Opportunitism aside, I have for the last year and a half found CER's price movements a source of intrique and entertainment.
Yesterday's move my ASIC, in my view, was at the same time surprising but typical too.
Buffett makes an interesting point about wasting tax payer's dollars in persuits such as these. As a Financial Services Industry employee in the last few years what I was most bemused and disaapointed about as far as ASIC is concerned is that they really are the Corporate LAPDOG not WATCHDOG.
Think of the billions of dollars investors lost with unscrupulous operators such as with the Henry Kaye issue that ASIC was persuing. Remember that? They withdrew all charges for "lack of evidence". I nearly fell over when I read about this. I pay tax too. That's my dollars being wasted.
Before you consider dumping your CER stock out of fear...although at the time of writing this seems to have been happening for the last 24 hours, consider that ASIC is going after the Directors of Centro (and former ones). It is a Civil matter for now but could attract criminal convictions potentially. Nonethless heed the fact there are maximum monetary penalties in place accoring to the sections of the relevent act. To the best of my knowledge these are in the hundreds of thousands of dollars per event, per director. This is spare change for Centro considering the copious legal and other fees they have paid (wasted?) in the past two years.
In addition, this cause of action as near as I can tell has no blow-back to CER and CNP (with the exeption of potentially requiring the removal of Paul Cooper).
In my view there is a slap on the wrist coming. That's about it.
Yet again, think carefully about your reasons for selling....and buying too!!
Cheers and Good Luck.
CER Price at posting:
19.0¢ Sentiment: None Disclosure: Held
