Casino Capitalism

Interland (INLD) Will Change Name to Web.com

Well, I´m not an insider at Interland (INLD), but I predicted a little while ago that Interland (INLD) would change its name to Web.com, following the close of the Web.com acquistion. Today Interland (INLD) confirmed that it will change its corporate name in 2006 to Web.com.

Investment in New Refineries is Booming Overseas

In more bullish news for Graham (GHM) the Wall Street Journal had an article today about a surge in investment in new refineries overseas.

Seitel (SELA) Announces Expiration of Consent Solicitation

Recently, Seitel (SELA.ob), announced that:

"Certain proposed amendments to the indenture governing the Notes (the "Indenture") has expired without receiving the requisite number of consents."

As explained in a previous post, these  proposed amendments would have increased the Company´s  capital expenditures in 2006 and beyond, reducing the amount of free cash-flow that could be returned to shareholders. The refusal of bondholders to agree to a new cap-ex budget is bullish for Seitel (SELA.ob) equity holders.

Global Refinery Crisis

I´ve been bulllish on Graham (GHM) for quite some time, and was therefore thrilled to see this recent article about the global refinery crisis.

Planar Systems (PLNR) Update

Planar´s (PLNR) 10K came out recently. I´m not sure why the stock has been weak recently. But, as is usually the case, the stock movement probably does not reflect at all on PLNR´s long-term prospects. In any case, here are two important tidbits from the 10K.

Cord Blood Bill Passes in Senate

Late on Friday, the Senate passed a bill, HR 2520, to authorize $79 million in federal funding for the collection and storage of umbilical cord blood for stem cell research and the treatment of diseases on December 16. The bill was originally approved by the House in May, and the Senate’s amendments were unanimously passed by the House on December 17. The passage of this bill is hugely bullish for Cryo-Cell (CCEL.ob) (one of my top picks) and Viacell (VIAC), CCEL´s larger competitor.

Seitel Proposes to Amend Indenture

No surprise here. Seitel (SELA.ob) is trying to amend the indenture governing its $189 million 11 3/4 Senior Notes due 2011.

Natural Gas Stocks

Many large cap natural gas stocks jumped today on news that ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP - News) is in talks to buy independent natural gas producer Burlington Resources Inc. (NYSE:BR - News) for more than $30 billion. I´ve struggled to find good small cap natural gas stocks because all the stocks are way up or are simply too speculative. However, if you are so inclined to play the natural gas game, here is one natural gas pick I´ve bought and think still represents a decent gamble.

MedAvant (PILL) Gets $20 Million Financing

In the ongoing MedAvant (PILL), formerly Proxymed, story, the company announced a $20 million financing the other day. MedAvant also hosted a conference call which I had a chance to listen to.

Oilfield Services: Seismic Exploration and Data Companies

I´ve been thinking about new investment themes for quite some time. One that I have followed for a good part of this year (see this earlier post) and I think will play out even more strongly in 2006, is seismic exploration and data service companies.