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The Neo-Market Report By stereolab |
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And now it's time to join our hosts for a special New Year's edition of the Neo-Market Report. In addition to bringing you the latest happenings from the floor of the exchange, our financial experts Neil Kauvuto and Maria Blumaroono will be joined by John Blumarion, Chairman of The Neopian Auction House, who will discuss the company's surprising recent growth. And now, here are Neil and Maria… KAUVUTO: Hello and welcome to The Neo-Market Report. I am your host, Neil Kauvuto, and as always I am joined by my co-host Maria Blumaroono, who is at the News Desk with all the latest news in the market. Maria… BLUMAROONO: Thank you, Neil. Well, it's been another rough week on the floor. As retailers feel the crunch from less-than-stellar Holiday Sales, the market as a whole has remained in a protracted slump, and talk of a recession seems imminent. With the Neodaq dropping close to 300 points in the past week, a number of high profile stocks have taken perilous hits. Among those feeling the Holiday Blues are Neggwork Commerce, which has seen it's value drop from 3997 NPs to1202 NPs in the span of a week. Also feeling the crunch this New Year are a trio of Tech Stocks: Techrobatics Fitness Videos, Cybun Electromatics, and Yippee!, which all saw their value cut in half as the bailout in the Tech Market continues. KAUVUTO: However, there have been a few stocks that have shown some promise for the New Year. The Unis Beauty Salon's stock price has jumped nearly 100 NPs this week, and Faerie Clothing Ltd., has gone up almost forty NPs since last week's pleasant twenty point jump. Surprisingly, another company that has seen a sharp rise in business is that of our next guest. We'd now like to welcome the Chairman of The Neopian Auction House, Mr. John Blumarion. Thanks for joining us… JOHN: Glad to be here, Neil. BLUMAROONO: Now, The Auction House has had some remarkable recent sales. Would you care to tell us about those? JOHN: Well Maria, just this past week we were fortunate to bring a magnificent work, Buzzicelli's "Poogle and Child" to auction. Although estimates for this painting were in the two to three million NPs range, an anonymous bid came in from Maraqua for nearly 4.5 million NPs. It was quite a surprise… KAUVUTO: And a pleasant one, at that. JOHN: Indeed. KAUVUTO: Now, given the recent downturn in the market, how has that affected the kind of bids that you have received at your auctions? JOHN: You bring up a good point, Neil. But the truth is, in an economic downturn the would-be decrease in bidders is counteracted by a surge in the quality of items available for auction. For example, during the economic boom that we had in the Fall, the idea of anyone giving up a Cezannefara or Pikauso would have been ludicrous. So now, as people have to tighten their belts, works such as these are actually showing up on the auction block. BLUMAROONO: Hmmm…interesting. This past summer, for the third time in your company's history, you decided to take the company public. Now, despite your recent success, the fact is that your company's value is still significantly lower than it was six months ago. Do you have any regrets about going public? JOHN: No, none at all. It's amazing when someone approaches me on the street and says, "Hey, I'm a shareholder!" It really puts the need to do a good job into perspective. I mean, if you've got our stock in your portfolio, then there's a good chance that your new house or your kid's education is riding on how that stock performs. I think about that all the time. It's a great responsibility. KAUVUTO: Well, that's going to do it for us this week. For Maria Blumaroono, this is Neil Kauvuto saying thank you and so long… |
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