Noble Group

Phillip, CIMB, UOB impose trading curbs on Noble Group's shares
http://sgx.i3investor.com/servlets/fdnews/53257.jsp

http://www.valuebuddies.com/thread-5901-...#pid118422

Tough reality so what is so special about Noble?

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2...s-finances

(19-08-2015, 03:16 PM)Behappyalways Wrote: Phillip, CIMB, UOB impose trading curbs on Noble Group's shares
http://sgx.i3investor.com/servlets/fdnews/53257.jsp

Swiss commodities group Glencore's latest 1H result.....
http://www.wsj.com/articles/glencore-rep...1439966673
Lower trading profits and margin, and provisions on mining and other commodity investments, have led to losses.

As both are in the same boat, I guess Noble's financial evolution going forward cannot be very different.

http://www.valuebuddies.com/thread-457-p...#pid118423

(19-08-2015, 11:34 PM)dydx Wrote: Swiss commodities group Glencore's latest 1H result.....
http://www.wsj.com/articles/glencore-rep...1439966673
Lower trading profits and margin, and provisions on mining and other commodity investments, have led to losses.

As both are in the same boat, I guess Noble's financial evolution going forward cannot be very different.

The legal process started...

Noble Group issues summons against authors of Iceberg Research’s blog for discovery and inspection

SINGAPORE (Aug 20): Noble Group has filed a summons to force Arnaud Vagner & Enlighten Ace to file their lists of documents and allow inspection of all discovery documents.

Arnaud Vagner & Enlighten Ace are the authors of Iceberg Research’s anonymous blog which made allegations of accounting fraud against Noble. The company has denied the accusations.

Noble says the summons were filed after Arnaud Vagner & Enlighten Ace did not respond to request by Noble’s outside counsel to start the discovery phase of the litigation by confirming their readiness to exchange the lists of documents.

Noble shares closed flat at 42.5 cents.
http://www.theedgemarkets.com/sg/article...inspection

August 21, 2015
http://www.straitstimes.com/business/com...wiftly-sgx

Companies that come under fire from short-sellers or through critical reports should quickly assess the severity of the attack and respond effectively.

The advice came from Singapore Exchange (SGX) chief regulatory officer Tan Boon Gin, who added: "(Firms) must provide... a full response so that shareholders have a complete picture and can make informed decisions."

Mr Tan noted that some listed companies have recently been the target of other rumours and speculation or the subject of reports questioning the veracity of their financials, for example. "In some instances, their shares were sold down steeply, or bought up," he said.

This is likely a reference to commodities giant Noble Group, which has been under sustained attack for much of the year from Iceberg Research and others questioning the firm's accounting processes.

Short-sellers have targeted the company, whose shares have plummeted more than 60 per cent since February.

The stock closed half a cent or 1.18 per cent up at 43 cents yesterday - a shadow of its glory days, when share price peaked at $2.34 in 2011.

Mr Tan noted in his SGX regulator column yesterday that regulated short-selling is part of a well-functioning market.

"For a market to function well, bullish investors should be able to buy securities and go long, while bearish investors should have the ability to short-sell," he said.

"This supports market liquidity and efficient price discovery."

At the same time, short-sellers, commentators and research firms that issue critical reports of a company should be aware that they are entitled to a right of reply, said Mr Tan.

The company, in turn, must clarify, confirm or deny rumours or media reports "as soon as possible", while assessing if trading in its shares can continue on an informed basis.

Mr Tan added that SGX is willing to allow a halt or suspension pending a firm's preparation of its reply to "prevent prices from being distorted by sudden and one-sided criticism".

The exchange will also take action if the criticisms contain false or misleading statements, he said.

"SGX will, at the same time, closely monitor the company's disclosures and trading activities of its shares, and constantly engage with the company.

"We will take all action necessary to maintain a fair, orderly and transparent market, including working with other regulatory bodies."

Noble, which maintains that it has nothing to hide, has vowed to improve its transparency and engagement with stakeholders.

The firm recently hired PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) to review its methods and practices in valuing some of its commodity assets. It later released PwC's report to the public in full, together with its second-quarter results on Aug 10.

Noble also held an investor day event on Monday where senior management met shareholders and other investors to address their concerns.

Secured debt, is the option explored...

Noble Group said to discuss move to secured financing with banks: sources

LONDON (Aug 21): Noble Group Ltd ( Financial Dashboard), the commodity trader battling criticism of its accounting, is talking to its banks about shifting the way it finances itself, pledging commodity inventories to guarantee some debt, four people with knowledge of the matter said.

The use of secured finance, a system used by several of Noble's competitors, could help the trader to boost its liquidity, reassuring the market. But some existing bondholders and lenders may see themselves relegated in potential claims.
...
http://www.theedgemarkets.com/sg/article...ks-sources

Skeletons aplenty... anyone interested?

Yancoal loss widens amid low coal prices, global oversupply
·     BUSINESS SPECTATOR
·     AUGUST 20, 2015 1:14PM
       
Michael Roddan

Reporter
Chinese-controlled coal miner Yancoal has vowed to maintain its output target despite soft global market conditions which have led to a blowout in the company’s bottom line.
Yancoal (YAL) posted a net loss of $145.4 million for the half-year ending June, a 24.5 per cent widening compared to last year’s interim loss of $192.7m.
Revenues for the miner also declined, falling 3.1 per cent to $634.4m.
“Sustained global market oversupply and depressed thermal and metallurgical coal prices provided little opportunity for earnings improvement during the half-year,” Yancoal said.
But the company said the continuing restructure of its mining operations led to improved operational efficiencies and cost reductions.
Late last month the miner said it was planning to cut up to 225 staff from its Hunter Valley mines in NSW because of the global coal market downturn.
Over the six months, the miner saw production in the order of 10.6 million tonnes of run-of-mine coal, and 7.7 million tonnes of saleable coal.
The price of thermal coal has fallen almost 10 per cent since the start of the year, down to just under $US60 a tonne, a far cry away from the $US150-per-tonne level just three years ago.
Electricity generated by coal in China declined 3.6 per cent between February and June, compared to the same period last year. The government in Beijing plans to cap coal use to 62 per cent of power generation by 2020, and it has announced new quality controls on dirty coal.
Yancoal further developed its product blending strategies to target new marketing opportunities and meet the requirements of China’s new import quality standards.
“Our operations have not been immune to the significant impacts of the negative operating environment,” chief executive Reinhold Schmidt said.
“lat coal prices and global market oversupply, aided by the ongoing impact of take or pay arrangements, have forced our New South Wales operations to reduce their employee numbers in recent months,” he said.
Yancoal said it was holding steady on its production guidance, despite seeing a flat thermal and metallurgical coal global market.
“In the second half of the year, we remain focused on reducing costs and maintaining consistent strong production in line with operational targets, while developing our brownfield growth strategy,” Mr Schmidt said.

I am not long or short, but I find it ridiculous that people in SJ are advocating restricting their shares for short selling but yet believe the shares have tremendous upside potential. If you are quickly a long term investor, you would be more than happy to lend your shares out. Given the short interest in Noble, you could easy get a 5-6% yield while you wait for the stock to return to intrinsic value. additionally, talking about selling pressure...this is good isn't it? it pressures the stock price down, so "long-term investors" can accumulate more shares at even better prices, and when it is all over, you might even see a nice short squeeze and make your money in a jiffy.