Great post, coming as it is from an optimist. We have every right to be optimistic, as long as we have the patience to outlast the weather, the pessimists and manipulators. That is the difficulty. I am extremely optimistic about the longer term prospects for NOT and the resource markets in general. However, just as the majority of investors are not currently in equities to any degree, those who (include me, fully invested) are extremely reluctant to have but a small weighting in juniors. That has nothing to do with NOT. If some on this forum think NOT is being manipulated, can they comprehend the degree of manipulation going on daily in currencies, precious metals, commodities , and the general stock indices? We are living in a period when the longer the investment commitment required , the greater the discount to value because of risk , including manipulation, as opposed to interest rates.
Many of those risks have been pointed out on this forum, not to discourage people from investing, but to share some understanding of what NOT as a well managed company is up against. For example, some beautiful homes are available today in prime markets at much less than traditional values. In stocks, mining majors are trading nowhere near what long term fundamentals would indicate. We are seeing 30% market beta in majors in periods less than 60 days. The President of the US virtually hid from the microphone when the DOW disintegrated by a thousand points. Pinocchio could have done better. The world's second major currency is in a meltdown . The politics that support it are in doubt. Gold is very strong. The Chinese and the US are seriously hoping to force commodity prices lower during the turmoil. US GDP growth, ex public sector spending growth, remains flat to negative. Those are the realities that have forced much investment to sidelines and safehavens. And yes, one day in this decade , hopefully much sooner, we should see $6-10 for NOT. But the majors are sitting on a pile of cash just like former stock investors, waiting for signals of financial and political stability before making longer term commitments. Patience with guts is hopefully a virtue.
