The 25 stages of Hotcopper Fantasy stock EPM
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1. Dormant explorer quietly acquires exploration tenement in an unheard of part of the world
2. Intention to drill the 'hottest' commodity of the day is announced to the market
3. Investors undertake a quick geography lesson. Tenement located on Google Earth
4. Messianic posters appear on Hotcopper extolling the virtues of this 'sure-fire-thing'.
5. Posters cram on Wikipedia. Regional geology and drilling techniques knowledgeably discussed
6. On location photo of company official appears (in safari suit)
7. Frequent company announcements, such as capital raisings, are greeted enthusiastically
8. Optimistic valuations by Hotcopper geologists/economists abound
9. Each powerpoint presentation adds $1 billion to the market capitalisation
10. Share price climbs precipitously
11. Stockmarket novices delight in referring to options as 'oppies' and ordinary shares as 'heads'
12. Mountains of previously 'scarce' scrip hits the market
13. Director sales are pathetically rationalised
14. Share price drops precipitously
15. Wannabe experts declare 'buy the panic, oversold value play' (as bad a sign as any)
16. Numerous conspiracy theories regarding capping, profiling and price manipulation emerge
17. Share price chart resembles a 'House with pointy roof and chimney'
18. Shareholders reluctantly espouse Long-Term-Buy-and-Hold investment
19. The once prolific 'Messiah' (PokeMomsGob) suffers writer's block, and no longer responds to posts
20. Company announcements dry up and become more vague
21. Lots of acrimonious exchanges ensue on Hotcopper
22. The 'Messiah' and his band of faithfuls move camp
23. Seek.com and Metlink web-sites experience a sharp increase in traffic
24. The 'Messiah' attributes his blunder to dishonest reporting by company management
25. Hotcopper thread becomes a group therapy session for bagholders
(20min delay)