I think the ASX (and all equity markets) have created an...

I think the ASX (and all equity markets) have created an entirely new business. The business of printing money. You can create a 'cool idea' and just constantly lose money, but as long as people keep buying the shares you're printing, who cares?

90% of mineral exploration companies work on this principle. They dig, they find, they report. They don't own most of the things they find, but they print big flashy documents about their finds. People buy the shares thinking somehow they'll benefit from the discoveries, but in fact the only people benefiting is the company who just keep printing shares (often in the billions).

Australians seem oblivious to dilution - I see so many 'dilution' ASX notices on HC with no comments, as though nobody has realised the company reduced your ownership by way of printing money for themselves. I rang the bell early when ZIP started going overboard with this. Printing shares for the wife's super account (MILLIONS of dollars worth) and for everything else. They filled their pockets with flashy fake promises (overseas acquisitions and shoddy expansion promises). It's their business model.

1. Make vague promises, cloudy acquisitions of questionable companies, seemingly signifying 'expansion'
2. Make flashy exciting investor documents
3. Print money (shares), fill pockets, fill wife's super account, buy more properties in the Eastern Suburbs
4. Dilute the hell out of shareholders
5. Goto 1

This company sells promises, and prints shares. It is not profitable, it never will be. If they weren't allowed to print shares for just one year, does anyone really think they would survive? Of course they wouldn't.