Friday, November 19, 2010

Sunday Herald's Bevan Hurley Pulls the Race Card

Nothing much is happening down at Tabloid the Sunday Herald.

I got a call from, to put it mildly, a wanker called Bevan Hurley from that paper about noon today regarding some comments I made on Darren Hughes Facebook page about Kris Faafoi.

This is what I said:

"Darren, even a monkey put in that seat for Labour would win. Kris is that monkey.

The real question is how many votes will the Nats take off Labours majority and I am guessing it will be substantial, even though you guys are using union mone...y and time and driving voters to the booths.

I will put a thousand bucks your majority will drop like the economy should Labour be lucky enough to win in Nov 2011."

Bevan then asked me if I was going to apologise for these "offensive remarks" and I basically said no because I didn't see then as offensive.

He then told me my comments were racist and that I needed to apologise. He then asked whether I was affiliated with any political party to make a possible story fit his column and I am of course not aligned to anybody.

He then told me something like "monkey" was a derogatory term used to to insult black players in some football league and I said I was unaware of that and I would have used the term monkey whether Kris was black, white, brown, pink blue, yellow, green, fawn, sandy bay blue or forrest hill green, - you put a Labour Monkey (the animal I must point out if you are reading Bevan)in a safe Labour seat like that and it is going to win - I could well have used the animals gorilla, whale, dolphin, dog, sheep, pig, horse etc but I may have offended animal lovers.

He told me I must live in an isolated world and not seen much of it (oh if you only knew Bevan the things I could tell you) if I didnt know the term monkey was "offensive" but surely Bevan must have listened in english class or learned latter on in life that the term, "so simple even a monkey can do it", is more widely known than his obscure upper-class reference to soccer in Europe.

I asked whether he had nothing better to do than to harass me, I am nobody important and I added that if if Kris was a white guy would you be ringing me up and hassling me and accusing me of being a racist?

I knew the answer because that is why I asked the question and the answer was of course,

No.

Bevan you are about as low and muck raking as one can go and it just shows that some go out of their way to be offended even though there is no offense perpetrated.

Shame on you and your filthy ilk.

The Full Facebook Exchange

Darren Hughes

Darren Hughes Tau Henare just told me National will win Mana. So I said "how about a bet" - he was only prepared to wage $5! So I think even the Nats are expecting to welcome Kris Faafoi as a new MP after Saturday!

23 hours ago via Mobile Web · ·
  • 16 people like this.
    • Charlotte von Dadelszen That's the same price he paid me via Trade Me for a rusty gas hob ....
      16 hours ago · · 1 personLoading...
    • Darren Rickard
      Darren, even a monkey put in that seat for Labour would win. Kris is that monkey.

      The real question is how many votes will the Nats take off Labours majority and I am guessing it will be substantial, even though you guys are using union mone...y and time and driving voters to the booths.

      I will put a thousand bucks your majority will drop like the economy should Labour be lucky enough to win in Nov 2011.





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Seeka Kiwifruit Industries Ltd: Opportunity for Investors



We are all only to well aware that the New Zealand Kiwifruit industry is undergoing immense pressure from the kiwifruit vine disease PSA.

The listed kiwifruit and avocado marketing company Seeka Kiwifruit Industries Ltd [SEK.NZX] is also under pressure from this disease and its share price has dropped by around 30% since the news broke.

The stock is thinly traded so any news will move the share price wildly but the big drop presents an opportunity for investors to get in while the shares look cheap.

The company has tangible assets of $3.83 per share (valuation pre bad news) so on face value the company is now going cheap.

Just like the BP disaster a few months back it allowed investors to get into a good company with good prospects for a great price.

I am not saying this is going to be a low for the share price because there could be more bad news to come and Seeka have provided a market update with another due at the end of November, but it is worth considering taking a closer look should the valuation of Seeka meet your investment criteria.

Buy on further weakness.

Seeka @ Share Investor

Discuss SEK @ Share Investor Forum
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Allied Farmers Ltd: You said what Rob?

CEO of Allied Farmers Ltd [ALF.NZX] Rob Alloway, has decided, now that the shite has hit the fan again with another "asset" inherited from the Hanover purchase going tits up, that the blame for the parlous position he and his company and its long suffering investors find themselves in is because Messrs Hotchin and Watson from Hanover overvalued the assets that the company had on its books at the time of the merger of Allied Farmers and Hanover back in late 2009:

Mr Alloway said the value of Matarangi provided in the 30 June 2009 accounts, used by investors to inform the eventually successful vote to merge, was "unrealistic".

Mr Alloway didn't pull any punches in his statement, and said the state of Matarangi was symptomatic of many former Hanover assets:

“This is an unfortunate trend we have seen with most of the property and loan assets that were acquired, and further calls into question the real value of the shareholder support package contributed by Messrs Hotchin and Watson at the time of the Hanover moratorium. The investment community should have expected far better oversight of the moratorium from Hanovers directors, valuers, trustees and auditors.” NBR, 18 November 2010

Back in November 2009 (almost 1 year to this day) though Mr Alloway was singing from a different song sheet with the will of a man who had crossed all his Is, dotted his Ts and had the champagne on ice:

"We've left behind all the problems ... this is goodbye Hanover, Mark and Eric.

We've got all the assets and anything that's worth anything and said goodbye to the rest, they can deal with the problems. Any litigation or exposure they have is theirs." NZ Herald November 21 2009.

Alloway was also confident that Allied was more able to recover Hanover's bad loans than they were and we all know that was about as successful as Bernie Madoff would be at making a comeback as an investment adviser.

I posed this question back in April and then June, why are Alloway and his fellow directors at Allied not being prosecuted for a fraudulent prospectus? Fraudulent because the prospectus contained overvalued assets on the balance sheet that Hanover and Allied investors based their decision on to vote for the two companies to merge.

Mr Alloway clearly admitted today that Hanover's assets were overvalued (what most people including me said back in 2009 and earlier.) or what he calls an "unfortunate trend", and that these overvaluations were what investors based their vote on.

An unfortunate choice of words.

What the ***k is he now saying?

He knows now what he should have known back in 2009 but is blaming Hanover for the mess Allied is now in?

It is called due diligence Rob, you didn't do it properly pre-merger and now you are trying to cop out of the blame that lies on you and your fellow directors at Allied.

At the very least put your hand up and do the right thing and take some responsibility.

Allied Farmers @ Share Investor

Allied Farmers: Hanover & Allied close mates
Long Term View: Allied Farmers Ltd
Allied Farmers: Rights Issue Decision
Allied Farmers: Prosecutions should be on the cards
Allied Farmers Fraud passes with little fanfare
Allied Farmers: What's it Worth?
Hanover, Allied Farmers deal more of the same

Discuss ALF @ Share Investor Forum
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Thursday, November 18, 2010

Ryman Healthcare Ltd: 2011 Half Year Profit Review

Ryman Healthcare Ltd [RYM.NZX] 2011 first half year to 30 Sept 2010 is another stellar result for the retirement village operator. Profit is up 25% to $36.1 million on last years corresponding period.

This is on revenue up 23% to $104.5 million.

Management have indicated that expansion during the 2010 financial year has contributed to the record result but clearly costs have been kept low because profit has outstripped revenue.

Management have also indicated they are on track for another 15% boost to profit over the 2011 fully year. This level of growth has been consistent for the company for as long as it has been a publicly listed company.


Key Points


Net Profit:

$36,119,000

Fair value movement of investment properties:

$41,995,000

Total Income:

$104,594,000

Earnings per share:

10.4 cps; 35%; 7.7 cps

Interim Dividend :

3.4 cps; 26%; 2.7 cps

Over 300 units added

15% profit growth tipped for 2011 full year


I have little reservation in my shareholding in this company and consider management have been exceptional in their handling of the business over the last 12 months. A period of uncertainty with, restrained economic growth.

I am only sorry I didnt buy more shares when the stock was trading a dollar lowers during the last year or so.

Disclosure: I own RYM shares in the Share Investor Portfolio


Ryman Healthcare @ Share Investor

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Time for retirement?

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c Share Investor 2010