How Close is Copper to a Bottom? Good morning everyone, and Happy Friday to all! Looks like the weather's finally getting nice for most of you - should be the start of a great weekend. Right now though, we've got some business to take care of with you resource investors. It's got nothing directly to do with small cap stock opportunities, but it's got everything to do with making money by zigging when everyone else has zagged. (Or as Philippe de Rothschild  put it, "Buy when there is blood on the streets"... though I don't think we need to go to quite that extreme.) What's that got to do with today? Simply put, the recent 15% plunge in copper prices has been deemed to be an economic shot heard round the world.   See, since 'Doctor Copper' is one of the most commonly used metals by many, many industries, its price changes are viewed as a good barometer for economic activity. Ergo, if copper falls back from multi-year highs of $10,100/tonne (or $4.60 per pound) to $8600/tonne (or $3.90 per pound), that tapering of demand must mean manufacturers and suppliers just don't need that much of the stuff anymore because business is drying up. Makes sense. The problem is, the mass assumptions are likely wrong this time. And as you know by know, the market's collective mistakes are where we find the juiciest steaks. There are three (actual) reasons why copper prices have fallen since the beginning of the year: China, which uses 40% of the world's copper, has upped its bank reserve requirements in order to curb inflation there.... in order to reign in copper prices that had reached January's multi-year highs they should never have reached in the first place. Warehouse-stored copper in China has been building up, so the 'on hand' supply there (on the surface anyway) seems high. As it turns out, the copper price pullback in Q1 had less to do with fading demand, and more to do with supply chain disruptions. Since the beginning of April, orders and deliveries for copper have started to ramp up again. It's the last data nugget that seems to be the least appreciated, because it's the least known. While it's true supplies were built up in the first quarter, China's copper warehouses have seen inventory levels drop by about 1/4 in the last five weeks. To read the rest of the article, visit the website here....   Trade Updates When we were giving you updates on our open trades a few days ago, we inadvertently skipped a look at GigaMedia (GIGM). We hadn't forgotten about it though - just bone-headedly forgot to add comments on it. In the meantime, the company posted Q4 results. We were looking for weaker numbers, which were already built into the price. In fact, we felt they were overbuilt into the price, which is why we saw GIGM as an undervalued idea. What we got was pretty much what we expected - revenues were lower by 78%, and per-share earnings fell to a loss of sixteen cents. The market flinched a little, but soon recognized that the 50% haircut taken over the last year already accounted for the weak numbers. Since then, the stock's been flat. We're still fans of GigaMedia, based on the recent launch of FIFA Online 2, and A.V.A. We think the bigger reversal effort was logged back in mid-March. Now we just need some time and a catalyst. In other news.... Aeterna Zentaris (AEZS) will be releasing its Q1 numbers on May 18th. Analysts are looking for a loss of $0.08 per share this time around, but don't be surprised by another beat (which we've seen in 3 of the last 4 quarters). In our last update we noted that Avanir's (AVNR) mid-April short interest was a hefty 34%. As of the end of last month, that number hasn't changed. Short-sellers are still playing with fire here, even if they haven't been burned yet. Biodel (BIOD) has started its Phase I study of one of its insulin formulas. This one's actually being tested be delivery via an insulin pump. The study should be done by the end of the year. All in all, a real snooze-fest... nothing to sweat over the weekend. . .   The Community's Best It was only a few weeks ago that Finisar (FNSR) was considered untouchable. Now it's becoming a favorite name again. Thing is, there's a lot more room to rebound ahead for this former outcast. If it's good enough for JP Morgan, Bank of America, and US Bancorp, then it's good enough for me. Along those same lines, if it's good enough for Warren Buffett... Combustion vehicles are so yesteryear, and battery-powered vehicles are so yesterday. The future is natural-gas powered autos, and the future is now. And, since I'm out of cliches about progress over time, I'll just let you know that John Udovich has given us a good list of natural gas vehicle plays. Did we just hear a nail driven into Hyperdynamics (HDY) coffin? What's hot or not within the intimate apparel industry? [Insert obvious joke here.] Actually, this run-down of women's foundation wear is a pretty good look at what's working for these companies. Falling dollar got you down? Lack of dividends making you blue? Look north for the cure for the summertime blues. Canadian energy trusts offer high yields and protection from weak U.S. currency   We Value Your Feedback Got comments, questions or suggestions? We want to hear from you. Send us your feedback. If you wish to send a written request or inquiry, please send it to our physical address: SmallCap Network 4364 Bonita Rd. #451 Bonita, CA 91902   Share the SCN Newsletter If you find the Small Cap Network Newsletter informative and profitable, please forward our newsletter alert service to like-minded friends and associates who share similar market interests.   Ensure Newsletter Delivery To ensure newsletter delivery, you can add any additional email addresses you may have to the Small Cap Network Member List. Receiving the Small Cap Network Newsletter in multiple locations is the best way of making sure you don't miss the next investing or trading opportunity! For web based email addresses, the Small Cap Network recommends @yahoo.com or @aol.com for timely and reliable email newsletter delivery.   Change Your Subscription Settings