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And now, it’s time once more to visit Neopia’s leading financial analysts. Joining our hosts today will be Jacko the Scorchio, President of Jacko and Sons, Ltd. Jacko will be here to discuss the arrival of his new line of Petpet Paint Brushes, which have taken Neopia by storm. And now, here are Neil and Maria…
KAUVUTO: Hello and thank you for joining us this week at The Neo-Market Report. I am your host Neil Kauvuto, and as always I’m delighted to be joined by my co-host, former Portfolio Manager of the Eyrie High Flyer Fund, the one and only Maria Blumaroono. Maria, what’s the latest word from the floor of the exchange?
BLUMAROONO: Well Neil, the big story this week has been the sudden slowdown of this once-promising Neopian economy. Due in part to climbing interest rates and the onset of stifling inflation, consumers have started to curb their enthusiastic spending and begun stashing their NPs under the mattress. As the Neodaq tumbled 115 points this week, a number of companies felt the pinch of this sudden downturn.
Leading the way was Fuzz-I-Ow! Plasters and Bandages, whose stock value dropped a whopping thirty-three points a share. Apparently, after the whirlpool that hit Maraqua, Neopians everywhere stocked up on bandages and medical supplies. Then, when a conflict with the pirates failed to materialise, shops that had loaded up on Fuzz-I-Ow! products were left with huge amounts of overstock. So now, despite slashing their prices to unheard of levels, a lack of demand has sent Fuzz-I-Ow! shares plummeting.
KAUVUTO: After riding Neopia’s once-flourishing economy to new heights, this recent slowdown has sent the manufacturing sector into another tailspin. Among those feeling the effects are Powlex, whose stocks sank sixteen points a share, and Chia Steel, which had an eight-point decline of its own. When asked to comment on the sudden Bearish nature of the market, Chia Steel President J.P. Moehog was quoted as saying, “I’m not too concerned about this. It just looks like we’ve hit a little bump on our recent road to recovery. I’m sure Chia Steel and the rest of the Neopian economy will be just fine, thank you.”
BLUMAROONO: Well, another company that failed to show a profit this week was Jacko and Sons Painting Ltd., who saw their stock price fall from nine to six NPs a share. However, thanks to the release of their new line of Petpet Paint Brushes, we expect that it won’t be long before they’re posting record earnings once again. Joining us today is Jacko the Scorchio, President and founder of Jacko and Sons. Thanks for stopping by once again, Jacko…
JACKO: Oh, it’s always a pleasure to drop in and say hi, Maria.
KAUVUTO: Now Jacko, you seem awfully happy for a guy whose company’s value is at an all-time low. So tell us, what’s a guy whose stocks are going for 6 NPs a share got to be so happy about?
JACKO: Well Neil, I have to say that I’m absolutely delighted about the unveiling of our new line of Petpet Paint Brushes. We had really high hopes for this new product, and I’m glad to say that so far all of our expectations have been exceeded. Also, our Customer Service department has informed us that we’ve been getting spectacular feedback on these new brushes, so not only have we created a product that we’re proud of, but we’ve also come up with something that’s hugely popular with Neopians everywhere.
BLUMAROONO: Jacko, I think what Neil was getting at was, if these new brushes of yours are so popular, then how come you haven’t made any profits from them yet?
JACKO: Here’s the thing, Maria. The process of developing these Petpet Paint Brushes took quite a long time; it required an awful lot of research and experimentation. As a result, we needed to put just about all the capital we had into creating them. So, while the Paint Brushes been a tremendous success, at this time we’re still making back all the money that we spent to create them. That being said, it won’t be long before we start to reap the benefits of their astounding popularity.
BLUMAROONO: Now at this point, you offer five different varieties of Petpet Paint Brushes; they come in white, yellow, blue, green and pink. Can you tell us if there are any plans to develop more colours and styles?
JACKO: Yes, we do plan on making a number of new styles available in the future. However, at this point we can’t really disclose what we’re working on. But I assure you, when they’re released you won’t be disappointed!
KAUVUTO: Well, that’s about all the time we have for today. For Maria Blumaroono and Jacko the Scorchio, this is Neil Kauvuto saying thank you and so long….
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