who contributed. From around US$1, this has been a great result. Š Copyright 1998-2012

06/09/2012 19:08

The Motley Fool UK Discussion Boards

Previous Page

Personal Shares Boards / Paulypilot's Pub - Share Ideas URL: http://boards.fool.co.uk/phlebas-what-is-wrong-often-hilariously-so-is-7579202.aspx Subject: Re: Details of individual trades Author: HaiderAli

Date: 22/11/2002 18:37 Number: 11881 of 138672

phlebas What is wrong - often hilariously so - is their attempts to classify individual trades as either 'buys' or 'sells'. Ignore that aspect of it completely.

There are some well documented trading heuristics using advfn's info on buys and sells and lots of people appear to use them. Unfortunately these are rarely found on TMF and in order to find out more people should see the Ample/iii bulletin boards.

Here's a summary.

Lots of buys vs not many sells: somebody knows something, the share price will probably go up. Buy. Lots of big buys: no doubts here, someone (in the know) definitely knows something. Buy. Lots of small buys and the price ain't moving: this is typical market maker shenanigans, they're deliberately holding down the price, don't be suckered by this one, buy.

Some small sells and the price falls a lot: tree shaking by MMs, they are short of stock and this is a good time to buy.

Some small buys and the price rises: MMs are definitely short of stock, don't just buy, pile in.

Lots of small sells and large sells, price is dropping like stone. Institutions are moving shares around their portfolios and small shareholders are getting scared – good time to buy.

Spread narrowing: won't take much of a price rise to make a profit – buy.

Spread rising: market makers are short of stock, want to put people off trading – buy.

Delayed trades and not really possible to tell by the price whether it was a buy or a sell. A buy – probably.

When using the above analysis in BB messages it is usually considered good manners to say 'good luck all' when the price of the share is rising.

Conversely for relatively small falls in price it is appropriate to blame the marketmakers and for large falls to blame the management of the company and/or the brokers.

Good luck all.

http://boards.fool.co.uk/MessagePrint.aspx?mid=7579202

Page 1 of 2

06/09/2012 19:08

Š Copyright 1998-2012

http://boards.fool.co.uk/MessagePrint.aspx?mid=7579202

Page 2 of 2