Ya' know, this business with the up/down market is still far from over. But, I've explained ad nauseam what it's going to be like while we burn through the remainder of it - I'll spare you another sermon. Besides, we've got several trade updates to get through, and I just want to dig in with them. Elephant Talk (ETAK) is undoubtedly this week's busy bee. The big news is that it filed its quarterly numbers a day ago.... decent results. We all pretty much knew the quarterly yoy and the six-month yoy comparisons were going to come in lower, and they did. The reason they came in lower is because Elephant Talk was/is getting out of the landline business; had it not been for that, the top line and bottom line would have both been stronger. It stinks in the short-term, but the decision to focus on the mobile business (where margins are higher) was the right one. Revenue from that venture was actually up last quarter. Expenses were down too, but the big progress on the profitability front was an accounting-only benefit - the net loss was reduced following the conversion in Q4 2010 of convertible debt into equity, thus removing large warrant liability and conversion feature charges. It's really not a big deal either way, however, as the ETAK story is really more about the future than the past. The company spent the first half of the year planting some MVNE seeds that won't bear fiscal fruit until the second half of this year. The company also affirmed it intends to transition to a senior exchange-lasting sometime before the end of 2011. In other words, it's a "work in progress". You guys know how that goes though... if you wait until the progress is done, the bulk of the gains are in the past. If you want the full scoop on last quarter's numbers with a side of perspective, the best thing to do is listen to Tuesday's conference call. You can still hear it, until August 23rd. To listen to the playback, just call 1-877-870-5176 if calling within the United States or 1-858-384-5517 if calling internationally. You need the pass code 4462750 to get the replay. If you're an owner, it's definitely worth it. Or, there's actually something even better if you're still unsure of what the company is/does. I really wish this interview had been available a couple of weeks ago when we first unveiled ETAK as a trading idea - it would have answered a lot of questions, specifically about how this company actually makes money. But, at least it's here now.... an interview with CEO Steven van der Velden, in which he explains in straightforward terms exactly what the company does, straight from the horse's mouth. No matter how familiar you are with Elephant Talk, this clip (free to watch) really gives you a good glimpse of the company's vision. The market's gotten turned on to ETAK as a result of all this recent buzz too. It's still a volatile stock (as you can see from the nearby chart), but it's pushed up and off a long-term support line again in the last few days. Here'd be a great time to step in and maybe a capture a move back up to $4.00 or so. A couple of others news items.... Bering Exploration The last time we looked at Bering Exploration (BERX) the company had drilled as deep as they needed to go at the Chicas Locas #1 well at its South Texas prospect. In the meantime, we've learned the company has perforated into the Yegua zone at the site. Now, for the 99.8% of us that don't do exploratory drilling for a living, that just means if there's oil anywhere in that hole they're drilling, that's the most likely place it'll be. (Why these news releases are only written in technical-ese I'll never understand.) I don't know how long it will be before they hit or don't hit oil or gas. I believe this is the point where it's more trial and error than science. Could be today, could be next week, could be never. Not sure, but I'll let you know. All that being said, remember, the Chicas Locas project is just one of several that Bering Exploration is working on... and not even an important one at that. This area is only expected to be worth about $8 million in oil, which will pay some bills, but isn't the mother lode we're waiting on. That's still Eagle Ford. Nevertheless, the market's getting jazzed about BERX as well. We've seen some solid reversal action - and supporting volume - over the past five days, so here again is another big-time entry opportunity. Lone Star Gold Bryan posted some detailed follow-up thoughts after Lone Star Gold (LSTG) published a press release about the La Candelaria prospect, in which some additional details were made clear about what the company - and by extension investors - could expect as the outfit starts to dig. If you're not concerned about the details, then I doubt you'd care much. If you're truly a gold bug though, and have that gold-rush fever, than Bryan's take will probably mean something to you. One thing I do want to make a point of reiterating though... the best thing in the world that could have happened to the stock happened to LSTG yesterday. What's that? The sellers took it all the way down from Tuesday's close of $1.04 to a low of $0.84. Now I know what you're thinking - how's that good? It's good because despite the dip, the bulls also came roaring back to end the session at $1.01. Now we don't have to wonder what kind of potential selling effort is out there, because the bears took their shot already, and ultimately yielded their authority back to the bulls. In a sense the move just shook off the weak hands, leaving only - as Bryan put it - the 'committed' hands behind. The pullback/rebound action should actually make it much easier to make upward progress from here. OK, that's it for now, but look for an edition sometime this weekend or Monday. I'm sure we'll have trade updates as well as something marketwide to dissect.