Ann: Annual Report to shareholders, page-26

First World Dilemma

I have a tax problem.

I am over-committed and under water, and under wifely constraint to "dare not put another penny into that God-forsaken desert-scratching company on the other side of the world and whose only assets are 4 tenement pegs in the ground and a half-arsed bit of official licence paper".

The tax problem is that I am in line for a capital gain on the sale of a property.

Being the guru that I am, I worked it out that I could sell some HFR for a loss and so offset the property gain.

Luckily, being the guru that I am, the purchase price of some of my holding is $1.90! (what-was-I-thinking?!).....so, at $0.67 there is plenty of room to realize an offsetting capital loss.

But, being the guru that I am, I didn't want to lower my holding and nor did I wish to risk selling before buying back in at potentially more than the then selling price of $0.67, so the other day, I bought some more at $0.67 with a view to then selling the same number (at $0.67). That purchase was reluctantly agreed to by the bride (on the strict understanding that the selling would take place pretty well immediately and that our net holding was not increased.)

But the price is now $0.70 and rising....there-in lies the dilemma.

Why sell in a rising market?.....The inner investment guru says "hang on a bit and sell below $1.90 but more than the $0.70 thereby making an offsetting loss with a bit of a profit on the side."...but, of course, in the meantime, our net holding has tabooly increased.

So the conflict is between my investment guru persona and my marital relationship guru persona.

Any advice or constructive abuse would be appreciated.

ps...I believe that, some time ago, one of our Board members bought some HFR at $1.30...I'm not sure of the relevance of that information.

Cheers.....yours (in conflicted optimism) Al Dinga.