The Neo-Market Report

By stereolab

And now, it's time to drop in on Neopia's foremost market experts. Stopping by this week will be the one and only Shop Wizard, founder and President of Shop Wizard N-Commerce. And now, let's join our hosts…

KAUVUTO: Hello and thank you for joining us here at The Neo-Market Report. I am your host Neil Kauvuto, and as always I'm joined by my co-host, former Portfolio Manager of the Eyrie High Flyer Fund, the lovely and talented Maria Blumaroono. Maria, what's the latest word from the exchange?

BLUMAROONO: Well Neil, just as Doctor Sloth's invasion paralyzed the market last week, his subsequent defeat this week has caused a number of stocks to rebound and The Neodaq post a modest increase. Among those showing gains are Bob's Bonus Bingo, which has expressed interest in setting up a parlour in Sakhmet, and Techrobatics Fitness Videos, who plan to focus on marketing their fitness videos to The Lost Desert's large (in more ways than one) Elephante population.

KAUVUTO: On the other hand, this week's big losers were two companies that took two completely different approaches towards The Lost Desert. With Sloth's invasion defeated and scores of Neopians relocating to their Lost Desert NeoHomes, many of Kacheek and Sons Landscaping's investors have abandoned ship. Given the company's vocal opposition towards setting up shop in The Lost Desert, their stock plummeted an incredible thirty-nine points a share this week. Responding to his company's plunging value, Bentolo the Kacheek said, "Ah, let them roast out there in that desert…it's not like I can do anything to stop them!"

Then there's the unfortunate case of Böda Furnishings; unable to sell their new Lost Desert line of home furniture, they were forced to place their entire stock in warehouses until the battle against Sloth's army was resolved. Unfortunately, days before the war ended a fire broke out, destroying nearly everything. "I'm devastated," Sven the Eyrie said when asked about the fire, "this is the tragedy of my life…as much as we wanted to revolutionise home furnishing with this line, at this point I really can't say that we're ready to start from scratch all over again." After news of the fire was released, shares of Böda Furnishings dropped an unbelievable twenty-five points a share.

BLUMAROONO: Well, someone who's certainly been busy lately is our next guest. As the founder of Shop Wizard N-Commerce, The Shop Wizard has done more to help the Neopian economy than anyone else. We're very pleased to have him here today as our special guest. Wiz, thanks for joining us…

WIZ: Glad to be here, Maria.

BLUMAROONO: Now, one thing I've wanted to ask is, how are you able to handle everyone's requests all day, every day?

WIZ: Oh Maria, don't be silly… after all, I AM a wizard. It's just a part of the magical powers I possess... but rest assured, it's not really a problem.

KAUVUTO: Interesting. So tell us, how did you first get into doing what you do?

WIZ: It all began when I was working on this magical potion, and I just got really tired of having to wander from shop to shop looking for ingredients. So that's when I started trying to come up with a way to take a lot of the hassle out of shopping. At first there were some quirks and false starts, but for the most part I have to say that it was easier than I thought it would be…

BLUMAROONO: Now, could you give us your observations on the recent discovery of The Lost Desert? Has it had any effect on your daily operations as The Shop Wizard?

WIZ: Well, one thing I've noticed is the staggering number of people looking for Lost Desert Paintbrushes. I say, Jacko must be making a fortune off those things! Other than that, I'd say that I also get a lot of requests for the new Petpets. They're really quite popular, especially the Khnums and Anubis… it seems like everyone wants one of those.

KAUVUTO: Unfortunately, it looks like that's about all the time we have for this week. For Maria Blumaroono and The Shop Wizard, this is Neil Kauvuto saying thank you and so long…