Useful downloads

Many years ago I was searching for a way to save emails outside of Outlook Express short of saving them one at a time. Eventually I came across DBXtract, a small and most efficient programme, that makes the task simple. It can be downloaded free from PCWorld via the following link.

http://www.pcworld.com/downloads/file/fid,23383-order,1-page,1/description.html


The programme is easy to use once you know where your emails are stored. For those of you who wish to find the location of their email store follow these instructions, remembering that the symbol > means click on:

1. Open Outlook Express
2. in the menu bar > Tools
3. from the drop down menu > Options
4. in the new window that opens > Maintenance
5. in this view > Store Folder
6. in the new window the address bar will show the path to the location of your email store folder
7. this folder stores your emails in '.dbx' file format which is a zipped type of format.
8. Make a note of where the store is so that you can browse for it later, when using DBXtract.

You now have the option to change this location if you wish. If not just > Cancel > Cancel and you will be returned to your normal Outlook Express window.

Please contact me if you need any further help with this.

Stockmarket Ramblings - UXC

UXC is an interesting small cap company listed on the ASX. Not so long ago its shares traded as high as $2.83. Currently they have traded as low as $0.99, a drop of 65% in value. The company announced that they were unable to explain why this should be as nothing has changed within the company and its operations. This is a company that appears to have many of the features that are attractive to Warren Buffet's Berkshire Hathaway Incorporated when looking for potential takeover targets. It is trading at a price under 7% annual earnings, and over the past few years its increase in earnings have averaged at 42%. The comparison of UXC's half yearly earnings shown below are indicative of this company's growth and potential. With the end of financial year a couple of weeks away and the prospect of a distribution in the vicinity of 5.5 to 6.5 cents per share, this must be a stock worth having at even double the the current price.


Half Year Report of
UXC LIMITED and its controlled entities
For the Six Months Ended 31 December 2006
Six Months Ending
31 December: 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003
Revenue ($'000) $272,897 $197,027 $133,311 $115,249 $87,126
NPAT ($'000) $12,175 $9,363 $6,841 $6,226 $3,969
Basic EPS (Cents) 6.44 5.38 4.20 4.15 3.13
Interim Dividend Declared (Cents) 4.25 3.50 2.50 2.25 2.00
Dividend Payout Ratio (%) 66% 54% 60% 54% 64%
Total Assets ($'000) $340,408 $271,550 $186,859 $202,579 $126,971
Return on Assets (% per annum) 7.2% 6.9% 7.3% 6.1% 6.3%
Shareholders’ Equity ($'000) $155,859 $130,376 $105,324 $101,367 $74,312
Return on Equity (% per annum) 15.6% 14.4% 13.0% 12.3% 10.7%
Gearing Ratio (%) 35.7% 25.4% 18.8% 25.8% 0.0%
Avail Franking Credits ($'000) $19,500 $17,900 $18,000 $18,300 $15,700
Market Capitalisation ($’000) $346,400 $318,200 $148,200 $127,400 $111,100

Stockmarket Ramblings - VPE & VPEO on the move

With the recent increases in the price of oil reaching US$135.00 per barrel, it is not surprising that Victoria Petroleum Shares and Options have traded at a higher price. This company is producing oil and coal seam gas in moderate amounts from its Australian wells. Interestingly it was announced that the ANZ Banking Group have now become a substantial holder of shares in VPE. Further interest has been from a British energy company B G Group whose recent investment in Queensland Gas Company has preceded QGC's acquisition of 7.13% of VPE. The recent increase in share price and activity in VPE's shares has prompted an enquiry from the ASX. VPE has 254.8 million shares on issue together with 61.8 million options exercisable at $0.25 by Jan 2010. The company has a number of joint venture operations in progress which are likely to make it cash flow positive within the next twelve months. It has been substantially undervalued by the market. It would not be surprising to see the price of the fully paid shares approach $0.90, within the next twelve to eighteen months, following a few more successful wells being drilled on their permits. VPE has a success rate of approximatley 50% at present.

Comparison of worldwide broadband speeds

On checking my broadband speed recently on http://www.zdnet.com.au/broadband/speedtest.htm it was disappointing to note that Australia is ranked at No 24 in the world with an average speed just over 6000kb/s. One wonders why other countries are able to achieve much high download speeds. Even the United States of America creeps in only two places ahead of Australia. Here's hoping our new Prime Minister, Mr Rudd is able to do something about this disgusting performance. He will need to do much more than just set up 'committees' ( he has averaged one new committee for every four days his government has been in office so far). What about some actual decisions Mr Rudd?


Rank Country Attempts Fastest Slowest Median Average
1 Liberia 5 49,279kbps 1,108kbps 46,427kbps 37,440kbps
2 Macau 22 100,530kbps 224kbps 12,433kbps 36,372kbps
3 Korea, 569 105,304kbps 241kbps 21,262kbps 27,725kbps
4 Sweden 14,016 248,020kbps 100kbps 16,242kbps 18,971kbps
5 Hong Kong
6 Estonia
7 Japan
8 Finland
9 Luxembourg 14,016 248,020kbps 100kbps 16,242kbps 18,971kbps
10 Denmark
11 Netherlands
12 Switzerland
13 Romania
14 France
15 Norway
16 Belgium
17 Greece
18 Slovenia
19 Czech Republic
20 Singapore
21 Germany
22 United States 23,915 172,931kbps 14kbps 5,362kbps 6,711kbps
23 Portugal
24 Australia 383,511 234,156kbps 1kbps 5,361kbps 6,062kbps
25 Austria

Sharemarket ramblings of interest

The purpose of this blog is to report on matters if interest on just a few of the 'small cap' (low market capitalisation) companies listed on the Australian Stock Exchange ( referred to later as simply ASX). My interest in the 'small cap' companies is that they offer interesting opportunities for small investors. The share market prices of these companies are not influenced by the large investors. The companies of interest here are mostly in the highly speculative area for investors. They are:

1. AUSTRALIAN INFRASTRUCTURE FUND
   AIX
   Transportation
2. AUSTINDO RESOURCES CORPORATION NL
   ARX
   Materials
   
3. AUSTINDO RESOURCES CORPORATION NL OPTIONS
   ARXO
   Materials
   
4. FOX RESOURCES LIMITED
   FXR
   Materials
   
5. GINDALBIE METALS LTD
   GBG
   Materials
   
6. IRONBARK CAPITAL LIMITED
   IBC
   Diversified Financials
   
7. INTERNATIONAL WINE INVESTMENT FUND (THE)
   IWI
   Diversified Financials
   
8. PHARMAUST LIMITED
   PAA
   Pharmaceuticals, Biotechnology & Life Sciences
   
9. LION SELECTION LIMITED
   LST
   Materials
   
10. LYNAS CORPORATION LIMITED
    LYC
    Materials
    
11. UNION RESOURCES LIMITED
    UCL
    Materials
    
12. UNION RESOURCES LIMITED OPTIONS
    UCLOB
    Materials
    
13. URANIUM OIL AND GAS LIMITED
    UOG
    Energy
    
14. URANIUM OIL AND GAS LIMITED
    UOGO
    Energy
    
15. UXC LIMITED
    UXC
    Software & Services
    
16. VICTORIA PETROLEUM NL
    VPE
    Energy
    
17. VICTORIA PETROLEUM NL OPTIONS
    VPEO
    Energy
    
18. VIEW RESOURCES LTD
    VRE
    Materials
    
19. VIEW RESOURCES LTD OPTIONS
    VREO
    Materials
    
20. ZYLOTECH LIMITED
    ZYL
    Technology Hardware & Equipment