My takeI've been away from the board for personal reasons, that I believe Doc Mike and Chuck are aware of. Suffice to say that money and money-making (losing) cannot be my priorities at the moment. But, a few things: I was clearly wrong in my assessment of the Yellow management strength – Tellier was deer-lighted in the headlights by the short attack (much of it naked) out of the U.S., with help from instititutions, which conspired to take down the Canuck Yellow just as the Yellows elsewhere around the globe were rocked. Shorts win big-time – especially so with their offsetting yield-based ownership of the pref shares which mitigated the risk of their short attack on Yellow common.
From here: Well, you can now buy Yellow at a 15% yield if you can believe Tellier that it has stability. But does anyone know? Not me. I'll continue to hold, take my lumps, accept the new divvy terms through my DRIPS and see what happens. Yellow has never been more than 5-6% of my overall portfolio and, while I have taken a hit, it's a minor hit in the bigger scheme of things. My hit on RIM is equivalent, but I can participate in a RIM DRIP because of the absence of a divvy.
I will put new money into Yellow only through the DRIP. If the shorts keep up their attack, goodness knows what might happen, but I will accept, for the moment, that the company becomes healthier with debt paydown. My view for the next quarter has changed: I will need to see real improvement in the online sales and numbers, not just numbers that offset the print decline, but numbers that accentuate online growth in both numbers of customers and revenue-growth per customer. Tellier gives me that and I stay – if he doesn't I have to move on, tail betwixt legs. aclcmc
P.S. to all: Good calls by the shorts. Good calls by GWP on asset allocation and balance; good informed postings by Radamesb and Frosty. Good luck to everyone. I won't be posting much over the near-term future, but I have been happy to participate here – tough board, tough crowd, but always, lots to absorb and learn.