3 articles that show that the government is still functioning particularly in the state concern for nuclear fuel ukraine. There is still a fair chance the government will remain and uranium is still expected to have its day again.
uran only need to get the sp over 18c by may 09 and the options will be in the money, and another few million to keep trading. Surely they can achieve this, announcements on the data must be close if the goverments is still ok
[11.09.2008 13:04]
Our Ukraine is ready to open discussion with BYuT
Our Ukraine party is ready to an open discussion with the
Bloc of Yulia Tymoshenko on preserving the Coalition of Democratic Forces.
According to an UNIAN correspondent, chairman of the People’s Union Our Ukraine party Vyacheslav Kyrylenko said this at a news conference in Kyiv Thursday.
“Our Ukraine is ready to an open, transparent, public discussion on preserving the coalition. We are also ready to take part in a session of the Coalition Council”, he said.
At the same time, V. Kyrylenko noted that their partners from BYuT have been refusing to take part in sessions of the Coalition Council for two weeks already.
Nuclear Fuel of Ukraine’s charter approved
11.09.2008 14:12
The Ukrainian Cabinet approved the corporate charter of the state concern Nuclear Fuel of Ukraine. The decision had been made by the government meeting on September 10, Ukraine’s fuel and energy minister Yuri Prodan told journalists. He noted the document included the provision under which the state property being transferred to ownership of the state concern could not be alienated without an agreement with the government...
ENERGY
CHOOSE WITH CAUTION
'Oversold' platinum and uranium sectors may provide great upsides
Strong fundamentals for platinum group metals and uranium may provide some good investment bargains for bottom-feeding investors as stocks in these sectors look to be heavily oversold.
Author: Lawrence Williams
Posted: Thursday , 11 Sep 2008
LONDON -
Ultimately the price of a commodity is set by what the consumer may be prepared to pay for it, but as has been seen in the case recently of potash, coal and iron ore, supply deficits coupled with strong demand can lead to substantial value increases.
Recently the minerals commodity sector, with the exception of the three bulk commodities noted above, has seen a huge sell-off which has brought relevant stock prices down by up to 60 percent in a matter of months and has left the investor battered and despondent, leading to further asset liquidation, which further depresses prices. Some metals seem unduly tied to the fate of others in an assumed similar sector, and platinum - in the precious metals sector - is one which has suffered more than most as precious metals prices have dived, and stocks have fallen back even more.
Is this justified? Part of the depression in platinum and associated pgm prices has been the perception that the principal consumers - the oil and automotive sectors - are enmeshed in an economy-related meltdown, thus leading to a big fall-off in demand. It is true that auto sales in North America and Europe have been hit, but in the developing world sales are almost certainly still rising, and as anti-pollution legislation spreads and becomes more stringent the overall effect on global platinum demand may well prove to be very small, with gains cancelling out losses. And by all accounts platinum demand still exceeds supply which suggests that at some stage there could be a dramatic price turnaround counteracting at least some of the recent sell-off.
In addition, the drastic fall in the metal price has to see some proposed new platinum mining projects deferred, or even cancelled as economic studies are re-written to take account of the price falls. Finance becomes increasingly difficult to secure as banks are very conservative by nature, and with the credit crunch are even more aware of inherent risk. A platinum junior trying to raise money to get a project off the ground is probably having a pretty tough time raising new capital at the current time.
So we are in a position where stock prices have been decimated, the metal price is at a low level, new supplies from new projects and expansions become increasingly in doubt, and demand is likely to continue to exceed supply. At some stage that has to be a recipe for strong stock price revival.
But, if investing in the sector - particularly in the junior market where the risk/reward ratio can be enormous - one really needs to do one's due diligence. Companies with a good resource, and plenty of cash to tide them through the current price doldrums, and which may also have access to sufficient power given that most are located in power-deprived South Africa, could provide some real bargains, either in their own right, or as take-over targets where larger cash-rich organisations may see bargains out there. Those without a really good resource and lacking cash and/or facing logistical problems may wither and die. Caveat emptor.
To an extent the same is almost certainly true of the uranium sector. The drive to build new nuclear power plants remains in place and a big medium term supply deficit seems evident. The price appears to have bottomed and many would see the only way as up. The uranium price actually remains hugely ahead of where it was only a few years ago - even though it is less than half the spot price reached last year. The demand outlook has not really changed - indeed it may be even more positive given likely slowdowns in new uranium mine development at current price levels.
Here the uranium price boom stimulated a huge number of uranium explorers to come into existence and generate exploration funds. Many of these now have little or no chance of survival - but here again, those with cash to see them through this troubled period and seen to have access to a good resource can provide great bargains for the bottom-feeding investor - again either in their own right, or as take-over targets as the majors look to securing future supplies.
While the above comments largely relate to junior miners and explorers, the more cautious investor could do worse than look at current major pgm and uranium producers whose stocks have also fallen drastically, but which have the financial clout not only to survive the downturn relatively easily, but also to enhance their longer term positions by snapping up juniors and new producers with good projects which are financially stretched. (We are already seeing this happening). If platinum group metals and uranium prices are indeed at, or close to, their bottoms these companies should provide a relatively risk-free investment with strong upside potential.
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