The Neo-Market Report

by stereolab with help from captnq

Once again it’s time for our weekly look at the business world, The Neo-Market Report. As always we’re joined by the Neopian Times’ residential Financial Experts, Neil Kauvuto and Maria Blumaroono. This week their special guest is Jayne Simmons, the President of Techrobatics Fitness Videos. And now, here’s Neil and Maria…

KAUVUTO: Hi and welcome to this week’s Neo-Market report. I’m your host Neil Kauvuto, and as always I’m here with Maria Blumeroono. Well Maria, things seem to be going pretty rough out on the floor today…

BLUMAROONO: Right you are, Neil. After a precipitous climb earlier in the week the Neodaq has entered what many Bearish analysts like to refer to as a “corrective phase.” As the index dropped down into the low teens, a number of blue-chippers also took big hits. Among the victims were heavyweights Cybun Electromatics and Kacheek Telecomm, who had previously seemed impervious to slowdown. Other big losers include Neopian Channel One, whose fall strategy of airing three episodes of “Who Wants to Win a Million Neopoints” five nights a week has started to backfire, and The Shoyru Company, whose founder and president Lou Poogleman accidentally revealed last week that many of his acts don’t do their own singing.

KAUVUTO: Despite the downturn, a couple of stocks have managed to post strong results. One such overachiever is Buzz-A-Way Insect Removal, whose stock has gone up over twenty percent in the wake of strong third quarter earnings. Another stock that’s been able to buck the trend this week has been Techrobatics Fitness Videos, whose “Pet-Bo” series of videos has boosted the company to record profits. Joining us now is Jayne Simmons, president of Techrobatics. Thank you for joining us, Jayne…

JAYNE: Thanks for having me on the show, guys.

BLUMAROONO: First off, congratulations on the big week your company is having…

JAYNE: Thanks. The credit really belongs to the many members of our Techrobatics team. This company wouldn’t be where it is today without every single one of them.

KAUVUTO: Now, your company’s earnings have been substantially bolstered by this series of “Pet-Bo” tapes. Would you care to explain just what “Pet-Bo” is?

JAYNE: Well, a couple of months ago a young pet came to us with a workout program that he had learned from his master. It involved taking some fighting techniques from an old book about the Battledome and combined them with your typical aerobic workout. And the rest, as they say, is history.

BLUMAROONO: I’ve got to say, the tapes have proven to be quite popular. I’ll admit, I’ve got a couple of them myself, and I “Pet-Bo” every day. On a broader scale, what do you think accounts for the popularity of “Pet-Bo”?

JAYNE: You know, there’s so much delicious food out there. I mean, honestly, how can you resist? And that’s the whole point: you can’t. For the most part, pets either eat all of this yummy stuff and stay in shape by working out, or they eat this stuff, don’t work out, and get out of shape. That’s why diets don’t work; do you know anyone who stays in shape through denial? Of course not, and really why should they? As long as you get enough exercise, you can eat most of this stuff. And that’s why pets are working out, because they want to enjoy the pleasures of eating without being out of shape…

KAUVUTO: But with so many videos out on the market, why have pets gravitated specifically to “Pet-Bo”?

JAYNE: Well, I think the bottom line here is fun. Pets like “Pet-Bo” because its fun, and they don’t dread doing it. Some pets I’ve talked to have told me that they actually look forward to working out with “Pet-Bo” because it gets their mind off of their everyday stressful situations. Unlike a treadmill or stationary bike, you’re constantly doing something different, and it keeps your mind off of other stuff by forcing you to pay attention to what’s going on. Unlike a treadmill, you’re not mindlessly doing the same single motion over and over.

BLUMAROONO: Well Jayne, we’d like to wish you and Techrobatics continued success.

JAYNE: Thanks, Maria.

KAUVUTO: And now, let’s go to our correspondents Marvin and Clyde, who have a special report on fluctuating market for Codestones and Motes.

MARVIN: Thank you, Neil. Codestones have continued the downward spiral that has been going nonstop for several weeks now. This morning they bottomed out at 900, but rallied by the end of the day to return to 1000. To this point analysts have been baffled by the turn of events.

CLYDE: Why, that’s right Marvin. So far there’s been no response from the market to the announcement of the forthcoming arrival of the Battle Dome. While Codestones should be going through the roof, they have instead continued to slide. Not even the decrease in Faerie quests has reversed this trend. My advice would be to liquidate your Codestones and buy them up later in another week or two.

MARVIN: However, this could simply be a supply side adjustment that is perfectly natural. The prices of Codestones were over inflated and this is as bad as they are going to get. Now might be the time to start slowly buying up those Codestones. When BD-Day comes, you'll probably be thankful.

CLYDE: In other news, as many of you well know, the mote market has bottomed out. The experienced investor knows that it costs more to buy a mote in the magic shop then you will get for it in the resale market. However, recent trends have brought the secondary market price from 60 NP to about 100. Now, this is still on average 50-60 points below the original price, but at least it’s a sign that this market is reviving.

MARVIN: I think the market will open up once people start to see what these puppies can do! I'm stocking up on them while they’re still so low.

CLYDE: Certainly, but the prices have been pushed up by rumours. Who knows? The Battle Myth may never arrive. Motes are still too unstable for the careful investor. I would personally recommend staying away from Motes and investing in stable markets like Faeries and Fuzzles instead.

KAUVUTO: Well, that’s going to have to do it for this week. For Maria Blumeroono, this is Neil Kauvuto saying thank you and good night.