The Neo-Market Report

By stereolab

Once again the time has arrived to drop in on Neopia's leading market watchers. Visiting our hosts today will be Welbourne Wellesley, President of The Chia Actor's Guild, who'll be discussing the issues facing his guild on the eve of their impending strike. And now, here are Neil and Maria…

KAUVUTO: Hello, and welcome to this week's edition of the Neo-Market Report. I am your host Neil Kauvuto, and as always I'm joined by my co-host, the lovely and talented Maria Blumaroono, who is at The News Desk with all the latest headlines from the floor of exchange. Maria, take it away…

BLUMAROONO: Thank you, Neil. By far the biggest story this week has been the continued rise of Techrobatics Fitness Videos, which has followed last week's 337-point rise with another 284-point vault this week. While normally such a staggering performance would be hailed as an overwhelming success, this recent surge by Techrobatics has actually been met with some measure of controversy.

Echoing the sentiments expressed by Chairman Grundospeck in last week's report, there are many who feel that the sudden rise of Techrobatics' share value is just the latest in a series of over-hyped stocks that, in months past, has included Jacko and Sons, Kacheek Telecomm, and Chiatech Password. This trend, as I'm sure most of you remember, lead to the recession which has plagued the market for the better part of the last five months. And so, while the market watchers are certainly glad that there's been a strong show of consumer confidence in Techrobatics, you can't blame them for being at least a little wary of how this might effect the economy.

That being said, the market as a whole had a positive week, with the Neodaq picking up another eight points and breaking the one hundred-point mark. Other stocks showing significant gains included The Presidential Palace, which rose fifty-eight points amid speculation that a deal for a Tyrannian NeoLodge Hotel might be in the works, and the aforementioned Jacko and Sons, whose resurgence appears to have been sparked by the recent release of more Cloud and Disco Paint Brushes.

KAUVUTO: However, there are still a few companies that haven't emerged from the clutches of this recent recession. Among those still slumping is Chia Steel, who saw many of their investors "take the money and run" after their stock price doubled last week. Two more companies posting losses this week, Neopian TV Channel One and The Chia Actor's Guild, appear to have been hurt by the possibility of an impending strike, which might bring the Neopian entertainment industry to a complete halt. Joining us today to discuss the issues surrounding the possibility of a strike is Welbourne Wellesley, President of The Chia Actor's Guild. Mr. Wellesley, we understand that you've been very busy these past few weeks, and we're quite honored that you've taken the time to join us today…

WELBOURNE: I'm glad to be here, Neil. Thanks for having me…

KAUVUTO: I suppose the first question everyone has asked is, "Why?" What is it that you and the members of your guild are asking for, and why is it worth risking the possibility of shutting down the entire industry?

WELBOURNE: Well Neil, that's a good question… one that I'm glad you asked. You see, it all comes down to one thing: benefits. A lot of people feel that, "Oh, you're so lucky to be a movie or television star, what are you complaining about?" but what they don't realise is that for every big superstar like Jim Acarrey or Robert DeNimmo, there are thousands of actors out there who are still struggling to make ends meet. We believe that all actors should be entitled to paid vacations, health benefits, a pension plan… you know, many of the benefits which are standard to most professions.

BLUMAROONO: But what about all the other people who will be out of work if the actors go on strike? What about the set designers, publicists, editors, cameramen…what are they supposed to do while you guys are out on the picket line? Don't you think that's kind of selfish?

WELBOURNE: Maria, the thing that people need to understand is that we're all in this together. In years past, we've supported and endorsed the other guilds within our industry when they've had similar labor disputes. The studios want us to fight among ourselves, to let jealousy and frustration tear us apart, but this time we're going to prove just how determined and strong we are.

KAUVUTO: Now, a few of your members have already spoken out and stated that maybe the demands that the actor's guild has on the table are a little unreasonable. Would you care to comment in regards to such statements?

WELBOURNE: I think it's important to keep in mind that The Chia Actor's Guild has thousands of members, so it's natural that one or two of them might not be in 100% agreement with all of our proposals. And, although I would prefer that guild members voice such concerns to myself or other members of our guild's leadership, rather than to members of the press, it's not like I can go around telling people what to say or who to say it to.

BLUMAROONO: Well, it looks like that's all the time that we have today. For Neil Kauvuto and Welbourne Wellesley, this is Maria Blumaroono saying thank you and so long…