The key issue for BND is that the near term outlook for coal is poor and margins are squeezed. As it is in most industries larger operators will generally get through these times better as they have scale, costs and better financing access but even they are not immune. For smaller operators they have direct exposure to the headwinds and hence the difficulty of trying to survive in the short time if the broader market does not turn around quickly. Coal will probably come back in pricing, etc but in the medium to longer term and still has a role to fill in supplying energy needs over the longer term while other forms of energy are being built out.
While it is disappointing news going to VA it is slightly better than the last few months IMO during the TH process when the flow of information on progress was very light. At least this way if there is value left then the VA process will flesh it out and some more details on the progress to get a license in terms of the costs of compensation, etc might come out.
Unfortunately I am not holding onto much hope that something will emerge from this that provides current investors with value back and am chalking this one up to experience and a capital loss for my tax return.
BND Price at posting:
8.4¢ Sentiment: Hold Disclosure: Held
